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Scripture Reading: John 15:4; Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:17; Gen. 1:26; 2:9; John 16:12-13; 6:56; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Heb. 1:8; Col. 2:9; John 14:9-10, 14:23, 25-26; 3:34; 6:63; 15:26; 2 Tim. 4:22; John 4:24; Rev. 22:17
Concerning the person of Christ, who is a mystery, we must not merely have objective knowledge in doctrine. Rather, we must have the subjective experience in life. In Christianity there is the bad habit, the bad influence, of considering everything in the Bible to be merely a doctrine. When preaching God, many merely preach a doctrine, and when preaching Christ, many also merely preach a doctrine. In today’s Christianity nearly all the truths concerning God and Christ have become theology and are presented altogether in the way of doctrine and theory, and very few people stress experience. However, the purpose of the biblical revelation is not to give us doctrines. The ultimate purpose of the Bible in speaking about God and Christ is for our experience. We may speak about God thoroughly and speak about Christ fully, but if we do not have the experience, both God and Christ have nothing to do with us.
Both in the Far East and in the West, there are some, including even former “co-workers” among us, who say that we teach heresy. What is the point of their deviation? It is in their paying attention only to doctrines. They say that in our teachings we neglect doctrines and care only for experiences, which are entirely dependent upon and according to feelings. Therefore, some have even published books to slander us, saying that our teachings are “sensuous” and are altogether not according to proper doctrines. What we stress, however, is that doctrines are for our experience. Some have argued, saying, “It is not logical for you to say that Christ lives in you. Consider how big Christ is and how small man is. How can Christ abide in man, who is so small? Furthermore, Christ is the great sovereign Master sitting on the throne in heaven. How can man, who is so small, let Him come into him to abide in him? This is impossible.” In their consideration Christ, who is sitting high above in the heavens, has only a representative on earth, who is the Holy Spirit.
Nevertheless, the New Testament tells us clearly that the Lord Jesus definitely abides in us. In the Gospels, John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, 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.” In 15:4 the Lord Jesus went on to say, “Abide in Me and I in you.” Then in the Epistles, Christ’s indwelling us is a very great and important truth. Colossians 1:27 says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Romans 8:9 says, “The Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” Here the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are used interchangeably; both refer to Christ in verse 10. Ephesians 3:17 goes on further to say, “That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith.” In these verses abide, dwells, and make...home are different words in Greek. The word abide in the Gospel of John denotes something ordinary. In Romans the word dwells is the verb form of house; it means “to reside” and is more than to abide. Make...home in Ephesians means more than dwell in Romans. The prefix of this word is a preposition of emphasis, kata. The whole word denotes “to be deeply rooted down.” Hence, it is not merely to reside but even more to settle down in a home, to deeply make home. A couple may stay in the home of their relatives or friends, but that is a temporary residing, not a settling down. It is not until they move into their own house that they settle down and deeply make their home there without having to move again.
In Ephesians 3 Paul prayed that the Father would grant us to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home in our hearts through faith (vv. 16-17a). Christ’s making His home in our hearts means that He settles down deeply in our hearts and will never leave. During conferences people come from different places and stay with us only for a while without making their home here. I have been in the Lord’s ministry for fifty years and have always been traveling. During all this time I do not know how many people’s homes I have stayed in, yet I never made my home in any of their homes. It is only when I come back to my own dwelling place that I can make my home there. The Lord Jesus not only dwells in us but also makes His home in our hearts — in our mind, emotion, and will. From this we can see where the mistake of today’s Christianity is. They preach God only as an objective God; they do not preach Him as the subjective God who dwells in us.
The Bible begins with God and man. Genesis 1 tells us that after creating the heavens, the earth, and all things, God created man on the sixth day. He had a particular way in creating man; He created man in His image and according to His likeness. Image and likeness indicate that man was created not only to be exactly like God but also to be a vessel to contain Him. Romans 9 says clearly that we are God’s vessels. We were created not as God’s instruments but as His vessels. A vessel, a container, is not for doing things or for working but for holding something. We may use a glove as an illustration. A glove is made according to the shape and likeness of a hand. Even if you did not know how a glove should be used, as soon as you saw one, you would clearly realize that it was made to contain your hand. A glove is made exactly like a hand for the purpose of containing the hand. Likewise, God created man exactly as He is for the purpose of containing Himself.
