WITNESS LEE QUOTES

Chapter Four
THE SPIRIT IS THE ULTIMATE CONSUMMATION OF THE TRIUNE GOD

I. GOD IS SPIRIT

JOHN 4:
24 God is Spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and reality.

THE ENTIRE GOD BEING THE SPIRIT

John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit.” “God” here surely denotes the entire God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The entire God, not only the Spirit, but the Spirit and the Father and the Son, is Spirit. Hence, we cannot say that only the Spirit is Spirit and that the Father is not Spirit or that the Son is not Spirit. As the Three-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-are all Spirit, so They all are one. The Father is Spirit, the Son is Spirit, and the Spirit is Spirit. The entire God is Spirit. As the Spirit, all the divine Three are one.

(Witness Lee, Divine Trinity, 141)

Some would even oppose our saying that the Triune God is such a Spirit. They have forgotten that even the Lord Himself said that God is Spirit (John 4:24). Does this mean that only the Creator God is Spirit? That the Father is not the Spirit and the Son is not the Spirit? Does this indicate that only the Spirit is the Spirit? This is the traditional teaching of the Trinity. Is God in John 4:24 only God the Spirit? Is He not God the Son? Is He not God the Father? Of course, the Triune God is there-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. If the Spirit is the Spirit, is not the Son the Spirit? Is not the Father the Spirit? The Lord Jesus said that God, meaning the Triune God, is the Spirit. Most Christians today only know the so-­called traditional, theological terminology concerning the Triune God. They say God the Father is one, God the Son is one, and God the Spirit is one. They say these are three separate and distinct Persons, that you cannot say that the Father is the Spirit, and the Son is the Spirit. You can only say the Spirit is the Spirit. We have to ask them- about John 4:24 which says God is Spirit.

(Witness Lee, Perfecting Training, 375)

IT IS WHOLLY A MATTER OF THE SPIRIT

The Triune God is wholly a matter of the Spirit. Firstly, in essence, He is Spirit. John 4:24 says: “God is Spirit,” (In Greek there is no article before the word “Spirit.") This refers to the essence of God. For example, the essence of a wooden table is wood; thus we can say that the table is wood. God is Spirit; God’s essence is Spirit. Secondly, in His economy, God is the Father, Son, and Spirit (Matt. 28:29). God has His economy, and in His economy the Father is the One who plans, the Son is the One who accomplishes, and the Spirit is the One who applies it all. The economy of God eventually is in the Spirit. Thirdly, in His redemption, the last Adam became the Life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). The Lord came to be the last Adam, accomplished redemption, and was resurrected to be the Life-giving Spirit. Today the Lord whom we enjoy is that Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), and that Spirit is the very Triune God. His essence is Spirit, His economy eventually is in the Spirit, and His redemption also leads to the Spirit. Consequently, the Lord whom we have, enjoy; and experience today is the Spirit. The God who planned in eternity, who in time came to create, who became a man, died on the cross, accomplished redemption, resurrected and ascended, and descended to visit us—this God is the Spirit. There is too much to say about this Spirit. This Spirit is too rich! In this Spirit there is God, and in this Spirit there is also man. In this Spirit there is the effective killing power of the cross, and in this Spirit there is also the resurrection, the life of resurrection, and the power of resurrection. In this Spirit there is ascension and transcendency, and in this Spirit there is also glory and enthronement, kingship and kingdom. Hallelujah, this Spirit is all-inclusive!

(Witness Lee, Triune God, 33-34)

This Spirit is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), just as the breath breathed into us (Jn. 20:22), to be our life. This Spirit is also the Spirit of power (Acts 1:8), just as the wind blown upon us (Acts 2:2,4), to be our power. This Spirit is the Life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:6), the Spirit of bountiful supply (Phil. 1:19), the Spirit that sets man free (2 Cor. 3:17), the sanctifying Spirit (1 Peter 1:2), the transforming Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18), the leading and interceding Spirit (Rom. 8:14, 26), and the Spirit of many other functions. This Spirit regenerates us (Jn. 3:5, 6), anoints us, seals us (2 Cor. 1:21,22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30), and now is in us to be the earnest of God as our eternal portion (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 5:5). This Spirit is also the firstfruit, that is, the foretaste of the liberty of glory into which God is going to bring us (Rom. 8:23). We have all been baptized into this Spirit, and now we are made to drink of this Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).

