Best Analogies for Explaining the Trinity to a Child

Theology
1

So, we all know that children love to save their deepest questions for before bedtime. Last night, after reading some stories from the children’s Bible to my 4-year-old, he started asking about the Trinity.

Of course, he didn’t know that word, so he started off saying, “So, there’s four gods, right?”
And then he started listing them on his fingers. Not sure who/what he thought the fourth one was. :joy:

I knew right away he was referring to the Trinity since we had just read about Jesus praying to God the Father. I explained that there is one God, but he is made of three persons.

I used the clover analogy and the egg analogy. He really liked the clover one and said he was going to find a clover in the yard the next day to look at it more closely. The analogies definitely helped, but I know he’ll have more questions.

What are some other analogies or ways to explain the Trinity to a young child? Especially for a child who will poke holes in your logic if it’s not, well, logical. :laughing:

There are a coupe more analogies in this article, but I’d especially love child-focused analogies.

How Can Christians Explain the Trinity?

1 Like
2

Although I am just a student now with a long way ahead of me as I look toward a future in law and public policy, my journey with faith began much earlier. When I was six years old, I did not know much about Jesus because I had not started reading the Bible yet. Even between the ages of seven and nine, I still had very little understanding of the Trinity.

One day, after my mom had come home from work and was busy in the kitchen, I asked her a question that had been on my mind.

“Mom, who is Jesus?”
She replied, “Jesus is Lord.”

I was puzzled. “Mommy, how can that be? Then who is the Father of Jesus?”
“He is Lord,” she said again.

Still confused, I asked, “Does Jesus have a Spirit? Is that the Holy Spirit? How can He be God? No way, what?”

At that point, my mom accidentally dropped her spatula and baked beans splattered all over me. But she immediately came over, hugged me, and calmed me down. She saw how tense I was and knew I was really trying to understand.

Then she shared an example that I have carried in my heart ever since.

“Think of the sun as the Father. From the sun, we receive light, and that light is Christ Jesus. From the sun, we also feel warmth, and that warmth is the Holy Spirit. The Father is eternal, and the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, being of the same essence as Him. The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father.”

I was still confused, maybe even more confused, but that sun, light, and warmth image gave me a small glimpse of understanding. Over the next few years, I continued reading the Bible and reflecting on those words. Gradually, the truth became clearer to me, and by the time I was seventeen or eighteen, it had truly taken root in my heart.

So my advice to anyone trying to explain the Trinity to a child is this: give them a simple analogy they can hold onto, hand them a Bible, and then let them discover the truth for themselves over time.

3 Likes
3

And on a lighter note, I’ve also noticed something about my mom over the years. When she talks to me, she says things like, “Mama’s boy can do it… Mommy loves you, I’m sure you will make it.” But when she talks to my sisters, she’s often sarcastic, in a teasing way, of course. I used to think men understand men and women understand women, but I’ve come to believe moms have a soft spot for their sons. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I’ve seen in my life, and in many other families too.

1 Like
4

So, imagine that one source of fire has appeared, He gives light, and is light. Imagine that a second source of fire has appeared nearby, He gives light and is light. Imagine that a third source of fire has appeared, He gives light, and is light. All three sources of fire are light, and They give light. Light is God, the first source of fire is the Father, the second source of fire is Sin, the third source of fire is Holy Spirit.

5

Given that full-grown adults can’t fully grasp the Trinity, it’s definitely a task. The sun analogy (source, light, heat) might be helpful for kids. Another option, not necessarily an illustration, is to read the account of Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3 where we see all three persons of the Trinity: The Son being baptized, The Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” All three are working together but distinct.

1 Like
6

That’s a great way to show the Trinity in action, Matt 3…

7

Thanks for that analogy and personal story. Your mom sounds like a wonderful woman. And I agree, I am a boy mom x 2 and I have a special bond with my sons.

8

Thank you so much! Yes, she truly is wonderful, patient, wise, and very firm in faith. That bond between a mother and her son really is something special. It’s beautiful that you share that same connection with your boys; they’ll carry your words and example in their hearts, just as I’ve carried my mom’s.

