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WITNESS LEE QUOTES
Chapter Three
THE SON IS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE TRIUNE GOD
ISAIAH 9:
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
MATTHEW 1:
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name 2Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
232 Jesus was the name given by God, while “Emmanuel,” meaning “God with us,” was the name called by man. Jesus the Savior is God with us. God is He, and He is God incarnated to dwell among us (John 1:14). He is not only God, but God with us.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 11)
JOHN 1:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
JOHN 20:
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!
PHILIPPIANS 2:
6 Who subsisting in the 2form of God did 3not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
62 The expression, not the fashion, of God’s being (Heb. 1:3), identified with the essence and nature of God’s Person; hence, expressing them. This refers to Christ’s deity.
63 Although the Lord was equal with God, He did not consider this equality a treasure to be grasped and retained; rather, He laid aside the form of God, not the nature of God, and emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 966)
HEBREWS 1:
8 But as to the Son, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
HE IS GOD
I think we all will agree that first of all Christ is God. Let us read Isaiah 9:6. This is a wonderful verse. “For unto us a child is born…and his name shall be called… The Mighty God.” How strange that a child could be called “The Mighty God"? Yet these two are one! A little child is the Mighty God. Can we believe it? This is the difference between the God in whom we believe and the God whom the Hebrew people believe. They believe that God is the only God, the Mighty God, but they do not believe that this God has ever been a child. However, here in Isaiah 9:6, the Scripture says a child is called the Mighty God. We know this child was Jesus who was born in the manger at Bethlehem. So, Jesus Christ is the very God.
John 1:1 tells us clearly and definitely that Christ is God from eternity. Romans 9:5 says that Christ is the God who is over all and blessed forever. With many other verses, the Scripture assures us that the Christ whom we have received as our Savior is God Himself. “In Him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).
(Witness Lee, All-Inclusive Spirit, pp. 3-4)
In Matthew 1 we have another wonderful name Emmanuel (Matt. 1:23). Jesus was the name given by God. Emmanuel was the name called by man. Emmanuel means God with us. Jesus the Savior is God with us. Without Him we can never meet God. God is He, and He is God. Without Him we can never find God, for He is God Himself incarnated to dwell among us (John 1:14a). Jesus is not only God - He is God with us. The “us” means the saved people. We are the “us.” Day by day, we have Emmanuel. In Matthew 18:20, Jesus said that whenever two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be with them. This is Emmanuel. Whenever we Christians gather together, He is in our midst. In Matthew 28:20, the last verse of this gospel, Jesus told his disciples, “Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the completion of the age”(Gk.). Jesus as Emmanuel is here today. According to Matthew, Jesus came and never went away. He was buried in the tomb for three days, but He came in resurrection and He never went away. He is with us as Emmanuel.
When we call on Jesus, we have the sensation that God is with us. We call on Jesus, but we have God. Sometimes, we Christians are stupid, wondering whether Jesus is God or not. We call on Jesus and we find God; yet, we wonder whether Jesus is God or not. Jesus is God! He is not only God - He is God with us. When we call on Jesus, we have Jehovah, we have the Savior, we have salvation, and we have God with us. We have God in the very place where we are.
(Witness Lee, LS of Matthew, p. 59)
Verse 5 says, “Whose are the fathers, and out of whom according to flesh is the Christ, Who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” The fathers were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others. Also, according to His human nature, Christ came out of the children of Israel. Paul says that Christ is “over all, God blessed forever.” When Paul came to this point in his writing, he was so filled with the glorious Person of Christ that he poured out what was in his heart - “Christ is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” We all have to be deeply impressed with and fully realize and appreciate the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ is the very God who is over all and blessed forever. Though He came out of the Jewish race in flesh, He is the very infinite God. Thus, Isaiah 9:6 says, “Unto us a child is born…and his name shall be called. . . The mighty God.” We praise Him for His deity and we worship Him as the very God forever.
(Witness Lee, LS of Romans, 259)
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ISAIAH 9:
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
JOHN 14:
7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.
8 Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father and it suffices us.
