The Bible reveals to us that there is but one God Who exists in three divine Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons, each possessing His own unique personality, awareness of His own existence, yet sharing the same divine nature, are one being, and are of one essence. When we talk about the three Persons of the Trinity, we are talking about three divine Persons Who are similarly distinct as we are, but Who are not subject to the limitations of mankind. The three Persons of the Trinity have similar and diverse roles. They worked together to create this world and the life upon it. They work together to redeem lost mankind and to carry out Their plans for mankind.
The three Persons of the Trinity also have unique roles. The Father sent His Son; the Son submitted to the will of His Father, even to the point of death on the cross; and the Holy Spirit, Who was sent by the Son and the Father, works in the lives of people to reveal God's Son to them. The matter of how God can exist as three Persons is beyond our own reason. It is clearly revealed in the Bible, however, and must therefore be accepted as fact by faith. From the official doctrinal statement of the Local Church movement, provided in their publication, The Beliefs and Practices of the Local Churches, we read:
We believe that God is the only one Triune God - the Father, the Son, and the Spirit - co-existing equally from eternity to eternity.1
At first glance this statement would meet with our approval. The Local Church would seem to believe in one God who is Triune (three-in-one), the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Local Church recognizes that the Three of the Trinity are eternal and co-existent. The language employed by Lee even suggests that the three Persons of the Trinity are distinct from one another. Lee comments on the Triune God depicted in Genesis 1:26 and Matthew 3:17:
Genesis 1:26 reveals that there was a conference held by the Godhead and among the Godhead. We say "among" because God is triune. Using human terms, we may say that there are three Persons in the Godhead, one God with three Persons. I can't explain this. I can only say that God is triune, that we have one God with three Persons. There was a conference held by these three Persons of the Godhead, and a decision was made.... Genesis 1:26 says, "And God said, Let us make man...." If we read this verse carefully, we can see that there was something like a conference. God said, "Let us...." God is one; yet, the pronoun is "us." This proves that God is triune.2
Verse 17 says, "And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in Whom I delight." While the descending of the Spirit was the anointing of Christ, the speaking of the Father was a testimony to Him as the beloved Son. Here is a picture of the divine Trinity: the Son went up from the water, the Spirit descended upon the Son, and the Father spoke concerning the Son. This proves that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist simultaneously.3
As things turn out, however, both of these statements are quite misleading. Witness Lee's comprehensive theological system, the foundation of Local Church movement beliefs and practices, would have us believe that God is simply one person who expresses Himself in three distinct forms, stages, or successive steps. According to Lee, God changed Himself from the person of the Father to become the person of the Son, who in turn became the person of the Holy Spirit. According to Lee, this had been accomplished so that God could enter into man to be his life, as illustrated below.
Witness Lee also teaches that the "three Persons" of the Triune God are co-existent. However, in the writings of Lee we will find that the Persons of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are terribly confused. Lee will refer to them as one and the same Person who merely portrays the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This teaching of Lee is known to students of church history as modalism. States Lee:
In the heavens, where man cannot see, God is the Father; when He is expressed among men, He is the Son; and when He comes into men, He is the Spirit. The Father was expressed among men in the Son, and the Son became the Spirit to come into men. The Father is in the Son, and the Son became the Spirit - the three are just one God.4
In His economy, God passed through different stages. God was in eternity past. When He was in eternity past, He was merely and solely divine; He did not possess humanity. But one day about four thousand years after He created man, He became a man. He partook of man's nature, man's blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14). This is another stage of God. He became Emmanuel (Matt. 1:23). He became a God-man....In the New Testament, there are two great "becames." First, God became a man, the Word became flesh (John 1:14). Second, this God-man became a life-giving Spirit. These are the different stages of God. In eternity past the Spirit of God was merely the Spirit of divinity. But God became a man, and this God-man became the life-giving Spirit.... This life-giving Spirit, whom Jesus became, is the Spirit of God in another stage.5
Now the world cannot see Him, because He has become the Spirit.... He is the Spirit as well as the Father.... This is the Triune God - one God in three persons.... One God, one substance, is expressed in three persons. Never think that Christ is someone other than God or the Holy Spirit.... Do not consider that the Holy Spirit is other than Christ or just a power or influence given to us by Christ. The Holy Spirit is Christ Himself. He is neither more than Christ nor less than Christ. As the source, God is the Father. As the expression, He is the Son. As the transmission, He is the Spirit. The Father is the source, the Son is the expression, and the Spirit is the transmission, the communion. This is the Triune God.... Christ is God the Son, with the Father, in the Spirit, and mingled together with man. All the fullness of the Father is in the Son; all that is in the Son is in the Spirit; and all that is in the Spirit is in the man. This is the very Savior in whom we believe. This is the very Lord whom we serve. This the very God whom we worship. This is the Christ who dwells in us as our life! Before the Lord comes into us as life, He has already been mingled with man. He comes into us not only with the divine nature, but also with the human nature. It is so easy for Him to be life to us because He is human as we.... Within this life we have God the Son, the Father, the Spirit, and man.... He is God, He is the Father, He is the Son, He is the Spirit, and He is man. He is so rich!6
