Message Two The Essential Trinity and the Economical Trinity

THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The Divine Trinity

Message Two
The Essential Trinity and the Economical Trinity

Scripture Reading: Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19, Isa. 9:6, 1 Cor. 15:45b, 2 Cor. 3:17, John 14:16-18; 17:21

I. The divine Trinity has two main aspects—Matt. 28:19, John 14:16-17, Rev. 1:4-5, Matt. 3:16-17:

A. The essential Trinity refers to the essence of the Triune God for His existence—Matt. 28:19, John 14:16-17:

1. In His essence God is one, the one unique God—Isa. 45:18b, 1 Cor. 8:4.

2. In John there is the mystical view that the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father; no doubt, They two are also in the Spirit and the Spirit is in Them; this is essential—John 14:10-11.

3. In the essential Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit coexist and coinhere at the same time and in the same way with no succession; there is no first, second, or third—v. 16:

a. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit coexist simultaneously from eternity to eternity—vv. 16-17, Eph. 3:14-17, 2 Cor. 13:14.

b. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit mutually indwell one another; their coinherence makes them one—John 14:10-11, 26; 15:26.

B. The economical Trinity refers to His plan for His move—Rev. 1:4-5:

1. In God’s plan, in God’s administrative arrangement, in God’s economy, the Father takes the first step, the Son takes the second step, and the Spirit takes the third step; the Father planned, the Son accomplished, and the Spirit applies what the Son accomplished according to the Father’s plan; this is a successive procedure or a succession in God’s economy to carry out His eternal purpose—Eph. 1:4, 6-7, 13.

2. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are economically three, yet They are still one in harmony in the economical Trinity—John 10:30; 17:21, 23; Matt. 3:16-17, Eph. 1:4, 6-7, 13.

3. While the divine economy is being carried out by the economical Trinity, the eternal coexistence and coinherence of the three in the Godhead remain intact and are not jeopardized—Matt. 3:16-17, John 17:21.

II. The aspect of the essential Trinity—the Son is the embodiment of the Father, and the Spirit is the reality of the Son—Col. 2:9, John 14:16-18:

A. A Son is given to us, yet His name is called the everlasting Father—Isa. 9:6, John 10:30.

B. The Son as the last Adam became the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b, 2 Cor. 3:17:

1. He was the last Adam; that means that after Him, there would be no flesh; He was the ending, the closing, the concluding, of the flesh; this One in resurrection became the life-giving Spirit; thus, this One, the Son, is the Father and eventually He is the Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b.

2. He is the Son, yet He is the Father; He is the Son, yet He is the life-giving Spirit—Isa. 9:6, 1 Cor. 15:45b.

C. The Lord is the Spirit and the Lord Spirit—2 Cor. 3:17-18:

1. The Lord Spirit is a compound divine title like the Father God—v. 18.

2. He is both the Lord and the Spirit; they two are one in Him—Isa. 9:6, 1 Cor. 15:45b.

D. The Son is called the Father, and the Lord is the Spirit; therefore, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one; this refers to His essence, His existence—Isa. 9:6, 2 Cor. 3:17-18.

E. According to John’s record in the mystical view concerning Christ in His divinity, God the Father with Him and the Spirit as the Triune God are always one essentially, coexisting and even coinhering; this is what is called the essential Trinity—John 14:16-18; 17:21.

F. Such words in the Scripture are strong evidence that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are essentially one—Matt. 28:19, John 10:30.

III. The Aspect of the Economical Trinity—The Father is the Originator, making the divine economy; then the Son accomplishes the divine economy made by the Father; and the Spirit applies to God’s elect what the Son has accomplished even so, They are still one in harmony in the economical Trinity—Eph. 1:9-10; 3:9, 1 Tim.1:4b, John 5:19; 8:28; 16:13; 10:30; 17:21, 23:

A. The Father spoke in heaven concerning the Son, the Son stood in the water on the earth, and the Spirit soared as the dove in the air; the three of the Trinity here are in three locations—Matt. 3:16-17:

1. The Father as the source must be in heaven—14:19.

2. The Son in His incarnation as the course must be on the earth— John 1:14.

3. The Spirit as the flow must be soaring in the air—v. 32.

B. In John 17:1, after the Lord spoke to the disciples, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You”; this is the Son on earth praying to the Father in heaven; this does not refer to the essential aspect of the Trinity but to the economical aspect.

