晨更经节 — 1 月 9 日 – 1 月 15 日
第一周 爱主并彼此相爱—为着生机地建造召会作基督的身体，在我们所是和所作上极超越的路
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Day: January 1, 2023
Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ – Week 1
Morning Watch — January 2, 2022 – January 8, 2023
Loving the Lord and Loving One Another—the Most Excellent Way for Us to Be Anything and Do Anything for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ
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Corporate Reading: The Economy of God and the Mystery of the Transmission of the Divine Trinity, Chapter 4, Section:
A Bird’s Eye View of the Gospel of John
The Mystery of the Divine Trinity in John 14
Four Steps Taken by the Word in His Relationship with Man
He Who Has Seen the Son Having Seen the Father; the Son Being in the Father, and the Father Being in the Son
The Son Speaking While the Father Was Working; the Father and the Son Coinhering…
Those Who Believe into the Son Doing Greater Works—Dispensing Christ through Speaking
2022년 가을 장로들과 책임 형제들을 위한 국제 훈련 – 1주차
The Economy of God and the Mystery of the Transmission of the Divine Trinity, Chap 4, Section 4 of 4
THOSE WHO BELIEVE INTO THE SON
DOING GREATER WORKS—
DISPENSING CHRIST THROUGH SPEAKING
In John 14:11-12 the Lord said, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes into Me, the works which I do he shall do also; and greater than these he [373] shall do because I am going to the Father.” From the context of these verses we understand that doing greater works does not refer to doing greater miracles but to speaking, because previously the Lord said that the Son was speaking while the Father who abode in the Son was working. Similarly, our doing “greater works” refers to our speaking through which the Lord who abides in us does His work. Whenever we speak for the Lord, the Lord works in us. This is not for the purpose of performing a greater miracle but for dispensing. From both the book of Acts and church history we see that after the Lord’s departure the apostles, such as Peter and Paul, did greater things than what the Lord did in the three and a half years when He was on the earth. On the day of Pentecost, Peter, who before this time spoke nonsensically, stood up and spoke a long message, and three thousand people were saved. What does it mean to be saved? It means to be infused and filled up with the word. Peter’s message caused three thousand people to be infused. This is what the Lord meant when He said, “Greater than these he shall do.”
After reading John 14 some may ask, “The Lord said clearly that we shall do greater works than He did. However, He raised people from the dead, but we cannot raise even a dead dog. He healed the sick and cast out demons many, many times, but we cannot do such things even once. What is the matter?” In order to understand the real significance of the Bible, we cannot interpret things out of context; we have to read everything in its context. According to the context of John 14:11-12, greater does not refer to greater signs or wonders but to the speaking that is for dispensing. While you are serving as a mouthpiece to release the Lord’s speaking, He is in you doing His work. This is transmission, dispensing.
The Gospel of John shows us the Word from its outset: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” After becoming flesh, the Word began to speak, and today He continues speaking. While He speaks, the Father is being dispensed. Today in our work for the Lord, we also dispense Him through our speaking. This is the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity as revealed in the Gospel of John.
We should not merely know the Bible on the surface, but we should go deeper to know the mysterious truth in the Bible. Only this truth can constitute us into another kind of person, enabling us to speak for God and to dispense God into others. This is the real purpose of our knowing the truth of the mystery in the Gospel of John.
The Economy of God and the Mystery of the Transmission of the Divine Trinity, Chap 4, Section 3 of 4
HE WHO HAS SEEN THE SON HAVING SEEN THE FATHER
In John 14 Philip asked the Lord to show them the Father, and [370] the Lord answered, “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip?” (v. 9a). After hearing this, Philip was even more puzzled. Perhaps he thought, “Of course, I know You. How could I not know You? You grew up in Nazareth, and You were a carpenter before You came out to preach the word. Your mother is Mary, whose husband is Joseph. You also have a few siblings, all of whom I know.” In fact, if this was Philip’s thought concerning what it meant to know Jesus, then this shows that he did not know Jesus at all. So the Lord went on to say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father?” (v. 9b). Some Bible expositors think that this means that the Lord is the Father’s representative. They would liken this to the president of the United States sending a representative to the Philippines: when the people there contact this representative, it is equivalent to contacting the president of the United States. Actually, this verse does not mean that the Lord Jesus represents God or that the Son of God represents the heavenly Father. What it means is that the Lord Jesus, the Son, is the Father. He does not merely represent, but He is.
When the Lord said, “How is it that you say, Show us the Father?” He meant that He is the Father; thus, when men see Him, they see the Father. The disciples’ asking the Lord to show them the Father is like having the president of the United States come to see you and saying to him, “Please show us the president of the United States.” He would surely be very surprised and say, “You who have seen me have seen the president of the United States; how is it that you say, ‘Show us the president of the United States?’” The Lord had been with the disciples for three and a half years, and they had been seeing Him all that time, yet incredibly they still did not know that He was the Father and still asked Him to show them the Father. They were really making matters difficult for the Lord.