9 Jesus said to him, 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?
10 Do you not believe that I am sin the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father Who abides in Me, He does His works.
11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; but if not, believe Me because of the works themselves.
1 JOHN 2:
22 Who is the liar if not he who is denying that 2Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who is denying the Father and the Son.
23 Everyone who 1denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who confesses the Son has the Father also.
22 2To confess that Jesus is the Christ is to confess that He is the Son of God (Matt. 16:16; John 20:31). Hence, to deny that Jesus is the Christ is to “deny the Father and the Son.” Whoever so denies the divine Person of Christ “is the antichrist.”
The fact that to deny Jesus being the Christ equals denying the Father and the Son implies the thought that Jesus, Christ, the Father, and the Son are all one, all of whom are the elements, the ingredients, of the all-inclusive compound indwelling Spirit, who is now anointing the believers all the time (vv. 20, 27). In this anointing, Jesus, Christ. the Father, and the Son are all anointed into our inner being.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 1270-1271)
231 Since the Son and the Father are one (John 10:30; Isa. 9:6), to deny the Son is to be without the Father, and to confess the Son is to have the Father. To deny the Son here refers to the heresy that denies the deity of Christ, not confessing that the Man Jesus is God.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 1271)
Let us look at Isaiah 9:6: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Who is this child? It is Jesus. Where is this child born? In the manger at Bethlehem. “Unto us a son is given.” Who is this son? It is Jesus. Whose Son is He? He is God’s Son. God so loved the world that He gave us His Only Begotten Son. Not only is a child born to us, but also a Son is given to us. God gives His Son to us. Why is He called Wonderful? Because He is not simple. It is not easy to understand Him, nor can we fully do so. He is wonderful. This child by the name of Jesus, who was born in the manger at Bethlehem, is also called the Mighty God. Do you believe this? The Jewish people do not. They do not believe that that little Jesus is the Mighty God. If they believed it, they would immediately become real Christians. I believe it! My God is Jesus! My God is that little child. That little child who was born of Mary in that at manger at Bethlehem is my Mighty God! His fourth name or title is the Everlasting Father. The Son who is given to us is called “the Everlasting Father.” Is He the Son or the Father? If you believe that the child born to us is the Mighty God, you have to believe also that the Son given to us is the Everlasting Father. To say that the Son is the Father is according to the pure Word of God.
Now turn to John 14:8-9. “Philip saith unto him, Lord show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip: he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” This word indicates clearly that the Son is the Father. Yet some twist this word saying that the Son is not the Father, but the representative of the Father. If you read the context without any twisting, you can realize that the Son was the Father there. Philip asked the Son to show him the Father. The Son was surprised, saying, “I have been with you such a long time and you have seen Me. Since you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Here we may say to Philip, “Haven't you read Isaiah. It tells you that the Son is the Father. Since He is here, why do you ask Him to show you the Father? He is the Father.” So, He said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
The following is a quotation taped at a meeting of some people who were discussing how to deal with our so-called heresy. In their conversation this was said: “…Anyway, Isaiah 9:6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulders and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Prince of Peace, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. There Jesus is called the Father. Right? So He’s the Father. That’s what it says. That’s Isaiah 9:6. Now we don't normally say this because tradition is involved here.” Please notice this. These critics admit that for fear of their tradition, they normally do not say that Jesus is the Father. They dare not speak the truth, yet they turn their attack upon us. Are we for traditions? Do you care for traditions? In every Christian’s conscience and mind, he must admit that in Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is the Father, even though they do not normally say this because it involves the matter of tradition.
Some, however, have twisted this verse, saying, “The son is called the Father, but He is not the Father.” This is ridiculous! You are called by a certain name, yet you are not that person! Once a certain man said to me, “This Father here is not God the Father. He is the Father that brought forth the race of Israel.” I said, “Don't say this. Here it does not say the “Father of Israel" it says, “the Father of eternity. “ If you say that the Son who is called the Father is not the Father, then you must also admit that the child who is called the Mighty God is not the Mighty God. But certainly the child is the Mighty God. Thus, as long as you admit the one, you must recognize the other.” No sober mind would deny this.