C. According to the record of the synoptic Gospels in the physical view concerning Christ in His humanity, God the Father left Him economically when He was made sin for us on the cross; this is what is called the economical Trinity—2 Cor. 5:21, Matt. 27:46.

D. The Father chose the believers before the foundation of the world, the Son redeemed them in time, and the Spirit seals them after they believe in the Son—Eph. 1:4, 6-7, 13:

1. The work of selection and the work of predestination were done by the Father, not by the Son or by the Spirit, but He did not do them alone; the Father of the Triune Godhead did the choosing and the predestinating in the Son and with the Spirit—v. 4.

2. The Son came to do His all- inclusive redemptive work, which includes incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection, with the Father and by the Spirit—v. 7.

3. The Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God in His economy; every work that is done by the Spirit is done by the Son as the Spirit with the Father—v. 13.

E. Words like these in the Scripture are strong evidence that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are economically three; thus, God’s elect participate in what the Triune God has done and enjoy Their work with Themselves for their satisfaction—John 17:21, 23, 2 Cor. 13:14.

Ministry Excerpts:

THE ESSENTIAL TRINITY AND THE ECONOMICAL TRINITY

Thus far, the two main aspects we have seen concerning the divine Trinity are the essential Trinity and the economical Trinity. In the essential Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit coexist and coinhere at the same time and in the same way with no succession. There is no first, second, or third. However, in God’s plan, in God’s administrative arrangement, in God’s economy, the Father takes the first step, the Son takes the second step, and the Spirit takes the third step. The Father planned, the Son accomplished, and the Spirit applies what the Son accomplished according to the Father’s plan. This is a successive procedure or a succession in God’s economy to carry out His eternal purpose. The essential Trinity refers to the essence of the Triune God for His existence; the economical Trinity refers to His plan for His move. There is the need of the existence of the divine Trinity, and there is also the need of the plan of the divine Trinity. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision”, msg. 7)

In essence, the three of the Godhead exist equally at the same time and coinhere equally at the same time from eternity to eternity.

The Father’s Plan

God, the Triune God, has a purpose, so He made a plan. He made an administrative arrangement to carry out His purpose, so He has an economy. In this economy the three of the Godhead are in succession. This is economical, not essential. Furthermore, to carry out the plan there is the need of much work. The Father accomplished the first step of the plan, of the economy. He worked in choosing us and in predestinating us. The work of selection and the work of predestination were done by the Father, not by the Son or by the Spirit. We must be careful, though, to realize that the Father did the selection and the predestination, but He did not do them alone. The Father of the Triune Godhead did the choosing and the predestinating in the Son and with the Spirit. If we say that the Father chose us and selected us alone, we jeopardize the coinherence and the coexistence of the divine Trinity. The coinherence and the coexistence of the Triune God are from eternity to eternity.

The Son’s Accomplishment

After the plan was made, there was the need for the Son to come to carry out the plan. The Son came to be incarnated, to be flesh, to be a man. He came to live a human life for thirty-three and a half years, to die an all-inclusive death, and to resurrect from the dead. The Son came to do all the works, but He did not do these works alone. He did them with the Father and by the Spirit. The Son came to do His all-inclusive redemptive work, which includes incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection, with the Father and by the Spirit. If the Son had come by Himself alone, this again would have jeopardized the coexistence and the coinherence, the essence, of the divine Trinity.

The Spirit’s Application

After the accomplishment there was the need and there still is the need of application. In this third step of application more fine works are needed. In the first step the Father had only to make a plan. In the second step, the Son had to accomplish the plan with much work. The Spirit’s application in the third step needs a great deal of continuous work. We need the Spirit to lead us and to guide us not only day by day but also minute by minute in all the details of our daily life. The Spirit needs to be applied in your talk to your wife and even in your attitude. We can see how fine and how detailed is the work to carry out this application. The Spirit is doing this application work not alone by Himself, but as the Son with the Father. Otherwise, this application would also jeopardize the divine existence of the Trinity.

In the work of the Father’s plan we can say that the Father did the works in the Son and with the Spirit, but we cannot say that the Son did that work with the Father and by the Spirit. Neither can we say that the Spirit did the works of the plan as the Son, with the Father. Also, in the second step of God’s economy, the step of accomplishment, the Son did all the works. We cannot say the Father did the accomplishing work with the Son and by the Spirit. Neither can we say that the Spirit accomplished the Father’s plan as the Son, with the Father. We can only say that the Son did all the works to accomplish the Father’s plan with the Father and by the Spirit. Also, we cannot say that the Father became flesh and that the Father lived on this earth in the flesh. Furthermore, we cannot say that the Father went to the cross and died for our redemption, and we cannot say the blood shed on the cross is the blood of Jesus the Father. We must say that the blood was shed by Jesus the Son of God (1 John 1:7). We can neither say that the Father died on the cross nor can we say that the Father resurrected from the dead.