Genesis 1:26 speaks of God’s creation of man, and then 2:9 speaks of the tree of life. The former deals with the container, and the latter deals with the content. After the creation of man, God planted a garden eastward in Eden and put man there. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden. Moreover, there was a river flowing out to water the garden, and in the river were gold, pearl, and onyx stone. We can illustrate the purpose of God’s design in creation by a table arrangement. When we have guests coming to visit us at our home, first we arrange the table, then we set a pitcher of water on it, and finally we set the cups out. With one look the guests can readily tell that the cups are for holding the water. Likewise, man was the “cup” created by God, and the tree of life was the “water.” God’s putting man in front of the tree of life indicated that He wanted to be received as life into man as a vessel. The Bible opens with this matter, and as the Bible progresses, it also stresses this matter.
Some people in Christianity today have only a shallow understanding of biblical truths, yet they slander us, accusing us of teaching heresy. A certain group issued a statement declaring that the fundamental doctrines in the Bible are only the words spoken by Jesus Christ to His twelve disciples on the earth; everything else is not fundamental. They speak boldly and confidently as if they have all reason on their side, but in actuality, this exposes their ignorance. Not only has this group made such a statement; some in a major Eastern denomination have also said nearly the same thing. Some among them have said, “We care only for the four Gospels; we do not care for the Epistles.” This shows us that in facing such a situation, the Lord’s recovery is definitely fighting the battle for the truth.
In John 16:12-13 the Lord Jesus clearly said to His disciples, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality.” If the fundamental teachings include only the words spoken by Jesus Christ to His disciples on the earth, would not the Lord’s word here be self-contradicting? The speaking of the Lord Jesus indicates that He had yet many important things that He could not say to His disciples at that time because they could not understand. They had to wait until later when the Spirit of reality would come and tell them. According to the Bible, after the Spirit had come, through whom did He speak? It was mainly through Paul. The New Testament consists of twenty-seven books, and Paul alone wrote fourteen Epistles. If only what Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples on the earth is counted as fundamental teachings while Paul’s fourteen Epistles are not, then the New Testament would be reduced by half and thus be incomplete.
For the sake of defending the truth, we have published a booklet entitled What a Heresy — Two Divine Fathers, Two Life-giving Spirits, and Three Gods! In this booklet we have pointed out that, concerning the Triune God, many Christians care only for traditions; they do not care for the plain, accurate words of the Bible. In order to keep the traditions they even believe in two divine Fathers, two life-giving Spirits, and three Gods. First, Isaiah 9:6 says plainly that the Son is called Eternal Father. Yet some twist this verse by saying that, according to the Hebrew, eternal is not an adjective but a noun; therefore, Eternal Father means “Father of eternity,” just as we say that George Washington is the father of the United States, and Thomas Edison, the father of electricity. Hence, the eternal Father is another Father, they say, not the Father among the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Second, in 1 Corinthians 15:45b Paul says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” The last Adam, who is Christ, became a life-giving Spirit in resurrection. However, some also twist this verse, saying that it refers to a life-giving Spirit, not the Holy Spirit. In other words, in addition to the Holy Spirit, they believe that there is another life-giving Spirit. Third, concerning the truth of the Triune God, they say that the Father is a God, the Son is a God, and the Spirit is a God, and that the three are separate from one another because They are three persons. This shows us that their knowledge of the truth is altogether shallow and even erroneous. Due to their ignorance concerning the truth, they even ask, “How can Christ, who is the great sovereign Master, abide in the believers? How can our body, which is so small, contain Him?” It is evident that these people simply do not know the truth.
In Chinese theology there is the teaching of “three persons but one body.” Generally, people understand this phrase as denoting three persons with only one physical body. In a major Eastern denomination, some display a picture depicting a figure with one body and three heads; this is their so-called Trinity. According to the theological history of earlier days, the Western missionaries, in their translation of theological terminology, created the phrase three persons but one body with the help of their Chinese teachers. However, body does not refer to a physical body but to substance. Hence, three persons but one body should be understood as “three persons but one substance.” Colossians 2:16-17 says that eating, drinking, feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths are all shadows, but the body (substance) is of Christ. This is the proper usage of the word body in the expression three persons but one body. I have the confidence to say this since I have thoroughly studied the Bible and searched through theological history.