THE SON IS THE FATHER
Isaiah 9:6 says: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…and his name shall be called…Mighty God, Everlasting Father.” In this verse, the “Mighty God” matches the “child,” and “Everlasting Father” matches the “son.” Yes, He is a child, yet He is the Mighty God. The child who was born in the manger of Bethlehem was the Mighty God. Since the child and the Mighty God are one, so also the Son and the Everlasting Father are one. The Son is the Eternal Father. It is indeed difficult to fully explain this matter, yet the Scriptures have so said. “Unto us a son is given…and His name shall be called…Everlasting Father.” Does this not plainly say that the Son is the Father? If the son is not the Father, how could the “son” be called the “Father”’? If we acknowledge that the “child” of which this verse speaks is the “Mighty God,” then we must also acknowledge that the “son” of which this verse speaks is also the “Everlasting Father" otherwise, we are not believing the clearly stated revelation of the Scriptures. But we do deeply believe that according to the words here the Lord Jesus who became the child is the Mighty God; and the Lord Jesus who is the Son is also the Eternal Father. Our Lord is the Son, and He is also the Father. Hallelujah!
John 14:7-11 says: “If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him, and-have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you and does thou not know me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I say unto you I speak not from myself; but the Father abiding in me doeth his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” In these verses the Lord clearly reveals to us the mystery that He and the Father are one. He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him; when He speaks, it is the Father who works; when men see Him, they see the Father; when they know Him, they know the Father, because He is the Father, He “and the Father are one”(John 10:30).
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 17-19)
THE SON WHO PRAYS IS THE FATHER WHO LISTENS
Some may ask the following question: In John 3 chapter 17, the Lord Jesus was praying to the Father—if you say the Son is the Father, then how could the Son pray to the Father? This is not difficult to explain. In the first part of the passage in Exodus 3:2-12 (King James Version) it says clearly that it was the “angel of the Lord” who appeared to Moses, but later it says He was “the Lord.” Most Bible expositors say that “the angel of the Lord” here refers to Christ, the second Person of the Triune God. This is right. But in verse 6 it says that He is “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” We have previously pointed out that in relation to the God of Abraham, the main emphasis is that He is the Father; with the God of Isaac, the main emphasis is that He is the Son; and with the God of Jacob, the main emphasis is that He is the Spirit. So He is not only the second Person of the Triune God, He is also the whole God. He is the first person, the Father, He is the second person. the Son, and He is also the third Person, the Spirit. This angel of the Lord is the very Triune God. The Triune God is the One who sent the angel, and He is also the Angel who was sent.
The Lord who sent is the Angel who was sent; the Sender and the Sent are one. Judges 6:11-24 and 13:15-24 also reveal that the angel of the Lord (which, of course, also refers to Christ) is the Lord Himself. Zechariah 12:8b proves that the “angel of the Lord” is the Lord “God.” This means that the Lord God sent Himself to be His angel. If we understand this principle, there will be no more question as to how the Son could pray to the Father when the Son is the Father. The praying One and the One who listens to the praying, the Son who prays and the Father who listens, are one.
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 25-26)
Furthermore, what is said in Zechariah 2:8-11 also verifies this point. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: After the glory hath He sent me…l will shake my hand upon them…and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me…Lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee” (King James Version). This passage is spoken by the “Lord of hosts” (verse 8), but in this passage the Lord of hosts said, “The Lord of Hosts hath sent me” (verses 9, 11). This means it is the Lord of hosts who sent the Lord of hosts. That is why in verse 8 it says, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts…he sent me.” Actually who sent whom? Who was “he” and who was “me”? No matter how we read it we are not clear. Even the Bible translators (of the Chinese version) could not arrive at a decision. That is why in one place it is rendered as “he, “ with a note which says “I.” In another place it is rendered as “I,” with a note which say “or, he.” Because “he” is “I,” and “I” is “he.” The Lord of hosts is “he, “ and the Lord of hosts is also “I.” The Lord of hosts is both the sender and the One sent. Since the Lord of hosts is both the Sender and the Sent One, why could it not be that the Lord is the Son who prays and also the Father who listens to the praying? The Father who listens to the praying is the Son who prays; and the Son who prays is also the Father who listens to the prayer. Andrew Murray has said that the best prayer is one which is prayed by the Christ who dwells within us to the Christ who sits on the throne in heaven. The One who prays and the One who listens to the prayer are the one Christ.
