Why is God the Trinity, the Father, Son and Spirit?
Have you every wondered why the unique God revealed in the Bible is the Trinity—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
If you thoughtfully read through the gospel of John, you can’t help but be impressed with the profound words of Jesus concerning His mysterious relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
But I’m afraid that in much of today’s Christian teaching the divine trinity is practically neglected. Possibly it’s considered to be too profound to be practical—something only for theologians to discuss, or something for Bible students to study about.
But this falls short of God’s purpose in being the trinity!
So why is God the trinity?
God is the trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—to dispense Himself into us!
“What mystery, the Father, Son, and Spirit” a classic hymn by Witness Lee unfolds this purpose for God being the trinity in five of the most superb poetic stanzas:
1. God’s purpose in His trinity is that He enter us, in the Son, through the Spirit, to be our all:
The first stanza of this hymn says,
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!
This stanza unveils God’s intention, that by His trinity, He might enter us, that we might experience Him and enjoy Him as our all. The following stanzas then show us how this intention is worked out from the Father as the source, through the Son, and as the Spirit for us to experience in our spirit.
2. The Father, the rich source, as the fountain, has the desire that we enjoy all His untold wealth:
The second stanza shows us how the trinity being for dispensing starts with the Father who desires for us to enjoy Him. It says,
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!
It was God’s longing from eternity that we would enjoy all that He is, employing and applying His riches to meet our every need. This is not some prosperity gospel, but the enjoyment of God’s rich being.
3. The Son, the expression of God, came in the flesh, to accomplish a perfect redemption, that we sinners might be made one with God:
Christ, the Son, as God’s expression, is the emergence of the divine fountain. He is the spring gushing up, with eternal life for us to receive (John 4:14).
Yet, due to our sinful condition, the Son had to come in the flesh to redeem us (1 Pet. 3:18) so that we might be properly positioned to receive God’s dispensing. The third stanza of this hymn conveys this thought,
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.
4. The Spirit, as the Son’s transfiguration, comes into us as life to supply us and to be one spirit with us:
To carry out the dispensing of the trinity, Christ in resurrection became the life-giving Spirit to be one spirit with us and to supply us. First Corinthians 15:45 says of Him, “The last Adam [Christ] became a life-giving Spirit.” Stanza 4 says,
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!
As believers, the most amazing fact is that we have become one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)!
Yes, in His existence, the trinity–the Father, Son and Spirit are all eternal, all co-existing and distinct. Yet, economically, in the divine plan, the entire divine trinity is embodied in the Son (Col. 2:9). Then in His resurrection, the Son has been transfigured into the life-giving Spirit so that He can now be in us to be our life (Rom. 8:10).
5. Now God is the Spirit for us to touch and experience day by day in the one spirit with Him.
The trinity is now so available as the Spirit for us to touch and daily experience in this one spirit–His Spirit joined to our spirit. Stanza five says,
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!
How do we apply the vision of the divine trinity being for God’s dispensing?
We need to live a life of ordinary days in the divine dispensing.
We shouldn’t expect a spectacular result from our Christian life but be satisfied with ordinary days in the divine dispensing. In our daily living we simply need to receive, experience, and enjoy the dispensing of the divine trinity in a normal and gradual way.
It is by this little by little, day by day, and step by step dispensing of the divine trinity into us that we grow up into Christ in all things, the Body of Christ is built up, God’s enemy is defeated, and the bride of Christ is prepared for His soon return.
“Lord, thank you for showing us that You are the trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit for Your divine dispensing. Father, strengthen us daily with power through Your Spirit into our inner man so that Christ may make His home deep down in our hearts that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God. Lord, remind us to enjoy Your divine dispensing in all the ordinary things of our life—little by little, moment by moment, and day by day.”
If you were helped by something from this post, please take a moment to share your enjoyment in a brief comment. Then I hope you’ll take a moment to subscribe to the Holding to Truth blog.
References and Further Reading:
- This post was inspired by Message Two of a conference on The Crucial Points of the Major Items of the Lord’s Recovery Today.
- For an in depth appreciation of the Trinity for our experience, I would encourage you to read 2 Cor. 13:14, and note 1 in the Recovery Version.
- I would also recommend a short book entitled, Concerning the Triune God – The Father, the Son and the Spirit by Witness Lee. You can read it freely online at ministrybooks.org.
- “What mystery, the Father, Son, and Spirit” a hymn by Witness Lee is taken from Hymns #608, published and copyright by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA.
About Tom Smith
Hi. My name is Tom Smith. I'm the writer behind Holding to Truth in Love, and I love the Lord Jesus and His life-giving Word. Please feel free to send me an e-mail through the contact page if you have any questions. I hope you'd take a moment to subscribe to the Holding to Truth blog. Then you'll be sure not to miss a post. Thanks!
Praise Him for being triune to reach us! O how wonderful! How glorious!
Edgar, We can’t help but praise our dispensing Triune God. He is the Trinity for the express purpose of dispensing Himself into us for His expression, His fullness (Eph. 3:19). From His heart’s desire and intention in eternity past until complete fulfillment for eternity future God is ever coming to man for His dispensing. Lord, keep us always open to You so that we can cooperate with You for Your dispensing. Thank you for the comment.
Amen, dear Brother Tom! And thank you for your consistency and faithfulness to His Word!
Ron Highfield’s, Great is the Lord: Theology for the Praise of God, also has much to offer on the Trinity. “All Christian doctrine bears witness to the one God who is Father, Son and Spirit: that is, everything God does is from the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. And every Christian response to God occurs in the Spirit, through the Son, and to the Father. Therefore, every Christian doctrine bears a Trinitarian aspect.” p. 105
David, every Christian experience has such a “Trinitarian aspect.” For example, God’s redemption was accomplished through the offering of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross, which offering was made through the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14). Such an offering was completed when the Son ascended and brought His own blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies (v. 12) to speak before God for His completed work of redemption. God the Father must accept the offering of His Son’s blood for us. When we sin in time, we can apply the effectiveness of Christ’s blood that is ours in the eternal Spirit, instantly at the moment we sense any guilt on our conscience simply by repenting and confessing our sin or failure (1 John 1:9). May our spiritual eyes be opened to appreciate this “Trinitarian aspect” in all of our Christian experiences. Thank you for your confirming comment.
How glorious that the Triune God is not for doctrine, but for dispensing God into us for our enjoyment!
Amen. What a wonder! God is the Trinity for our experience and enjoyment of Him in His divine dispensing. May we be reminded to continually use our regenerated spirit to absorb our Triune God who is the flowing Spirit so that we continually receive His dispensing that will make us His fullness, His Body and bride for His eternal expression. Stay in the divine dispensing!
“Thank You dear Lord for Your heart’s desire to fill us with Your divine life and nature. Constrain us in Your love that we may constantly be open to Your wonderful dispensing”
Amen. May such a prayer be not only yours but that of every reader of this post!
May none of us be contented to merely know the divine trinity as an orthodox trinitarian doctrine but continually participate in dispensing of such Triune God for our experience and enjoyment of Him. It is only this that will issue in fulfilling His purpose to build up the Body of Christ and consummate the New Jerusalem.
Your last section title reminded me of this song, called “Ordinary Days”