Week 3 The Revelation of Truth
LESSON THREE
THE REVELATION OF THE TRIUNE GOD
Hymn 12
Scripture Reading:
Isa. 9:6 For a child is born to us, / a son is given to us; / and the government is upon His shoulder; and His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father, / Prince of Peace.
Matt. 28:19 Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
GOD BEING ONLY ONE
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. First Corinthians 8:4 says, “There is no God but one,” and Isaiah 45:5 says, “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides me.” Similar words also can be found in Isaiah 45:6, 21, 22; and 44:6, 9.
GOD HAVING THE ASPECT OF THREE—
THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT
God Speaking as I and Also as Us
In Isaiah 6:8 God says, “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.
The Lord says in Matthew 28:19, “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 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.
THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT COEXISTING
SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM ETERNITY TO ETERNITY
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit All Being Eternal
The Father Being Eternal
Isaiah 9:6 contains the expression “the everlasting Father.” According to its literal meaning in Hebrew, this expression may be rendered “the eternal Father.” Hence, the Father is eternal.
The Son Being Eternal
The Son also is eternal. Hebrews 1:12 says concerning the Son, “You are the same, and Your years shall not fail.” Hebrews 7:3 also says that the Son has no beginning of days nor end of life, which means that He is eternal.
The Spirit Being Eternal
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.
THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT
COEXISTING SIMULTANEOUSLY
John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever; even the Spirit of reality.” 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.
In Ephesians 3:14-17 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 FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT
COINHERING AND BEING INSEPARABLE
John 14:10 says, “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.
Furthermore, John 8:29 says, “He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone.” Luke 4:1 also says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit…..” These verses prove that when the Son is living on earth, both the Father and the Spirit are with Him; the Three are inseparable.
THE THREE—THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT—BEING ONE
The Son Being the Father
Isaiah 9:6 says, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…and his name shall be called…The mighty God, The everlasting Father.” .…Yes, He is a child, yet He is the mighty God.
The Son (the Last Adam) Becoming the Life-giving Spirit
First Corinthians 15:45 states, “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 (the Son) Being the Spirit
Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “And the Lord is the Spirit.” The “Lord” spoken of here…is the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit…is the Holy Spirit….Our Lord is the Holy Spirit. He is the Father, and He is also the Spirit. He is everything!
THE REASON FOR GOD BEING TRIUNE
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.” 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….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. (Truth Lessons—Level One, Vol. 1, pp. 14-23)
Reference: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, lsn. 2; The Revelation and Vision of God, chs. 1-4; CWWL, (1963) Vol. 2, God’s Intention Concerning Christ and the Church, ch. 7.
