Scripture Reading: John 14:7-15
In the foregoing chapter we emphasized the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son, is the way to the Father (14:6). We used flying on a jumbo jet as an illustration of the Lord as the way into God, saying that “Jumbo Jesus” is the way to the Father. Simply by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus we are brought by Him and in Him to the Father. After that message was given, a Chinese lady, who had been invited to the meeting by a friend, told us how she experienced Christ as the way to the Father. Before the meeting, she was an unbeliever. But as a result of the meeting, she believed in the Lord and called on His name. She testified that by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus she was immediately brought into the Father. She also said that this was much faster than any jumbo jet. I appreciated her testimony very much.
No matter how fast a jumbo jet may go, it still must travel a certain distance before it brings you to your destination. However, our “Jumbo Jesus” does not have to take us any distance at all, for He is both the way and the destination. This means that when we get into Him as the way, we arrive at the Father as our destination, because the Son is one with the Father. Therefore, to be in the Son is also to be in the Father. Once we are in Christ Jesus, there is no longer any distance between us and God. Hallelujah, because we are in Christ we are immediately brought into the Father! We in the Lord’s recovery can testify that this is not a mere doctrine — it is a spiritual fact. From experience we can testify that when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we are immediately in the Triune God in an experiential way. The Lord Jesus is the way for us to enter into God.
Thus far, we have covered three signs found in chapters 14 through 17 of the Gospel of John: the sign of the Father’s house, the sign of the Son’s going and coming, and the sign of the way, the reality, and the life. With this chapter we will begin to consider the fourth sign in these chapters — the sign of the Divine Trinity, which is for the dispensing of the Triune God.
Many Christians treasure chapters 14 through 17 of John’s Gospel. But many readers have not seen that these chapters actually are on the Divine Trinity. Of course, the entire Bible reveals the Triune God. Our God is triune: He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Although this revelation is found in the Bible as a whole, no other portion of the Word reveals the Triune God as fully as these four chapters do. As one who has been studying John 14 through 17 for more than fifty years, I can say that these chapters are deep, profound, and mysterious, far beyond our ability to understand fully. After years of study and experience I can say that these four chapters certainly are concerned with the Triune God. From God’s side, these chapters reveal how the Triune God dispenses Himself into the believers. From our side, these chapters reveal the way for us to enter into the Triune God, enjoy Him, experience Him, and possess Him. On the one hand, the Triune God is dispensing Himself into us; on the other hand, we may enter into Him, experience Him, enjoy Him, and possess Him.
Because chapters 14 through 17 of the Gospel of John reveal the Triune God both from the aspect of His dispensing Himself into us and from the aspect of our experience of Him, these chapters are extremely crucial. The most vital point in these chapters concerns the Triune God Himself. Through my study I have found ten matters related to the Father, seventeen matters related to the Son, and eleven matters related to the Spirit. After giving a preliminary word in this chapter, we will go on to consider in the chapters following all the points related to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. As we will see, these matters will require much further study.
Throughout the centuries theologians have been studying the Triune God, and there have been many debates concerning the Trinity of the Godhead. Not many Christians have realized that the Divine Trinity is not for doctrine but for our experience. As we have seen, the Trinity is for the dispensing of the Triune God into us. However, if we regard the Trinity merely as a doctrine, we will have difficulty, because no one can adequately define the Trinity in a doctrinal way.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament tell us that God is uniquely one (Deut. 4:35, 39; Psa. 86:10; 1 Cor. 8:4; 1 Tim. 2:5). Beside Him, there is no other God. Although God is unique, He is triune — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. There is no doubt that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three. In the Gospels the Son prayed to the Father, the Father spoke to the Son, and the Father sent the Spirit to be upon the Son. It is not possible for us to explain doctrinally how God can be one and yet three. Our mind is too limited for this. We simply are not able to analyze the person of the Godhead; we are not able to explain how He is three yet still one.
