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Scripture Reading: Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:20; John 1:14; 14:9-10; Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:1, 14; Matt. 27:45-46; Luke 24:5-6; John 20:22
I. Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit of God in the womb of a chaste virgin and born with both the nature of God and of man, being the complete God and a perfect man, a God-man in whom God and man are mingled — Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:20.
II. The Triune God, as the Son coming from and with the Father and by the Spirit, became a man of flesh on earth — John 1:14; 1 Tim. 3:16. The Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — coexists and coinheres in this flesh — John 8:29; 14:9-10. The Son is one with the Father, living by the Father, working with the Father, speaking the Father’s word, and doing the Father’s will — 10:30; 6:57; 5:19; 14:24; 6:38.
III. The fullness of the Godhead of the Triune God dwells in Christ bodily. He is the embodiment of the Triune God — Col. 2:9.
IV. As far as God’s essence is concerned, the Spirit of God was in Christ at the time of His conception to be His divine element for the existence of this God-man; but as far as God’s economy is concerned, when He was thirty years of age, the Spirit of God descended upon Him to be His power for the work of the Christ, God’s Anointed — Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:18-19.
V. He lived and moved according to the Spirit of God and also worked and fought by the Spirit of God — vv. 1, 14; Matt. 12:28.
VI. The Triune God — the Son as the good shepherd, the Spirit as the fine woman, and the Father as the loving father — works together to seek, save, and receive the repentant sinners who turn to Him — Luke 15:3-32.
VII. The Triune God — the Son with the Father and by the Spirit — died and shed His blood for the sinners in the flesh of Jesus’ humanity, accomplishing an eternal redemption — Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Cor. 15:3; 12, Heb. 9:14.
VIII. When He died on the cross to accomplish redemption for sinners, God forsook Him according to God’s economy (Matt. 27:45-46), but God went through the death of the cross with Him according to God’s essence. Hence, according to His humanity in the flesh, He was put to death; but according to His divinity in the Spirit, He was made alive — 1 Pet. 3:18.
IX. The blood of this God-man shed on the cross is the blood of Jesus the Son of God — 1 John 1:7. The blood of Jesus is genuine human blood; it is qualified to redeem man from sin. His unlimited divinity made the redeeming efficacy of the blood of Jesus the Son of God both eternal and unlimited.
X. This God-man entered death, passed through death, overcame death, and resurrected from death with His body, making His body a resurrected spiritual body — John 10:18; Acts 2:23-24; Luke 24:5-6; 1 Cor. 15:44.
XI. This last Adam, who died and resurrected, passed through death and resurrection to become a life-giving Spirit (v. 45) and is breathed as air into those who believe in Him to be their life and essence — John 20:22. In this way, this Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — who became flesh, passed through death, and entered into resurrection, is in them to be with them forever — 14:16-17, 20, 24; Matt. 28:20.
This time in New York City I am very happy to see so many scattered countrymen and brothers and sisters who are residing on the East Coast of America. It is a rare opportunity for us to meet together and to fellowship in life before the Lord. I truly have a burden and feeling within me to fellowship with all of you concerning the Christ revealed in the New Testament. In the six thousand years of human history, no one has been able to surpass this mysterious Christ. He is the unique and extraordinary One. The more I preach Him, the more I feel that He is so mysterious, yet sweet. Although I cannot explain Him thoroughly, the more I speak of Him, the more I enjoy Him. For this reason, by His grace I will speak about Him during this short period of time in a clear way and with simple words according to the revelation I have received and the light I have accumulated throughout the years. The more clearly and deeply we know Him, the stronger will be our love toward Him. May He grant us a sober mind and an open spirit that we would know Him through the revelation in the spirit.
