The Trinity

1. The Trinity is a mystery

   1. Before we enter into this sacred topic, we must first realize that the Trinity is a mystery. It is very important to have this realization first, otherwise people will be arrogant and self-righteous to "study" and "discuss" the Trinity itself, which they cannot thoroughly understand. Only a humble and teachable heart can obtain the complete and balanced truth about the Trinity. Augustine once said, "Trying to analyze the Trinity is like measuring the ocean with a gourd." Martin Luther once warned us not to explore the truth of the Holy Trinity with our natural intelligence. He said: "Because this subject (i.e., the Trinity) is so difficult to grasp, first because of its subtlety, and secondly because of our weakness, it is utterly foolish and dangerous to try to enter deeper into its mysteries. If we could do this, we would not need the guidance of the Bible. If so, we would not need this teacher and king. Moreover, anyone who ignores the Bible and thinks he is wise enough to explore these questions is God's teacher, not his student... If your reason is troubled here, or if you ask the question as some provocateurs ask: Then, there are two Gods? The answer (should be): There is only one God, but there is both the Father and the Son. How can this be? (We) should humbly respond: I do not know... Our reason is blind and cannot see this deep thing... Shame on you, poor reason! How can we, poor mortals, understand this mystery?"

   2. When discussing the mystery of the Holy Trinity, Calvin (John) Calvin said: "In considering the hidden mysteries of the Bible, we should be thoughtful, moderate, and careful, lest our thoughts or words go beyond the norm of God's Word. For we cannot fathom the composition of the sun, which appears before us every day, so how can we glimpse the infinite essence of God? The human mind cannot even understand itself, so how can it penetrate the essence of God under its own guidance? Therefore, let us be willing to leave the knowledge of God to God himself, never try to explore God outside of His holy word, and never speak of Him or think of Him beyond what His Word guides us."

   3. The things of life can be analyzed to a certain extent, but there are always some mysterious elements in them. Doctors constantly dissect and study the structure and function of the human body, quantify it, and can explain many things, but they also realize that physical life still has many mysteries. Who can thoroughly understand the mystery of the human brain and the function of its nerve conduction? Who can fully understand how the human heart can beat naturally and continuously compress millions of gallons of blood to the limbs and organs throughout one's life? Psychologists can analyze the human mind to some extent, but who can fully understand the mysteries of human thinking, emotions, and decisions? Physiological and psychological life have their own mysterious areas, and the divine life is even more so.

   4. As the three saints said before, if people want to measure the Triune God, which is more vast than the heaven and earth and is not limited by time and space, with their limited minds, it is like measuring the sea with a clamshell or looking at the sky with a tube. It is beyond their ability! Anyone who wants to explore the mystery of the Holy Trinity with his own intelligence and wisdom really wants to be "God's teacher, not his student"!

2. The attitude that believers should have: believe, accept, experience, and enjoy

Since the Triune God itself is so profound and difficult to understand, are believers intimidated and dare not talk about it, or ignore it and turn a deaf ear? Humility is right, but it should not be ignorant; inquiry is right, but it is not to use the old and natural mind and reason of man. It should be known that there are many truths about the Holy Trinity that do not conform to man's natural thinking and logic. For example, there is only one God, but there are three aspects of God: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Then people will ask: Which of these three is God? The answer is: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is also God. On the other hand, since the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is also God, there should be three Gods. But the answer is - "There is only one God" (1 Timothy 2:5). In human mathematics, one is one and three is three. One will never equal three, and three will never equal one. But in the Godhead, one is equal to three, and three is equal to one. This does not conform to man's natural logic, and it is beyond the human mind's comprehension. In this case, what should be our attitude? We should simply believe and accept the clear words and revelations of the Bible concerning the Holy Trinity.

3. The Divine Life of the Divine Trinity

Although the Divine life of the Divine Trinity is difficult for us to fathom, it is for our enjoyment and experience. God the Father is the source of life (John 5:26); God the Son, Christ, is the outflow of this life, because “life was in Him” (John 1:4a), and He is life (14:6a); God the Spirit is the inflow of life, because He is “the Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2). This life is divine, uncreated, and eternal, and it is the life of the Triune God who has no beginning and no end, is indestructible, and is incorruptible. In the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth, the Triune God will illuminate us with God the Father as the light of life (Rev. 22:5), supply us with God the Son, Christ as the tree of life (2), and satisfy us with God the Spirit as the river of water of life (1). This life is so wonderful, mysterious, and divine that we cannot fathom it clearly, but it is for us to obtain, experience, and enjoy. Just as the Lord Jesus declared when He came to earth, He said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10b). May we simply believe and accept, yet richly experience and enjoy Him as the mysterious Triune God.