There are others who say that teaching people to eat the Lord Jesus is a heresy. However, the teaching concerning eating the Lord Jesus is not my teaching; it was taught by the Lord Himself in John 6:57. He said, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” The translators of the Chinese Mandarin Union Version did not dare to translate this verse literally, so they rendered it as “He who eats My body.” Their basis is that the Lord twice said, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood” (vv. 54, 56), and He also said, “The bread which I will give is My flesh” (v. 51b). However, to render verse 57 as “He who eats My body” creates a problem because it leads people to believe that the Lord’s physical body is edible. They do not see that in verse 63 the Lord explained, saying, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” This means that the Lord does not give His physical body for people to eat, because that profits nothing. What He gives to people is the Spirit who gives life, that is, Himself in resurrection. Not only so, but the Lord’s word in verses 54 and 56, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood,” implies His death. The separation of blood and flesh indicates that the Lord gave His body and shed His blood for us so that we may have eternal life. We have also pointed out that eating the Lord is a figurative way of speaking; it means to receive the Lord into us to be our life supply. This is the true meaning of eating the Lord. Without looking into this matter, however, the opposers are quick to say that eating the Lord is a heresy. Actually, the real heresy is to say that we eat the Lord’s physical body. That is a lie by which Satan deceives people in his operation in Christianity.
We need to see the pure truth in the Word. The Bible shows us that God is triune not for our doctrinal understanding but for our experience and enjoyment. In order to become our experience, the Triune God had to pass through two steps. First, He had to solve the problems in us related to sin, the self, the natural man, the corrupt nature, Satan, the world, and the ordinances. As fallen people, we have been contaminated by these things. We may be compared to a cup that has become dirty and must be cleaned within and without. Since the Triune God desires to come into us to be our enjoyment, He first needed to go through a procedure to accomplish redemption. This step was carried out by the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, after accomplishing redemption, He can come into us. This is the second step of His process.
The teachings taught by many in Christianity today are fragmentary. They teach the Christ who was crucified on the cross but not the Christ who comes into us. They teach that Christ died for us, but they do not teach that Christ lives in us. Christ dying on the cross for us was for redemption, whereas Christ living in us is for being our life. For Christ to solve our problems, He had to be the Redeemer, but for Christ to come into us as our life, He has to be the life-giving Spirit. If Christ were not the Redeemer, He could not solve our problems, but if He were the Redeemer but not the life-giving Spirit, He could not come into us to be our life. Hence, the Bible twice speaks of His “becoming” something. First He became flesh (John 1:14), and then He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b).
John 1 says that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was God, and the Word became flesh to be the Redeemer. This is His first “becoming.” The first step taken by God was to become flesh that He might have blood to shed for solving all our problems, the main one of which is the problem of sin. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” For God to have blood required Him to become flesh. The Lord Jesus was God who became flesh, and in His flesh He was crucified for us on the cross. He said that His blood was poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28). He shed His blood and died, He was buried, and on the third day He was resurrected. Following this, He ascended to the heavens. According to the teaching of certain ones in Christianity, after Christ came down from His throne to redeem us, He returned to His throne and is no longer among us. Nevertheless, the New Testament clearly reveals that in His resurrection Christ, on the one hand, ascended and returned to His throne and, on the other hand, became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). This is the second “becoming,” the second step taken by God.
In Greek the word for became in these two passages of the Bible is an emphatic word; it points to a specific purpose to attain a definite goal. God is a God with an economy, and He has His definite steps to attain a definite goal. God’s becoming flesh was not a small thing but a great thing; it was a definite step taken by God to arrive at a definite goal — on the negative side to redeem us and on the positive side to release His life. Then the incarnated Christ, the last Adam, took another step with a definite purpose; that is, He became the life-giving Spirit in order that He may dispense into us the life that He released, which is Himself.
The Triune God is intimately related to our experience of Christ. Actually, in our proper experience this Christ is the Triune God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” According to the flesh, Christ came out of Israel, out of the tribe of Judah, yet Romans 9:5 says that He “is God over all, blessed forever.” He is man, and He is also God. He is God the Son, and He is also the Triune God, blessed forever. Hebrews 1:8 says, “Of the Son, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.’” This proves that the Son is God, even the God who sits on the throne. God is triune, including the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. When we say that the Son is God, we do not mean that He is merely one-third of God; rather, we mean that He is the Triune God Himself. This is difficult to explain in doctrine but very easy to understand in experience. When we experience the Son, we experience the Triune God. Not only so, in our experience God the Father is the Triune God, and so is God the Spirit. We cannot separate the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. All doctrinal problems regarding the Triune God arise out of our subjective mentality.
