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There are two extreme and erroneous schools of teaching concerning the truth that God is triune, that is, three yet one. Tritheism stresses the matter of three, teaching that there are three separate Gods: the Father is one God, the Son is one God, and the Spirit is another God. Modalism stresses the matter of one, teaching that God ceased to be the Father when the Son was manifested and that God ceased to be the Son when the Son ascended and became the Spirit. Since the second century there have been many disputes concerning the Triune God. All the truths in the Bible have two aspects. The truth concerning God has the aspect of God being three and of His being one. The word triune comes from Latin and is composed of the words three and one.
The Bible reveals that there is only one God. In the Old Testament the book of Isaiah says, “I am Jehovah and there is no one else; / Besides Me there is no God” (45:5). Psalm 86:10 says, “You alone are God.” The New Testament also says that God is one — there is one God (Mark 12:32; 1 Cor. 8:4, 6; 1 Tim. 2:5; James 2:19). However, the Bible also says that this God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Hence, in Christianity there is the term Trinity, which is used to express the truth that God is one in three persons. But this term can easily be understood as being tritheistic.
A co-worker, who was influenced by this term, came to Los Angeles in 1965 to argue with me. I asked, “Brother, how many Gods would you say there are?” He said, “Three Gods.” I said, “Brother, never say such a thing; this is a great heresy.” But he argued, “Psalm 82 mentions gods,” and I explained, “The word gods in verse 1 refers to angels. There are many angels, but both the Old Testament and the New Testament say clearly that we have only one God.”
Because Brother Nee realized that the term Trinity could be easily misunderstood, he preferred the term triune. The church fathers created the term Trinity because they did not understand the truth concerning the Triune God. In Chinese Trinity is rendered “three persons in one entity.” Our God is one, but He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The error of modalism is that it does not confess the eternal coexistence of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Modalists accept the truth in the Bible concerning there being only one God, but they take this truth to the extreme and say that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist in three consecutive modes and do not coexist eternally. Because of this great error, modalists are heretical.
Some in the United States oppose us and say that we are modalistic. We told them that although we say that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one, we also confess the eternal coexistence of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The phrase the Word was God indicates that the Word and God are one, and the phrase the Word was with God indicates that the Word and God are distinct. The word with proves that the Son did not come into existence after the Father. If the Son had come into existence after the Father, They could not have been with each other. In order for one to be with the other, They must exist at the same time. In John 17:5 the Lord Jesus prayed, “Glorify Me along with Yourself, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” This proves that the Father did not exist first and then become the Son, who then later became the Spirit.
Tritheists teach that the Father is the Father, the Son is the Son, and the Spirit is the Spirit. They do not confess that the Lord is the Spirit. Therefore, they interpret the Lord in 2 Corinthians 3:17 as “God.” They say that the Lord is the Spirit means the same as God is Spirit in John 4:24. This is their interpretation. However, if we read the context of 2 Corinthians 3:17, we will understand that they have misinterpreted this verse. Verse 14 says, “Their thoughts were hardened; for until the present day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant, it not being unveiled to them that the veil is being done away with in Christ.” This verse says that the veil is being done away with in Christ. Verses 15 and 16 say, “A veil lies on their heart; but whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Verse 16 says that whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. This is strong proof that these verses are speaking of the same thing. Christ in verse 14 is the Lord in verse 16. The Lord is Christ. In verse 14 the Bible says, “Christ,” and in verse 16 the Bible says, “The Lord.” Then verse 17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” Therefore, according to the context, the Lord refers to Christ.
Verse 18 says, “We all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.” According to the context, this portion of the Scriptures is concerning our being transformed into the image of God’s Son. Romans 8:29 also speaks of our being conformed to the image of God’s Son. What 2 Corinthians calls the Lord’s image is called the image of God’s Son in Romans. This proves that the Lord in 2 Corinthians 3 is the Lord Jesus. Moreover, in 2 Corinthians 4:5 Paul says, “We do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord.”
Hence, according to the context of 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, the Lord is Christ. In order to conform to their theory, tritheists misinterpret the Lord in 2 Corinthians 3 as “God.” However, if we agree that the Lord here refers to God, we must say that since the Lord Jesus is God, and God is the Spirit, then the Lord Jesus must be the Spirit.
We have inherited the orthodox truth that has been passed down through the generations. This light is becoming brighter and clearer to us. Therefore, we can boldly declare, “The Lord is the Spirit.” The Spirit is the Triune God having passed through the processes of incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, ascension to the heavens, and descension to the earth; hence, the Spirit possesses both divinity and humanity. On this point we were greatly helped by Brother Andrew Murray’s book The Spirit of Christ. Andrew Murray was probably the first to see that humanity is in the Spirit. We were also blessed by the Lord to see the type of the holy anointing oil in the Old Testament. The holy anointing oil in Exodus 30 is composed of pure olive oil compounded with four spices (vv. 23-25). The Brethren taught that the holy anointing oil typifies the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge that this is correct. However, the Brethren did not see that the holy anointing oil contains the elements of divinity and humanity as well as the elements of Christ’s death and His resurrection.