4. The Need for Revelation and Experience

   1. The divine truth concerning the Person of the Triune God (such as His great plan and work, Christ as the embodiment of God, the Church as the Body of Christ, etc.) needs to be revealed by God Himself in man, otherwise this truth will remain a mystery to man. Man’s limited mind and understanding are useless for this truth. The Lord once told us, “No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him” (Matt. 11:27). It can be seen that in order for man to know the Son, there must be a revelation from the Father; likewise, in order for man to know the Father, there must be a revelation from the Son. It can be seen that this is entirely a matter of divine revelation, not something that already exists in man’s natural mind. When Peter declared in Caesarea Philippi, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16), the Lord told him, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in the heavens” (17). Here again we see that in order for man to know the Lord and His Person, there needs to be a revelation from the Father. Without the Father’s revelation, how could people see that the ordinary Nazarene Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? In Galatians 1:16 Paul said that God “was pleased to reveal His Son in me.” Thank God, His divine person is not always hidden from us, because He is pleased to reveal Himself to foolish people like us.

   2. On the other hand, we should also know that all the revelations of divine truth in the Bible are for our experience. If it is not from revelation, it is just the understanding of the natural mind; if it is not subjective experience, it is just objective doctrine, which is of no benefit to us. Therefore, in Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prayed twice. The prayer in the first chapter is a prayer for “revelation” for believers, and the prayer in the third chapter is a prayer for “experience” for believers. In the first chapter, he prayed, “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (17). This spirit of wisdom and revelation illuminates us in our hearts and enables us to have a true vision of Himself and His work. In chapter 3, he knelt before the Father and prayed for the believers, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man, so that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith” (16-17). The Father’s glory and His Spirit work together to strengthen the believers so that they can live in their inner man and make Christ make His home in the believers’ hearts. This is how the Triune God becomes the believers’ subjective experience. Eventually, the believers are filled with the Triune God and become all His fullness (19).

   3. Our real need is not to understand the doctrine of the Triune God with our minds, but to gain the revelation of the mystery of the Triune God so that He can also become our subjective experience and enjoyment. Throughout the ages, God’s children have engaged in endless research and debate on the doctrine of the person of God and the person of Christ, which has only increased hostility and division. But God’s intention is not this. He wants to dispense Himself into His regenerated believers and indwell them as their life and person.

   4. Therefore, when Paul wrote about the truth of the Triune God, he did not present it to the believers in the form of doctrine and preaching. Instead, he showed the believers that the Triune God is closely related to the believers in life and is closely related to the believers' experience. These are by no means objective, doctrine, letter, ethereal, or out of reach; on the contrary, they are subjective, real, vital, concrete, and near at hand. In the conclusion of 2 Corinthians, he blessed the Corinthian believers with the Holy Trinity. He said, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (13:14). How sweet, intimate, and subjective this is. The presence of the Triune God with the believers is the Lord's grace, the Father's love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Lord's grace and the Father's love reach the believers through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. What a personal experience this is. This is by no means comparable to objective words and doctrines, nor is it something that humanistic philosophy can provide. If we have this basic understanding, the person of the Triune God will no longer be an objective doctrine or a theological term to us, but will become our subjective experience, inextricably linked to our Christian faith, life, and living.

   The Bible reveals that God is triune. This is a revelation of great importance. God is uniquely one, and His name is Jehovah; yet this God is also triune—He is the Father, Son, and Spirit. This is a mystery; in fact, it is a mystery of mysteries. Small and finite as we are, we human beings cannot understand it thoroughly; even less can we define it in a full way. Many things relating to the matter of life are not within the comprehension of men; men can only have a general idea of them. For instance, though we have life in our physical body, no one can explain it thoroughly, for life is a mystery. Furthermore, there is a spirit within us—this is even more of a mystery. No one can give a full explanation of what the life of man and the spirit of man are. We are not able to comprehend such a comparatively small mystery as man, to say nothing of the great mystery of the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit. If we cannot fully understand man, how much less the Triune God!

  Nevertheless, we can receive and enjoy this mysterious God. We cannot understand, but we can enjoy! In former days men had no knowledge of vitamins, though they greatly enjoyed their benefit. The Triune God is not for us to understand, but to enjoy. All that He is for us to enjoy is revealed in the Scriptures; we cannot fully understand it, yet we may, according to all that is declared in the Scriptures, accept whatever is said.