The central revelation of the Bible, and particularly of the New Testament, is this mysterious Christ. We need four messages to cover Christ as revealed in the New Testament: the Christ in the Gospels, the Christ in Acts, the Christ in the Epistles, and the Christ in Revelation. In order to strengthen your understanding of the messages, and in order to deepen your realization of the Lord, I have purposely prepared four printed outlines and have given them to you. These four outlines can be considered as the marrow and essence of the whole New Testament. I hope that you can make as many copies of these outlines as possible and send them to your friends and relatives in the Lord so that all of God’s children may have a clearer, richer, and sharper understanding of this mysterious Christ through the revelation in the spirit. By this we will love Him in a deeper and more sincere way from within. The four Gospels speak specifically about Christ. The first outline covers this Christ in the Gospels. There are altogether eleven points. This is the essence of my fifty years of studying and expounding the four Gospels. This outline presents to you the wonderful person described and revealed in the four Gospels — Jesus Christ the Son of God. I believe that after we see these eleven points, we will have a clear picture of this wonderful person revealed in the four Gospels.
The first item of the outline says that this wonderful person, Jesus Christ, was conceived of the Holy Spirit of God in the womb of a chaste virgin. We all know that whenever we come to the biography of a man, we have to mention his origin. The origin of Jesus Christ is, on the one hand, God and, on the other hand, man. His conception was by the Holy Spirit of God and in the womb of a chaste virgin. This is very difficult to understand and is very mysterious. According to the meaning of the Bible, the Holy Spirit of God is just God Himself. Therefore, for Him to be conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a chaste virgin was to be conceived through the coming of God Himself into a chaste virgin. Naturally, with this conception there were both the elements of God and of man. With the Holy Spirit there was the element of God, and with the virgin there was the element of man. As a result, this conception produced the One who is a God-man.
Item number one of the outline continues by saying that Christ was born with both the nature of God and of man. This is very difficult to understand, yet it is a fact. Jesus Christ possesses not only divinity but also humanity. He possesses both divinity and humanity at the same time. The divinity and humanity refer not only to His nature but also to His essence. The essence of Jesus Christ is divinity as well as humanity. He is a God-man, in whom divinity was added to humanity, that is, in whom the essence of God was added to the essence of man. Hence, He is the complete God as well as a perfect man. From God’s side He is fully God, and from man’s side He is truly man. He is the God-man in whom both God and man are mingled as one. We all know that conception is a kind of mingling. How is a conception possible without the mingling? In the conception of Jesus Christ there were two essences: the essence of God and the essence of man. The two were not just added together; they were mingled together. The One produced from this mingling is a God-man.
The second item of the outline says that the Creator of the universe, the unique God of the heavens and the earth, is the Triune God. In traditional Christian theology, He is called the Trinity. In recent years we have investigated and studied the matter and have found out that the word trinity comes from Latin. The theological expression three persons in one essence in English is derived from Latin. In Latin the word used is not person or persons but persona or personae. Here we have a fine distinction in theology. Some authorities say that the word persona in Latin means “the mask worn by the actors in a play.” The same person would at one time put on the mask of an old man and after a few minutes put on the mask of a child; then a few minutes later he might put on the mask of an old woman. After much studying we cannot agree with this kind of teaching of the Trinity. For this reason we prefer not to use the phrase three persons in one essence. Instead, we use the term three-one, or triune. The word triune is a proper term in theology. Although we cannot find this term in the Bible, there is nonetheless the fact and the description. The term was invented by students of the Bible for the proper expression of the matter. Theologians throughout the ages have used this term. It is a Latin compound word tri-une anglicized. Tri means “three,” and une means “one.” Hence, triune means “three-one.” What does it mean to be triune? It just means triune. One cannot explain it. This is exactly what it means. It cannot be explained. If it can be explained, then it is no longer real and mysterious. Some have added the word in to read “three in one.” But strictly speaking, it is not three in one but three-one. Then what is the meaning of three-one? I have studied much and have read a lot of writings by others with the hope that I could explain the matter more clearly. In the end I found out that no one can explain it clearly. Someone once asked Martin Luther, “What is three-one?” He answered, “I do not know. If I knew, I would be God.” He was not God; therefore, he did not know. This is right. Do not think that we know everything. We are not even clear concerning the structure of our own human body. How then can we understand the Triune God? But the pure Word of God, which is the Bible, shows us that our God is the Triune God. He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
Following this, item two of the outline says that this Triune God, as the Son coming from and with the Father (the word from in John 6:46 carries with it the meaning of “with”) and by the Spirit, became a man of flesh on earth. This word is difficult to understand. The Triune God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is three, yet He is one God. This God became a man in the flesh. His coming was the Son’s coming, but the Son’s coming was from and with the Father. Hence, the Son’s coming brought with Him the Father’s coming. Moreover, this coming was by the Spirit. John 8:29 shows clearly that the Father not only sent the Son; He came with the Son as well. The Son was never alone on earth; the Father was with Him all the time. This Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — coexists and coinheres in the flesh of the Lord Jesus. This One is in that One, and the two are in the third One. The third One is in turn in the first and the second One. The three coinhere one in another. In John 14:10 the Lord said, “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” This word coinherence is a special term used in theology. The night before last I was in Newton, Massachusetts. I gave a message in English using the word coinherence. One professor in biblical Greek, a man over sixty years of age, was among the audience. His textbook on Greek is the second most popular one in the United States. When he heard me using the term coinherence, he was very surprised that an old Chinese man would speak about theology in America using the word coinherence. He said that most theologians in America do not use this term anymore, because it is too deep and too difficult to clarify. But this is a truth in the Bible! We should not be afraid of difficulty and should not let this word go by easily. Rather, we should study this word thoroughly. We all love the Lord, but we should not love Him in a blind way. We all have to seek after a deep understanding of the Lord. The more deeply we know Him, the more thoroughly we will love Him.
Item number two continues by saying that the Son is one with the Father. He lives because of the Father. Because means “by.” He does not live by Himself; rather, He lives by the Father. He works with the Father, speaking the Father’s word and doing the Father’s will. The Son’s words are the Father’s words, and the Son’s work is the Father’s work. It seems as if the Son has nothing of His own. The two do not have two speakings, but one speaking. The two do not have two works, but one work. And the two have only one will. The reason for this is because They are just one. Why then is there the distinction of two? Why is there the Father and the Son? This is very mysterious and is difficult to understand. All orthodox theologians agree that although the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three, They are one. But as to how one are the three, no one can draw the line. We can only receive the revelation of the Bible according to its literal text. Matthew 28:19 clearly speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but the three have only one singular name. This shows us that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. Although the Triune God has the distinction of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, still They cannot be separated; there is still one God. The Lord Jesus whom we believe in is not only the Son but is also the Father. Isaiah 9:6 says that a Son is given to us and that His name is called Eternal Father. The reason for this is that the Father and the Son are one (John 10:30). John 5:43 says that the Son came in the name of the Father. It was the Son coming, but He came in the name of the Father. Who then came? Was it the Father or the Son? The answer is that the two are one. The Son’s coming was the Father’s coming. In our concept we always consider that the Son is in us and that the Father is on the throne. But in reality both the Father and the Son are in us, and at the same time both are also on the throne. The Son and the Father can never be separated. The Son’s being in us is the Father’s being in us. The Father’s being on the throne is the Son’s being on the throne. They are not two separate persons, one here and the other there.