1 Like
9

My position is we should try to avoid analogies, as they can cause more harm than good.

The doctrine of the Trinity is deep theology. But I think we can explain it simply:

We believe in one God.
The Father is God.
The Son is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.

Not three Gods. But one God. Holy Trinity.

Even many adults struggle with the Trinity, I certainly did. And of course, it’s ok that we don’t immediately have a full and complete understanding of theology–but that we are always learning, always growing, that’s important.

So as I see it, it’s ok to start very simple: One God, Three Persons. As a child gets older, we help the child learn and grow as he or she gains a deeper knowledge and understanding of matters of our faith. But that’s also true of all adults who are learning things of the faith for the first time too.

I think what’s most important, when it comes to fostering growth in theological understanding is that when we are engaging in this kind of discipleship and spiritual formation, that we are genuinely excited about these things. Many people are of the opinion that theology is boring, dry, stale, the sorts of things old men in academies talk about, and which doesn’t really matter to regular people.

I started studying theology with earnest about 25 years ago, but I have constantly found theology to be exciting, refreshing, and actually meaning something. Good theology isn’t just dry formulas of dogma, but grounded truths that affect how we live, think, and engage the world. Who God is matters, because what I think about God really does change how I think about other people, and how I treat them, and how I think about the world around me.

So what’s important in catechesis, discipleship, and spiritual formation isn’t merely that we get the right “head knowledge” for people to memorize; but that we get people excited about their faith, and we ground theology as a matter of the heart as well as the head. And it’s ok if they don’t get it, it’s ok to tell someone that they don’t have to fully get it–what’s important is that they want to get it, because that’s how we grow in our understanding of our Christian faith.

10

Thank for this response! While I do think analogies can be helpful for explaining the Trinity (and many other things in life—even Jesus often used parables and analogies to explain things), I 100% agree with everything else you wrote.

That’s so true—theology is anything but boring! It has real bearing on our lives, and I think its relevance is evidenced by the fact that so often children are endlessly fascinated by theological questions. I definitely want to encourage that curiosity in my sons, and I agree that it’s often the best response to acknowledge that we can’t always understand everything about God, his nature, or his plan for the world. The important thing is to engage with the questions and let the child (or anyone) know that they are good questions and that God is big enough to handle deep questions and even doubts.

“I started studying theology with earnest about 25 years ago, but I have constantly found theology to be exciting, refreshing, and actually meaning something. Good theology isn’t just dry formulas of dogma, but grounded truths that affect how we live, think, and engage the world. Who God is matters, because what I think about God really does change how I think about other people, and how I treat them, and how I think about the world around me.”

^^^ Yes, yes, yes to this! So true and well-worded.

11

I should unpack why I think analogies for the Trinity can be unhelpful.

A common analogy I heard growing up was water, H2O–water can exist in three state: solid (ice), liquid, and gas (steam), but it’s still water.

The problem: This analogy does not describe the Trinity, it describes a view known as Modalistic Monarchianism, aka Modalism or Sabellianism. As it presents the one God having different states or modes–God can appear in the mode of Father, or in the mode of Son, etc. Rather than there being three distinct, real Divine Persons of one Essence.

If we take another analogy: The shamrock or three-leaf clover, where each leaf is compared to a Divine Person, and the whole shamrock as God, this can describe a view known as Partialism: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are parts of God. It can convey the idea that God is a composite-being made up of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This is in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity where each Person is, Himself, fully and wholly God. The Father isn’t 1/3 of God, He is the whole–He is God. The Son, because He is of the Father’s own Essence, is also wholly and fully God; and likewise of the Holy Spirit.

This is why I think analogies can end up causing more harm than good when it comes to the Trinity. This isn’t trying to attack or demean anyone who has used analogies when talking about the Trinity; but rather to highlight the potential danger.

Which is why I think when we teach the Trinity to children, or to new converts, we can start simple in how we talk about the Trinity. In the case of children we can start small and as they grow we can get bigger. Especially as we encourage the natural curiosity and inquisitiveness of children. So that as they ask questions, we can answer them.

The doctrine of the Trinity is easy to misunderstand. And so it certainly does present serious challenges to how we teach it.