  Although we cannot find the term “triune” in the Scriptures, we can see the fact concerning the Trinity of the Godhead. Let us now examine the verses in the Bible that are more evidently related to this matter.

1. God Being Only One

   1. (1 Corinthians 8:4) Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one."

   2. (Isaiah 44:6) Thus says the Lord , the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

   3. (Isaiah 45:5) I am the Lord , and there is no other, besides me there is no God. 

   4. (Isaiah 45:6) that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.

   5. (Isaiah 45:21) ... And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

   6. (Isaiah 45:22) ...For I am God, and there is no other.

   7. (Psalms 86:10) For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.

   8. The Scriptures in many instances and in many ways tell us that God is uniquely one. Both in the Old Testament and in the New, there are many passages which clearly and definitely tell us that God is only one. In these passages God repeatedly says, “There is no God besides me.” He does not say, “There is no God besides us,” but, “There is no God besides me.” Me is singular, only one. These repeated declarations of God strongly prove that God is uniquely one. That God is one is a clear and definite revelation of the Scriptures; it is also a fundamental and consummate principle.

   9. Perhaps some will ask, “Since God is only one, why did God speak of Himself as Us in Genesis 1:26? And why did He say Our image? Is there just one God, or is there more than one?” The answer is: He is the Triune God; He is one, yet three—the Father, Son, and Spirit.

2. God Having The Aspect of Three; The Father, The Son, The Spirit

   1. God Speaking as I and Also as Us

      1. [Isaiah 6:8] “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” 

God speaks of Himself on one hand as I and on the other hand as Us. This proves that I is Us and Us is I; I and Us are identical. Then, is God singular or plural? If you say He is plural, He says I. If you say He is singular, He says Us. This is rather mysterious and difficult to understand; so we simply take the scriptural revelation as it is.

2. 1. 2. [Genesis 1:26] “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” 

That the only God, in His divine word, speaks of Himself a number of times as Us is truly a mystery which is hard for us to understand. Nevertheless, we must believe that it is because of God being the Father, Son, and Spirit.

2. 2. The Matter of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit

      1. [Matthew 28:19] “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 

         1. The Lord here clearly speaks of Three—the Father, Son, and Spirit. But when He speaks here of the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, the name which is used is in the singular number in the original text. This means that though the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three, yet the name is one. It is really mysterious—one name for Three. This, of course, is what is meant by the expression three-one, or triune.

         2. Is the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as spoken by the Lord here, the name Father, or Son, or Holy Spirit? It is difficult to answer. All we can say is that the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” This name includes the Three—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and tells us that God is triune. Although God is only one, yet there is the matter of the Three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

3. The Father, The Son, And The Spirit Coexisting Simultaneously From Eternity To Eternity

   1. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit All Being God

      1. The Father Being God

         1. [1 Peter 1:2]“According to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” 

[Ephesians 1:17] “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory....

3. 1. 1. 2. Undoubtedly, the Father is God. Many passages in the New Testament speak of God the Father. 

      2. The Son Being God

         1. [Isaiah 9:6] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

         2. [John 20:27-29] Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

         3. [Hebrews 1:8] But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever". 

         4. [John 1:1,14]“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, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

The Word must be Christ, the Son. Because the Word is God, the Son also is God. 

3. 1. 2. 5. [Romans 9:5]“Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever.” 

Christ the Son is not only God, but He is over all, God blessed forever.

3. 1. 2. 6. [Matthew 22:41-46] ...Jesus asked them a question, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."He said to them, "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,"The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"?If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?"And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

         7. [John 8:56-58] Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

      3. The Spirit Being God

         1. [Acts 5:3-4] But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God."

            1. In Acts 5:3-4 we see that the Spirit is God. In verse 3 Peter told Ananias that he had lied to the Spirit; but in the next verse he said that he had lied to God. In these two verses the Holy Spirit equals God. 

Therefore, the Scriptures clearly reveal to us that all Three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—are God. This does not mean, however, that They are three Gods. We have already seen that the Scriptures tell us clearly and definitely that God is only one. Although there are three—the Father, Son, and Spirit—yet the Three are not three Gods, but one. This is really a mystery! It is unsearchable! But praise the Lord, we can simply receive and enjoy this mysterious One according to what the Scriptures have said!

3. 2. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit All Being Eternal

      1. The Father Being Eternal

         1. [Isaiah 9:6] For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

According to its literal meaning in Hebrew, this expression may be rendered “the eternal Father.” Hence, the Father is eternal.

3. 2. 2. The Son Being Eternal

         1. [Hebrews 1:12]...But you are the same, and your years will have no end.

