LESSON ONE – THE PROCESSED TRIUNE GOD

1 Cor. 15:45b — The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

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 Testament, there are many passages that 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 Jehovah and there is no one else; / Besides Me there is no God.” Similar words also can be found in Isaiah 45:6, 21-22; 46:9; and 44:6, 8.

GOD HAVING THE ASPECT OF THREE— THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE SPIRIT

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, the Son, and the Spirit. But when He speaks here of the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the name that 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

[In Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:12; and 9:14 we can see that] 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, “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.

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, “A child is born to us, / A Son is given to us; / …And His name will be called / …Mighty God, / Eternal Father.”… Yes, He is a child, yet He is the mighty God.…The Son is the eternal Father.

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, “The Lord is the Spirit.” The “Lord” spoken of here, of course, is the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit, of course, is the Holy Spirit.…Our Lord is the Holy Spirit. He is the Father, and He is also the Spirit. He is everything! (Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, pp. 16-21)

THE STEPS OF THE TRIUNE GOD IN BECOMING A LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT

The Triune God took several crucial steps in being processed to be the life-giving Spirit. First, He was incarnated. As God, He entered into the womb of a human virgin and stayed within that womb for nine months. In this way He took on humanity as His shelter, His dwelling place. His incarnation surely was a process. Second, He lived and walked on the earth, passing through the long “tunnel” of human living for thirty-three and a half years. This also was a process. Third, He entered into death and passed through death, which included the grave and Hades. Fourth, after three days, He walked out of death and Hades and entered into resurrection. His death and resurrection also were a process. After His death and in resurrection, He came to visit His disciples (John 20:19; Luke 24:36).

After the Lord’s resurrection He stayed with the disciples for forty days (Acts 1:3), during which time He made His presence both visible and invisible to them. Then He led them to Jerusalem and ascended to the third heaven from the Mount of Olives (vv. 12, 9). Through His ascension the Lord Jesus completed His process. His ascension was the final step in the consummating of the Triune God. All three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—were fully consummated in the Lord’s ascension.

CONSUMMATION INDICATING THAT A  PROCESS HAS BEEN COMPLETED

The word consummation indicates that a work or a process has been completed, or finished. This may be illustrated by the cooking of food. Before the process of cooking begins, all the groceries are raw. After cooking for two hours, the groceries are consummated into a feast. Before His incarnation God was “raw,” having the divine nature but not the human nature. Through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, God was processed and consummated. Now, He is no longer the “raw” God; He is the consummated and completed Triune God with divinity, humanity, human living, the all-inclusive death, the powerful resurrection, and the transcendent ascension. All these are elements, or ingredients, in the processed and consummated Triune God.

THE COMPOUND SPIRIT BEING THE CONSUMMATED TRIUNE GOD

Through the steps of incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, the Triune God has been consummated to be the compound, allinclusive, indwelling Spirit (Exo. 30:25). This Spirit is the processed and consummated Triune God. In Exodus 30 an ointment was prepared, and this ointment was called a compound ointment because it was made from oil compounded with four different spices (vv. 22-25). This compound ointment is a type of the compound Spirit, who is the Triune God compounded with humanity, the all-inclusive death of Christ, the all-powerful resurrection of Christ, and the transcending ascension of Christ. This compound Spirit is the consummated Triune God. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man,” pp. 266-267, 269)

References: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, lsn. 2; CWWL, 1990, vol. 1, “The Triune God to Be Life to the Tripartite Man,” ch. 5

WHAT MYSTERY, THE FATHER, SON, AND SPIRIT

Experience of God— By the Trinity – 608

• What mystery, the Father, Son, and Spirit,
  In person three, in substance all are one.
  How glorious, this God our being enters
  To be our all, thru Spirit in the Son!

The Triune God has now become our all!
How wonderful! How glorious!
This Gift divine we never can exhaust!
How excellent! How marvelous!

• How rich the source, the Father as the fountain,
  And all this wealth He wants man to enjoy!
  O blessed fact, this vast exhaustless portion
  Is now for us forever to employ!

• How wonderful, the Son is God’s expression
  Come in the flesh to dwell with all mankind!
  Redemption’s work, how perfectly effective,
  That sinners we with God might oneness find.

• The Spirit is the Son’s transfiguration
  Come into us as life the full supply.
  Amazing fact, our spirit with the Spirit
  Now mingles and in oneness joins thereby!

• How real it is that God is now the Spirit
  For us to touch, experience day by day!
  Astounding fact, with God we are one spirit,
  And differ not in life in any way!