THE TRUTH OF THE DIVINE TRINITY
Now let us consider the first point on the outline—the divine Trinity.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit All Being God—the Only God
Ephesians 4:6 says that the Father is God; Hebrews 1:8 says that the Son is God; and Acts 5:3-4 says that the Spirit is God.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit Coexisting Simultaneously from Eternity to Eternity
Isaiah 9:6 says that the Father is the everlasting Father. Hebrews 1:12 says that the Son is eternal, that His years shall not fail, and Hebrews 7:3 says that He has no beginning of days nor end of life. Hebrews 9:14 says that the Spirit is the eternal Spirit. We can see that all Three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—coexist simultaneously without succession from eternity to eternity.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit Coinhering and Being Inseparable
John 14:10-11 says that the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son; They coinhere. Most Christians believe that when the Son, the Lord Jesus, came to the earth, He left the Father in heaven. This is a wrong concept.
We need to realize that when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was still in the Father and the Father was in Him. John 5:43 says that the Lord Jesus came in the name of the Father. This means that He was in the Father. When He came, the Father came, because He was in the Father and the Father was in Him. John 14:26 says, “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things which I said to you.” First, all Three of the Triune God—“the Comforter” (the Holy Spirit), “the Father,” and “I” (the Son)—are mentioned in this verse. The Lord said, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.” This word means that the Father sends the Holy Spirit in the name of the Lord. That is to say, the Spirit, the sent One, is in the name of the Son. The result is that the Sender is in the Son and the sent One is also in the Son.
Isaiah 9:6 says that the name of the Son given to us is the “everlasting Father.” Second Corinthians 3:17 also says, “And the Lord is the Spirit.” Hence, the Son is the Father, and the Son is also the Spirit. It is impossible to separate the mystery of the Trinity. Let us look again at 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.” Here the meaning of the Greek word translated “from” is “from with.” The Son sends the Spirit and the Spirit comes “from” the Father and “with” the Father. The result is that the Spirit comes with the Father. But John 6:46 says, “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him who is from God, He has seen the Father.” The word “from” here in Greek also has the sense of “from with.” Thus, when the Son came, He came also with the Father.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit All Coming Together
When we look at John 6:46 and 15:26 together, we realize that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all come together. John 6:46 says that the Son comes with the Father, and John 15:26 says that the Son sends the Spirit from the Father, and the Spirit comes with the Father. Apparently, when the Spirit came, the Son was left in heaven. But John 6:46 says that the Son comes from the Father and with the Father, and John 14:26 says that the Father sends the Spirit in the Son. Therefore, putting these three verses together, we see that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all come. Apparently when the Lord Jesus came to the earth, He was only the Son of God who became flesh, but actually, the Father was in Him and the Spirit was also in Him. He came in the name of the Father, and the Spirit also came in His name. Simply speaking, when He came, all Three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—came. Because He is the Triune God, the Three are inseparable.
For this reason, I feel that I must labor to show you such a simple outline together with the solid proof of the Scripture verses. We have studied the Bible for decades and have emphasized this point very much. This truth is very important. What Christianity preaches is too simplified, too traditional, and it is just hearsay. We have labored much to find out all the details. We discovered that the coming of the Lord Jesus is not so simple. It is not like the preaching of Christianity, which says that the Father and the Son are separate Persons, that the Son came and the Father remained in the heavens, and that the Son and the Spirit are also separate Persons. Now we realize that when the Son comes, He comes with the Father. The Father is in Him, and He is joined to the Spirit. Also, the Spirit comes with the Father and in the Son. Therefore, the Three are one. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit coinhere and are inseparable.
We may briefly reiterate points 4 through 7 on the outline at the beginning of the message as follows: The Son comes with the Father, the Father is with the Son, and the Son and the Father are one (John 6:46; 8:29; 10:30). The Father has never left the Son; He is always with the Son. Furthermore, the Son became flesh through the conceiving of the Spirit, and the Son was filled with the Holy Spirit in His living and moving in the flesh (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20). All that the Father has belongs to the Son and all that the Son possesses is received by the Spirit (John 16:14-15). Finally, the Son is called the Father and also became the Spirit (Isa. 9:6; 1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17). Eventually, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all consummate in the Spirit. The Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God.
(The Full Knowledge of the Word of God, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