Colossians 2:9 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” The fullness of the Godhead, which is the Triune God Himself, dwells in Christ bodily. This means that Christ is the embodied Triune God; the Triune God dwells in Christ in a bodily way. This also means that Christ is the complete Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Hence, Christ is the embodiment of the complete Triune God. This is why we say that, according to the New Testament, our Lord Jesus is the complete Triune God, the entire God.
John 14:9 says, “Jesus said to him, Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Concerning this verse, Christianity has two kinds of explanations. One school says that Christ is the Father, whereas another school says that He is not the Father but only represents the Father. Both sayings are not completely accurate. To say that Christ only represents the Father is a great mistake, and to say that He is the Father is too direct. The accurate way is to say that Christ is the expression of the Father; therefore, when we see Him, we see the Father. This is why this matter is so marvelous and mysterious. When we see the Son, we see the Father because the Son is the expression of the Father.
We cannot separate the Son from the Father. To say that to see the Son is to see the Father means that the Son is here, and the Father is also here. Hence, in verse 10 the Lord went on to say, “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” This indicates that the Lord Jesus is the complete God and that He is also the embodiment of the complete God. The Father is in Him, and He is in the Father. Hence, when we experience Christ, we are fully involved with the Father. This Christ whom we experience has the Father in Him, and He is also in the Father; the two cannot be separated. When we experience and enjoy Christ, we experience and enjoy the Father who is in Christ and in whom Christ is. By this we can see that the Triune God is not for doctrinal debate but for our experience and enjoyment.
Christ is the One who is the embodiment of the complete Triune God, who is inseparable. When we have the Lord Jesus, we have God because Christ is God. At the same time, when we have the Lord Jesus, we have the Father because the Father is in Him, and He is in the Father. Furthermore, since Christ has become the life-giving Spirit in His resurrection, when we have Him, we have the Spirit also. John 3:34 says, “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for He gives the Spirit not by measure.” He whom God has sent is Christ. He has been sent by God not only to speak the words of God to us but also to give us the Spirit not by measure. He can do this because the words that He speaks to us are spirit and are life (6:63). Every word that He speaks to us is spirit; hence, He gives us the Spirit not by measure. If we want to receive the Spirit given by Him, we must listen to His words. This indicates that the Spirit is Christ Himself. Hence, when we experience Christ, we experience the Triune God; when we experience Christ, we experience the Father and the Spirit.
John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, 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.” This verse tells us that the Father and the Son will make an abode in the believers. Verses 25 and 26 continue to say, “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you; but the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things.” Verse 26 mentions the Father and the Son, and it also speaks of the Father’s sending the Holy Spirit in the Son’s name. This means that when we experience the Son, we experience the Father and the Spirit simultaneously. In our experience the three — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — are one. Unfortunately, under the influence of the traditional theology of Christianity, many people today consider that when they experience Christ, they experience only the Son without involving either the Father or the Spirit. However, if our experience does not involve the Triune God, it is not the genuine experience of Christ. The Bible clearly reveals that Christ is intrinsically involved with the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Christ does not come alone; He comes with the Father. Furthermore, the Father sends not only Christ but also the Spirit in the name of the Son. Anyone who knows the Bible realizes that a name denotes a person. Hence, the name of the Son denotes the person of the Son. The Father sending the Spirit in the Son’s name means that the Father sends the Spirit in the Son.
John 15:26 says, “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” In Greek the sense of from the Father is that the Spirit of reality, who is sent by the Son, comes not only from the Father but also with the Father. John 14:26 says that the Father sends the Spirit in the Son, and 15:26 says that the Son sends the Spirit from the Father, and when the Spirit comes, He comes with the Father. When we put these two verses together, we see clearly that when the Spirit comes, the Father does not remain in heaven but comes with the Spirit; moreover, the Father does not come alone, but He comes in the Son. This proves that the Son also comes with the Father. This shows us that when Christ comes, the Triune God comes. When we experience Christ, we experience the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Today’s problem lies in the fact that we often have preconceived ideas concerning the truth. Due to our subjectivity, we may not enter into the revelation of the Bible, even though we have read it many times. We need to be poor in spirit and ask the Lord to open the eyes of our heart so that we can see clearly that the Triune God is inseparable in our experience.
