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The Christ revealed in the entire book of Matthew is the center of the processed Triune God (28:19). Matthew and John are the two books in which the Trinity is more fully revealed. In the opening chapter of Matthew, the Holy Spirit (v. 18), Christ (the Son — v. 18), and God (the Father — v. 23) are upon the scene for the producing of the man Jesus (v. 21), who, as Jehovah the Savior and God with us, is the embodiment of the Triune God. In chapter three Matthew presents a picture of the Son standing in the water of baptism under the opened heaven, the Spirit as a dove descending upon the Son, and the Father out of heaven speaking to the Son (vv. 16-17). In chapter twelve the Son, in the person of man, cast out demons by the Spirit to bring in the kingdom of God the Father (v. 28). In chapter sixteen the Son is revealed by the Father to the disciples for the building of the church, which is the life pulse of the kingdom (vv. 16-19). In chapter seventeen the Son entered into transfiguration (v. 2) and was confirmed by the Father’s word of delight (v. 5) for a miniature display of the manifestation of the kingdom (16:28). Eventually, in the closing chapter, after Christ, as the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45b), had passed through the process of crucifixion, entered into resurrection, and become the life-giving Spirit, He came back to His disciples, in the atmosphere and reality of His resurrection, to charge them to make the heathen the kingdom people by baptizing them into the name, the person, the reality, of the Divine Trinity. Such a Christ is the center of the processed Triune God.
In the Godhead the Father is the source, and the Son is His expression. The Father dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16), but the Son has come as the expression of the Father, the expression of the unapproachable and invisible God (John 1:18). Hence, the Father is expressed in the Son. The Son is the coming out of God and also the expression of the Father. Because the Son expresses the Father, He is the expression of the Father. Furthermore, because the Son expresses not Himself but the Father, the Son’s expression is the Father’s expression. Therefore, to see the Son is to see the Father who is expressed in the Son.
The Son, who is the expression of the Father, is realized as the Spirit. In John 14:10 and 11 the Lord Jesus reveals that He is one with the Father — the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. Then in verses 16 through 20 He reveals that He is realized as the Spirit. The “He” who is the Spirit of reality in verse 17 becomes the “I” who is the Lord Himself in verse 18. This means that, after His resurrection, the Lord became the Spirit of reality. First Corinthians 15:45 confirms this.
Concerning the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, we may use three crucial words: source, expression, and realization. The Father is the source, and the Son is the expression of the Father as the source. Furthermore, the Spirit is the realization of the Son as the Father’s expression. As the realization of the Son, the Spirit has come into us to be experienced, enjoyed, and possessed by us. Since the Spirit is the realization of the Son, who is the expression of the Father as the source, we have the source, the expression, and the realization. Because the Father is expressed in the Son and the Son is realized as the Spirit, Christ the Son is the center of the processed Triune God.
Christ’s being the center of the processed Triune God is for the disciples to baptize people into the processed Triune God by baptizing them into Him. In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus charged His disciples, saying, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Here the disciples are commanded to baptize people into the name of the Triune God. However, according to Acts and the Epistles, in actuality they baptized people into the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:16; 19:5; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). This indicates that baptizing people into the name of the Lord Jesus is equal to baptizing them into the name of the Triune God, for Christ is the embodiment of the processed Triune God and even the center of the processed Triune God. Therefore, when we baptize people into Christ, we baptize them into the Triune God.
In the eight previous messages and in this message, we have seen a bird’s-eye view, an overall view, of different aspects of Christ for our experience and enjoyment in the Gospel of Matthew. This book shows us Christ first as the Son of David and last as the center of the processed Triune God. In between we have seen thirty-nine other aspects of Christ for us to experience and enjoy. We need to realize that even in this one Gospel Christ is revealed in so many aspects for our experience and enjoyment. In particular, we may experience and enjoy Him as the Son of David and eventually as the center, the embodiment, of the processed Triune God.
Although in these messages I am not teaching theology, I would still like to point out that theologically speaking Matthew is a deep book.
First, in Matthew we can see Christ’s divinity; He, along with the Father and the Spirit, is one of the Divine Trinity. Christ is the Son with the Father embodied in Him, and this Christ is realized as the Spirit. This is His divinity.
In Matthew we can see not only Christ’s divinity but also His humanity, for He was born of a human virgin (1:18). Christ was first born into Mary and then He was born out of Mary. God was born into Mary, and the man Jesus was born out of Mary. Therefore, this wonderful One is the God-man. As such, He possesses two natures — the divine nature and the human nature.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He lived the divine life in His human living. God’s life was lived in Jesus’ living. Because this wonderful One, the God-man, lived the divine life in a human living, His human virtues were filled with the divine attributes. The divine attributes were expressed in His human virtues. The totality of this expression of the divine attributes in the Lord’s human virtues is simply virtue. Virtue is a virtuous strength or energy that can heal people and change and transform them.
Christ is the One with divinity and humanity, the One who expresses the divine attributes in His human virtues. For this reason, with the Lord Jesus we can see beauty, excellence, and attractiveness, and with this attractiveness there is always a kind of transfusion. We cannot see Him or touch Him without receiving a transfusion from Him. Even if we take a glance at Him, we will experience His transfusion. If we look upon Him, we will have His transfusion — either a transfusion of love that will cause us to love Him or a transfusion of faith that will cause us to believe in Him. Loving the Lord Jesus is not a matter of our ability to love; it is altogether a matter of His being lovable and of His being worthy to be loved. His attractiveness spontaneously infuses the loving element into us, and by this loving element we love Him. Everyone who has touched the Lord Jesus loves Him. We simply need to touch Him once or have a glimpse of Him, and the loving element by which we love Him is transfused into us. The principle is the same with faith. As we touch Him or look upon Him, faith is transfused into us, and we believe in Him.
Because we love the Lord Jesus and believe in Him, we may now experience Him and enjoy Him as the many items revealed in Matthew. In the twenty-eight chapters of this book, Christ is presented to us as at least forty-one items, the last of which is the center, the embodiment, of the processed Triune God. As the center and embodiment of the processed Triune God, Christ is realized as the life-giving, indwelling, compound Spirit. Christ, the One who is the Son of David, our Escort, and so many other items, eventually consummates in the Spirit. The Father and the Son consummate in the Spirit, and it is as the Spirit that the Lord is with us all the days (28:20).
We all need to see what the Gospel of Matthew is. This Gospel is a record showing us that Christ has both divinity and humanity and that His divine attributes are expressed in His human virtues. All the items of what He is consummate in the Holy Spirit for our experience and enjoyment. If we see this, Matthew will become a new book to us. May we all experience, enjoy, and preach to others the Christ revealed in the Gospel of Matthew.
