Saturday, September 16, 2006

Trinity Illustration

Illustrations can't walk on all fours. They are limited, but they can also be helpful. Over the years I've heard many people attempt to illustrate the concept of the Trinity. From triangles to H20, each illustration is worthy of consideration.

I heard one tonight (though I've heard it before) on The Narrow Path that I like. It illustrates the Trinity using the concept of sun/sunlight/heat. The Father, in the illustration, is the sun. The light rays come from the sun (and allow us to see the sun). Scripture says Jesus is the light of the world and the brightness of God's glory. He is Who allows us to see the Father. If we've seen the Son, we've seen the Father. The Spirit, then, is the heat that we feel from the sun. This heat can 'strangely warm' us or make us uncomfortable when need be.

What do you think? What illustrations do you find most helpful?

3 comments:

Aaron Perry said...

I have two that I like:

1. Water in three forms at the same time: One substance, three forms: Gas, liquid, solid in the same location. I think it illustrates one substance and three persons existing concurrently.

2. A Tree: A Tree has roots that support and generate a trunk which support and generate the branches. This model is more western, admittedly, but it does capture threeness and oneness of substance. The roots are not the trunk and the trunk is not the branches, but all are wood.

Jecca said...

An egg: Shell, yolk, white. Three in one. Can't say it goes much farther than that...I can't remember. But in the end, it's all an "egg."

matthew said...

The egg is my mom's favorite too i think. So we've got:
Sun/Sunlight/Heat
Gas/liquid/solid
Roots/Trunk/Branches
Shell/Yolk/White