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Thus far, the two main aspects that we have seen concerning the Divine Trinity are the essential Trinity and the economical Trinity. In the essential Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit coexist and coinhere at the same time and in the same way with no succession. There is no first, second, or third. However, in God’s plan, in God’s administrative arrangement, in God’s economy, the Father takes the first step, the Son takes the second step, and the Spirit takes the third step. The Father planned, the Son accomplished, and the Spirit applies what the Son accomplished according to the Father’s plan. This is a successive procedure or a succession in God’s economy to carry out His eternal purpose. The essential Trinity refers to the essence of the Triune God for His existence; the economical Trinity refers to His plan for His move. There is the need of the existence of the Divine Trinity, and there is also the need of the plan of the Divine Trinity.
Modalism teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not all eternal and do not all exist at the same time but are merely three temporary, consecutive manifestations of the one God. Modalism says that the Father was there, and then when the Son came, the Father was over. Furthermore, when the Spirit came, the Son was over. Modalists say that the three are one, but their interpretation jeopardizes the existence of the Trinity. They do not have a clear view concerning the difference between the essence and the economy of the Trinity. In essence the three of the Godhead exist equally at the same time and coinhere equally at the same time from eternity to eternity.
In addition, God, the Triune God, has a purpose, so He made a plan. He made an administrative arrangement to carry out His purpose, so He has an economy. In this economy the three of the Godhead are in succession. This is economical, not essential. Furthermore, to carry out the plan there is the need of much work. The Father accomplished the first step of the plan, of the economy. He worked in choosing us and in predestinating us. The work of selection and the work of predestination were done by the Father, not by the Son or by the Spirit. We must be careful, though, to realize that the Father did the selection and the predestination, but He did not do them alone. The Father of the Triune Godhead did the choosing and the predestinating in the Son and with the Spirit. If we say that the Father chose us and selected us alone, we jeopardize the coinherence and the coexistence of the Divine Trinity. The coinherence and the coexistence of the Triune God are from eternity to eternity.
After the plan was made, there was the need for the Son to come to carry out the plan. The Son came to be incarnated, to be flesh, to be a man. He came to live a human life for thirty-three and a half years, to die an all-inclusive death, and to resurrect from the dead. The Son came to do all the works, but He did not do these works alone. He did them with the Father and by the Spirit. The Son came to do His all-inclusive redemptive work, which included incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection, with the Father and by the Spirit. If the Son had come by Himself alone, this again would have jeopardized the coexistence and the coinherence, the essence, of the Divine Trinity.
After the accomplishment there was the need and there still is the need of application. In this third step of application more fine works are needed. In the first step the Father had only to make a plan. In the second step the Son had to accomplish the plan with much work. The Spirit’s application in the third step needs a great deal of continuous work. We need the Spirit to lead us and to guide us not only day by day but also minute by minute in all the details of our daily life. The Spirit needs to be applied in our talk to our wife and even in our attitude. We can see how fine and how detailed is the work to carry out this application. The Spirit is doing this application work not alone, by Himself, but as the Son with the Father. Otherwise, this application would also jeopardize the divine existence of the Trinity.
In the work of the Father’s plan we can say that the Father did the works in the Son and with the Spirit, but we cannot say that the Son did that work with the Father and by the Spirit. Neither can we say that the Spirit did the works of the plan as the Son, with the Father. Also, in the second step of God’s economy, the step of accomplishment, the Son did all the works. We cannot say that the Father did the accomplishing work with the Son and by the Spirit. Neither can we say that the Spirit accomplished the Father’s plan as the Son, with the Father. We can only say that the Son did all the works to accomplish the Father’s plan with the Father and by the Spirit. Also, we cannot say that the Father became flesh and that the Father lived on this earth in the flesh. Furthermore, we cannot say that the Father went to the cross and died for our redemption, and we cannot say the blood shed on the cross is the blood of Jesus the Father. We must say that the blood was shed by Jesus the Son of God (1 John 1:7). We can neither say that the Father died on the cross, nor can we say that the Father resurrected from the dead.
In the third step of God’s economy, the step of the Spirit, all the works were surely done by the Spirit. In the third step, however, the Son became the Spirit. Therefore, whatever kind of work is done by the Spirit is the work done by the Son as the Spirit. In the third step all the works are done by the Spirit as the Son with the Father. We cannot say, though, that all the works in the third step are done by the Father with the Son and through the Spirit. We need a sober mind to see this. In the third step all the works are done by the Spirit as the Son with the Father. We can also say that all the works in the third step are done by the Son as the Spirit with the Father because after the second step was accomplished, the Son as the Accomplisher, with the Father, became the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God in His economy. Every work that is done by the Spirit is done by the Son as the Spirit with the Father.
