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This chapter is the continuation of the previous one.
Some may wonder how, if the Son and the Father are one, the Son can pray to the Father. For example, the Son prayed to the Father when He was in Gethsemane. How could the Son do this if He is the Father? In this regard, let us consider Genesis 31. Verse 11 says, “The Angel of God said to me in the dream, Jacob; and I said, Here I am.” In verse 13 the Angel of God said, “I am the God of Bethel.” Is He the Angel of God or God Himself? We simply cannot explain it. Moreover, Exodus 3:2 says, “The Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thornbush.” In verse 6 of this chapter the Angel of Jehovah said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” He is the Triune God. All fundamental Christian teachers agree that the Angel of Jehovah was the Lord Jesus in Old Testament times. According to traditional theology, the Lord Jesus is only the second of the three in the Godhead. But here we see that the Angel of Jehovah is the Triune God. He is not only the second of the Triune God but the first, the second, and the last. In Exodus 3 we have four—the Angel of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Are these four or one? You may say that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is just one God. Then, at least we have two things here—the Angel of Jehovah and God. Are these two or one? How would you reconcile this? Do not try to reconcile it, but simply accept the fact.
Let us also turn to Zechariah 2:8-11: “Thus says Jehovah of hosts, After the glory He has sent Me...for he who touches you touches the pupil of His eye...I am now waving My hand over them,...and you will know that Jehovah of hosts has sent Me...I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst, declares Jehovah...And you will know that Jehovah of hosts has sent Me to you.” This word is spoken by “Jehovah of hosts” (v. 8). But in this passage Jehovah of hosts said, “Jehovah of hosts has sent Me” (vv. 9, 11). The “Me” in verse 8 refers to Jehovah of hosts, but who is the “He” who sent Jehovah of hosts? Furthermore, in verse 8 Jehovah of hosts mentioned “His eye.” Whose eye is this? Please explain it to me. The “I” in verse 9 refers to Jehovah of hosts because this is the word of Jehovah of hosts. However, this verse ends with the words “Jehovah of hosts has sent Me.” This means that Jehovah of hosts sent Jehovah of hosts. Jehovah of hosts is “He,” and Jehovah of hosts is “I.” Hence, Jehovah of hosts is both the Sender and the sent One. How do you explain this? If Jehovah of hosts could send Jehovah of hosts, the One being both the Sender and the sent One, then why cannot the One be both the praying One and the hearing One? In one of his books, Andrew Murray says that the best prayer is the prayer of the Christ who dwells within us to the Christ who sits on the throne. Christ prays to Christ. In this verse it is clear that the same One is both the Sender and the sent One. This is the pure revelation of the Bible, and there is no need for us to try to figure it out.
There are a great many things that we do not understand. Where is your spirit, and where is your soul? If you cannot even figure out your inward parts, how do you expect to figure out the infinite, marvelous, wonderful Triune God? When you get onto the campuses, you may meet some critics who will only tell you one side of the story, and that side is not even the best side. It is the traditional side, not the side of the pure revelation. My burden is to present to people the pure word of the Bible. If they would oppose this and suffer loss, the responsibility is theirs, not mine. Whether they believe this or not is up to them.
We have seen that all the truths in the Bible have two sides. This is all the more true with respect to the Triune God. The Triune God has the side of the three being one and the side of the one being three. There is no need to reconcile them. If you look at the back of my head, there are no holes. But if you look at the front of my head, you will see seven holes. Some may say, “Seven holes,” and others may say, “No holes.” Both are right, but both are unbalanced. We should not forget either the front or the back. Rather, we must stand at the center and be balanced. We believe both aspects of the Trinity. From the side of one, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. Some may slander me by saying that this is unitarianism or the concept of “Jesus only.” I do not care for unitarianism or for “Jesus only,” I only care for what the Bible says. Poor Christianity has many vain doctrines but very little experience. Although we take the side of one, we also stand strongly with the side of three, believing that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all eternal and that They all exist at the same time. This is truly coinherence.
