THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT BEING INSEPARABLE FROM GOD’S ECONOMY
After He passed through the processes of incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection, the Lord Jesus sanctified and uplifted His humanity into divinity. Thus, He was begotten to be the firstborn Son of God and became the life-giving Spirit. In His resurrection this life-giving Spirit has regenerated God’s chosen ones. After He accomplished these things, He came back to His disciples in His resurrection and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:18-19). It was not until this time that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit were referred to with plain words. The way the Lord Jesus spoke this word and the time, the place, and the situation of His speaking show that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are very much related to God’s economy. Without the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, there would be no possibility for God’s economy to be accomplished or applied. Without the Father and the Son, how could there be God’s economy and how could it be accomplished? Furthermore, without the Spirit, how could God’s economy be applied?
The origination, the accomplishment, and the application of the economy of God cannot be separated from the Triune God. God’s economy was planned by the Father; hence, its origin, its source, is the Father. God’s economy was accomplished by the Son; hence, its accomplishment is with the Son. God’s economy is applied by the Spirit; hence, its application is with the Spirit. The Son accomplished what the Father planned, and the Spirit applies what the Son accomplished. Hence, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is revealed at a particular time according to the need of a particular divine matter.
THE TRIUNE GOD BEING NOT FOR DOCTRINAL UNDERSTANDING BUT FOR OUR EXPERIENCE
The Bible never speaks of the Triune God as an empty doctrine. It refers to the Spirit of God at the restoration of God’s creation. At that time the earth was waste and empty, and the Spirit of God was brooding over the surface of the waters (Gen. 1:2). Later, in God’s relationship with man, the Spirit of God was called the Spirit of Jehovah. Then, at the time of God’s incarnation, there was the need of the Holy Spirit for His flesh to be set apart and sanctified from the common things. Therefore, the Holy Spirit came (Matt. 1:18, 20). After thirty-three and a half years, the Lord Jesus accomplished God’s economy through His death and resurrection. However, after the accomplishment of God’s economy, there is still the need of application. Therefore, the Lord charged His disciples to go forth and disciple the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Spirit (28:19). When it was time for the application of God’s economy, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit were fully revealed. All this shows us that it was for such a need and on such an occasion that the Triune God was revealed.
Remember that the Triune God is never an empty doctrine and has absolutely nothing to do with vain, theological doctrines. The Triune God is not for our doctrinal understanding or theological study but for Him to be experienced by us. Second Corinthians 13:14 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” This shows us that the Triune God is not a mere doctrine; He is for our experience. We cannot know the Triune God by doctrine; we can know Him only by our experience. If you have not experienced regeneration, you can never know that this God touches people that they may receive Him and be regenerated.
(A General Outline of God's Economy and the Proper Living of a God-Man, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)