In the third step of God’s economy, the step of the Spirit, all the works were surely done by the Spirit. In the third step, however, the Son became the Spirit. Therefore, whatever kind of work is done by the Spirit is the work done by the Son as the Spirit. In the third step, all the works are done by the Spirit as the Son with the Father. We cannot say, though, that all the works in the third step are done by the Father with the Son and through the Spirit. We need a sober mind to see this. In the third step all the works are done by the Spirit as the Son with the Father. We can also say that all the works in the third step are done by the Son as the Spirit with the Father because after the second step was accomplished, the Son as the Accomplisher, with the Father, became the Spirit. Therefore, the Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God in His economy. Every work that is done by the Spirit is done by the Son as the Spirit with the Father. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 3: The Way to Carry Out the Vision”, msg. 7)

THE ASPECT OF THE ESSENTIAL TRINITY

According to Their essence, the three are one; thus, there is the aspect of the essential Trinity. The Son is the embodiment of the Father (Col. 2:9), and the Spirit is the reality of the Son (John 14:16-18).

The Son Being Called the Father

A Son is given to us, yet His name is called the eternal Father (Isa. 9:6).

The Son Becoming the Life-giving Spirit

The Son as the last Adam became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). He was incarnated to be the flesh. He was the last Adam. That means that after Him, there would be no flesh. He was the ending, the closing, the concluding, of the flesh. This One in resurrection became the life-giving Spirit. Thus, this One, the Son, is the Father and eventually He is the Spirit. In 1934 Brother Nee gave a conference on the all-inclusive Christ. He said that Christ, the all-inclusive One, is the centrality and universality of God. He is the Son, yet He is the Father. He is the Son, yet He is the life-giving Spirit. Thus, He is the centrality and universality of the Triune God.

The Lord Being the Spirit

The Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17) and the Lord Spirit (v. 18). The Lord Spirit is a compound divine title like the Father God. He is both the Lord and the Spirit. They two are one in Him.

The Evidence That the Father, the Son, and the Spirit Are Essentially One

Such words in the Scripture are strong evidence that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are essentially one.

THE ASPECT OF THE ECONOMICAL TRINITY

When we speak of the Triune God according to His economy, we are speaking of Him according to His moving and acting, not His essence. According to the economy, the three are three; thus, there is the aspect of the economical Trinity. The Father is the Originator, making the divine economy (Eph. 1:9-10; 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:4b); then the Son accomplishes the divine economy made by the Father (John 5:19; 8:28); and the Spirit applies to God’s elect what the Son has accomplished (16:13). These are steps of one complete move. God the Father planned to do something; the Son accomplished the plan; and the Spirit applies to us what the Son has accomplished. They are still one in harmony in the economical Trinity (10:30; 17:21, 23).

The Father in Heaven, the Son on the Earth, and the Spirit in the Air

The Father spoke in heaven concerning the Son, the Son stood in the water on the earth, and the Spirit soared as the dove in the air (Matt. 3:16-17). The three of the Trinity here are in three locations. Christ the Son, after His baptism, was standing in the water, and the Father said, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight.” Then the Spirit as a dove soaring in the air descended upon Him. The Father as the source must be in heaven, the Son in His incarnation as the course must be on the earth, and the Spirit as the flow must be soaring in the air.

This is different from the view of the Triune God in John 14. In John 10:30 the Lord said, “I and the Father are one.” He did not say, “I am one with the Father.” We can say that we are one with one another. But the Lord Jesus and the Father, They two, are one. In John there is the mystical view that the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. No doubt, They two are also in the Spirit and the Spirit is in Them. This is essential.

The Father Choosing, the Son Redeeming, and the Spirit Sealing

The Father chose the believers before the foundation of the world in eternity past, the Son redeemed them in time, and the Spirit seals them after they believe in the Son (Eph. 1:4, 6-7, 13).