The Bible does not divide God, the entire God, into thirds. Paul also tells us in 1 Timothy 3:16 that God was manifested in the flesh. This again shows us that the entire Godhead, the Triune God, became flesh. Economically speaking, God became flesh in the Son. This One who was conceived of the Holy Spirit was born to be a God-man. We cannot say that this God-man is the Son-man. This God-man is the Triune God-man. We believe that Jesus was the complete God and the perfect man. He was the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-man. He lived on this earth as the Triune God for thirty years before the beginning of His earthly ministry.7
Witness Lee comments on the all-inclusiveness and the unsearchable riches of Christ as he depicts Him in Ephesians 3:8. States Lee:
It is not difficult for us to realize the meaning of the riches of Christ. This must be all the items of what Christ is. As God, He is the Father, the Son, the Spirit, the Lord, the Christ, and other items. As man, Christ is the Apostle, the Teacher, the Leader, etc. He is really much more than this. He is the light, the life, the air, the water, the food, the clothing and the lodging. He is all of this and more to us.8
Witness Lee will stress the oneness of God at the expense of acknowledging the existence of the three distinct personages of the Trinity. Local Church prooftexts cited includes Isaiah 9:6 which concerns the Messiah who is spoken of as the Eternal Father. Lee understands the Eternal Father (or the Father of Eternity) of Isaiah 9:6 to be the "Father" of the Trinity. In like manner Lee will appeal to 1 Corinthians 15:45b, ...the last Adam became a life-giving spirit; and 2 Corinthians 3:17, And the Lord is the Spirit..., to reason that the Lord Jesus Christ is also the Holy Spirit. States Lee:
We say that Christ is the Father and the Spirit because of Isaiah 9:6, 1 Corinthians 15:45, and 2 Corinthians 3:17. We believe whatever the Bible says. Although others may not agree with us, neverless it is not fair to condemn us for believing what the Bible says. Therefore, the difference between us and others is not a matter of heresy, but of different interpretations, of different opinions. They follow the traditional teaching concerning the Trinity, and we believe in the pure word of the Bible....Now we believe that the Son is the Father and also that the Lord is the Spirit. But we still believe the other side of the Triune God-that all Three of the Godhead exist at the same time, and among Them there is real coinherence for eternity. Although we cannot reconcile these two aspects of the Trinity, we absolutely believe them both.9
Some have advised me not to say that the Son is the Father and that the Lord is the Spirit. But the more they advised me, the stronger I became in speaking what the Bible says. According to the Bible, I said that today our Christ, who is the Son, who became a man, who died on the cross for our sins, and who resurrected from the dead, is not only the Son but also the Father and the Spirit.10
After the fellowship in this chapter, I hope that none of us are so clear that the three of the Godhead are distinct, separate, and clear-cut persons. Even when we touch the economical Trinity in the book of Revelation none of us can be so clear that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three distinct, separate, and clear-cut persons.11
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not three separate persons or three Gods; they are one God, one reality, one person.12
The Bible gives us an all-inclusive revelation of Christ. Christ is not only one thing, neither a few things. Christ is everything! He is all in all. He is the Father, He is the Son, and He is the Spirit. I realize that this offends the theology of Christianity, but I have some verses from the pure Word as the ground to say this. We have already read Isaiah 9:6, which clearly says that a Son is given to us, yet His name is called the Eternal Father. Is He the Son or the Father? It is so clear that He is not only the Son, but also the Father. In John 14, Philip said, "Lord show us the Father, and it will satisfy us" (v.8). His request really surprised the Lord. "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?" (v.9). It is just as if someone came to Brother Benson (a Local Church elder) this morning and said, "Brother Benson, please show us Benson Phillips and we'll be satisfied." But if you have seen Brother Benson, you have seen Benson Phillips. The Lord said to Philip, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works"(v.10). The Lord was saying, I speak, but the Father works. It is equivalent to saying that Brother Benson speaks, and Benson Phillips works. This simply proves that Brother Benson and Benson Phillips are one. It is the same with the Son and the Father. For the Son to speak and the Father to work means that the Son and the Father are one. From these verses we see that Christ is both the Son and the Father.13
In Isaiah 9:6 there is a parallel line: that is, "unto us a son is given...and his name shall be called...The everlasting Father." It is abundantly clear that the Son mentioned here is Christ; yet the Son is called, "The everlasting Father." This statement cannot be easily comprehended; yet it is written. The Son is called the Father; so the Son must be the Father. We must realize this fact. There are some who say that He is called the Father, but He is not really the Father. But how could He be called the Father and yet not be the Father? If I am called a brother, I must be a brother. The Son is called the Father; therefore, He must be the Father. Can we drop Isaiah 9:6 from the Scriptures?...14
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.15
The Local Church movement publication, What a Heresy - Two Divine Fathers, Two Life-Giving Spirits, And Three Gods!, by Witness Lee, offers considerable insight into the confusion of the Father and the Son. States Lee:
to say that the everlasting Father, or the Father of eternity, in Isaiah 9:6 is some kind of Father, other than the Father in the Godhead, is not according to the context of the whole book of Isaiah....