This all-inclusive and almighty Spirit has come into our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22), and joined with our spirit as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Therefore, we must turn to our spirit. Today if we would experience the Lord and enjoy Him as everything to us, we must turn to our spirit.

However, it is not sufficient just to learn to turn to our spirit. In our daily living we must walk according to the spirit. It is rather difficult to say whether this spirit is the Holy Spirit or our spirit, for it is the mingled spirit of these two spirits. We must not walk according to our emotions, nor according to our mind, nor according to our will, but just according to this spirit. All our speech, conduct, daily living, activity and work must be done according to this spirit (Rom. 8:4-6; Gal. 5:16,25). If we mind the spirit and walk according to the spirit in such a way, we will be those who live in the spirit, those who constantly have the Lord Spirit’s indwelling, and those who walk with the Lord Spirit. The Lord Spirit will become our living and our all, and we will enjoy all the riches of the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit. We will live in the Body which has been baptized in and filled with the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4), that is, the church, to become the dwelling place of God in spirit (Eph. 2:22), filled with all the fullness of God that God may be glorified therein (Eph. 3:19,21).

(Witness Lee, Triune God, 34-35)

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II. THE SPIRIT IS SENT BY THE FATHER AND THE SON, AND COMES “FROM WITH” THE FATHER

JOHN 14:
16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever;
17 Even the Spirit of reality, Whom the world can­not receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you.

JOHN 14:
26 But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things which I said to you.

JOHN 15:
26 But when the Comforter comes, Whom I will send to you ¹from the Father, the Spirit of reality Who proceeds ¹from the Father, He will testify concerning Me;

26¹ The sense in Greek is from with. The Spirit of reality is sent by the Son, not only from the Father, but also with the Father. The Comforter comes from the Father and with the Father. The Father is the source. When the Spirit comes from the source, it does not mean He leaves the source, but that the source comes with Him. This Spirit, sent by the Son and coming with the Father, will testify concerning the Son. Therefore, His testimony concerning the Son is a matter of the Triune God.

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 486)

SENT BY THE SON

In this verse the Lord said that He would send to the disciples the Spirit of reality. But in 14:26 the Lord said that the Father would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, in the Son’s name. John has two different ways of speaking about the same thing. First, in 14:26, he says that the Father will send the Spirit; now in 15:26, he says that the Lord Himself will send the Spirit. Then who sent the Spirit—the Father or the Son? We must say that the Spirit was sent by both the Father and the Son. The Father and the Son are one. The Father’s sending is the Son’s sending, and the Son’s sending is the Father’s sending. The two are one. Regardless of who it is who sends the Spirit, the Spirit is always sent with the Father and in the name of the Son. Once again we see the Triune God. When the Spirit comes, He comes with the Father in the Son’s name. So all three of the Godhead are here.

(Witness Lee, LS of John, 425-426)

NOT ONLY FROM THE FATHER BUT WITH THE FATHER

In verse 26 the Lord said that He would send the Comforter from the Father. As we pointed out in message thirty-two, the Greek preposition translated “from” in this verse is para. The sense of this preposition in Greek here is “from with.” The Spirit of reality is sent by the Son, not only from the Father but also with the Father. The Com­forter comes from the Father and with the Father. The Father is the source. When the Spirit comes from the source, it does not mean that He leaves the source but that the source comes with Him. This Spirit, sent by the Son coming with the Father, will testify concerning the Son. Therefore, His testimony concerning the Son is a matter of the Triune God.