         2. [Hebrews 7:3] He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

            1. Son is eternal.

      3. The Spirit Being Eternal

[Hebrews 9:14] How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The Spirit also is eternal because Hebrews 9:14 speaks of “the eternal Spirit.” Hence, all Three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—are eternal.

3. 3. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit Coexisting Simultaneously

      1. [John 14:16-17] “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever; even the Spirit of truth.” 

In these two verses the Son says that He will pray to the Father that the Father may send the Spirit. Hence, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist together at the same time.

3. 3. 2. [Ephesians 3:14-17] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love.

 Paul says that he will pray to the Father that He would grant us to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into our inner man, that Christ may make His home in our hearts. In this passage we have the Father, the Spirit, and Christ the Son. All three exist together at the same time. The Scriptures do not say that the Father existed for a period of time, then the Son came; and that after another period of time, the Son no longer exists but has been replaced by the Spirit. Not one verse says this. This portion of the Word shows that the Father hears the prayer, the Spirit strengthens the saints, and the Son—Christ—makes His home in our hearts. From this we can also see clearly that all Three coexist simultaneously.

3. 3. 3. [2 Corinthians 13:14] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Here it mentions the grace of Christ the Son, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. All Three exist together at the same time.

3. 3. 4. [Matthew 28:19-20] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." 

      5. [Romans 8:9] You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

      6. [Ephesians 1:17] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.

      7. [Ephesians 4:4-6] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

      8. [Hebrews 2:3-4] How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

      9. [1 Peter 1:2] According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Therefore, we do not believe that the Father ceased to exist and was replaced by the Son, then after another period of time the Son was replaced by the Spirit. We believe that the Three—Father, Son, and Spirit—are eternal and co-existent.

4. The Father, The Son, And The Spirit Coinhering And Being Inseparable

   1. The relationship among the Father, the Son, and the Spirit of the Trinity is not only that they simultaneously coexist, but, even more, that they indwell one another mutually. Coexistence means to exist together at the same time. Coinherence, as applied to the Trinity, means that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are in one another and thus exist together.

   2. The Scriptures clearly indicate that when the Son comes, the Father comes with Him; similarly, when the Spirit comes, both the Son and the Father come with Him. Furthermore, when the Son comes, the Father does not come with Him outwardly; rather, the Father comes with Him inwardly and subjectively.

   3. [John 6:46] not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

The word “from” in the original language carries the sense of “from with.” The Son not only comes from the Father, but He comes from with the Father.

4. 4. [John 5:43]“I have come in the name of My Father.” 

The Son’s coming in the name of the Father equals the Father’s coming. This proves that when the Son comes, the Father comes.

4. 5. [John 14:10] “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me.” 

This indicates that the Father does not come with the Son outwardly; rather, He comes in the Son.

4. 6. [John 14:9]“He who has seen Me has seen the Father”. The Son can testify saying, 

   7. [John 15:26] “But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality who proceeds from the Father....” 

The second “from” is also “from with” in the sense of the Greek. When the Spirit comes, He also comes from with the Father.

4. 8. [John 14:26] “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.” 

The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will be sent by the Father in the Son’s name. The Holy Spirit’s coming in the Son’s name equals the Son’s coming. This proves that when the Holy Spirit comes, the Son comes.

4. 9. [John 8:29] And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

   10. [Luke 4:1]And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

       1. These verses prove that when the Son is living on earth, both the Father and the Spirit are with Him; the Three are inseparable.

       2. The Triune God has never been separated. When One moves, the other Two also move with Him. When One is sent, the other Two also come with Him. When the Son comes, He comes in the name of the Father; when He comes, the Father comes. When the Spirit is sent, He is sent in the name of the Son; His being sent is the Son’s being sent. Hence, the Son’s coming is the Father’s coming, and the Spirit’s being sent is the Son’s being sent. The Three—the Father, Son, and Spirit—are one. They cannot be separated for eternity.

5. The Three — The Father, The Son, And The Spirit—Being One

   1. The Son Being the Father(One with the father)

      1. [Isaiah 9:6]“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given...and his name shall be called...The mighty God, The everlasting Father.” 