Now we need to go on to see the difference between the Triune God and the Divine Trinity. The Triune God refers mainly to God Himself, and the Divine Trinity refers mainly to God’s being triune, which is the main attribute of the Godhead. It is more correct to refer the divine dispensing to the Divine Trinity rather than to the Triune God. The Triune God refers to God the person, whereas the Divine Trinity refers to the main attribute of the Godhead. For example, saying that someone is a faithful person is different from saying that he is faithfulness. A faithful person refers to the man. His faithfulness refers to his being faithful, his virtue. In a general way God is dispensing Himself into us, but in a particular, actual, and practical way God is dispensing His Trinity into us.
The New Testament reveals that the Father is in us, the Son is in us, the Spirit is in us, and God is in us. Ephesians 4:6 shows us that the Father is in us: “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” John 14:23 also shows us that the Father is in the believer: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” Second Corinthians 13:5 is one verse that reveals that the Son is in us. Romans 8:9 shows us that the Spirit dwells in us. The strongest verse showing us that God is in us is Philippians 2:13: “It is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.” We should never forget Philippians 2:13. God is not only in us, but He is also operating, or working, in us. God is in us as the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Triune God being in us, however, may be merely terminology to us. We may not have the practical experience of the trinity of the Godhead. We are not only experiencing God but also experiencing the trinity of the Godhead. The Father is in us, the Son is in us, and the Spirit is in us. These are not three persons, but these are the trinity of the one God. In other words, this trinity is the strongest attribute of the Godhead. His faithfulness, His love, His kindness, and other attributes are not above this attribute. The top attribute of the divine person is His trinity. His trinity is constituted solely with His person, and His person is in the Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
This is why the ancient theologians used a word to describe the very substance of the Trinity — hypostasis. This word comes from Greek — hupo, meaning “under,” and stasis, meaning “something substantial supporting from beneath.” Hypostasis is singular, and hypostases is plural. This anglicized Greek word means “the supporting or substantial essence from beneath” and refers to the constitution of the Triune Godhead being the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In theology the denotation of the word hypostases was gradually changed to persons. This is why one of the meanings for hypostasis in Webster’s dictionary is “person.” This is a theological definition. We must see, however, that the Divine Trinity is the constitution of the Triune God. The divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity means to dispense the constitution of our Triune God into our being to make His constitution ours.
Because some brothers’ understanding of the things concerning the Lord and His interest was too superficial, I nearly had no way to help them. In 1967 in Elden hall there was a lot of talk about the way to practice the church life. I stood up to tell the saints that I had been practicing the church life for years and years and that I knew what I was doing here. I said, “I don’t like to argue with you. If you feel that your way is right, go to do it. Don’t make the church in Los Angeles a lab for you. We don’t need a lab here in Los Angeles. I have practiced the church life for many years and have established many churches. In every church I had a success. I have the full assurance that what we are doing is right and proper. We don’t need a lab. If you want to do lab work, go to another place to practice your lab. If you are successful, come back to me, and I will be the first one to follow you. But I assure you that if you go, you will have a failure. This is my word of love. It is up to you whether you take it or not.” That talk to the church stopped all the “different talks.”
I must testify that I am not afraid of today’s opposition. If some person says that 2 × 2 is 4, no one can defeat him. Even if another person says that 2 × 2 is 3.9999999, he still is not right. What I have been teaching to you I have studied thoroughly for over fifty years, not only according to the pure Word of God but also by checking with my own and others’ experiences. You do not know how much time I have spent day and night to study. Through our fellowship in this training I want to assure you that there is no need to doubt what you have received through this ministry concerning the Lord’s recovery today. You should not be affected by others. If you take this way, you will be blessed. If you do not take this way, you will miss the blessing. This is up to you. If you feel that you are right, go ahead and take another way. The years will test your way. Either you will come back to repent, or you will remain in that failure. Through the years we have seen some who have left and who are still remaining in their failure. It is a sad thing. I love them but just cannot help them. Some of the opposers take my words and say that I threaten people. I say strongly that I do not threaten people and that I never threaten people. I love people. For example, the proper gospel preaching is always a word of love. If someone preaching the gospel says, “If you do not repent, you will go to hell,” is this a kind of threatening? This is not a threat but a loving word to help the sinners to turn from their wrong way.
We must realize that the recovery today is in 1984. In 1922 the recovery was in an experimental stage, but today it is no longer that much an experimental operation. The work in the United States is my “fifth factory.” The past four factories were all successful, so I have the full assurance that this is the way. I sent out an urgent notice to call such an urgent gathering to present to you the New Testament ministry, the vision of the Lord’s recovery, and the way to carry out the vision. This is my word of love. If you like to consider this as threatening, it is up to you. I do not like to pretend. I do not like to be so mild outwardly yet inwardly another way. I am what I am inwardly. I have no intention of threatening you or of warning you. I say this out of my love. I love you brothers, and even more I love the Lord’s recovery. I have sacrificed my entire life with my future for this. I would not like to see the recovery “cut into pieces” and damaged.