(Witness Lee, LS of John, 426)

“FROM WITH”

Now we come to John 15:26, a wonderful verse. “But when the Comforter comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Reality Who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” We must take note of the word “from"' in this verse. The sense in Greek is “from with.” The Spirit of Reality is sent by the Son, not only “from” the Father, but also “with” the Father. The Comforter comes “from” the Father and “with” the Father. The Father is the source. When the Spirit comes from the source, it does not mean He leaves the source, but that the source comes with Him. This Spirit sent by the Son and coming with the Father, will testify concerning the Son. Therefore, His testimony concerning the Son is a matter of the Triune God. Listen! If a brother sends me to your place and I come from his place to your place, I can­ not say I will come from him and with him. We can't do this, but the Spirit can do this. The Spirit is sent from the Father, and when He comes from the Father He comes with the Father. His coming brings the Father. This is the history of the Trinity.

(Witness Lee, Stream Magazine, 1610)

John 7:29 says, “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me,” and John 15:26 says, “But when the Comforter comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality Who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” The Greek preposition rendered “from” in these verses and in John 6:46 has the meaning of “from with.” The Son is sent not only from the Father, but also from with the Father. In John 15:26 the Lord says that He will send the Spirit from with the Father. According to the human concept, the Spirit is sent from the Father, and the Father remains in the heavens. However, the Spirit of reality is sent by the Son, not only from the Father, but also with the Father. The Comforter comes from the Father and with the Father. The Father is the source. When the Spirit comes from the source, it does not mean He leaves the source, but that the source comes with Him. This Spirit, sent by the Son and coming with the Father, will testify concerning the Son. The three of the Godhead are three-in-one. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not three separate Gods, but the one unique God. This is the correct understanding of the Triune God according to the pure Word of God. However, those who hold the traditional concept of the Trinity in actuality have three Gods.

(Witness Lee, LS of Matthew, 536)

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III. THE SPIRIT COMES IN THE SON’S NAME

JOHN 14:
26 But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He Will teach you all things, and remind you of all things which I said to you.

26¹ The Son came in the Father’s name (5:43), because the Son and the Father are one (10:30). Now, the Spirit will come in the Son’s name, because the Spirit and the Son also are one (2 Cor. 3:17). This is the Triune God - the Father, the Son, and the Spirit - reaching man even­tually as the Spirit.

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 482)

The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is sent by the Father in the Son’s name. So, the Holy Spirit comes in the Son’s name to be the reality of His name. What is the meaning of “in My name"? The name is the Son Himself, and the Spirit is the person, the being, of the Son. When we call on the name of the Son, we get the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). The Son came in the Father’s name (5:43) because the Son and the Father are one (10:30). Now, the Spirit will come in the Son’s name because the Spirit and the Son also are one (2 Cor. 3:17). This is the Triune God – the Father, the Son, and the Spirit – reaching us eventually as the Spirit.

The Spirit comes in the name of the Son. When you call on the name of Jesus, the Spirit comes. The name of the Son is Jesus, and His person is the Spirit. God the Father sends the Spirit and the Spirit comes in the name of the Son. Eventually, it is the Triune God who comes. When the Spirit comes to us, the Father also comes. The Son is also here because the Spirit comes with the Father in the name of the Son. The Father sends the Spirit from with Himself and the Spirit comes in the name of the Son. The Spirit comes as the Son. He is the Son coming, and this Son coming is from with the Father. Therefore, when one comes, all three are present.

Let me say this once again. The Father sends the Spirit with Himself. Since the Spirit comes with the Father, the Father comes together with the Spirit. The Spirit comes in the name of the Son and as the Son. When the Spirit comes, it is the Son who comes. Thus, when the Spirit comes, all three are present.

(Witness Lee, LS of John, 387)

The Spirit came after the Lord’s resurrection to remind the disciples of all the things that the Lord told them before His crucifixion. This is the reminding of the Spirit who was sent from with the Father and who came as the Son in the Son’s name. The name is the Son Himself, and the Spirit is the being, the person, of the Son. When the disciples called on the name of the Son, they received the Spirit who reminded them of what the Son had told them before His death.