It is difficult to explain this matter adequately in doctrine, but in our experience it is really so. In the first stage of my Christian life, whenever I prayed, according to the general concept, I prayed to the Lord in heaven. But after some time, it seemed that the Lord who is in heaven had come into me and dwelled in me. I did not know at that time whether He was in heaven listening to me or indwelling me and praying within me. Of course, it could be said that it was the Holy Spirit in me who was helping me to pray (Romans 8:26). But actually this Holy Spirit which is in me helping me to pray is also the Lord who is in heaven. Therefore, the One who prays within me is the One who listens to me in heaven. The two are identical.
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 26-27)
Romans chapter 8, on one hand, says that the Lord is in heaven today (verse 34). But on the other hand, it also says that He is in us (verse 10). This is not only true today concerning the Lord who has already become the Spirit; even while He was in the flesh, it was also true. At that time He told Nicodemus that He was the One who “descended out of heaven and “who is in heaven” (Jn. 3:13). So when He prayed in John 17, He was on earth, and at the same time He was in heaven; He was the One who prayed on earth, and at the same time He was also the One who listened to the prayer in heaven.
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 27-28)
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MATTHEW 1:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with 2child of the Holy Spirit.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.
182 Although Christ was born of Mary (v. 16), He was a “child of the Holy Spirit.” The birth of Christ was directly of the Holy Spirit (v. 20). His source was the Holy Spirit, and His element was divine. Through the Virgin Mary as a means, He put on flesh and blood, the human nature, taking “the likeness of the flesh” (Rom. 8:3), “the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7).
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 10)
LUKE 1:
35 And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will 2overshadow you; wherefore also the 3holy thing which is born will be called, Son of God.
352 As the overshadowing of the cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:5) and over the tabernacle (Exo. 40:34, 38). It seems that, according to this verse, the Holy Spirit will be only upon Mary as the power for her to conceive the Holy Child. However, Matt. 1:18 and 20 tell us that Mary “was found having in womb out of the Holy Spirit” (lit.), and “the thing begotten (generated) in her is out of the Holy Spirit” (lit.). This indicates that the divine essence out of the Holy Spirit had been generated in Mary’s womb before she delivered the Child Jesus. Such a conception of the Holy Spirit in the human virgin, accomplished with both the divine and the human essences, constitutes a mingling of the divine nature with the human nature, producing a God-man, one who is both the complete God and perfect Man, possessing the divine nature and the human nature distinctively, without a third nature being produced. This is the most wonderful and most excellent Person of Jesus—Jehovah the Savior.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 278)
The conceptions of John the Baptist and Jesus the Savior are strikingly different in essence. The conception of the Baptist was God’s miracle, accomplished with the overage human essence, merely by the divine power without the divine essence being involved, thus bringing forth a mere man who was only filled with the Spirit of God (1:15) but lacked the nature of God. The conception of the Savior was God’s incarnation (John 1: 14), constituted not only by the divine power, but also of the divine essence added to the human essence, hence, producing the God-man of two natures—divinity and humanity. Through this God joined Himself to humanity that He may be manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16) and may be a Man-Savior (2:11).
353 As the conceiving is of the Holy Spirit, so what is born of this conception is a holy thing, intrinsically holy. This is Jesus our Savior.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 279)
THE MAN-SAVIOR CONCEIVED OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH THE DIVINE ESSENCE
We need to see that the Lord Jesus is the Man-Savior. As the Man-Savior, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit with the divine essence. Unlike other biographies, Luke records the conception of the one whose life he records. Other biographies may speak of a person’s birth, but not his conception. In this matter, Luke is unique. He tells us how the Man-Savior was conceived. He was not conceived of a man; rather, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit with the divine essence.
The Holy Spirit is God Himself reaching man. This means that when God reaches man, He is the Holy Spirit. With the conceiving of the Man-Savior, the Holy Spirit came into humanity.
We have pointed out that the Man-Savior was conceived of the Holy Spirit with the divine essence. Here we are using the word “essence” in a strong sense to denote something even more intrinsic than nature. The essence is the intrinsic constituent of a certain substance. The Man-Savior was conceived of the Holy Spirit not only with the divine nature but with the divine essence. It is extremely important that we see this matter.
(Witness Lee, LS of Luke, 4-5)
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JOHN 1:
14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, (and we beheld His glory, glory as of an only begotten 4from a father), full of grace and reality.
144 Gk. para, by the side of. The sense here is from with. The Lord is not only from God, but also with God. While He is from God, He is still with God (8:16, 29; 16:32).
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 409)
JOHN 6:
46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him Who is 1from God, He has seen the Father.
461 Gk. para, by the side of. The sense here is from with. The Lord is not only from God, hut also with God. While He is from God, He is still with God (8:16, 29; 16:32).
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 438)
JOHN 8:
16 But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I and the Father Who sent Me.
29 And He Who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.
JOHN 16:
27 For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came out lfrom God.
32 Behold, an hour is coming and has come, when you shall be scattered each to his own, and shall leave Me alone; and I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
271 Gk. para, by the side of. The sense here is from with. See note 461 in chapter 6.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 490)
COMING WITH THE SON
The Father sent the Son, and He came with the Son (John 17:8 and note 2). We do not have the ability to explain this. As a rule when I send you, and you go for me, I stay home. But when the Father sent the Son, it was not like this. When He sent the Son, He came with the Son. The Greek preposition para means not only “from” but “from with.” In his note on John 6:46, J.N. Darby says that para means from with. This indicates that when the Son came, He came with the Father. The Father sent the Son, and He came with the Son. In John 16:32 the Lord said, “Behold, an hour is coming and has come, when you shall be scattered each to his own, and shall leave Me alone; and I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” Here the Lord told us clearly that He was not alone, but the Father who sent Him was with Him. The Lord had previously spoken the same kind of word in 8:29: “And He Who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
LIVING AND WORKING IN THE SON
The Father not only comes with the Son, but after the Son comes to live and work on the earth, the Father lives with Him and works with Him. When He lives, the Father lives. When He works, the Father works. The Gospel of John tells us clearly that while the Son speaks, the Father works (14:10-11).
(Witness Lee, Divine Trinity, 109-110)
THE SON INSEPARABLE FROM THE FATHER
Do not try to separate the Father from the Son, or the Son from the Father. The New Testament reveals that while the Son is here, the Father is with Him. Furthermore, the coming of the Spirit is also the coming of the Son, and the Son always comes with the Father. John 6:46 says, “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him Who is from God, He has seen the Father.” The Greek preposition translated “from” is para. Here the sense of this preposition is “from with.” The Lord is not only from God, but also with God. While He is from God, He is still with God (John 8:16, 29; 16:32). In these verses the Lord seemed to be saying, “I come from with My Father. When I come from My Father, I come with Him.” This means that when the Son comes, the Father is with Him. When the Son was sent by the Father, the Son was sent not only by the Father, but also with the Father. When the Father sent the Son, the Father came with the Son. Therefore, when we receive the Son, we receive the Father.
(Witness Lee, Spirit and the Body, 40-41)
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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.
18 1 will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you.
19 Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you shall live also.
20 In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
172, 181 The very He Who is the Spirit of reality in verse 17, becomes the very I Who is the Lord Himself in verse 18. This means that after His resurrection the Lord became the Spirit of reality. 1 Corinthians 15:45 confirms this. In dealing with the matter of resurrection, it says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.”
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 481)
1 CORINTHIANS 15:
45 So also it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.
2 CORINTHIANS 3:
17 And the 2Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the 11Lord Spirit.
172 According to the context of this section which starts at 2:12, the Lord here must refer to Christ the Lord (2:12, 14, 15, 17; 3:3, 4, 14, 16; 4:5). This, then, is a strong word in the Bible, telling us emphatically that Christ is the Spirit. “The Lord Christ of verse 16 is the Spirit Who pervades and animates the new covenant of which we are ministers (v. 6), and the ministration of which is with glory (v. 8). Compare Romans 8:9-11; John 14:16, 18” (Vincent). “The Lord of verse 16 is the Spirit,…which giveth life, verse 6, meaning, 'the Lord', as here spoken of, 'Christ', 'is the Spirit', is identical with the Holy Spirit:…Christ, here, is the Spirit of Christ” (Alford). “All that transforming and indwelling Spirit is Christ Himself. 'The Lord is the Spirit’ “ (Williston Walker).
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 830)
1811 The Lord Spirit may be considered a compound title like the Father God and the Lord Christ. This expression again strongly proves and confirms that the Lord Christ is the Spirit and the Spirit is the Lord Christ.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 831)
There is only one way for the Lord to be our life: that is in the Spirit. If He were not the Spirit, He could not come into us to be our life and our life supply. This is what the Lord teaches us in John chapters 14 to 17. In these four chapters, the main emphasis is the transition of the Lord from the flesh to the Spirit through death and resurrection. He must change in form from the flesh to the Spirit by being put to death and resurrected. He said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit that giveth life; the flesh profits nothing” (A.S.V.). As long as He is in the flesh and not in the Spirit, He could never come into us to give us life. Through death and resurrection He was transformed from the flesh to the Spirit. So, after His resurrection, He came to His disciples and breathed on them saying, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This signifies that He was received into the disciples as the Holy Spirit—the divine breath.
(Witness Lee, Baptism, 3-4)
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. Does this not clearly and definitely tell us that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit? Our Lord is the Holy Spirit. He is the Father, and He is also the Spirit. He is everything!
Many brothers and sisters have Darby’s New Translation of the Bible. Darby was considered the one with the greatest knowledge of the Bible in the previous century. Some called him the king of expositions. In his new translation of the New Testament, he puts the verses preceding 2 Corinthians 3:17, from verse 7 through 16, in parentheses, indicating that verse 17 immediately follows verse 6. The last part of verse 6 says: “The Spirit giveth life.” Therefore, according to Darby’s realization, verse 17, “The Lord is the Spirit,” indicates that the Lord is that Spirit which gives life, as mentioned in verse 6, and this Spirit which gives life, of course, is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this proves that Darby acknowledged that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit.
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 19)
Besides Darby, according to our knowledge, there were the following persons who, in their writings, based on 2 Corinthians 3:17 also acknowledged that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit:
1. In his book “The Spirit of Christ,” the twenty-fifth chapter, Andrew Murray says: “It was when our Lord Jesus was exalted into the life of the Spirit that He became “the Lord the Spirit’…The disciples knew Jesus long, without knowing Him as the Lord the Spirit…There may in the ministry be much earnest gospel preaching of the Lord Jesus as the Crucified One, without the preaching of Him as the Lord the Spirit…It is as the knowledge and acknowledgment of Christ as the Lord the Spirit, and of the Spirit of Christ as changing believers into His likeness, lives in the Church, that the ministry among believers will be Life and Power—in very deed, a Ministry of the Spirit.”
2. Henry Alford (an authority on the meaning of Greek words of the New Testament) in “The New Testament for English Readers,” vol. II, page 265, says: “The Lord’ as here (2 Cor. 3:17) spoken of, “Christ,’ is the Spirit.’ is identical with the Holy Spirit…Christ, here, is the Spirit of Christ.”
3. Marvin R. Vincent in his “Word Studies in the New Testament,” vol. III, page 308, says: “The Lord Christ of verse 16 is the Spirit “who pervades and animates the new covenant.”
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 19-20)
4. J. Oswald Sanders in his “Spiritual Maturity” (published by Moody Press), page 144, says “William Barclay comments: Paul seems to identify the Risen Lord and the Holy Spirit. We must remember that Paul was not writing theology; he was setting down experience. And it is the experience of the Christian life that the work of the Spirit and the work of the Risen Lord are one and the same. The strength, the light, the guidance we receive come alike from the Spirit and from the Risen Lord. It does not matter how we express it so long as we experience it.”
We are not the only ones who have seen from the revelation in 2 Corinthians chapter three that the Lord is the Spirit; a number of spiritual men have seen it as well. Christ the risen Lord today is the Life-giving Spirit. That is why the Apostle Paul called Him the “Lord Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). He is not only the Lord, but also the Lord Spirit.
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 20-21)
Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 15:45 states, “The last Adam was made 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 beside the Holy Spirit. Therefore, this verse also tells us clearly that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The words spoken by the Lord in John 14:16-20 also confirm this point. Here the Lord tells us that He will pass through death and resurrection to become another comforter, that is, the Spirit of reality, who will come to abide with us and dwell in us. In verse 17 the Lord says that the Spirit of’ reality will come and abide with you. Then in verse 18 He says, “I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you.” Over thirty years ago in Shanghai, when Brother Watchman Nee was explaining this passage to us, he pointed out emphatically that “he” (the Holy Spirit) in verse 17 is the “I” (the Lord) in verse 18. The Lord said in effect, “When He comes, I come. He is I; I am He.” The Holy Spirit is the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Also, in verse 17 the Lord says, “The Spirit of reality (GK.)…shall be in you,” and then in verse 20 He says, “I in you.” This also proves that the Holy Spirit who is in us is the Lord who died and rose and now lives in us.
(Witness Lee, Triune God, 21-22)
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COLOSSIANS 1:
19 For in Him all the 2fullness was pleased to dwell,
192 “Fullness” here does not denote the riches of what God is, but the expression of those riches. All the expression of the rich being of God, both in creation and in the church, dwells in Christ. All creation and all the church are filled with Christ as such an expression of God’s riches. Such a fullness is pleased with this. This is pleasant to Christ.
(Witness Lee, Footnotes, 988)
COLOSSIANS 2:
9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
THE EMBODIMENT OF THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD
As the mystery of God, Christ is also the embodiment of the fullness of the Godhead. In 1:19 Paul says, “For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” Then in 2:9 he says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Fullness in these verses refers not to the riches of God, but to the expression of the riches of God. What dwells in Christ is not only the riches of the Godhead, but the expression of the riches of what God is. It is crucial for us to see that the fullness of the Godhead is the expression of the Godhead, that is, the expression of what God is. The Godhead is expressed both in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. Notice that both in 1:19 and 2:9 Paul uses the word “all” to describe fullness. All the fullness, all the expression, is in the old creation and in the new creation.
The word Godhead in 2:9 refers to deity, which is different from divinity in Romans 1:20. This reference to deity strongly indicates the deity of Christ. Such a deity is with the fullness of the Godhead versus the tradition of man and the elements of the world.
In 1:19 and in 2:9 we see two aspects of all the fullness. According to 1:19, all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Christ. According to 2:9, all the fullness dwells in Christ bodily. This implies the physical body which Christ put on in His humanity. It indicates that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ as the One who has a human body. Before His incarnation, the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him as the eternal Word, but it did not dwell in Him bodily. After He became incarnate, clothed with a human body, the fullness of the Godhead began to dwell in a bodily way, and in His glorified body (Phil. 3:21) now and forever it dwells.
(Witness Lee, LS of Colossians, 151-152)
GIVING ALL THAT HE HAS TO THE SON THUS EMBODIED IN THE SON
Before the Lord Jesus went to the cross to die, He spoke to His disciples in this way: “All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He receives of Mine and shall disclose it to you” (John 16:15). This verse indicates that whatever the Father has is the Son’s. The Son does not come in His own name; He comes in the Father’s name (John 5:43). The Son does not seek His own will, but seeks the Father’s will (John 5:30). He does not speak His own word; He speaks the Father’s Word (John 14:24), and He does the Father’s work (John 4:34), not His own work. Who is He? He is the Son with the Father. The Father was with the Son, and the Father gave everything to the Son. Thus, the Father was embodied in the Son (Col. 2:9).
(Witness Lee, Divine Trinity, 110)
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