Throughout the centuries many great teachers have attempted to reconcile the two aspects of the Triune God. In doing so, they have invented certain terms. For example, they invented the term person and spoke of the three persons of the one God. Humanly speaking, as a convenience in explaining the Trinity, we may temporarily borrow this term. But we should not stress it. It is illogical to speak of the three persons of the one God. Let us see what Augustine has to say on this matter. Augustine was accused of being a modalist because he was unable to find human language to adequately express the mystery of the Triune God. Augustine said,
Our Greek friends have spoken of one essence, three substances, but the Latins have one essence or substance, three Persons...provided that what is said is understood only in mystery, such a way of speaking was sufficient...We say three Persons, then why do we not also say three Gods? Or else, on account of their ineffable union these three are together one God, why not also one Person; so that we could not say three Persons, although we call each a Person singly, just as we can not say three Gods, although we call each singly God, whether the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit? Is it because Scripture does not say three Gods? But neither do we find that Scripture anywhere mentions three Persons.
The term three Persons does not exist in the Scripture but is added by men in their interpretation. Since they cannot say that the three—the Father, Son, and Spirit—are three Gods, what else can they say? So the designation three Persons is used. Actually, to use the designation three Persons to explain the Father, Son, and Spirit is also not quite satisfactory, because three Persons really means three persons. Therefore, Griffith Thomas, famous for his exposition on the book of Romans and for being one of the founders of Dallas Theological Seminary, says in his book The Principles of Theology,
The term “Person” is also sometimes objected to. Like all human language, it is liable to be accused of inadequacy and even positive error. It certainly must not be pressed too far, or it will lead to Tritheism...While we are compelled to use terms like “substance” and “Person,” we are not to think of them as identical with what we understand as human substance and personality...The truth and experience of the Trinity is not dependent upon the theological terminology.
The terms such as substance, essence, subsistence, and person were all invented for, or adapted to, theological usage. Very few English-speaking people are familiar with these terms. These terms are used because, as Griffith Thomas says, we do not have language adequate to explain the mystery of the Trinity. However, the more terms you invent, the more trouble you will have. Not long ago, I read a mimeographed article written against us by some opposers. On one page, this article says that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three separate and distinct persons in the nature of one God. Toward the end, the article says that these three persons should not be made so separate that They become three Gods. I laughed when I read this. The writer of this article cannot reconcile his own words. On one page he says that the Father, Son, and Spirit are three separate and distinct persons, but on another page he says that we should not make Them “too separate.” How separate is “too separate”? To what extent are the three persons separate? As you separate the three, you will have three Gods. The manner of speaking employed in this article causes entanglements. It is better to adopt the attitude taken by Martin Luther, who said,
Those who neglect the Scripture and approach such questions with confidence in their own mental power are the teachers of God, not His pupils...If reason disturbs you here and questions arise like those of the Turks: Are there, then, two gods? Answer: There is only one God, and still there is the Father, and the Son. How is this possible? Respond with humility: I do not know.
As much as possible, we should avoid words such as person, substance, essence, subsistence, and hypostases. Do you understand the word hypostases adequately? Some say that it means “persons,” but this is their interpretation. Hypostases is an ancient Greek word denoting the elements that constitute a philosophy. Hence, hypostases actually means “substances.” Some of the early teachers, in their attempt to define the Trinity, borrowed this term and said that within the Trinity there were three elements or hypostases. But if you trace the history of language, you will see that hypostases does not refer to persons. This is the theologians’ interpretation to match their concept. Hence, do not bring in this term, for it will just cause trouble. Rather, simply say, “Hallelujah, our God is triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.” Isaiah 9:6 says that the Son is the Father, and 2 Corinthians 3:17 says that the Lord is the Spirit. According to our experience, if we have the Son, we have the Father, and if we call on the name of the Lord, we receive the Spirit. Today the Lord surely indwells us as the life-giving Spirit. It is sufficient to say this much. There is no need to argue for any doctrine. However, many only care for traditional knowledge and doctrine, not for their experience or for the pure word of the Bible.