(Witness Lee, LS of John, 388)

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IV. THE SPIRIT IS THE ULTIMATE CONSUMMATION (FINAL EXPRESSION) OF THE TRIUNE GOD

JOHN 7:
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast; Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.
39 But this He said concerning the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were about to receive; for the ²Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

39² The Spirit of God was there from the very beginning (Gen. 1:1-2), but the Spirit as “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9), “the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1: 19), was not yet at the time the Lord spoke this word, because He was not yet glorified. Jesus was glorified when He was resurrected (Luke 24:26). After His resurrection, the Spirit of God became the Spirit of the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Jesus Christ, Who was breathed into the disciples by Christ in the evening of the day He was resurrected (John 20:22). The Spirit is now the “another Comforter,” Who is “the Spirit of reality” promised by Christ before His death (John 14:16-17). When the Spirit was the Spirit of God, He had only the divine element. When He became the Spirit of Jesus Christ through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, He had both the divine and the human element, with all the essence and reality of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Hence, He is now the all-inclusive Spirit of Jesus Christ as the living water for us to receive (vv. 38-39).

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 446)

ACTS 16:
6 And they passed through the country of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
7 And when they had come down to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, and the ¹Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;

7¹ The interchangeable use of the Spirit of Jesus with the Holy Spirit in the preceding verse reveals that the Spirit of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a general title of the Spirit of God in the New Testament; the Spirit of Jesus is a particular expression concerning the Spirit of God, and refers to the Spirit of the incarnated Savior who, as Jesus in His humanity, passed through human living and death on the cross. This indicates that in the Spirit of Jesus there is not only the divine element of God, but also the human element of Jesus and the elements of His human living and His suffering of death as well. Such an all-inclusive Spirit was needed for the apostle’s preaching ministry, a ministry of suffering among human beings and for human beings in the human life.

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 606)

ROMANS 8:
9 But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if in­deed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.

PHILIPPIANS 1:
19 For I know that for me this shall turn out to salvation through your petition and the ²bountiful supply of the ³Spirit of Jesus Christ,

19² Literally, the Greek word means the supplying of all the needs of the chorus by the choragus, the leader of the chorus. This bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit was for Paul to live and magnify Christ in his sufferings for Him.

19³ The Spirit of Jesus Christ is “the Spirit” as mentioned in John 7:39. This is not merely the Spirit of God before the Lord’s incar­nation, but the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit with divinity, after the Lord’s resurrection, compounded with the Lord’s incarnation (humanity), human living under the cross, crucifixion, and resur­rection. The holy anointing ointment in Exodus 30:23-25, a com­pound of olive oil with four kinds of spices, was a full type of this com­pound Spirit of God, Who is now the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Here it is not the Spirit of Jesus as in Acts 16:7 (Gk.), nor the Spirit of Christ as in Romans 8:9, but the Spirit of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Jesus is mainly for the Lord’s humanity and human living; the Spirit of Christ is mainly for the Lord’s resurrection. To experience the Lord’s humanity, as illustrated in 2:5-8, we need the Spirit of Jesus. To expe­rience the power of the Lord’s resurrection, as mentioned in 3:10, we need the Spirit of Christ. In his suffering, the apostle experienced both the Lord’s suffering in His humanity and the Lord’s resurrection. Hence, the Spirit to him was the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit of the Triune God. Such a Spirit has, and even is, the bountiful supply to a person like the apostle, who was experiencing and enjoying Christ in His human living and resur­rection. Eventually, this compound Spirit of Jesus Christ becomes the seven Spirits of God, Who are the seven lamps of fire before His throne to carry out His administration on earth for the accomplish­ment of His economy with the church, and Who are the seven eyes of the Lamb for the transfusing of all He is into the church (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6).