THE SON BEING IN THE FATHER,
AND THE FATHER BEING IN THE SON
In verse 10 the Lord continued, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?” Over the past eighteen hundred years this truth has been gradually neglected. However, the theologians in the early centuries considered this matter to be quite important. They even coined the theological term coinherence, meaning that you are in me, I am in you, and we are in one another mutually. [371] In Christianity’s theology today, many teach the doctrine of the Trinity, and some advocate the use of the term coexistence, but not many have the boldness to use the term coinherence. Nonetheless, in early Christian theology both coexistence and coinherence were used. This is a tremendously great matter: the Son is in the Father, the Father is in the Son, and the Son and the Father are one. This is why the Lord asked Philip how it could be that he had seen the Son yet had not seen the Father.
THE SON SPEAKING
WHILE THE FATHER WAS WORKING
Furthermore, the Lord said, “The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father who abides in Me does His works” (v. 10b). This simply means that the Son speaks while the Father works. Perhaps some will say, “Is this not the same as what the Chinese refer to as playing shuang-huang?” [Translator’s note: shuang-huang is a Chinese variety act featuring two performers, one of whom speaks while the other acts out the gestures.] Shuang-huang involves two persons, whereas here there is only one person: this One is He yet “I.” “I” speaks while He works. The Son speaks, which is to express something outwardly. However, the Son does not speak according to Himself, but the Father who abides in the Son does His works. This indicates that the Son speaks outwardly while the Father works inwardly. The One who is outside speaks, while the One who is inside works. Therefore, are They two persons? We can say that They are two yet one, one yet two. Moreover, it is not that there is one who speaks without and another who works within. The One who works within is in the One who speaks without; that is, the Father is in the Son. At the same time, the One who speaks without is in the One who works within; that is, the Son is in the Father. Hence, the two are actually one. Their coinherence is an unfathomable mystery.
THE FATHER AND THE SON COINHERING
FOR THE DIVINE DISPENSING
Ultimately, we all have to admit that we really do not know all that we think we know. However, there is truly such a fact that the Son is in the Father, the Father is in the Son, and the two are one. This has been clearly shown in the Bible in black and white. Though They [372] are one, there is still the aspect of Their being two; furthermore, though there is the aspect of Their being two, They are one. This is the mystery of the Divine Trinity.
What is the reason for the coinhering of the Father and the Son? It is for the divine dispensing. If God were not triune, if the Son did not speak outwardly while the Father worked inwardly, there would be no possibility for God to dispense Himself into us. Moreover, God’s dispensing is altogether a story of the “Word.” For example, my speaking to you is a kind of dispensing. I am full of knowledge within; what should I do if I want to infuse you with all my knowledge? If I went and found a doctor, he would have no way to inject my knowledge into you. The most simple and effective way is for me to speak to you directly. The more I speak, the more I transmit all the knowledge within me into you. Hence, speaking is a dispensing. In the same way, when you work for the Lord, you need to learn to speak for the Lord so that you can dispense Him into others.
In ancient times when people engaged in war, they relied mainly on the weapons in their hands. Therefore, the Chinese say that a soldier who is skillful with his weapon can defend a key position single-handedly and that even ten thousand men cannot match him. If a soldier is not skillful with his weapon, he cannot fight the battle. If we want to fight the battle, we must have a weapon in our hands. Our “weapon” is the word, and we all should be experts at using this weapon. As experts, we should be able to strike more than just the air. Hence, we all need to be trained. What kind of training do we need? We need the training of infusing: we need to be infused with God’s economy, and the more we are infused the better. Then one day we all will be able to do the same work of infusing God’s economy into others. This is dispensing. John 14, 15, and 16 are all on the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, and this dispensing depends on speaking.
The Economy of God and the Mystery of the Transmission of the Divine Trinity, Chap 4, Section 2 of 4
Bible teachers all know that the New Testament contains the four Gospels, which speak about four aspects of the Lord Jesus. This is so that an accurate picture will be presented. Similarly, if you want to make a bronze statue of someone, you have to take four pictures of him so that you can have the basis to create the statue accurately, or else it may not look so real. At the beginning of the New Testament are the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Most people agree that Matthew is on the Lord Jesus being the King, Mark is on the Lord Jesus being a slave, and Luke is on the Lord Jesus being a man. Concerning John, however, not many people have the boldness to say that it is on the Lord Jesus being God. If we do not have adequate revelation and knowledge concerning the mystery of the Divine Trinity unveiled in the Gospel of John, we surely will not have the boldness and confidence to say this. We need particular knowledge concerning the mysterious Triune God.
Let me use language as an example. In Chinese, some words are very close in pronunciation, and such words must be pronounced very carefully to avoid being misunderstood. I have been speaking [367] Shantung Mandarin since my youth, so my pronunciation of standard Mandarin is usually not so precise. For example, my last name is Lee, and Sister Lee’s maiden name is Li. When I say these two words, others often cannot make a clear distinction between Lee and Li because the pronunciation of these two words is so similar. Because of this, whenever someone asks me, “What is your wife’s maiden name?” I always hesitate and do not have the boldness to say it because I am not sure if I will pronounce it correctly. In the same way, if we do not have a deep and thorough understanding of the words of mystery in the Gospel of John concerning the Triune God, we surely will not have the boldness to speak them.
