holy trinity egg analogy

But you cannot be broken when your faith is in Jesus, for the Spirit of the Son that lives in us and gives us the voice through which we cry Abba, Father, (Galatians 4:6,) this Spirit of the Father that dwells within you is there to strengthen, protect and guard your person. The 3 Most Common "Trinity Analogies" (and their limitations) The three most common go-to analogies for explaining the Trinity are water, an egg, and the sun. We might call one side A, another side B, and the other C. So, there is a distinction between each of the sides, yet, all three are the same. ORDER from Barnes and NobleAmazon.com or wherever fine books are soldISBN-13: 978-1978167643Return to Cafe Logos Homepage | Bite-Sized Bible Bites. copyright 2009 by H.D. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John14:2, 3). I and My Father are One (John 10:30). The three-leaf clover analogy is OK. The Holy Trinity: Egg Analogy The Holy Trinity is GOD in three divine persons GOD the FATHER GOD the HOLY SPIRIT GOD the SON But together they makeup and are still ONE GOD Like how an egg is made up of three things but is still ONE EGG. What is H2O? Others compare God to an egg, which is part shell, part white, part yolk. They all exist as fully God, with none of them lacking in any attribute or aspect that defines God. If water is inadequate, there are a wide array of alternative analogies we can turn to in modern theological parlance. FOR CENTURIES, the Church had fought against heresies on the Trinity. True, we humans are image bearers but nothing in creation serves as an analogy for the Trinity because the Trinity is a doctrine of special (biblical) revelation not nature or reason. He taught that the son was at one point created by God the father. He is married to Shamsa Lea, is the father of Amira, and loves running, boxing and studying history and theology. If we separate them we still may have God the Egg yolk, God the Holy Spirit Egg white and God the Son, the Egg shell/image, three individual parts of an Egg, but they cannot be a Trinity, or tri-unity unless they are unified and are seen as one Egg, so to speak. He has the world and our individual lives within His supremely capable hands. Through the brokenness of the Shell, His Son, the Spirit white pours out into our beings through our faith in what was done and believers are joined with the yolk, for it is by One Spirit we have access to God the Father (Ephesians 2:18). Likewise we cannot have the Father or His Spirit without the Son I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by Me- John 14:6. Love was not given to Jesus. But we cannot do that (assuming we can) with God. show me your glory. Sure enough, one member answered Well Ive heard that the Trinity is like water: water can be liquid, gas (steam), or solid (ice), but its still the same water. The egg has a shell, the whites and a yoke. 3 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. This is not an exhaustive list: For further reading on the Trinity, I would recommend James Whites The Forgotten Trinity, Wayne Grudems Systematic Theology and online articles by CARM.org. Modalism denies the distinction of person in the trinity. It is not existing as 3 different parts (persons) at the same time. He began to play the organ as a chorister in England, before continuing his studies in Qubec and France. A single molecule cannot simultaneously exist in three different states. In part one, we looked at what the Bible has to say about the Trinity. Try starting your explanation with a simple definition and then ask for further questions: No one can completely know or understand God. Though I find the video to be hilarious and often . The trinity is a like a Three-Leaf Clover. Well the issue is, the water analogy is akin to the heresy of Modalism. They that dont have the Holy Spirit in them will talk like the Adversary. Afterall, we can get rid of a few of its parts - for instance the shell - and still scramble an egg. Unfortunately, no analogy is perfect. There are, however, some that work better than others. I go to prepare a place for you. He differs from the Father, but was and still is God. Arianism denies the deity of each person in the trinity. Like modalism, the "three beings" view was rejected by the early church. Because God is utterly unique, all comparisons will fail at some point. Therefore it behoves us to know what He has revealed (including the Trinity), and to lovingly worship Him accordingly. He has been relationally fulfilled within Himself since forever. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. While an egg has a yolk, a white and a shell to make up the whole, each part is only ever . Three persons is false. Thanks, Ann! This analogy is an invalid comparison to the Trinity and is a heresy called PARTIALISM. Notice the distinction between persons and being. Moreover, the yoke and the whites are no longer as they used to be. He completed a doctorate in 1990, looking at the question of harmonic rhythm in the organ music of J.S. Thus the Father is in Jesus " I and My Father are One" (John 10:30), "The Father is in Me" (John 14:10) God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). So, in God, there are three distinct persons. 1. Water is water, but exists in three different forms: liquid, frozen, or steam. The word Trinity comes from the Latin word trinitas which means tri-unity. Ontological means the nature or essence of something. RELATED: What Does The Bible Say About Ghosts? Jesus Person is joined to the Father by the Fathers Holy Spirit, because Gods Spirit is also Jesus Spirit - "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. My name is AnnMarie and I'm so glad you're here! In order to accomplish this union with God and man, He allowed His Shell to be broken with the weight of our sins to cleanse our souls so His holiness can approach, for God cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). This analogy actually teaches the heresy of modalism. Each one is fully God. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father., 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Many of these analogies have the best of intentions, but God cannot be described in a way we can fully comprehend or rationalize. There would be three thrones. Studying the Trinity poses difficulty to us Catholics. The trinity is a mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. I and My Father are One (John 10:30). There are two basic ways that people misunderstand the Trinity: 1. Tritheism denies the unity of the God-head by saying there is just three different gods. When we separate them we can fall into the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual deities as one. As we examine the scriptural witness we see three truths that make up the doctrine of the trinity. However, keep in mind that the one being who is God is a personal being. Some people falsely claim the Trinity is a form of . Im giving God the credit for stirring this memory, and am extremely grateful. He has been a member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2007, and is now training to be an Air Force Chaplain. We can always rebut these claims with another equation: 1 x 1 x 1=1. It falls into the heresy of tri-theism. Just like an egg, none of the parts are co-equal, nor are all of the parts necessary for the egg to exist. When we separate them and view them as individual deities, that is the error of tritheism, which is the worship of three individual gods as one. You know, that bearded guy on the throne who looks something like Zeus, right? But its all water. Shively, This book is now available in a published format for easy sharing and classroom use. For sure, our everyday experience does not include using our finite minds to understand the infinite! The problem with this analogy is that it would imply that there is only one Divine Person, who eventually multiplied Himself. The beautiful depth of Gods eternal Triune nature is a sublime reality which should bring an end to our attempts to cognitively master Him. Space Analogy God is like space. They say that three separate beings exist 2. The Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 butmore like 1 x 1 x 1.You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. If God has existed for all eternity in a perfectly loving Triune relationship, then it shows He is completely self-sufficient and requires no further relationship in order to complete or satisfy Himself. Each one is fully 100% God. God Himself explains why some things are still a mystery: For as heaven is higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) Our human minds can never understand all of who God is and how He thinks and acts. The doctrine of the Trinity tells us that there's ONE GOD who is THREE distinct PERSONS existing as a community of self-giving and loving relationships with each other. Likewise we cannot have the Father or His Spirit without the Son I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except by Me- John 14:6. What portion is erroneous? It should bring us to realise that we truly are finite creatures standing before a sovereign, transcendent, divine mystery. Is He Jesus side-kick? St. Augustine, one of the most important Fathers of the Church, wrote a great deal on the doctrine of the Trinity. Memory, Understanding, and Will. This is just as bad as the Water analogy and leads to the same error. Although the water changes forms it is still H2O. We believe that it is a revelation that comes from Christ Himself. Jonathon serves as a lay pastor at Gospel Life Church in New Braunfels, TX and currently works as the IT Manager for a non-profit ministry. RELATED: What Did Jesus Really Look Like? These are likewise erroneous or even heretical. All Rights Reserved. We can say that the first is egg the shell, the second is egg the albumen and the third is egg the yoke. The problem with this analogy is that no one molecule of H2O can actually exist as solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. Under Arianism Jesus is less than fully God. But this view, too, wont do. Here are 8 Bible Characters Who Should Be More Famous. This is a quick way to describe the doctrine of the Trinity namely, God is 1 being (the, is Gods nature, essence, being) and 3 whos (the, being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Blessings! How can we explain what it means to have three persons in one being? This description that all persons are fully God is called the Ontological Trinity. It only has 1 person acting in three different roles. Analogies that we present would always be insufficient as none of them would equate to the incomprehensible beauty of God. 2 - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14). Some think of God as H 2 O, which is sometimes a solid (ice), sometimes a liquid (water), and sometimes a gas (steam). This means there is a sense in which all 3 persons may act or speak as one. Have you wondered what is God like? There have been many attempts to explain the Trinity the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This view, also known as "modalism", was rejected by the early church. copyright 2009 by H.D. The concept is literally unthinkable. Space consists of three things: height, width, and depth. If the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings, then its not really clear how someone can say that God is one or that only one God exists. Revelation 4:3And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. That would not be had God be three persons. You can throw away one part of an egg (e.g., shell) and still have essentially an egg. The military would like to have that power. But having lots 6 Bible Study Tools To Help You Dive Deeper. The Trinity is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. But in the Godhead, each Person is fully and completely God unto Himself (even as they are all one God). And the reason we know that is because the Persons of the Godhead have perfectly loved each other for all eternity. Why is it wrong? However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The above picture is a famous work of art by Andrei Rubilev, the great medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescos. And then theres Jesus, Gods son. The Trinity is established by 3 Biblical truths, . When they used the word person, they didnt mean it in the same way that we do today. In the second instance, the truth of Gods Trinity reveals a further aspect of Gods love for His people. Each character of the trinity has in one another (cf. Truly, it is a Mystery. The Holy Spirit prays for us. Here are a few common illustrations: The Egg- One egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yolk. Can you think of some Bible verses to back up your explanation? - well, sort of. He also knows how to perfectly love us. A good example would be an electrical cord. This analogy sounds pretty good, but it is fatally flawed in that is describes the Son and Spirit as creations of the Father. 2. Or water can be evaporated and called steam. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Arius was condemned by the council of Nicea in 325 AD. Infinite thy vast domain, everlasting is thy reign.. In one egg you have the white, the yoke, and the shell composing one full egg. I did read about the shamrock analogy! These three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - exist together in complete unity, with no separation, as one divine being. The Council's definitions concerning the Trinity are really as easy as one, two, three four. Common, yes. A, distinguishes himself from others by saying me, mine, you, yours, etc. A. is the whole nature or essence of something. The problem with this analogy is that an egg yoke is of a very different substance than a shell. Son and Holy Ghost are each fully God. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. These two analogies are the "water" analogy and the "egg" analogy. What makes it hard is that all of our analogies and metaphors fall short of capturing what the Trinity actually is. How can we ever explain our Most High, exalted, powerful, uncontainable, and most glorious God? Matthew 3:16-17- As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. The word trinity is not in the Scriptures, but is a word used to describe the three in one God revealed in the Bible. Because Gods Person is unapproachable, the Spirit White acts as insulation, for we know that it is through the Holy Spirit that God can communicate, speak through and interact with mankind. Our words should dissipate and be replaced instead with an awestruck adoration and wonder, as we realise the only appropriate response is to fall to our knees and humbly worship the one truly perfect, unified divine essence, comprising three diverse, co-equal and co-eternal divine persons. THE TRUTH IS: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really DISTINCT from one another: He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son. (CCC 254), 3. The sun comprises the sun itself, its light and its heat. The problem with this analogy is it denies the unity of the God-head. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1 Corinthians 1:25). Starting with the three biblical affirmations, ask your kids to show you how these examples support or deny what the bible teaches about the Trinity. Answer (1 of 25): Cynics assert that the idea of the Holy Trinity is a logical impossibility. A good follow up verse to help explain is the baptism of Jesus. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. However, Christians through the ages believe in the Trinity because the truths it represents are taught in the Bible. In humans, our spirits are designed to operate with and be united to the soul which is the person of anyone and so it is with our Egg. Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. The visual form of God seperated from Jesus on the cross. Similarly, in our aquatic analogy, water can appear in three different modes, depending on the environment, but the three are not co-existing. The egg example, while not perfect or complete by any means, will still give us a basic understanding of the primary principle of Biblical Trinitarianism. The Trinity is a tri-unity, a unity of Three, - God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. Some have used examples such as water, watermelons and eggs; the principle behind those illustrations is that even though each thing is one, it is also three. Jesus Person is the image of Gods Person (Hebrews 1:3), and the Invisible Spirit of the Father that is in Him - God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). Perhaps youve heard the analogy that the Trinity is like H2O (the molecular symbol for water). Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. This is a bad analogy because it fails at the truth that all three persons comprise the fullness of God. This error denies something central to God that makes Him God. Analogies of the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit also exist eternally and concurrently. But it cant be that way with God. See the depths of Catholicism for yourself! They are three in one egg. This analogy actually falls prey to the same error of modalism. I bet I havent sung or heard this song in years! Humans as we are, we cannot fully understand how the three divine Persons, though really distinct from one another, are one and the same God. No analogy is perfect, but we want to be careful of using wrong ones that may confuse people. Born in England in 1961, Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse has been the organist of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity since 2000. Therefore, in this context, God is the what and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the who. We define a person as one having a will and who is distinguishable from another person. An analogy illustrates that in a similar way, one shamrock can have three leaves on it, and the trinity has three persons that comprise one God. Jesus then becomes a created being and thus less than fully God. But theres one problem: the water analogy is not the biblical picture of God. Bach, and has released two previous CDs, one . Each separate being is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. Similarly, light and heat are simply creations of the sun, yet it is the heresy of Arianism to claim that the Son or Spirit are mere creations of the Father. Yet there is still only one God we serve. Also, the egg is made up of three distinct and unalike parts. We can think of it this way: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Each PERSON is distinct from one another. This is perhaps the most common analogy for the Trinity. These images fall short, because these components arent enough to be considered a whole on their own. None of the 3 are less divine than the others. The Father hears their intercessory prayers. What is the Trinity? God is not made up of 3 parts like the 3 parts of the egg. The white of an egg is the connection between the yolk and the shell. Share your thoughts with us in the comments! The apple seed alone is not an apple. But they are one God. At times God is Father, or Son, or Holy Spirit. So, I shot down a lot of images that seems to be pretty helpful. As a result the water molecule must change forms. The Holy Spirit is the shell, Jesus is the egg white, and the Father is the egg yolk. When we look at the egg as an example of the Trinity, we must view it in its entirety. We Christians believe it on faith. I have the good one. 1 Corinthians 8:6: Yet for us there is but one God.. Instead, each person is co-equal, co-powerful and co-eternal. In order to accomplish this union with God and man, He allowed His Shell to be broken with the weight of our sins to cleanse our souls so His holiness can approach, for God cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Since these bad analogies tend to lead to a heresy, we will examine the main three areas of heresy concerning the trinity. Yet God lovingly chose to create and eventually redeem us anyway (both thoroughly Trinitarian acts), at great cost to Himself. Water can exist in liquid at room temperature. The more I reflect on Easter, the more Ive realized how much its become a consumeristic holidayeven Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Intercession: The Son intercedes as our High Priest before the Father. God is like H2O in that the Bible may refer to a specific person of the Trinity but that person is still God. But the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. His ways are not my ways! (Which I just found out is in error). To put it simply, "The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy." . Among the most popular analogies for the Trinity, two in particular stand out; and most of the others resemble one of them. If you say, "Jesus Christ" then you MAY BE incorrect. Few topics of discussion in the Christian faith are more confusing than the idea of the Trinity. God has revealed some mysteries from the Old Testament in the New Testament (the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the coming of the Messiah, salvation by grace through faith, etc.) Yet we do not have three gods but ONE God. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John14:2, 3). The three distinct notes come together to make one beautiful sound. Yet, as we view the pages of the Bible, we see that God is a personal and relational God. This is a worse analogy than the egg because it is more analogous to the heretical doctrine of Modalism/Oneness than for the Trinity.

Cervical Precautions Occupational Therapy, How To Create A Virus That Steals Information, Articles H