Question:

I think it is hard to understand the trinity because  a man cannot be  in America, in Africa and in Asia at the same time: that  make the trinity hard to understand when I take it in a human way.  I want to ask you if the trinigy is like this:  3 forms of water( liquid-solid-vapor) but the same molecule? Or is that not a good explanation?  These are  some verses which make me confused.  1. When the Bible says”God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son”, in this verse which one is bigger, the sender or the sent?  2   In  a verse Jesus answerd to a man who called him “Good Ruler” that  why did he call him ”Good” only God is Good. So he showed He is not God.  3.  On the cross Jesus said”Father , why have you abandoned me” how God can be surprised that he has been abandoned by God”?  4. Before Jesus started  His work did he know that he is God? 5. In the beginning of all the letters of Paul he used to bless God and  Jesus differently, yet  at that moment  Jesus was not  in flesh so there were not 3 persons of  God.  Why did he use to do that if  they were the same?  6 Jesus said he didn’t know the date of the End but only the Father. That means he is less that the Father and therefore different from Him.  7  Jesus said he will be at the right of God.  That means he is different from the Father.  How many  thrones are there in Heaven?1,2,3?  8 Paul said that because Jesus obeyed, God gave Him the name above all names.  If Jesus is a Person of God why it is after his work God gave him all power as mat 28 v18 said.?

Answer:

A man cannot be in three places at once, but God certainly can.  He is “omnipresent” which means that his existence is not affected by location.  He is everywhere all the time.

As for the water, steam, ice analogy, that is a famous one, but it certainly is not adequate.  It may be helpful to some.   There is also the sun/light/heat analogy which I like better, but it, too, is inadequate.  There is no human analogy which does justice to the “trinity.”

1. God cannot be described by size, so the word “bigger” does not apply to him.    The Father and the Son are equal in stature, importance and power.   Neither is greater than the other, although the Son obeys the Father.   The analogy to marriage works here, to some extent.

2. Jesus did not deny being good.  You misunderstand this verse.    It is like this.  The man calls him good.  Jesus replies, “Do you not realize that only God is good?”    The point is that Jesus is telling him that the man is calling him good, which he, in fact is.  Jesus is good, therefore he is God.   In other words, he is saying to the man, do you not realize that you are calling me God? (which Jesus notably does NOT deny).

3. Jesus was not surprised.   He was hurt.   He knew what would happen—that the Father would abandon the Son on the cross.  Look at Matthew 26, in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus was well aware what was going to happen.  That is why he was so despondent.  He was aware that he would be abandoned by his Father after a shameful death.

4. Jesus certainly knew he was God, as he openly claimed it.   What we do not know is when Jesus first realized he was God.   Already at age 12 (see Luke 2:41f), Jesus was aware that he was in his Father’s house.   I am not sure if he understood the full implications.   No one can say for sure when Jesus realized that he was God, but certainly as a tiny infant he was not aware.

5. There are three “persons” which we already know because the Son prayed to the Father.   If Jesus can address the Father and if the Father can address the Son, then Paul can address both the Father and the Son.

6. Jesus became human while in the body and willingly accepted limitation of his power and knowledge.  Exactly how limited he was, we do not know.  This was his humanity.   He willingly gave up his omnipotence and omniscience to take on a human form.

7. When Jesus says he will be at the right hand of God, in what sense does that say that he is different?   You are assuming here something that is not implied in this verse.   If I use the analogy of the temple, with the bread/Son on the right and the menorah/Holy Spirit on left, with the Father in the middle, then I suppose that there are three thrones.   However, we should not take the word throne too literally.

8. Jesus gave up his power to take on flesh, but after he died, was resurrected and ascended back into heaven, I assume that he returned to his rightful, normal position.  If you look at Jesus in Revelation 1 you get a sense of his awesome power.   Jesus humbled himself, taking on flesh, and, being obedient, God raised him back up to be with him.

John Oakes