Our God is triune. This is a Latin word composed of two words: tri-, meaning “three,” and -une, meaning “one.” Hence, to say that God is triune is to say that He is three-one. The Triune God is the three-one God. In the natural mind we may think of either one or three, but we do not have the thought of three-one. However, in the divine concept there is the matter of God’s being three-one. This expression three-one is better than three-in-one. According to the Bible, we should simply believe the fact that God is three-one. He is one — the unique God, yet He is three — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The name of God as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit was not made clear until after the Lord’s resurrection. According to Matthew 28:19, after His resurrection the Lord came to His disciples and said to them, “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 we see that there is one name, yet it is the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Spirit. This is a three-one name. After His resurrection the Lord charged His disciples to baptize people into the three-one name: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps you are wondering why before Christ’s resurrection the divine revelation does not clearly indicate that God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In the Old Testament plural pronouns are used with respect to God. For example, Genesis 1:26 says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” The pronouns Us and Our indicate that the unique God is triune. If God were not triune, how could Genesis 1:26 refer to Him as “Us” and “Our”? Elsewhere in the Old Testament there are indications that God is one and yet three. Consider Isaiah 6:8: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” In this verse the pronouns I and Us are used for God. This is an indication that God is three-one.
Chapters 14, 15, and 16 of John are one long discourse followed by a lengthy prayer recorded in chapter 17. These four chapters speak of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Although much is said in these chapters concerning the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, nothing is as clear as Matthew 28:19. In this one verse the Lord spoke explicitly concerning the three of the Godhead, telling the disciples to baptize the nations into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This word is brief, but it is definite and crystal clear. If we compare this verse with what is recorded in the other Gospels and in the Old Testament, we will see that it was only when the Lord had entered into resurrection that the three of the Godhead — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — were clearly revealed.
Now we come to a very important matter that requires careful attention. Before the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the Trinity was not completed. I do not say that the Trinity was not perfect or that the Trinity was not complete. I am saying that the Trinity was not completed before Christ’s resurrection. Some may be bothered by such a statement and say, “Isn’t God eternally complete? How, then, can you say that the Trinity was not completed until after the resurrection of Christ?” To such questions we would reply that, on the one hand, God is complete. But, on the other hand, before the Lord’s resurrection His Trinity was not completed. To be complete is one thing, and to be completed is another thing.
Let us try to give an illustration of the difference between being complete and being completed. In this illustration we may refer to a recently finished meeting hall. Suppose you were to ask the brothers if their meeting hall is complete. In their answer, the brothers should say, “Yes, according to the blueprint, our meeting hall is complete. This building has everything we need. However, according to the building process, the meeting hall has not yet been completed. We plan to have a complete building, but the entire building has not yet been completed, for certain parts of the building still need more work.” We may say, then, that there is a complete building but not yet a completed building.
In the Gospel of John there is a verse that points out that, before the resurrection of Christ, the Trinity was complete but not completed. John 7:39 says, “This He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” What does it mean to say that “the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified”? In chapter 7 of John, the Lord Jesus was still in the flesh; He was not yet in glory, that is, not yet in resurrection. Because He was not yet resurrected, the Spirit was not yet. Of course, the Spirit of God existed from the very beginning (Gen. 1:1-2), but the Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9), and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19), was “not yet” until the Lord was glorified in resurrection. After His resurrection the Spirit of God became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Jesus Christ. This involves the matter of process.
In Genesis 1:2 we have the Spirit of God. The only element in the Spirit of God was the divine essence. But after the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit became the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. When the Spirit of God was just the Spirit of God, the only element in the Spirit was the divine essence. But when the Spirit of God became the Spirit of Jesus, the essence of humanity was added.
Let us use tea as an illustration of how the essence of humanity has been added to the Spirit of God so that this Spirit is now the Spirit of Jesus. In order to make tea, a tea bag is placed in water. We may say that the result is tea-water. Suppose milk and sugar are now added to this cup of tea. First, there was plain water. Then after the tea was added, there was tea-water. After milk and sugar are added, we have milk-sugar-tea-water. In a similar way, with the Spirit of God we have only the divine essence. But the Spirit has become the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This means that other elements — humanity, crucifixion, and resurrection — have been added to the Spirit of God. Before the Lord’s resurrection, this Spirit, the Spirit including humanity, crucifixion, and resurrection, was not yet. We may say that the Spirit, although complete, was not yet completed. But after Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit was completed. Then the Spirit of God became the all-inclusive Spirit. This all-inclusive Spirit includes divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection.