Item number three says that the fullness of the Godhead of the Triune God dwells in Christ bodily. He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and He came to earth to be a man of flesh. Hence, He is the embodiment of the Triune God. The Godhead is not just the Son, nor is it just the Father, nor just the Spirit. Rather, it is the Godhead of the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Item four says that as far as God’s essence is concerned, the Spirit of God was in Christ at the time of His conception to be His divine element for the existence of this God-man; but as far as God’s economy is concerned, when He was thirty years of age, the Spirit of God descended upon Him to be His power for the work of Christ, God’s Anointed. When the Lord Jesus was born, the Spirit was already in Him as His essence. But when He was thirty years old, the Spirit came upon Him again. I never could understand this point. He was born of the Holy Spirit; the Spirit was already in Him. Why then did the Spirit come upon Him again at the age of thirty? Not until the recent years when I studied the Bible again did I understand that there is the distinction between the essential and the economical aspects. Essentially speaking, the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of life was in Him for His existence; economically speaking, the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of power came upon Him for His work.
Item five says that He lived and moved according to the Spirit of God and also worked and fought by the Spirit of God. This means that at the birth of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit was in Him as His essence. At the age of thirty, when He came out to fulfill His ministry, the Holy Spirit came again, not as His essence within but upon Him as power without, for the fulfillment of His ministry for the accomplishment of God’s economy. He had the Holy Spirit within Him as His life, and He had the Holy Spirit without as His power. In this way He was able to live and move according to the Spirit of God. His daily life was full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Holy Spirit. At the same time He worked, fought, and defeated the devil for God also by the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:18-19 says that He preached the gospel by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:28 says that He cast out demons by the Holy Spirit. As the omnipotent One, why did He have to work and fight by the Holy Spirit? This is because it is a matter of God’s economy. As far as His essence is concerned, He and the Holy Spirit are one. This omnipotent One is the Holy Spirit, for the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are but one God.
Item number six says that the Triune God — the Son as the good shepherd, the Spirit as the fine woman, and the Father as the loving father — works together to seek, save, and receive the repentant sinners who turn to Him. In Luke 15 we have first a good shepherd who came to seek for the lost sheep. Next we have a fine woman who sought for the lost coin. These two seekings brought the sinner back, resulting in a loving father receiving the prodigal son. The prodigal son came to his senses not due to himself but due to the woman, who is the Spirit, whose enlightening was based on the good shepherd’s seeking. This resulted in the prodigal son coming to himself and returning. Finally, we even see the loving, waiting father receiving him back to his home. In this chapter we see the Triune God. The Son is the good shepherd, the Spirit is the fine woman, and the Father is the loving father. The Son came to redeem, the Spirit came to seek, and then the repentant sinner returns to the Father. Once the sinner repents to the Father, he is brought back in the Son to the Father, and the Father receives him with His loving hand. In this way we are brought back to the Father’s house to enjoy the eternal love of the Father. This is the Son, the Spirit, and the Father, the three working and cooperating together to seek, save, and receive the repentant sinner.
Item number seven says that the Triune God — the Son with the Father and by the Spirit — died and shed His blood for the sinners in the flesh of Jesus’ humanity, accomplishing the eternal redemption. Often we say that Jesus Christ died for us, yet we do not realize that the One who died for us is the Son with the Father by the Spirit. It was not just Jesus Christ who died for us; rather, it was the whole Triune God who died for us in the human flesh. This is a very mysterious matter, but it is all based on the Scriptures. Read carefully Romans 8:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3, and Hebrews 9:14, 12.
Item number eight says that when the Lord Jesus died on the cross to accomplish redemption for sinners, God forsook Him according to God’s economy. This was why He cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). On the cross He bore our sins and even became sin for us, suffering the righteous judgment of God. At that moment, God forsook Him as far as God’s economy is concerned. But as far as God’s essence is concerned, God was passing through the death of the cross together with Him, for the essence of God was forever in Him; it never departed from Him. Hence, according to His humanity in the flesh, He was indeed crucified on the cross. But according to the Spirit of holiness, He was made even more alive. This is why 1 Peter 3:18 says, “Being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the Spirit.” Not only was He made alive in the Spirit, but verse 19 of the same chapter even says that in this Spirit He went to the rebellious ones in prison to proclaim His victory. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, it was the flesh of humanity that died shedding the human blood, but the divine Spirit was not put to death. On the contrary, it was made more alive.