When the Spirit comes, the Triune God comes. The Spirit does not come alone and leave the Father in heaven. John 15:26 says that the Spirit comes from the Father and with the Father. The Father is the source, and when the Spirit comes from the source, He does not leave the source but comes with the source. Similarly, 14:10 says that the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. Hence, when the Father comes, He does not leave the Son but comes in the Son. Furthermore, verse 26 says that the Father sends the Spirit in the Son’s name, that is, in the Son’s person. Since the Son and the Father are one (10:30) and They coinhere mutually, the Holy Spirit who is sent comes not only from the Father but also from the Son, and He comes with the Father and with the Son. This proves that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one God, the Triune God, who reaches us to dispense Himself into us as our life and all our supply. Today Christian theology has completely separated the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. This is due to the lack of knowledge concerning the Divine Trinity. Actually, it is not possible for us to experience the Son without also experiencing the Father and the Spirit. The Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — cannot and should not be separated.
We have seen that in order to be experienced by us, the Triune God needed to pass through two steps. The first step was the Son’s redemption, and the second step is the Spirit’s application. Hence, Ephesians 2:18 says, “Through Him [the Son] we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.” It is impossible to be through the Son but not have access unto the Father. It is also impossible to be through the Son and have access unto the Father but not be in the Spirit. This indicates that if we experience Christ, this will result in our being brought into the experience and enjoyment of the Triune God. If we want to experience the Triune God, we need to experience Christ. Hence, we teach the truth concerning the Trinity not for us to debate with others but for our subjective experience. We all need to have our eyes opened to see that only when we experience the Triune God can we have the real experience of Christ. Our Christ today is not only Christ the Son. He is the all-inclusive Christ, and He is the Triune God.
John 14 says that the Father sends the Spirit in the Son, and chapter 15 says that the Son sends the Spirit from the Father and with the Father. John wrote both the Gospel of John and Revelation, and Revelation 22:17 speaks of the Spirit and the bride. The Spirit is one with the bride, the church. Since verse 17 is at the conclusion of the entire New Testament, the Spirit here refers not merely to the Holy Spirit but to the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God. In the Spirit are the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. When the Spirit comes, the Triune God comes. This is the conclusion of our many years’ study of the Word.
For us to experience Christ we need to see that Christ has become the life-giving Spirit in His resurrection. First Corinthians 15:45b says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Here became indicates a process with many things involved. If we link this verse with John 14:26 and 15:26, we can see that the life-giving Spirit is the Spirit who is sent by the Father in the Son and who is also sent by the Son from the Father and with the Father. Furthermore, the Son and the Father come with the Spirit. Therefore, became refers not only to the Son’s becoming the Spirit through His death and resurrection but also to the Father’s sending the Spirit in the Son and the Son’s sending the Spirit from the Father and with the Father.
The Lord Jesus was the Word who became flesh. Since the Word was God, the Word’s becoming flesh was God’s becoming flesh. The procedure of God’s becoming flesh was that He entered into Mary’s womb, being conceived of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:20). The man Jesus was God becoming flesh with the divine essence and the human essence; hence, He is both God and man. This is truly a mystery. In incarnation it was God who became flesh, yet He who was born was the Son, whose name was Emmanuel, that is, God with us. Therefore, the Son is God, even the Triune God. This shows us that incarnation involved the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In the two “becomings” of the Triune God — His becoming flesh and His becoming the life-giving Spirit — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all went through a process. For this reason we say that we cannot experience Christ without involving the Father and the Spirit.
Because Christ is the life-giving Spirit, He can enter into us. But which part of our being does He enter? To be sure, it is not our mind. The most our mind can do is help us to apprehend Christ, but it cannot contain Christ. Second Timothy 4:22 says, “The Lord be with your spirit.” The Lord is the life-giving Spirit, and we have a regenerated spirit within us. Today the Lord as the life-giving Spirit enters into our regenerated spirit to be one with us. Hence, in order to experience Christ we need to exercise our spirit. There may be a table spread with an abundance of food and drink, but unless we eat and drink, all the abundance has nothing to do with us. If we want to enjoy the rich food on the table, we need to open our mouth to eat and drink. Likewise, Christ our Lord is the One who is God over all, blessed forever. He is God who became flesh to be our Redeemer, and He is the all-inclusive One. However, if He were only on the throne, He would have nothing to do with us. Thank the Lord, today He is the life-giving Spirit, and we also have a spirit within that can contact and receive Him. Hence, by exercising our spirit we can obtain Him, receive Him, and enjoy Him. When we experience Him, at the same time we also experience the Father and the Spirit who are in Him. Hence, we experience the Triune God.