When our critics twist the verse in these ways, we would ask them this question: Do you mean to say that besides the Father of the Three of the Godhead there is another divine Father? If anyone would answer this question with a yes, we must tell him clearly that there are not two divine Fathers in this universe and to say that there are is a great heresy. Any Christian who holds the concept of two divine Fathers must abandon it immediately. However the critics interpret this verse, they must recognize that the Son is called the Father and that in the whole universe there is only one divine Father and that this Father is of eternity, without beginning or ending, not the Father of any one age with a beginning and an ending. Regardless of how they interpret "the everlasting Father," whether as "the Father of eternity," "the Father of creation," "the Father of the age to come," "the Father of Israel," or the Father of something else, they cannot twist away the title, "the Father" in Isaiah 9:6. There is only one divine Father in the whole universe. Hence, "the everlasting Father" in Isaiah 9:6, regardless of how people twist it, must be the unique divine Father in the Godhead. While some twist the phrase "the everlasting Father," they do not twist the phrase "the mighty God." But if "the mighty God" should not be twisted, then neither should "the everlasting Father" be twisted, for this is against the principle. We should not accept the first term according to the pure Word and then twist the second. Some twist the second phrase because they are influenced by the traditional teachings concerning the Trinity. But we do not care for traditional teachings; we only care for the pure word of the Bible. Isaiah 9:6 says that the child born unto us is called the mighty God, and we believe that the child is the mighty God. This verse also says that the Son given to us is called the everlasting Father, and we also believe that the Son is the everlasting Father. We say this according to the Bible, but others twist this verse to fit their traditional teaching. People may twist Isaiah 9:6, but they cannot change it. This verse has two lines, and if we accept the first line without twisting it, then we must also accept the second in the same way.
Let us go on to John 14. In John 14:8 Philip said, "Lord, shew us the Father." To this, the Lord replied, "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, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (John 14:9-11). The Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, "Philip, I have been with you such a long time. Don’t you know Me? You have been seeing Me for three and one-half years. If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." In John 10:30 the Lord Jesus said, "I and my Father are one." These verses in the Gospel of John support what is revealed in Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah 9:6 reveals that the Son is the Father of eternity. When the Son came, He told His disciples that He and the Father were one. Since the Son is called the Father of eternity, how can people say that He is not the Father in the Godhead, but another Father, the Father of creation or of the age to come? It is heretical to say that besides the divine Father in the Godhead there is another divine Father of creation or of the age to come.