The Spirit is the compound Spirit. He is typified not only by olive oil but by olive oil compounded, mingled, with four elements. Today the Spirit is not just oil; He is an ointment, possessing the elements of divinity, humanity, crucifixion, and resurrection. This is the Spirit. Our life is in this Spirit, and our living should also be in this Spirit. Furthermore, our service and work should be in this Spirit.
Regrettably, the work, service, and worship in Christianity are ritualistic, of the letter, and not in the Spirit, and sometimes our service and meetings have departed from the Spirit to become rituals. Romans 7:6 says, “We serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter.” However, in some places the service has become an ordinance with rigid rituals of the letter.
Please allow me to ask, “In elders’ meetings do the elders fellowship and pray in spirit, or are the meetings according to customs?” When the elders come together, do they always begin the meeting with prayer? Is this prayer a routine for beginning the meeting, or are the elders truly burdened in spirit to pray with one another? If the elders are not burdened, the prayers are rituals. In some churches the elders pray for ten or more minutes when they gather together, but the content of their fellowship is unrelated to their prayers. This indicates that the prayers are ritualistic. The elders should come together with one heart, in one spirit, and with one burden. They should also have thorough prayer together for a matter or several matters before fellowshipping in spirit. If they are still not clear concerning a matter, they should have further prayer and fellowship. Such prayers are spiritual, not ritualistic. If the prayers in the elders’ meetings are ritualistic opening prayers, praying has become an ordinance.
We have given many messages on the spirit and on life, but in our living, meetings, and service we lack the spirit. As a result, for more than a decade we have wanted to tear down the rituals in our meetings. Ten years ago if a meeting began at 7:30 in the evening, the saints who arrived at 7:25 would sit down and wait for the elders to arrive in order for the meeting to begin. After four minutes the elders would arrive and also sit down. The elders would look to one another to know who would begin the meeting. Eventually, one elder would call a hymn, and the meeting would begin. Such a meeting lacked the spirit. This was our pitiful condition.
In 1961 we wanted to get through in the matter of being in spirit, but we could not get through. At the end of that year the Lord took me to the United States. In 1962 I began working in the United States, and I emphasized the spirit from the beginning of my ministry. Therefore, the testimony of the Lord’s recovery in the United States began in the spirit. Our meetings had no procedures. Whoever was the first to arrive for a meeting would sing or pray. This is how the Lord’s recovery began in the United States. In many places in the United States there is no singing or speaking in the prayer meeting, nor do the brothers announce the prayer items. Suppose the prayer meeting begins at seven thirty. Those who arrive early begin praying. As other saints arrive, they join in and pray. The saints pray until nine thirty. There is no singing, nor is there the ministry of the word; there is only prayer. This is the Lord’s mercy to deliver the churches in the United States from the deadness of rituals.
It is easy for us to fall into the rituals of Christianity. In some local churches the service is organizational. How to be an elder, how to listen to the elders, who is a co-worker, and how the co-workers and elders handle affairs have all become rituals. No one knows how to meet or serve without the rituals, and no one knows how to function without the rules. The only ones who speak are those assigned to speak. This is a ritual. May the Lord have mercy on us and deliver us from rituals so that we would learn to live in our spirit. We must exercise our spirit in the meetings and in our daily living. We must also follow the spirit.
The Lord is my witness that while speaking with my wife, I must sometimes swallow a word that is on the tip of my tongue, because the Spirit forbids me from saying the word. There is a voice within me that says, “Do not say it!” This is a negative experience of following the Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit wants to move, and I move according to the Spirit, or the Spirit wants me to speak, and I speak according to the Spirit. This is a positive experience of following the Spirit. If we exercise our spirit regularly, it will be easy for us to be in spirit and to walk by the Spirit in the meetings. The genuine exercise of setting our mind on the spirit is in our daily living. In our daily living we should let the Spirit control our mind, emotion, and will and also let our whole being be controlled, restricted, and led by our spirit. Then we will be according to the Spirit.
When we are thus subdued by the Spirit and led by the Spirit, the Spirit will do a killing work in us. He will kill our flesh, our self, our temper, and our lusts, and the power of resurrection will also operate in us. Then our spirit will be released with authority and light when we speak, and our spirit will be released with the supply of life and the anointing when we pray. Because our spirit is released when we speak and pray, people will receive the supply of life and be watered. This should be our condition. Everyone who comes to our home and fellowships with us should touch the release of our spirit. If we would exercise our spirit in our daily living, our spirit will be released in our singing and our speaking whenever we gather together. Then our meetings will be filled with praise and thanksgiving, and they will not be disorderly.
