Apples, Eggs, Ice Cubes, and God

SUPPORT FROM THE NATURAL:

What do apples, eggs, ice-cubes, and shamrocks all have in common? Each of them is but only a few of the many illustrations that have been used to help describe the Triune God of the Bible. 

My personal favorite by the way, is the candle-flame illustration. The candle-flame illustration goes something like this; you take three candles and light only one of them with fire. The fire from the lit candle now has its own individual flame. Next, you take the other two unlit candles, and use the flame from the lit candle to light the other two wicks. Once you have lit the last two candles with the fire from the first lit candle, you will come away with three separate candle-flames, all from the same fire – hence, three flames, one fire. 

Norman Geisler does a wonderful job using a mathematical illustration in attempting to explain this phenomenal mystery of our Triune God by saying; “Does not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3? It certainly does if you add them, but Christians insist that the triunity of God is more like 1 x 1 x 1 = 1. God is triune, not triplex. His one essence has multiple centers of personhood. Thus, there is no more mathematical problem in conceiving the Trinity than there is in understanding 1 cubed (13)” (Geisler, p.732).

St. Augustine sought to explain this great mystery by using a moral illustration to describe God’s triune nature. He said that “God . . . had left triune footprints everywhere in the created order” (Oden, Thomas C. Systematic Theology: Volume One. p.185), including in the very act of love itself. Augustine believed that “love requires a lover, one who is loved, and the love that unites them, in a kind of three-in-oneness, for in speaking of these three, we are speaking only of one thing, love” (Oden, p.186). Oden argues that these “are the conceptual requisites of tri-unity: all have unity, equality, and distinguishability” (ibid).

With all of the many feeble illustrations that we as humans attempt to conjure up in order to explain the triune nature of God, it is no wonder that the concept of the Trinity still remains as one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith. When speaking about the Trinity it should be pointed out that it is a word that is never mentioned in the Bible, (Neither is Eschatology, Soteriology, Pneumatology, or many other “ologies” used, but they are still accepted doctrines throughout the Christian and Non-Christian world) yet the concept of Trinity is plainly taught throughout the Scripture.

SUPPORT FROM THE BIBLE: 

There are two biblical truths that support the teaching of the Trinity. The first truth is the central theme of Judaism, which is called the Shema. The Shema comes from Deuteronomy 6:4, and states: “Hear O, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” which was echoed by Jesus as the first of all commandments (Mk. 12:29). David proclaimed, “You alone are God” (Ps. 86:10). The Lord speaks through His prophet Isaiah by telling us, “That you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me, there is no Savior” (Isa. 43:10-11). When looking at the Word of God, it is overwhelmingly clear that God is one (cf. Jn. 17:3; 1 Tim. 2:5).

The second truth is that the Bible clearly teaches us there are three distinct persons revealed in Scripture as God. The Bible tells us that there is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Isaiah the prophet reveals the triune nature of God by identifying the One true God as a “Son” who is given (Son of God), “Wonderful Counselor” (a possible allusion to the Holy Spirit – cf. Jn. 15:26), and “Mighty God,” who is the “Everlasting Father” (Isa. 9:6). In this passage from Isaiah it is very clear that Jesus is that Child, and Son that was given, as well as the Wonderful Counselor, and Everlasting Father, who is known as the One true “Mighty God.” We have three persons, yet One God.

Norman Geisler says; “By saying God has one essence and three persons it is meant that he has one “What” and three “Who’s.” The three Who’s (persons) each share the same What (essence). So God is a unity of essence with a plurality of persons. Each person is different, yet they share a common nature” (Geisler, p.732).