First John 3:24 says, “He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.” Abides in Him means to abide in God, and He in him means that God abides in us. The remainder of this verse says, “And in this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave to us.” There is no doctrine in this verse. Rather, it is altogether related to our experience of God. The experience of God can be so deep and subjective that we abide in God. It is not merely a matter of knowing God or of speaking about God; it is absolutely a matter of abiding in Him. This concept is unreligious. In no religion do you find a word saying that we can abide in God. To say that we know God, worship God, serve God, consecrate to God, sacrifice for God—all this is possible according to the human religious concept. Man does have the concept of serving God, worshipping God, doing things for God, being zealous for God, loving God, living in the presence of God, and speaking with God face to face. But, besides the New Testament revelation, there is no human word saying that we can abide in God. This concept is revolutionary. Man can abide in the Divine Being, the creature can abide in the Creator and, in turn, the Creator can abide in the creature. It is not merely that the Creator loves us and takes care of us. This concept can be found in the realm of human, religious thought. But whoever thought that we fallen human beings could abide in God and that God could abide in us? This is a great matter. How do we know that we abide in Him and that He abides in us? This verse says that we know it by the Spirit whom He gave to us. Notice that it does not say, “He will give us,” but, “He gave to us.”
Let us now turn to 1 John 2:23. This verse says, “Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who confesses the Son has the Father also.” According to this verse, if you reject the Son, you do not have the Father. If the Father and the Son are not one, then why would we not have the Father if we reject the Son? This also is not a doctrine but something realized by experience. This verse does not say, “If you reject the Son, the Son is gone.” Why does it not say this? Because the Son brings us the Father, just as the child brings us God. Therefore, when you reject the Son, you lose the Father. This verse also says, “He who confesses the Son has the Father also.” This is a strong proof that the Son is the Father. Otherwise, why do you have the Father by confessing the Son? The Son’s being the Son is for us to experience the Father and to gain Him for our enjoyment.
First John 2:20 says that we have an anointing from the Holy One, and 1 John 2:27 says, “The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you.” The anointing is not a thing; it is an action. We know that this anointing is something living and acting because it teaches us. From all these verses in 1 John, we see three main things: that we abide in God and that God abides in us; that if we confess the Son, we have the Father; and that there is an action called the anointing abiding in us to teach us. The ointment is moving, acting, and doing things within us. We not only have the ointment; we also have the anointing.
Unless we have experience, it is difficult to know the Bible. Why does the first Epistle of John, which speaks of our abiding in God and God’s abiding in us, use the word anointing in chapter 2? The Spirit’s intention was certainly to refer us to the ointment mentioned in the Old Testament. In order to understand the writings of John, you must refer to the Old Testament. For example, John 1:29 speaks of the Lamb of God. In order to understand this, you should not go to Webster’s dictionary but to the Old Testament, which is the proper lexicon to use in understanding the terms found in the New Testament, especially those used by John. In his first Epistle he employs the word anointing. The Old Testament definition of this term is in Exodus 30.
In Exodus 30:22-25 Moses was told to take four of the finest spices—myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia—and add them to a hin of olive oil to make a holy anointing oil. Verses 25 and 26 say, “It shall be a holy anointing oil. And with it you shall anoint the Tent of Meeting.” All the furnishings and utensils in the tabernacle were to be anointed with this holy anointing oil (vv. 26-29). Whoever touched these anointed furnishings and utensils would be made holy (v. 29). Furthermore, Moses was told to anoint Aaron and his sons so that they might serve the Lord as priests (v. 30). In this chapter is the source of the word anointing used by John.
This anointing oil is a compound of five elements. The basic element is the olive oil. All Bible scholars agree that, in typology, olive oil signifies the Spirit of God. In the original olive oil there were no spices; it was purely oil with nothing compounded into it. This indicates that the Spirit of God was merely, purely, and singly the Spirit of God and that nothing yet had been added to it. But Moses was told to add four spices to the olive oil. This indicates that some things have been added into the Spirit of God. After the Spirit of God had been thus compounded, it was no longer merely or singly the Spirit of God. Four elements, represented by the four spices, have been added into the unique Spirit of God. This means that something of God’s creature—signified by the number four—has been added into the Spirit of God. Something of God’s creature has been compounded into God the Spirit.