In actuality, the mystery in the four Gospels is the same as the mystery in the Gospel of John, and the mystery in John is the Triune God.
The Word Being in the Beginning,
and the Word Being God
With respect to the Lord’s relationship to us, the first aspect of the mystery in the Gospel of John, as shown in the outline, is that the Lord Jesus is the Word. When the Lord came, He began to have a relationship with us as the Word. John does not begin with, “In the beginning was God,” but he begins with, “In the beginning was the Word.” The fact that God is referred to as the Word indicates that He has a relationship with man. Suppose I came to you and just looked at you and let you look at me. If we just look at one another without saying anything, nothing will happen. Once I open my mouth to speak, however, a relationship begins. When I speak, you respond. When I speak again, you respond again. With such speaking and responding, a relationship develops. Such a relationship is initiated and formed by words. What is this? This is the story of the word. Words are the medium by which two parties develop a relationship. Every day news happens all over the world. We develop a relationship with the news because it is communicated to us through the words of the media, including radio, television, magazines, and newspapers.
In order to have a relationship with man, the Triune God must be the Word. If He were not the Word, He would have no way to have a relationship with the created man. Therefore, throughout the whole Bible the Word is very crucial. Even when God created all things, He did it through His word, which is Himself. For example, [368] I am speaking to you now, and the words I speak are just myself. If I speak wrongly, not only my words will be condemned, but I myself will also be condemned. I am one with my words. The two—my words and I—are inseparable. If you were indicted in court for speaking wrongly and declared guilty by the judge, you could not say, “Your Honor, I am not wrong; it was my words that were wrong. You may condemn my words, but do not condemn me.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is God Himself.
FOUR STEPS TAKEN BY THE WORD
IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH MAN
In the beginning of the Gospel of John, John speaks about the Word. This proves that God wants to have a relationship with man. How can God have a relationship with man? The first step is that He was incarnated to bring God into man; the second step is that He lived a human life on earth for thirty-three and a half years; the third step is that through His death and resurrection He brought man into God; and the fourth step is that He became the Spirit to abide and live in those who have believed into Him.
Concerning Christ as the Spirit
The Last Adam Becoming the Life-giving Spirit
Concerning the fundamental truth of Christ being the Spirit, there are two crucial verses. The first verse is 1 Corinthians 15:45b, which says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Some people argue that the life-giving Spirit here is not the Holy Spirit but the Spirit of Christ as a person. They say that just as we humans have a spirit, so Christ also has a spirit. They also say that when this Jesus Christ died, He became life-giving Spirit; however, this verse does not say that the last Adam simply became “Spirit,” without any modifier. Rather, it says that He became “a life-giving Spirit,” with the modifier life-giving. This indicates that this Spirit can give life. May I ask, What kind of spirit can give life? Can the human spirit give life? If Jesus Christ had not become the Spirit, and if the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 15:45b refers only to the spirit He had as a man, can that human spirit give life? Since 1 Corinthians 15:45b says explicitly that He became a “life-giving” Spirit, then it simply means that [369] He became a life-giving Spirit. That the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit is a very crucial revelation, and we cannot delete the word life-giving as it pleases us. Moreover, 2 Corinthians 3:6 says, “The Spirit gives life.” Only God can give life and enliven man. Besides God, no one in this universe can give life and enliven man.
The Lord Being the Spirit
The second crucial verse concerning Christ being the Spirit is 2 Corinthians 3:17, which says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” “The Lord” here, of course, is Jesus, and “the Spirit” is the Spirit who gives life, mentioned in verse 6, and who is the life-giving Spirit. Many Christian writers, including Henry Alford and Andrew Murray, all acknowledge this point. Praise the Lord, the Christ in whom we believe is the Spirit today.
The Lack in Christianity’s Theology
In our English hymnal there are twenty to thirty hymns concerning Christ as the Spirit. In the compilation of the hymnal, we did our best to collect all the truths expressed in hymns from different Christian backgrounds. Therefore, our hymnal may be considered a collection of the hymns of theology. If you want to study real theology, you need to first study our hymnal.
A great lack in Christian theology is that it does not say anything about Christ being the Spirit. Due to the fact that this truth is lacking, it is impossible to link all other truths together. Without this truth, the Father is the Father, the Son is the Son, the Spirit is the Spirit, and the three are totally separated. In other words, without Christ being the Spirit, the three of the Divine Trinity would be completely separated. From this standpoint we must consider it our responsibility to explain and preach the divine truth concerning Christ being the Spirit according to the revelation of the Bible.
In particular, the young people who desire to serve the Lord must know this truth thoroughly. You should not be the Philips who speak nonsense. Rather, you should spend time to study in order that you would see this mystery in the Gospel of John so that whatever you preach will involve this truth.