We need to see that the only element in the Spirit of God was divinity. But when the Spirit of God became the Spirit of Jesus Christ, other elements were added to the Spirit of God. The Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus Christ now includes the elements of divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Now that the Spirit includes these elements, we may say that the Spirit has been completed.
Suppose you ask for a cup of tea with milk and sugar. If you are served a cup of tea without milk and sugar, you would say that your cup of tea has not been completed. But when you add milk and sugar to the tea, your drink will be completed, for the necessary elements have been added to it. This is an illustration of the Spirit becoming completed. Just as the drink you requested was not yet, because milk and sugar had not been added to it, so the Spirit was not yet until Christ had been resurrected and the necessary elements of crucifixion and resurrection had been added to the Spirit. Today we cannot say that the Spirit is “not yet,” because the Spirit has been completed.
Although the Trinity was complete, one of the three — the Spirit — was not completed before the Lord’s resurrection. Because the Spirit was not completed, the Spirit was not yet until the Lord was glorified. When the Lord Jesus was glorified, the element of resurrection was added to the Spirit. Then the Spirit was completed. Now the Spirit is not only complete — the Spirit is also completed. Therefore, after His resurrection the Lord Jesus could speak clearly and definitely concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We have seen that before Christ’s resurrection the Spirit was not completed. Now we need to see that the Son also was not completed before resurrection. Do you think that the Son was completed before incarnation? The Son could not have been completed before incarnation because it was necessary for the completed Son to have not only divinity but also humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Therefore, in order to be completed, the Son had to pass through the process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection.
As a result of going through this process, the only begotten Son (John 3:16) became the firstborn Son (Rom. 8:29). Before incarnation there was not the element of humanity in the only begotten Son. Of course, neither were the elements of human living, crucifixion, and resurrection in the only begotten Son before His incarnation. Instead, there was only the element of divinity in Him. But now that the only begotten Son has become the firstborn Son of God, the firstborn Son includes divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. This is the completed Son.
Because it was necessary for both the Son and the Spirit to be completed, before His resurrection the Lord Jesus did not speak a clear word to His disciples concerning the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. But after His resurrection He could tell His disciples to baptize people into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. After the Lord’s resurrection the Father is complete, and both the Son and the Spirit have been completed.
In chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the Gospel of John, the Son still had not been completed. At that time He was in the flesh; He had not yet been crucified and entered into resurrection. Furthermore, the Spirit had not yet been completed. But in Matthew 28:19, after Christ’s resurrection, the Son and the Spirit are not only complete but also completed.
Although the Son and the Spirit have been completed, the Father did not need any completion. The Father remains the same because He is the source, and the source does not need completion. The Son, however, needed completion. In the first stage He was God’s only begotten Son. In the last stage He has become the firstborn Son of God. For the only begotten Son to become the firstborn Son there was the need of completion, the need of a process. This process includes incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. After passing through incarnation, human living, and crucifixion, He entered into resurrection. Now in resurrection He is not merely the only begotten Son; He is the Firstborn among many sons. As we have pointed out, this firstborn Son of God includes divinity, humanity, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. Now He is not only complete — He is completed. Hallelujah for the complete and completed Son of God!
Through the process by which He was completed, the only begotten Son not only became the firstborn Son of God but also became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). To God, He became the Firstborn; to us, He became the life-giving Spirit. This firstborn Son of God, who is the life-giving Spirit, is now our way to the Father. He is the “jumbo jet” that brings us to the Father. When we contact the life-giving Spirit, we are in the Son as the way, and immediately we are in the Father. The life-giving Spirit is the firstborn Son of God, and the Son is one with the Father. Therefore, when we contact the life-giving Spirit, we are in the Son, and by being in the Son we are in the Father.