Four items were compounded into the one olive oil. The number one always denotes the unique God, and the number four symbolizes God’s creature. Thus, this oil compound signifies that humanity, God’s creature, has been compounded into God to make the number five. The number five signifies responsibility. Consider the four fingers and thumb on your hand. Why do you have four fingers and a thumb? You have them for bearing responsibility. The four fingers signify humanity, and the thumb signifies the unique God. The four fingers need the thumb, and the thumb needs the four fingers. Likewise, we need God and God needs us. We may tell Him, “O Lord God, without us, You are lacking something.” And, of course, without Him, we are lacking. How we creatures need God! When we have Him, we have four plus one.
The amount of myrrh was five hundred shekels (v. 23). The number five hundred is composed of one hundred times five. Both the cinnamon and the calamus, however, are two hundred fifty shekels in amount, and cassia, like myrrh, is five hundred shekels. The cinnamon and the calamus, each being only half a unit, together make a complete unit. Therefore, these four spices are actually three units. In biblical numbers, three signifies the Triune God. Among the Triune God, the second was split on the cross. Here we have three times a hundred multiplied by five. This indicates intensified responsibility.
In the Bible myrrh signifies the sweetness of the death of Christ. It is a symbol of the precious, lovable death of Christ. Unlike the death of any other human being, the death of the Lord Jesus is lovable and sweet. But, as the myrrh signifies, the sweetness of His death comes out of His suffering.
What does cinnamon signify? Cinnamon is a spice that gives a sweet savor to cooked food. Thus, cinnamon is the sweet flavor of the effectiveness of the Lord’s death. Myrrh is the sweet death, and cinnamon is the death used as a spice. Cinnamon is added to our “cooking,” that is, to our life. If in our daily life and walk we do not have the Lord’s death added in, it will be bitter. There will be no flavor to our daily living. If the flavor of the Lord’s death is not added to our living, our conversation with our wives or with the brothers and sisters will be bitter. We need cinnamon, the flavor of the Lord’s death.
Calamus is a reed that sprouts out of the mud into the air. Undoubtedly, this signifies the Lord’s resurrection. Thus, we have the sweetness of the Lord’s death and the flavor of His resurrection. In whatever we do and say in our daily living, we must have the flavor of the Lord’s death and the sweetness of His resurrection added to it.
Cassia signifies the flavor of the power of the Lord’s resurrection. The power of the Lord’s resurrection is also added into the Holy Spirit. All these four elements have been compounded with the Holy Spirit. Hence, the Holy Spirit today is not the mere single Spirit; He is now a compound of divinity and other elements compounded together as one unit.
Today the Holy Spirit is the compound Spirit. This enables us to understand John 7:37-39. We need to quote these verses: “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But 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.” The Spirit mentioned in these verses is the compound Spirit. The Spirit of God was there from the very beginning (Gen. 1:1-2), but the compounded Spirit “was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” This means that at that time Jesus had not been crucified and resurrected and had not ascended to the heavens. He had not yet been glorified. It was not until Jesus had been crucified and resurrected and had ascended to the heavens that the compounding of the anointing oil was accomplished. Since Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit has been the compound Spirit.
What is included in this compound Spirit? Everything is here. The compound Spirit includes the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In the compound Spirit we have the number one, the Creator, and the number four, the creature. This Spirit also includes Christ’s death and resurrection. It contains the effectiveness of the death of Christ and the power of the resurrection of Christ. Recall that the measures of the cinnamon and the calamus denote the splitting of the second of the Triune God on the cross. How much is contained in the compound Spirit: the divine nature, the human nature, the Creator, the creature, the Triune God, death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification!
God is wise. If He merely taught us about this, it would be difficult for Him to explain it. Everybody knows that a picture is better than a thousand words. How much easier it is, for example, to look at my head than to describe it in writing. Likewise, due to our weakness, it is difficult for God to tell us what the compound Spirit is. Therefore, in His wisdom He used the picture, the symbol, of the anointing oil in Exodus 30. If you would know the compound Spirit, you must consider the compounded anointing oil in this chapter. This is not a doctrine; it can be confirmed by our experience. This holy anointing oil that abides in us contains God Himself and the humanity of Christ. It contains the killing power to cross us out, and it also has the resurrection power to enliven us. Furthermore, it contains the intensified ability to bear responsibility. All this is here in this Spirit. When we have this compound Spirit, our daily living, our daily “cooking,” becomes filled with sweet spices.
