Three in One: Analogies of the Trinity

by William Spencer

Overview

Do our images of "one God in three persons" reflect God well?

Throughout history, Christians have pictured the relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through analogies. Such illustrations—some from the West but also from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and other places—come laden with theological ramifications that the church has rejected (heresies) or embraced (doctrines). In Three in One, William David Spencer shares a lifetime of insights from teaching within the global church, bringing fresh images and analogies of the Trinity to deepen our theological vocabulary.

Drawing from his extensive teaching in geographically and culturally diverse contexts and his artist's passion for evocative words and visuals, Spencer offers readers a rich, multifaceted, and practical exploration of the Trinity. Alongside historical and contemporary theology and biblical studies, he considers the strengths and shortcomings of various analogies used to explain the Trinity, such as:

• Light
• Water
• The Celtic knot
• The totem pole
• Musical harmonies
• The human body
• The family

Readers of Three in One will gain a personal understanding of the Trinity as well as tools for teaching about the Trinity in adult and children's ministry contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780825446061
Publisher:	Kregel Publications
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

William David Spencer (ThD, Boston University School of Theology) is distinguished adjunct professor of theology and the arts at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Boston campus (Center for Urban Ministerial Education). He has authored, coauthored, or coedited eighteen books, including The Global God: Multicultural Evangelical Views of God and Global Voices on Biblical Equality: Women and Men Serving Together in the Church, as well as hundreds of publications in journals and periodicals. He has served in urban ministry for fifty-five years.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 1

Abbreviations 3

1 Introduction 5

• Goals of This Book

• Our Focus Is Language

• Does the Bible Really Teach God Is a Trinity?

2 Can We Express the Inexpressible Through Images? 35

• God Is Necessary to Exist, but We Are Not!

• Putting It into Words

• Is Using No Images the Best Policy?

3 Did Jesus Use Images to Teach About God? 48

• Does Jesus Communicate as an Artist?

• Jesus the Master Orator

• Jesus Draws His Imagery from Peoples Real Lives

• Jesus Also Uses Artful Techniques in Discussions

• Summary

• Other Biblical Precedents

4 Images of Light for the Triune God 79

• Light as an Image

• Sun as an Image

5 The Image of Light in the Book of Hebrews 99

• The Light Image in Origen and Clement

• The Light Image in Athanasius

• Athanasius on Rank in the Trinity

6 Images That Move and Change 128

• The Early Church's Use and Misuse of Water Imagery

• Conclusion

7 Nonhuman Images That Are Static 138

• Topography

• The Egg

• The Shamrock

• Tools and Products with Three Parts

• Nature

• Totem Pole versus Celtic Knot

• Analysis and Conclusion

8 Human Images That Are Static 156

• Our Bodies: One Person, Three Parts, and Related Images

• God as a Club or Society

• God as a Government

• God as an Army

• God as a Business

• Summary

9 God as a Divine Family 166

• Does God Have a Wife?

• Does God Have Gender?

• God as a Community

• Conclusion

10 Conclusion 199

Appendix: The Meanings of Taxis in the Extant Writings of Athanasius 205

Bibliography 217

Scripture Index 227

Subject Index 235

Editorial Reviews

William David Spencer treats us to a cultural linguistic medley on the identity of the Trinity in his book Three in One: Analogies for the Trinity. He brings to bear on the topic his energies as theologian, biblical scholar, novelist, and cultural critic. Spencer’s goal is through language to ask whether the Bible really teaches that God is a Trinity, whether it is even legitimate to express the inexpressible in language. Jesus’s example offers such permission. This sanction is followed by a cross-cultural analysis from early Christian exegesis into the present. The chapter that asks about an analogy to that of a family raises such questions as whether God has a wife, is gendered, or is best thought of as community. Spencer’s answer to these and other questions takes us on a journey from the ancient Near East to the contemporary world through the eyes of one-third world scholars but also through those of students and theologians from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other cultures. Throughout, Spencer stays centered on the role of language, its capabilities and limits, while emphasizing the personal identity of the triune God in dynamic, analogical thinking."

visiting scholar, Duke Divinity School - Rev Rodney L Petersen

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity has been professed and debated by countless believers and scholars for two millennia. What more insight can a new book bring? Doctor Spencer’s astute observations and robust arguments advocate for the use of imperfect imagery for better understanding of God and for effective evangelism. While the book will benefit anyone who wants to know more about the mysterious God they worship, the author as a renowned theologian and a lifelong urban minister intends it for thousands of his urban-campus seminary students who are bi-vocational ministers in practical ministries. It speaks volumes about using images and illustrations as legitimate and profitable ways to reveal the nature of God to profound effect.

investment research professional, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Lance Pan

Bill Spencer has a penchant for going after the tough questions, and in Three in One he takes us on an important journey through the history, theology, and morphology of explaining the nature of the unexplainable. Concerned that we use illustrating images correctly in talking about the nature of the triune God, Spencer urges caution in our use of one-dimensional images for our multidimensional God. But he also reminds us of the profoundly effective ways in which Jesus's parables helped his listeners grasp truths about God.

Lois W. Bennett Distinguished Professor Emerita, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Alice Mathews

At a time when many continue to revisit and reexamine the gains and losses of the so-called twentieth century Barthian and Rahnerian trinitarian ‘revival’, ‘renaissance’, or better put ‘reengagement’, here comes globally-minded churchman and biblical theologian Dr. William David Spencer’s particular contribution to the growing literature: Three in One . While focusing on questions and issues attending to language, Spencer’s Three in One is both a testament to his high view of Scripture as well as his expertise in the theological retrieval of the Christian tradition. What is unique to Three in One among many recently published treatises in trinitarian theology, is Spencer’s evident trajectory as a life-long urban pastor-scholar and his urgent call to once again consider the practical implications of images for the Trinity.

Associate Professor of Theology and Director Hispanic Ministry Program, Western Theological Seminary - David A. Escobar ThM