THE OLD TESTAMENT:

This idea of a Triune God is witnessed from the very beginning of Scripture. Though Judaism’s central claim about Yahweh is the fact that He alone is the “One” true God, and there is no other God but Him (cf. Deut. 6:4), it cannot be ignored that God in many places throughout the Old Testament revealed His Triune nature to them. In fact in the very first verse of the Bible, and the very first mention of God, we read: “In the beginning God” (Gen. 1:1). Jon Courson tells us that; “The Hebrew word translated ‘God’ is Elohim, [is a] compound unity. El is singular. Elo is used for two. Elohim refers to three or more. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, Elohim, is one compound unity.” Listen carefully to the Shema, and you’ll hear the Trinity” (Courson, p.555)

GENESIS 1:26

We see glimpses of God’s triunity in Genesis 1:26, when He says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (cf. Gen. 11:7). Looking at Isaiah 48:16, we see what I believe to be one of the most convincing passages in all of Scripture that supports the concept of the Trinity. Isaiah 48:16 says, “Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me.” Oden states; “Isaiah 48:16 is a principal prophetic text from which classical exegetes have argued an implicit triune intimation. The speaker is the Lord’s Servant, the promised Messiah . . . The first person Me has been widely thought by classical exegetes to be anticipatory of the Son (viewed by analogy of faith from the New Testament), who speaks of the Lord God by whom he is sent and the Spirit with whom he is sent, thus keeping all the primary elements of triunity in place: unity, distinction, and complementary mission” (Oden, p.190).

It is quite clear that God revealed Himself to the Israelites as a triune God, but due to their spiritual blindness, they were not able to fully comprehend the greatness of God.

THE NEW TESTAMENT:

When looking through the New Testament we see the Trinitarian idea even more clearly revealed.

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS:

At the Baptism of Jesus, we witness the Trinity. While Jesus is being baptized (Mt. 3:16), the Holy Spirit is descending in bodily form (Lk. 3:22), and at the same time we hear God the Father speak about how pleased He is with Jesus (Mt. 3:17). We have One God appearing in three distinct Persons. We can witness the Trinity in the Great Commission’s Baptismal instructions (Mt. 28:19). We see this triune teaching in Paul’s writings (Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:16; 2 Cor. 13:14; Rom. 8:9-11).

DIVINE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD:

We can also see the Trinity throughout the Bible by the Divine attributes and acts that take place. For example, the Bible tells us that God the Father made us (Isa. 44:24), Jesus made us (Jn. 1:3; Col 1:16), and the Spirit made us (Job 33:4), while at the same time we read that God made us alone by Himself (Isa. 44:24). One God - three distinct persons – all taking part in our creation. The Bible describes God the Father as the “Almighty” (Gen. 35:11), Jesus as the “Almighty” (Rev. 1:8), and the Spirit as the “Almighty” (Job 33:4). One God - three distinct persons who are “Almighty.”

THE RESURRECTION:

The Bible tells us that God the Father would raise Jesus from the dead (Acts 3:15), the Holy Spirit would raise Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:11) and that Jesus would raise Himself from the dead (Jn. 2:19). One God - three distinct persons – all taking part in raising Jesus from the dead.

SALVATION:

The Bible also tells us that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them (Jn. 6:44), the Spirit draws them (Jn. 3:8), or the Son drawing them (Jn. 12:32; Lk. 10:22). One God - three distinct persons – all taking part in drawing us to Jesus for salvation.

As we have seen, God appears in the New Testament as Father, Son, and Spirit, and there is no sweeter picture of the Triune God throughout the Bible, than in His act on our behalf to secure our Salvation. He is God the Father who drew us to Christ (Jn. 6:44), God the Son who paid for our sins (Rom. 5:8-9), and God the Spirit who dwells within us, and helps us (Jn. 14:16-17), and has sealed us for the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13, 4:30).

CONCLUSION:

“Augustine concluded that the reason we talk about trinity at all is not because we can say something adequately about it, but rather because, in the absence of adequate speech, we must say something” (Oden, p.224).

We should find great comfort in knowing that our God is not an apple, egg, ice-cube, or shamrock, but the One True God, who has revealed Himself to us as a Loving Father, a Sacrificial Son, and a Comforting Spirit.

Amen.

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* Bibliography

Oden, Thomas C. Systematic Theology: Volume One. Hendrickson Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. 1999

Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI. 1999.

Courson, Jon. Application Commentary: Old Testament, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, 2005