THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT(Part 1)

THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT(Part 1) In order that God may put Himself into us as our content, He must exist in three Perso...

THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT(Part 1)

• In order that God may put Himself into us as our content, He must exist in three Persons. We can never adequately understand the mystery of God’s three Persons. We are told clearly in several places in the Scriptures that God is only one God. First Corinthians 8:4, 6 and 1 Timothy 2:5 declare this. But in the first chapter of Genesis the pronoun used for God is not the singular “I,” but the plural “we.”

• Let us read Genesis 1:26 and 27. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...God created man in his own image.” In verse 26 it says, “in our image,” while in the following verse it says “in his image.” Please tell me, is God singular or plural? Who can explain this? God Himself used the plural pronoun for Himself: “Let us make man in our image.” But if you say God is more than one, you are a heretic, because the Bible tells us God is only one.

• In the whole universe there is not more than one God. Why, then, if God is only one, is the plural pronoun used?

• Everyone who is familiar with Hebrew can tell us that the word “God” in Genesis 1 is in the plural number. The Hebrew word for God in the first verse, “In the beginning God created,” is Elohim, which is in plural number. However, the word “created” in Hebrew is a predicate in the singular number. This is very strange. The grammatical composition of this verse is a subject in the plural number, but a verb in the singular number. No one can argue with this; it is proven by the Hebrew. Then, I ask, is God one or three?

• Now let us read Isaiah 9:6. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given...his name shall be called...Mighty God, Everlasting Father.” It does not say mighty man, but Mighty God. A little child is called the Mighty God. All Christians agree with the prophecy of this verse. The child mentioned here refers to the child born in the manger at Bethlehem, who is not only named the Mighty God, but also the Everlasting Father. 

• As a child born to us, He is called the Mighty God; and as a son given to us, He is called the Everlasting Father (or the Father of Eternity). This is very strange. When the child is called the Mighty God, is He the child or God? And, when the son is called the Everlasting Father, is He the Son or the Father? If you try to figure it out, you cannot do it. You must take it as a fact, unless, of course, you do not believe the Scriptures. If you believe the authority of the Scriptures, you must accept the fact that since the child is called the Mighty God, it means the child is the Mighty God; and since the Son is called the Father, it means the Son is the Father. If the child is not the Mighty God, how could the child be called the Mighty God? And if the Son is not the Father, how could the Son be called the Father? Then, how many Gods do we have? We have only one God, because the child Jesus is the Mighty God, and the Son is the Everlasting Father.

• Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit.” According to our understanding, who is the Lord? We all agree that the Lord is Jesus Christ. But it says the Lord is the Spirit. Who is the Spirit? We have to admit that the Spirit must be the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Son is called the Father, and the Son, who is the very Lord, is also the Spirit.

• This means the Father, Son, and Spirit are One. We emphasize this matter because it is by His different Persons that God works out His economy. Without these different Persons—the Person of the Father, the Person of the Son, and the Person of the Spirit—God could never bring Himself into us.

• Matthew 28:19 says: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples...baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” It does not say, baptizing them into the name of any one divine Person. Nor does it say “in the names,” but in “the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Why do we need to be baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Spirit? Furthermore, if we check the original Greek, we will discover that the preposition “in,” used in the King James Version, is the preposition “into” or “unto” (eis). Hence, it reads, “baptized into the name,” not “in the name.” The same word is used in Romans 6:3, “...baptized into Christ,” which is the proper translation. What does all this mean?

• Let me illustrate it in this way: if you buy a watermelon, your intention is to eat and digest this melon. In other words, your intention is to work this melon into you. How can this be done? First, you buy the whole melon; second, you cut it into slices; then, thirdly, before this melon enters your stomach, you chew it until it becomes juice. The sequence is: melon, slices, and finally juice. Are these three different things or just one? I believe this is the best illustration of the Trinity. Most melons are larger than your stomach. How can you swallow a large melon when your mouth is so small and your throat is so slender? Before it can become the proper size for you to eat, it must be cut into slices. Then, once it is eaten, it becomes juice. Are the slices not the melon? And is the juice not the melon? If we say that they are not, we must be most ignorant.

• The Father is illustrated by the whole melon; the Son by the slices; and finally, the Spirit by the juice. Now you see the point: The Father is not only the Father, but is also the Son. And the Son is not only the Son, but is also the Spirit. In other words, this melon is also the slices to eat and the juice within us. The melon disappears after it is eaten. Originally, the melon was on the table, but after being eaten, the melon is in the whole family.

• In the Gospel of John the Father is in the first chapters; the Son as the expression of the Father, is in the succeeding chapters; and eventually, the Spirit, as the Breath of the Son, is in chapter 20 (verse 22). This one Gospel reveals the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Read the whole twenty-one chapters in this book. First, it says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” This very Word, which is God Himself, one day became a man and dwelt among us—not within us but among us. Then He lived on the earth for thirty-three and a half years. He eventually died and was raised again. This is mysterious, miraculous, wonderful; we can never fathom it. The night after His resurrection, He came to His disciples in His resurrected body. All the doors were shut, yet He entered in bodily and showed to the disciples His hands and His side.

• We cannot comprehend this. He came in a very miraculous and mysterious way. Finally, He breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. That very breath is the Holy Spirit, like the juice of the melon.

• From that time, I would ask you, where is Jesus in the Gospel of John? After He came to the disciples, this Gospel never mentions the ascension of Jesus to the heavens. Then where is this Wonderful One at the end of this Gospel? Like the watermelon in the stomach, He is within the disciples through the Spirit as the breath.
• God’s economy is to work Himself into us by means of His three Persons. There is need of the three Persons of the Godhead, for without these three Persons, God could never be wrought into us. It is just like the illustration of the melon. Without being cut into slices and received as juice, the watermelon could never be wrought into us. God could be wrought into us only by His three different Persons.

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee and Witness lee , Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA.