Last quarter's column on the paradox of Jesus' oneness with and separateness from the Father generated several letters and phone calls. Sabellius, who lived in the third century A.D., viewed the Trinity as simply three modes or manifestations of God. In other words, his perspective gave top billing to the singularity of God and compromised the plurality. Because my article emphasized, I'd be willing to say overemphasized, the oneness of God, alarms went off in the heads of many. I appreciate hearing from readers when those alarms sound because I do want to be alert to potential errors, misinterpretations, and misunderstandings.
Words are barely adequate, and illustrations fall far short.
Lest you think I'm in danger of heresy again, be assured that my words only echo those of Bible scholar Charles C. Ryrie. Nevertheless, we do attempt to picture the tri-unity, and such attempts do satisfy, in a limited way, our yearning for a concrete picture. As eager as Christians may be to avoid Sabellius's error, one of the most common illustrations of the Trinity is clearly modalistic. Though it's more accurate, it's a picture our minds strongly resist because it's unpicturable and apparently contradictory. The key problem with our words and pictures is our limited point of view.