3 in 1 or 1-an illustration

knifemakerbill · 09-26-2005, 12:38 AM

several years ago, our teen class asked about the 3 in 1 or 1 God debate. we told them to do a Biblle study and we would have a debate the next week. we had a 45 min. debate, with both sides presenting good debate material and verses fortheir decision. i then gave them my illustration. i got out an extra large EGG. i asked them what they saw when they looked at it. most said they saw the egg as a single item, but others said they saw it as an item of 3 parts. i told them that the egg was as you saw it in your view. i see it as a 3 part item. it consist of a shell, an egg white, and an egg yoke. each part is necessary, but no one part can do the job of the other 2 parts. i asked how many used their egg as a single unit when cooking-say fried eggs. you don't put the whole egg in to cook,rolling it around in the pan of grease. you must break the shell to use the inside parts. when you cook it this way, you get to enjoy the egg as nourisment to body and soul. and yes, they asked about throwing away the shell-i told them i don't throw it away, i crush it up and put it around my house plants for their nourishment.

after the illustration, more debate, and questions , we came to one conclusion. IT DEPENDS ON YOUR VIEW. both sides were right in how they saw the egg, and neither side was wrong in how they saw it. it depends on your view, and your view is neither better or worse than anyone else's view. do you see God as 1, or do you see God as 3 in 1? it depends on your view. maybe by seeing this, others on the forum can see that neither side in this debate is wrong. in your view you are right, and so is everyone else. the main thing is-- we are all looking at God, and that is where our vision should be all the time. just wanted to share our experience with all of you. be blessed and a blessing to all you meet-bill

Chuck7 · 09-26-2005, 01:44 AM

Wonderful post Bill,
Thnaks for sharing.

Leafrivermac · 09-26-2005, 03:59 PM

I knew a guy one time that believed a light bulb was his God. I guess an egg would make more sense . . .at least you can eat it or hatch it off or something. I do believe that God is far above an egg, especially since the egg is part of the created and God is the Creator. God is infinite, whereas an egg just don't last that long, God is all knowing . .I don't think an egg is very intelligent, God can be everywhere at all times . .the egg just sits there in one spot for a short while, etc etc.
I'm mostley just joking

, but God is not an egg . . .yes an egg is one egg composed of several parts, IMHO God is one period, and not limited to just three manifestations.

Rebel Hog · 09-26-2005, 04:54 PM

Bro.Mac, you don't believe He manifested Him self
in the Creation, Incarnation and the Holy Ghost?
To me that means One not three.

Leafrivermac · 09-26-2005, 05:51 PM

Yep Reb, I believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord God Jesus the Christ.

knifemakerbill · 09-27-2005, 07:28 PM

leaf--the point of my illustration is how you view things. i believe that our religious influence while growing up has a lot to do with how we view the oneness or trinity of God. there are, i believe, as many scriptures to defend one side as there is for the other. it's how you were influenced with your teaching as to how you view or interpret the scripture. my point was to try and diffuse the arguements on things like this and the "once saved" differences. your influences determine how you read scripture, weather you admit it or not. we waste entirely too much time argueing between ourselves, and i believe the forces of evil enjoy that more than anything, because while we argue, we can't be about the Father's business.
as a newby to this forum, i watched for a couple of months before joining in, because i have been on entirely too many forum pages where bashing each other was the only point of the forum. i am fed and enlightened by the post on here, but i think we need to realize that our point of view may not be the only interpretation of scripture because of the religious influence we have be subjected to. i hope that we can be less confrontational and at times judgemental of others and keep encourageing and lifting up those we chat with. and i am not talking to you in particular, leaf, as i enjoy your comments greatly. i just hope that we, as participants, can keep the discussions uplifting. be blessed, and may each of you have a very blessed day-bill

manuman · 09-28-2005, 12:53 PM

Not to be simplistic or argumentative, but how do you reconcile your view with the times that the Father spoke to the Son ,and that Jesus said He would send another comforter, after His ascension? I'm not being a joker, butI don't think He was meaning that He was somehow going to change places with Himself. Look at the very beginning of creation , where the Spirit of God hovered over the earth and made all the voidness come together into order. There are numerous occassions throughout Scripture of each person of the Trinity performing separate and simultaneous tasks--in creation to the procurement of salvation.Please don't take this as being combative. I think that we are closer than it appears, and that mostly it is a matter of semantics.

Leafrivermac · 09-28-2005, 03:27 PM

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Not to be simplistic or argumentative, but how do you reconcile your view with the times that the Father spoke to the Son

You would really have to post scripture for me to be really specific, but most questions . .if not all questions like this takes an understanding of Jesus as deity (God) and Jesus as human (Son).

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and that Jesus said He would send another comforter, after His ascension? I'm not being a joker, butI don't think He was meaning that He was somehow going to change places with Himself.

That was a specific reference , and as is my preference I can answer using scripture: "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot recieve, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him; for He dweleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:16-18). From this passage we see that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Christ.

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There are numerous occassions throughout Scripture of each person of the Trinity performing separate and simultaneous tasks--in creation to the procurement of salvation

There are many occasions in scripture of God manifesting Himself to man in different roles.

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Please don't take this as being combative. I think that we are closer than it appears, and that mostly it is a matter of semantics.

Likewise, as I am not being combative either . . .I simply totally reject the trinity doctrine as in error and in some cases worse. And I don't feel that I'm close, I'm not just about right . .I am right. You won't find me making that statement on a lot of topics concerning scripture, and I'm not saying that I know everything about the Lord . . .But I do know His number.

DaveH · 09-28-2005, 08:08 PM

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I knew a guy one time that believed a light bulb was his God.

God is light ya know!

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questions like this takes an understanding of Jesus as deity (God) and Jesus as human (Son).

I agree that Jesus is fully man and fully God, but I don't see how that answers manuman's question Mac. Jesus DID talk to His father. He DID send a comforter to take his place -- not to replace himself with himself. God the father spoke from Heaven when Jesus was baptised--there was Jesus standing in the water with the dove that God the father sent, and the voice came from someone else --not from Jesus. There are endless examples of Jesus praying to God the father--not to himself. If Jesus is God and the Father is God and the Holy Spirit is God, how is that not 3? I'll grant you it's not explainable in human terms, but then God is more complex than we can fathom.

LBR · 09-28-2005, 08:32 PM

The egg is as good an example as I've ever heard--think Reb brought that up earlier also. God's being is beyond human understanding--He is one, He is three, He is innumerable, all at the same time, and at the same time always God.

II Peter 3:8 says that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. Human minds simply cannot grasp that, so how could we understand God's person?

The Bible tells us that there is one God, but the same Bible tells us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were also separate beings. Does the Bible contradict itself? Of course not! They are all different, but at the same time insepparably one. Christ said He was going to sit on God's right hand--why would He say that He is going to sit on His own right hand? Why would Christ pray and cry out to Himself? Would God put on some sort of smoke and mirrors show, as when Christ was baptized, just to confuse us? I don't think so, and I don't believe that God requires some sort of special devine inspiration in order to understand what He's telling us.

Just as an egg is an egg, with three separate yet inseperable parts, that is how God is--or as close as we can come to understanding His person. Not three separate Gods, but one.

Chad