Christianity today is truly poverty stricken. Christians lack both the proper knowledge and the adequate experience. But thank the Lord that through the past fifty years He has not only shown us many things, but He has also caused us to experience them. I experienced the compound Spirit before I saw the light regarding this matter in the Scriptures. One day, after having considerable experience, I read Exodus 30 again, and everything became clear. When I first began to say that the death of the Lord Jesus is included in the Spirit, one of my co-workers, being a little cautious, said that it is not so right to say that the Lord’s death is included in the Spirit. That was in 1954. I took this brother’s advice and spent much time with the Lord, asking Him what term I should use. The Lord said that it is better to say that the effectiveness of the Lord’s death is included in the Holy Spirit. I told the brother that from then on I would not say that the death of Christ is included in the Holy Spirit but that the effectiveness of the death of Christ is included in the Spirit. At that time I had not seen Exodus 30. This chapter was not opened to me until approximately eight years ago in Los Angeles. After receiving this light from the Bible, I gave definitions of all the items related to the anointing oil. Since that time, I have had more utterance to speak of the compound Spirit.
In the past I never used such terms as processed God or raw God. These terms sound strange to religious ears. Most of these terms came as a result of the enlightenment regarding the compound Spirit. Anything that has been compounded has been processed. If it has not been processed, then how could it be compounded? Our God has truly been compounded. He is no longer “raw”; He is the compounded God, the “processed” God. Before the olive oil was compounded, it was raw, but after it was compounded, it was no longer raw. Based upon this fact, I have the boldness to say that before Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, the Spirit of God was not processed. However, after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, the Spirit of God became processed. This word is unacceptable to the ears of theologians. In the Lord’s recovery the Lord has surely shown us something deeper. Most Christians do not have this experience or this knowledge.
When you meet other Christians, it is better not to touch the issue of the Trinity. What should you do if they raise this question? First, do not argue with them. Listen to all their points, take them down, and ask them to explain the matters to you. The more they talk, the more they will be snared. Do not play politics and do not say a word in reply. Rather, you should say, “I will consider these matters. I certainly would like to study the truth with you. May we get together for this purpose? If what you have told me is right, I will take it. If what I have been taught is wrong, I will repent and give it up. I hope that, by the mercy and grace of God, you would have the same attitude. None of us should have the assurance that we are clear concerning such a thing as the Divine Trinity.” Take all the points home with you, pray, fellowship with others, and seek the Lord’s leading concerning how to contact them again.
When you see them again, do not argue over any points. Simply read to them certain verses or give them some of the booklets that are suitable. Sometimes you need to read certain paragraphs to them, perhaps even asking them to read. If they argue, do not argue back, but say, “I would like to see what the pure word of the Bible says.” If they continue to argue, then listen to their arguments. Take time and be patient. Perhaps during your next contact with them you will read Isaiah 9:6 or 1 Corinthians 15:45. Do not fight with them, but maintain the good attitude of a learner, of one who wants to study the pure revelation in the Bible. I believe that this will open the door and give an opportunity for the Lord to do something in their conscience. Of course, you need to pray a great deal about this. However, do not spend all your time with this kind of person. If you do that, you will be snared by the enemy. At most, you should only spend a fourth of your time with the opposers. All the rest of your time should be spent on the positive ones. Nevertheless, we would not give up the critical ones but patiently contact them again and again. As they consider the pure revelation concerning the Triune God, they may lose their peace and sense the need to reconsider their belief. Do not argue or fight with people, but have a good time with them. You need to pray much for them. If not many are convinced, at least a small number will be helped. They will at least begin to question the charge that we are heretical. They will no longer have the peace or assurance to say that we are heretics. You need to show them that although what we believe may be different and even against tradition, it is according to the pure word of the Bible. We all must conduct ourselves in this wise manner.
