THE DIVINE DISPENSING OF THE DIVINE TRINITY
One Body with One Spirit Dispensing Himself
to the Body as the Spiritual Essence of the Body,
Bringing in the Hope of Glory to the Body
Ephesians 4:4-6 reveals the dispensing of the Divine Trinity. Verse 4 says that there is one Body and one Spirit. The one Spirit in this verse is the processed, consummated God, the pneumatic Christ. This Spirit is just Christ Himself. We can illustrate this by the way a big melon is processed to become juice. First, there is a big melon which is cut into slices. Then the slices are pressed until juice is produced. The juice is the "spirit" of the melon. The juice of the melon is actually the melon itself. In the same way, the Spirit is the "sliced and pressed Jesus." The Spirit in the Body of Christ is Christ after He was "cut" on the cross and "pressed" unto death. Now in resurrection, He is the Spirit, the "juice." Through His death and resurrection, He has become the drinkable Spirit. Our need is to drink Him. He is within us, but every day we need more of Him. Although we drink today, it does not mean that one drink will be sufficient for our entire life. Our drinking should be continuous. In eternity, we will still need to drink the river of the water of life (Rev. 22:1, 17) and eat the tree of life (v. 14). We need to eat and drink for eternity.
Ephesians 4:4 says that there is one Body and one Spirit, and verse 5 says, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." Apparently, the one Spirit is different from the one Lord. They seem to be two. Actually, They are one. If you drink the juice of a melon, you have the melon. The "juice" of Christ is the Spirit. When you drink the Spirit, you drink the Lord. Second Corinthians 3:17 says, "And the Lord is the Spirit," and verse 18 says that as we are beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image "even as from the Lord Spirit." The "Lord Spirit" is a compound title which indicates that the Spirit is the Lord. Whenever we experience the Spirit, we feel that we are being governed, but when we are free from the Spirit, we become wild, uncontrollable, and unrestrained. The Spirit is the Lord.
One Lord Dispensing Himself to the Body
as the Divine Element of the Body through
the Uniting Faith and the Separating Baptism
of the Members of the Body
Ephesians 4:5 says, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." We know what both faith and baptism are. But when these two things are put together with the one Lord, they are more difficult to understand. After much seeking of the Lord, I began to realize that faith always goes along with the Lord. We do not have faith of ourselves. Jesus is faith. If you have Jesus, you have faith. He is the Originator, the Author, and the Finisher, the Perfecter, of faith (Heb. 12:2). This faith unites us to the Lord. When you appreciate the Lord, worship Him, esteem Him, and go along with Him, immediately faith is with you, uniting you to the Lord.
Baptism goes along with faith. Faith unites us to the positive things, and baptism separates us from the negative things. When we were baptized, we were separated from the world. We also must realize that the uniting of faith and the separation of baptism are lifelong matters. Every day, when we esteem the Lord, we have the deep sensation that faith is within us uniting us to Him. In the same way and at the same time, baptism is separating us from all the negative things. Baptism in our daily life is our realization and application of the death of Christ. The realization and application of the death of Christ separates us from our temper, the world, sin, the self, our natural life, and everything that is negative. This separation is the application of Christ’s death. In 2 Corinthians 4:12 Paul said, "So then death operates in us, but life in you," and in verse 10 Paul calls the death of Christ "the putting to death of Jesus." The death which operates in us and the putting to death of Jesus are the realization and application of the death of Christ in our daily life. Thus, baptism separates us from all of the negative things.
(The Divine Dispensing for the Divine Economy, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)