The Evidence That the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit Are Economically Three

Words like these in the Scripture are strong evidence that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are economically three. Thus, God’s elect participate in what the Triune God has done and enjoy Their work with Themselves for their satisfaction. By God acting economically, we can participate in what He is and what He has worked out for our pleasure and satisfaction. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 4, “Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John”, msg. 3)

THE ESSENTIAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS OF THE TRINITY

According to John’s record in the mystical view concerning Christ in His divinity, God the Father with Him and the Spirit as the Triune God are always one essentially, coexisting and even coinhering. To coinhere is to mutually indwell one another. The three of the Godhead are coinhering, mingled, and blended as one. This is what is called the essential Trinity. But according to the record of the synoptic Gospels in the physical view concerning Christ in His humanity, God the Father left Him economically when He was made sin for us on the cross; this is what is called the economical Trinity.

The essential Trinity is according to God’s essence. The economical Trinity is according to God’s move. John 14 says that the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. They two are one. Eventually, They work to bring us into Them, that is, into the union, mingling, and incorporation with the Triune God. John reveals that we have been united with, mingled with, and even incorporated into the Triune God. But in Matthew and Luke, the synoptic Gospels, when Christ was being baptized, He stood in the water on earth praying. At that juncture, God the Father spoke from heaven, and God the Spirit was soaring in the air (Matt. 3:16-17; Luke 3:21-22). The three of the Divine Trinity were in three different locations. The Father was in heaven; the Son was on the earth; and the Spirit was soaring in the air. Even though They were separated economically, They were still one essentially. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living”, msg. 17)

BEING ONE ESSENTIALLY AND BEING THREE ECONOMICALLY

We believe in the coexistence and coinherence of the Three of the Godhead; that is, we believe that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all exist essentially at the same time and under the same conditions. However, in the divine economy, the Three work and are manifested respectively in three consecutive stages. Yet even in Their economical works and manifestations the Three still remain essentially in Their coexistence and coinherence. The Father chose us in the Son and by the Spirit (Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:2a). The Son accomplished redemption for us with the Father and by the Spirit (John 8:29; Heb. 9:14). The Spirit works in us as the Son (John 14:26; 2 Cor. 3:17) with the Father (John 15:26). Their works and manifestations are economical, but their coexistence and coinherence are eternal. All the Three are eternal essentially. Isaiah 9:6 says that the Father is eternal, Hebrews 1:12 and 7:3 indicate that the Son is eternal, and Hebrews 9:14 speaks of the eternal Spirit. Therefore, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not consecutive but eternal in Their existence, in Their being.

THE DISPENSING OF GOD HIMSELF IN HIS TRINITY
INTO HIS CHOSEN AND REDEEMED PEOPLE

In order to redeem man so that He might still have the position to be one with man, God became incarnated (John 1:1, 14) in the Son and through the Spirit (Luke 1:31-35) to be a man, and He lived a human life on the earth, also in the Son (Luke 2:49) and by the Spirit (Luke 4:1; Matt. 12:28). At the beginning of the Lord’s ministry on earth, the Father anointed the Son with the Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17; Luke 4:18) for reaching men and bringing them back to Him. Just before He was crucified in the flesh and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), the Lord unveiled His mysterious trinity to His disciples in plain words (John 14—17), stating that the Son is in the Father and that the Father is in the Son (14:9-11), that the Spirit is the transfiguration of the Son (14:16-20), that the Three, coexisting and coinhering simultaneously, are abiding with the believers for their enjoyment (14:23; 16:7-10; 17:21-23), and that all the Father has is the Son’s, and all the Son possesses is received by the Spirit to be disclosed, revealed, to the believers (16:13-15). Such a Trinity is altogether related to the dispensing of the processed God into His believers (14:17, 20; 15:4-5), so that they may be one in and with the Triune God (17:21-23).

After His resurrection, the Lord charged His disciples to disciple the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). As we have pointed out, this is to bring the believing ones into the Triune God, into an organic union with the processed God, who has passed through incarnation, human living, and crucifixion and has entered into resurrection. It is based upon such an organic union that at the conclusion of 2 Corinthians Paul blesses the Corinthians with the blessed Trinity in the participation of the Son’s grace with the Father’s love through the Spirit’s fellowship. In this trinity God the Father operates all things in all the members in the church, which is the Body of Christ, through the ministries of the Lord, God the Son, by the gifts of God the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-6).

Second Corinthians 13:14 is strong proof that the Trinity of the Godhead is not for the doctrinal understanding of systematic theology, but for the dispensing of God Himself in His Trinity into His chosen and redeemed people. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 3)