In John 20:22 the Lord appeared to His disciples on the evening of the day of His resurrection, and He breathed into them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This was the Spirit as the Comforter whom the Lord had promised in chapters 14 and 15. After the Lord promised His disciples in those two chapters, He indicated that He would go to die, be buried, and come back in resurrection. Through His death and resurrection the Lord became the life-giving Spirit, and on the evening of the day of His resurrection He came to His disciples to breathe Himself into them to be their life and everything for the fulfillment of His promise. Likewise, He is in us today as the life-giving Spirit. Simply by exercising our spirit we can experience Him subjectively.
All the aforementioned matters are related to the essential aspect of the Triune God, concerning His being and His person. The person of God is what Christ is; this is the essential aspect. The Divine Trinity has another aspect, which is the economical aspect. According to the essential aspect, when the Son died on the cross, the Father in Him also passed through death with Him (Acts 20:28b), and the Spirit in Him also participated with Him in crucifixion (Heb. 9:14). However, according to the economical aspect, it is the Son who died on the cross for us to accomplish God’s purpose. The Father planned, the Son worked to accomplish God’s plan, and the Spirit applies what the Son accomplished. At the Lord’s table, as the Son’s redeemed ones, we first remember the Son and then worship the Father under the leading of the Son. Therefore, what the Lord’s table involves is not mainly the essential aspect but the economical aspect of the Divine Trinity.
All the things mentioned above are crucial and profound truths in the Holy Scriptures. The Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father; this is the essential aspect of the Divine Trinity. On the other hand, the Gospels show us repeatedly that the Son prayed to the Father and even lifted His eyes to heaven while praying (John 11:41; 17:1); this is the economical aspect of the Divine Trinity. If there were only the essential aspect of the Father’s being in the Son and the Son’s being in the Father, the two could speak intimately together without the Son praying to the Father. Since the two coinhere and therefore are one, why did the Son still need to pray to the Father by lifting up His eyes to heaven? This shows that there is definitely another aspect, which is the economical aspect.
Furthermore, the Lord Jesus was conceived and born through the Holy Spirit’s entering into Mary’s womb. Hence, the Holy Spirit is the essence of what He is (Matt. 1:20). The man Jesus not only had the human essence; He also had the Holy Spirit in Him as His divine essence. Hence, He is a God-man. However, when He was being baptized in the Jordan River, why did the Holy Spirit descend upon Him like a dove (3:16)? He was born of the Holy Spirit so that He had the element of the Holy Spirit within Him (Luke 1:35); this is a matter of essence. But the Holy Spirit’s descending upon Him in His baptism was as His power for His ministry; this is a matter of economy. The essential aspect concerns His inward being, whereas the economical aspect concerns His outward power. At the birth of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit was within Him as His divine being, and when He was baptized to carry out His ministry for God, the same Spirit still had to descend upon Him outwardly to be His power. The same Spirit was first within Him as the Spirit of life and then upon Him outwardly as the Spirit of power. Likewise, when we were regenerated, we received the Spirit of life. Then when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and have the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we receive the Spirit of power. The Spirit of life within is the essential aspect, whereas the Spirit of power without is the economical aspect.
We already have the Spirit within us essentially, but we still need to exercise our spirit daily and pray unceasingly so that we may receive power economically. First Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Unceasingly pray.” Many people, having a wrong concept, wonder how they can possibly have so many things to pray for unceasingly. Actually, prayer is our spiritual breathing for exercising our spirit to enjoy the Lord. We do not breathe only when we have problems and stop breathing when we have no problems. Likewise, we do not pray only when we have problems. Rather, we contact the Lord all the time. This Lord is the Triune God who is in us as the Spirit. When we pray and exercise our spirit, we touch the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — and we receive the life supply. In our experience these three are inseparable. This is the truth concerning the Divine Trinity. We need to experience this truth richly and subjectively and bear a strong testimony for it.