(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 962)

THE ULTIMATE CONSUMMATION OF THE TRIUNE GOD

The Spirit as the compound, all-inclusive Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. Our God is Triune: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Every proper student of the Scriptures would agree that the three Per­sons of the Trinity may be regarded as distinct; however, we cannot say that They are separate. Such a claim would be heretical. When the Son came to earth, He did not leave the Father in the heavens. On the contrary, when the Son came, the Father came with Him. In the Gospel of John the Lord Jesus says that the Son came from with the Father (John 6:46, Gk.). When He came from the Father, He came with the Father. For this reason, the Lord Jesus said that He was never alone, for the Father was always with Him (John 8:29). Furthermore, in the Gospel of John we are also told that the Son would send the Spirit from with the Father (John 15:26, Gk.). We cannot separate the Son from the Father, nor the Spirit from the Father and the Son.

(Witness Lee, LS of Galatians, 337)

The Lord’s response to Philip’s request about showing them the Father illustrates this. Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and it suffices us” (John 14:8). The Lord Jesus replied, “Am I so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How is it that you say, Show us the Father?” (v. 9). In verses 16 and 17 the Lord Jesus went on to say, “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, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you.” Notice that in the next verse the Lord changes the pronoun: “I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you.” This indi­cates that when the Comforter, the Spirit of reality, comes, the Lord Jesus comes also. Furthermore, in verse 23 the Lord Jesus said that He and the Father would come to make an abode with the one who loves the Lord and keeps His word. From verses such as these we see that the Three of the Godhead, although distinct, are always together. They cannot be separated.

According to the Bible, the Father is embodied in the Son, and the Son is realized as the Spirit. Ultimately, the Three of the Godhead are expressed as the Spirit. This is the reason that, in our experience, when we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we receive the Spirit. When we re­pented, believed in the Lord, and prayed to Him, we did not ask the Holy Spirit to come into us. Instead, we prayed for the Lord Jesus to come into us. However, although we asked the Lord to come in, the One who actually came in was the Spirit. This is true not only at the time we were saved, but also in our daily experience with the Lord. When we pray to the Father or call on the name of the Lord Jesus, telling Him that we love Him, eventually the One whom we experience with us and in us is the Spirit. From our experience we know that this Spirit, the compound, all-inclusive Spirit, is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God.

(Witness Lee, LS of Galatians, 338)

THE PROCESSED GOD

Our God today truly is the processed God. In the Old Testament there is no indication that God has been proc­essed. This process began at the time of Christ’s incarna­tion and continued throughout His human living, crucifix­ion, and resurrection. Some Christians object to the ex­pression “processed God,” with the argument that God is eternal and never changes. Yes, we definitely believe ac­cording to the Bible that God is eternal and that He is not subject to change. Nevertheless, we believe and teach, also according to the Bible, that God has passed through a process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. God has not changed, but He has passed through a process. God does not change in His nature or substance. But He has passed through a process. Ac­cording to John 1: 1 and 14, the Word which was in the beginning with God and which was God became flesh. The use of the word “became” in John 1:14 indicates a process. Likewise, 1 Corinthians 15:45 says that the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. This is another indication of God’s process.

Some may object to our use of the word “process” because this term is not found in the Bible. However, the same objection could be made with respect to the word Trinity. The word Trinity cannot be found in the Bible either, but the Bible nevertheless reveals the fact that God is triune. In the same principle, although the Bible does not have the term “processed,” it does reveal the fact that God has passed through a process. God Himself became a man by incarnation and lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. Then He was crucified, descended to Hades, and came out from among the dead and entered into resur­rection. Furthermore, He ascended to heaven with a glori­fied body of flesh and bones. Even now, the Lord is on the throne with such a body. Before Christ’s incarnation, did the Lord on the throne in heaven have a body of flesh and bones? Certainly not! But for eternity He will be en­throned with such a body. Does this fact not indicate that God in Christ has passed through a process? Hallelujah, our God today is the processed Triune God! The all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is the ultimate expression of this processed God.

(Witness Lee, LS of Galatians, 339-340)

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