THE MYSTERY OF THE TRANSMISSION
What is the mystery in John 16:15? In brief, it is the mystery of transmission. We can use electricity as an illustration to explain this mystery. We all know that electricity has the capability of being transmitted. The prefix trans means “over,” “across,” or “through.” For example, at the airport a visitor in transit is a passenger who is just passing “through.” When electricity is sent over or sent across, we call that the transmission of electricity. Where is the electricity transmitted from? It is transmitted from the power plant. How is it transmitted? It is transmitted by means of electric wires.
Similarly, to be filled with the Spirit is to have the Spirit transmitted into us. When we are filled with the Spirit, what actually happens is that we have the Spirit conducted and transmitted into our spirit. This mystery of the transmission of the Spirit is covered in John 16:15.
The Father Being the Source, and Everything Being Included in Him
It is not easy to explain the mystery of transmission. We have pointed out that among the three of the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—the Father as the source has all the riches. “All that the Father has” includes His riches, His possessions, and His wealth, including love, light, holiness, righteousness, kindness, mercy, power, authority, wisdom, and all other positive things, which are beyond the utterance of our limited language.
Furthermore, in the riches of the Father there is “wrath” but not “temper.” This is the “science” of the Bible. We lose our temper, but God does not lose His temper. God only has wrath. There is a difference between these two things. Paul says in Ephesians, “Be angry, yet do not sin” (4:26). When we are angry, we easily lose our temper, and once we lose our temper, we may commit sin easily. God, however, is moved to wrath, but He does not lose His temper. Paul said to those who are fathers, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger” (6:4). How does a father provoke his child to anger? He does this by losing his temper in dealing with his child. For example, suppose a child does not go home directly after school; instead, he wanders around and as a result arrives home late. If the father loses his temper and chastises his child, the father will become a defeated father. To lose one’s temper in this way is to provoke the child’s anger. Provoking children to anger damages them by stirring up their flesh. You may have wrath, but do not lose your temper. We have to distinguish between these two matters. However, it is simply not possible for humans to have wrath and not lose their temper; only the angels can do this. The only way we can have wrath and yet not lose our temper is to actively enjoy God and thereby receive His transmission.
“All that the Father has” is truly rich and exceedingly vast! Consider for example His economy, His good pleasure, and His plan. Hymns, #608 has five stanzas: the first stanza concerns the Father, the Son, and the Spirit generally; stanzas 2, 3, and 4 are on the Father, the Son, and the Spirit respectively; and stanza 5 tells of our experience. Stanza 2 says that the Father as the source is rich, that His wealth is inexhaustible, and that He is indeed a treasure-store. All these riches and wealth are actually the “all,” which has been given to the Son.
(The Economy of God and the Mystery of the Transmission of the Divine Trinity, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee)