In this verse, the mighty God matches the child, and the everlasting Father matches the Son. Yes, He is a child, yet He is the mighty God. The child who was born in the manger of Bethlehem was the mighty God. Just as the child and the mighty God are one, so also the Son and the everlasting Father are one. The Son is the eternal Father. It is indeed difficult to fully explain this matter, yet the Scriptures have said so. Unto us a son is given and his name shall be called everlasting Father. Does this not plainly say that the Son is the Father? If the Son is not the Father, how could the Son be called the Father? If we acknowledge that the child of which this verse speaks is the mighty God, then we must also acknowledge that the Son of which this verse speaks is also the everlasting Father; otherwise, we are not believing the clearly stated revelation of the Scriptures. But we do deeply believe that according to the words here, the Lord Jesus who became the child is the mighty God; and the Lord Jesus who is the Son is also the eternal Father. Our Lord is the Son, and He is also the Father.

5. 1. 2. [John 10:30] I and the Father are one.

      3. [John 17:11] And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

      4. [John 17:21-23] [21] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23] I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

      5. [John 14:7-11] If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and henceforth you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it suffices us. Jesus said to him, Am I so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How is it that you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father who abides in Me, He does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me.

      6. [John 1:18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

      7. [John 14:6-7] Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 

In these verses the Lord clearly reveals to us the mystery that He and the Father are one. He is in the Father and the Father is in Him; when He speaks, it is the Father who works; when men see Him, they see the Father; when they know Him, they know the Father, because He is the Father; He and the Father are one 

5. 2. The Son (the Last Adam) Becoming the Life-giving Spirit

      1. [1 Corinthians 15:45] Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The last Adam, of course, is the incarnated Lord Jesus, and the life-giving Spirit, of course, is the Holy Spirit. There can never be another life-giving Spirit besides the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this verse also tells us clearly that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The Lord was made flesh and became the last Adam, and later, after death and resurrection, He became the life-giving Spirit. The words spoken by the Lord in John 14:16-20 also confirm this point. Here the Lord tells us that He will pass through death and resurrection to become another Comforter, that is, the Spirit of truth, who will come to abide with us and dwell in us. In verse 17, the Lord says that the Spirit of truth “abides with you and shall be in you.” Then in verse 18 He says, “I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you.” He (the Spirit of truth, or the Holy Spirit) in verse 17 is I (the Lord) in verse 18. The Lord said in effect, “When He comes I come. He is I; I am He.” The Holy Spirit is the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Also, in verse 17 the Lord says, “The Spirit of truth...shall be in you,” and then in verse 20 He says, “I in you.” This also proves that the Holy Spirit who is in us is the Lord who died and rose and now lives in us.

5. 3. The Lord (the Son) Being the Spirit

      1. [2 Corinthians 3:17] Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

The “Lord” spoken of here, of course, is the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit, of course, is the Holy Spirit. Does this not clearly and definitely tell us that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit? Our Lord is the Holy Spirit. He is the Father, and He is also the Spirit. He is everything!

5. 4. The Lord (the son) with the Spirit

      1. [1 Corinthians 12:3] Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.

      2. [Galatians 4:6] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

6. The Reason For God Being Triune

   1. [2 Corinthians 13:14] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

      1. Here three things are mentioned: grace, love, and fellowship. This sets forth the reason why God is triune: it is thus that He can dispense Himself into us, work Himself into us for us to enjoy, and be our all. The love of God, that is, the love of the Father, is the source. The grace of Christ, that is, the grace of the Son, is the flowing out of the love of the Father. And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the flowing into us of the grace of the Son, together with the love of the Father, for us to enjoy. This can be confirmed by our experience. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit within us is the transmitting of the grace of the Son into us. And the grace of the Son within us is simply the practical tasting and enjoying of the love of the Father. The love of the Father is the source, the grace of the Son is the expression, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the transmission, transmitting the grace of the Son, with the love of the Father, into us. The result is that everything that is of the Three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—becomes the enjoyment within us. You have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit within you, and the more you live in this fellowship, the more you will have of the grace of Christ; then, the more you have of the grace of Christ, the more you will enjoy the love of God. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit brings the grace of Christ, and in the grace of Christ there is the love of God. Therefore, the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are not three different things, but three aspects of one thing for us to possess and enjoy. Likewise, the Father, Son, and Spirit are not three Gods but one God with the aspect of three for us to possess and enjoy.

7. SUMMARY

   1. God is the Triune God. The one, unique God has the aspect of three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all God and are eternal, coexistent, coinherent, and inseparable. To the believers, the Father is the source, the Son is the manifestation, and the Spirit is God reaching and entering into them. Thus, the Triune God is dispensed into their being to be their life, enjoyment, and complete supply.

   2. When we enjoy and experience this triune God, we enjoy them totally. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the Lord Jesus, also we receive God the father! When we pray in the name of Christ, we pray also in the name of God the father! When we are touched by Holy Spirit, we touch Lord Jesus and God father. This is our experience of Triune God.