Title: Some Misconceptions about the Trinity
Contents
The concept of the Trinity is clear. However, the object or concept that compares the Trinity is different. If the parable is wrong, you have a wrong theology. The most common analogies are:
1. Compare to 'one person'. Just as a person can be a father, a son, or a husband, the Father is explained as the Father, the Son as the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the husband. One person plays three roles. However, it is the fact that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit worked simultaneously from the beginning, and there are not one but three. So it is wrong to compare it to one person.
2. Compare to a tree. Just as a tree is made up of roots, stems, and branches, the root is God the Father, the trunk is Jesus the Son, and the branch is the Holy Spirit. But the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not parts of God, that is, the root, trunk, or branch of a tree, but the Father is the whole tree, the Son is the whole tree, and the Holy Spirit is the whole tree. The Trinity is not a partial gathering of three to form one, but a perfect one and three, a perfect three and one. Therefore, it is wrong to represent a part of the tree as God.
3. Compare to water. It is like water becoming water vapor and ice. However, water, ice, and steam cannot exist simultaneously in the same vessel. And God, who is compared in this way, is an explanation that changes in various ways according to the times and circumstances, not the Triune God. It cannot be an explanation of the Trinity of God, in which each Person is one complete and may appear simultaneously.
4. Compare to electricity. When electricity is connected to a light bulb, it emits light, when connected to an electric heater, heat is produced, and when it is connected to a power source, great power is produced. Although the appearance is completely different, the electricity is one, so it is compared to the attributes of the Triune God. However, the Triune God is who he is, and there is no intermediary who plays the role of connecting. In work, like the division of light, heat, and power of electricity, the work of the Triune God is not distinct, but together.
5. Compare to the sun. Take the three elements of the sun as an example: the fireball, light, and heat. If there is a fireball called the sun and light and heat coming from it, if the fireball is God, then the light is Jesus and the heat is the Holy Spirit. But like the sun, God is not an object. Moreover, the fireball cannot be called the sun, and light and heat cannot be called the sun. But the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equally God.
6. Compare to a three-leaf clover. There are three identical leaves on one stem, so it is a Trinity. However, all three leaves of a clover have the same appearance. The Trinity expresses the communion of three different divine subjects to form one God. In other words, God is the one who communicates with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
7. Compare to an equilateral triangle. Just as the three horns of a triangle make up a triangle, God is one. But the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the horns of the triangle, that is, they are not part of the triangle, but the triangle itself. The term 'Trinity' refers to a God in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all distinct in person, work, and character while maintaining the essence of one God.
As described above, trying to explain the Trinity in a worldly way is called 'modalism'. It should be noted that 'modalism' is a heretical theology. Nevertheless, many people were quoting the above parable, and it is a fact that many saints know and explain the Triune God through this parable. The Trinity cannot be explained by the things of this world. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that the Trinity cannot be recognized through explanation, but is an object of faith. The Trinity cannot be compared with anything in this world, nor can it be taught in parables. If you try to explain something concrete or realistic, it will be an incorrect explanation.