It is easy to accept methods, but it is not easy to know or exercise our spirit. We must learn to exercise our spirit and not focus on methods. Although methods are helpful, it is more important for us to learn to use our spirit. For example, in the prayer meeting there is no need to ask who should pray or what to pray about; instead, we should endeavor to use our spirit to pray. Likewise, what we should say in a meeting is secondary; the primary matter is to exercise our spirit and speak according to our spirit.
Some people are naturally well behaved, but they cannot be moved by the Spirit; they are like walls of bronze and iron. Such persons need to be broken in order for their spirit to be released. Some have been practicing being broken, but their spirit is not released. These saints do not practice the release of the spirit; they practice the breaking of the outer man. As a result, their spirit is not released even though they may be broken. The messages that Brother Nee gave in The Breaking of the Outer Man and the Release of the Spirit are focused on the release of the spirit, not on the breaking of the outer man.
I hope that the focus of the elders’ meetings in the different localities would not be fellowshipping about different things but that the elders would learn to be open to one another in their meetings. We should not fear being open; we should only care for the release of our spirit through prayer. This is how everyone should pray. Do not ask how long we should pray. We should pray as the Spirit leads, even if we have to pray until the end of the world. When something is brought up, there is no need to ask how it would be done, when it would be done, or who would do it. Nor should we take any word of guidance as an ordinance. “The letter kills” (2 Cor. 3:6). We must learn not to care for ordinances but rather to care only for our spirit. The co-workers who serve in a locality should not ask people to do things; instead, they should fellowship with the saints and supply them with life.
Our spirit is living, and our Lord is the Spirit. Paul says, “The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (v. 17). If we are not free, it is because we do not have the Spirit. The condition of the churches does not depend on whether our methods change but on whether we are in spirit. We need to have thorough fellowship and seek the Lord’s leading in spirit rather than conform to old ordinances. This is how the apostles worked for the Lord. The Lord had a different leading for Peter, Paul, and John; they did not conform to old ordinances. Even though they were different, they were the testimony of Jesus Christ because they lived in their spirit.
Question: Many saints were in a good condition when they served, but their condition deteriorated when they went astray. Since there is no guarantee that I will not go astray in the future, is it not dangerous to serve?
Answer: None of us is free from making mistakes. The only person in the Bible who never erred was the Lord Jesus. Even the apostle Paul made mistakes. Every human being makes mistakes. Some, however, make mistakes but do not depart from the right way, yet others depart from the right way as soon as they make a mistake. When the Lord Jesus spoke concerning the constitution of the kingdom in Matthew 5, He gave two basic conditions: one is to be poor in spirit, and the other is to be pure in heart (vv. 3, 8). If, instead of being poor in spirit or pure in heart, we have pursuits other than God, it will be easy for us to depart from the right way when we make a mistake. However, if we are poor in spirit and pure in heart, we will not depart from the right way, even though we may make many mistakes.
If we examine those who have gone astray, we will see that the problem was not a matter of right or wrong but of whether one was poor in spirit and pure in heart. A person who is not poor in spirit is self-satisfied and unable to receive help from others. A person who is not pure in heart has something other than God as his goal. The Lord said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (v. 8). God should be our unique goal. As soon as our goal deviates from God, our heart is no longer pure. It is easy for those who are not pure in heart and have pursuits other than God to stray from the right way when they make a mistake. Several churches in the Far East have passed through turmoils. Before going astray and leaving, some were quite vocal in their support of the church, but after they left, they stopped speaking concerning the church. This proves that something other than God was their goal and that they were not pure in heart. Therefore, being kept on the right way in spite of our mistakes depends on whether we are poor in spirit and pure in heart.
Question: In the Bible the elders’ term of office seems to be for life. But in practice should the elders follow the practice of the Old Testament priests and retire at the age of fifty?
Answer: The term of the Old Testament priests ended when they reached the age of fifty (Num. 4:3; 8:24-25) because one’s physical strength begins to decline at the age of fifty. According to this principle, if the elders are declining spiritually or physically, they should withdraw and let others serve as elders. At the age of fifty Old Testament priests withdrew from the service because their strength began to decline. The New Testament does not give an age limit for the service of the elders, but we should withdraw and let others serve as elders if our physical strength begins to decline. If we begin to decline and cannot keep up, we should let others serve.
If our condition is proper, every elder should be clear whether his being an elder benefits the church. He should know whether it would benefit the church for him to stay or for him to withdraw. He should make such a decision in the best interest of the church. The principle of withdrawal from the eldership should be fresh and a matter of life. Every elder should consider the current condition of his local church to know whether it would be beneficial to the church for him to remain or to withdraw. We should not consider matters for ourselves but should consider the gain and loss to the church. If the church gains from our staying, we should stay, but if the church suffers loss from our staying, we should not stay. This is a healthy condition.
There is no rule concerning whether we should withdraw from the eldership. Our withdrawal depends on the Spirit and on the gain or loss that the church would incur. If we are poor in spirit, pure in heart, and do not covet anything, we will accept how the Lord leads when He leads. However, if we covet something, are self-satisfied, and are not poor in spirit or pure in heart, we will make things difficult.