Item number nine says that the blood of this God-man shed on the cross is the blood of Jesus the Son of God. First John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.” The blood of Jesus is genuine human blood. It was man that sinned; therefore, only the blood of man can cleanse the sins of man. Jesus was a man. The blood that He shed was genuine human blood and was qualified to redeem man from his sins. Not only so, here it does not say that this is the blood of Jesus the Son of Man; rather, it says that it is the blood of Jesus the Son of God. This proves that the human blood shed by Jesus has the guarantee of the unlimited power of God’s divinity. His unlimited divinity has made the redeeming efficacy of the human blood that He shed both eternal and unlimited. Therefore, the redemption that Christ has accomplished is an eternal redemption.
The death of the Lord Jesus is the death passed through by both God and man. The human blood that He shed is able to redeem man from sin. But this blood is also the blood of Jesus the Son of God, which has the unlimited divinity of God, and it has made this redemption eternally efficacious. He died once for all, shedding His blood to redeem all those who believe in Him throughout the ages. The efficacy of the blood of Jesus the Son of God is universal, eternal, and it is not limited by time, space, or function.
Item number ten says that this God-man entered death, passed through death, and overcame death. The death of the Lord Jesus on the cross was a voluntary one. He said, “No one takes it [My life] away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again” (John 10:18). Although the Lord Jesus died, He was resurrected. He walked into death boldly and without hesitation, and He also walked out of death boldly and without hesitation. He entered death, passed through death, overcame death, and resurrected from death in His flesh, that His flesh might become a resurrected spiritual body. This is not easy to explain. We need an illustration to clarify it. For example, if we bury a tiny carnation seed in the ground, it dies in the ground. At the same time it also germinates in the ground. The death and germination of this seed is a good illustration of death and resurrection. The green sprout is a transformed form of the flower seed. Although the shape has changed, its essence remains the same. Later, the sprout grows to blossom, and the shape is further transformed in resurrection. Yet its essence is still the same as the seed’s. The Lord Jesus said, “Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (12:24). The Lord is the grain of wheat that entered into death. In resurrection He grew up to produce many grains. This is His death and resurrection.
Item eleven says that this last Adam, who died and resurrected, passed through death and resurrection to become a life-giving Spirit. This is based on the word in 1 Corinthians 15:45. This life-giving Spirit is breathed into the believers as air, to be their life and essence. John 20:22 shows us that after the Lord’s resurrection He came in the midst of His disciples to breathe into them. His breathing was the exhaling of Himself, which was also their inhaling. This breath was a holy breath, which was also the Holy Spirit, indicated by the Greek word pneuma. This word means “breath.” It also means “spirit” or “wind.” The adjective in English is pneumatic, which means “to be full of air.” After the Lord Jesus died and resurrected, He became a pneuma. Hence, in theology there is such a term — the pneumatic Christ. This Christ is the Spirit; therefore, He could breathe Himself into the disciples to be their life and essence. This Lord who passed through death and entered into resurrection was the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — and was within the disciples to be with them forever. This is the Jesus described in the four Gospels.
From His conception Christ passed through His birth, His living on earth, His death, and His resurrection to become the Spirit of life to enter into the believers as their life. Such a pneumatic Christ is the Christ revealed in the four Gospels. May this complete picture show you what a person the Lord Jesus is in the four Gospels. He is the Triune God entering into the womb of a chaste virgin to be conceived and born. He is God and also man. He has the essence of God, yet He lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years in humanity for God’s economy. In Him there is the Holy Spirit as the essence, and upon Him there is the Holy Spirit as the power. He entered death, passed through death, and overcame death. Finally, He was resurrected from death to become the pneumatic Christ to enter into us who believe in Him, to be our life and essence. In this way we enjoy the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — in us to be with us all the time as our everything.