There are, then, two main views of Isaiah 9:6--the view which says that according to the clear, printed word of the Bible the Son is called the everlasting Father, who is the Father in the Godhead, and the view which says that this Father is not the Father in the Godhead but some other Father. If you were the judge in the heavenly court, what decision would you give on these two understandings of this verse? As for me, I would stand with what the Bible says, not with any twistings. Those who twist this verse do not believe the Bible according to the clear word. Instead, they believe the Bible in their twisting way. Whatever fits their understanding they take, but whatever does not fit their understanding they twist. If you twist the words of the Bible, you will suffer a loss, for you are changing the holy Word. You are either taking something away from the Word or adding something to it. This is very serious. Whether or not I understand what the Bible says, I believe whatever it says. When the Bible says that the Son is called the everlasting Father, I say, "Amen, the Son is the Father." I do not care how men interpret this verse; I only care for what the Bible says.16
In eternity past God existed alone. Then, in time, He created all things. At a certain point in history, this creating God, the Creator of all, became a man. This crucial step is called incarnation....The Lord Jesus, God incarnate, lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years....After His crucifixion, Christ was buried in a tomb....After three days, Christ arose from the dead in His resurrection. Through resurrection and in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit.17
Now we must look at the verses which show us that Christ is also the Spirit. We have already read 1 Corinthians 15:45b which says that the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. We must also read 2 Corinthians 3:17. "Now the Lord is that Spirit." These verses tell us clearly that the Lord Jesus is now the Spirit. After His death and resurrection, He has become the life-giving Spirit.18
Second Corinthians 3:17 says, "Now the Lord is that Spirit." Who can twist this? Recently, I heard of someone who twisted this verse by saying that the Lord here is God, not Jesus Christ. But no matter how the critics attempt to twist the truth in the Bible, the Bible remains the Bible. It is ridiculous and even stupid to deny that Christ today is the Spirit. If you deny this, it means that you do not believe the Bible. If you believe the Bible, then you must say, "Lord, thank You for being the Spirit."19
Now let us turn to 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is that Spirit." Who is the Lord here? No doubt it is Jesus. And who is the Spirit? The Holy Spirit. You cannot have another Spirit other than the Holy Spirit. The Lord here is Jesus and the Spirit here is the Holy Spirit. So here the Bible says, "Now the Lord is that Spirit." To say that the Lord Jesus is the Spirit is absolutely scriptural! Second Corinthians 3:17 says, that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Now let us go on to 1 Corinthians 15:45. "The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit."....Who was the last Adam? Jesus. Who is the life-giving Spirit? The Holy Spirit. Beside the Holy Spirit there is no other Spirit that gives life. So this verse clearly tells us that Jesus, who is called in the Bible the last Adam, became the life-giving Spirit. Hence, to say that the Lord Jesus is also the Holy Spirit is according to the Bible's clear revelation.20
After passing through death, by and in resurrection, the Lord has released His life and has become a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Now, in resurrection, He is the Spirit of life (2 Cor. 3:17)...21
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.22
Witness Lee identifies the Holy Spirit in John 14 as the Lord Jesus Himself by means of a novel interpretation. He suggests that the Lord Jesus would leave the disciples and then return in resurrection as the person of the Holy Spirit. States Lee:
....in John 14:17, the Lord Jesus says, the Spirit of Reality will come, and will abide not only with you, but also in you. Then, in the following verse, the Lord Jesus changed the pronoun from He to I. "He abides with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I am coming to you" (.17-18). He said, "I am coming." It means that even while He was speaking these words He was coming to them. He said in effect, "Don't think I am going. Yes, I am going, but My going is My coming. He, the Holy Spirit, will come to abide in you, and His coming is My coming. He is I, and I am He. He and I, I and He, eventually are just one."23
Witness Lee documents throughout many of his publications a number of illustrations that depict his own misunderstanding of the Trinity. Lee provides an illustration of Jesus as the seed, root, branch, and fruit.
How could Jesus be the root (Isa. 11:10, 53:2) and also the branch? (Isa. 4:2, 11:1; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 6:12). To our thinking it is illogical. If you are the root, you are the root. If you are the branch, you are the branch. How can someone be both the root and the branch simultaneously? Yet we must remember that Jesus is everything. He is not only the seed (Gen. 3:15), but also the root. He is also the branch and the fruit (Isa. 4:2). In the same principle, He is not only the Father, but also the Son. And He is not only the Son, but also the Spirit. He is everything! If you have Jesus, you have the seed, the root, the branch, and the fruit. And this is not all! If you have Jesus, you have the Father, you have the Son, and you have the Spirit! Jesus is all in all! He is truly wonderful.24
Witness Lee cites the illustration of a watermelon that has been processed into stages which are representative of the three Persons of the Trinity and how God enters into man.
Our God is the Triune God, and He has been processed so that He can be dispensed into us. For a watermelon to be dispensed into us, it must first be cut into slices. As we chew these slices, they become juice. The whole watermelon, the slices, and the juice may be considered as the "trinity of the watermelon." When the watermelon has been processed into juice it can easily be taken into us to become our very element. God the Father has been processed through God the Son, and now He is God the Spirit. The Spirit today is like the juice of the watermelon available for us to drink. We all have been given to drink of one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). The Bible does not tell us that we have been given to drink of one Father or of one Son. We cannot drink the whole watermelon or the slices of watermelon, but we can drink its juice. Likewise, we can drink the Spirit, who is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God. Our God today is the "juice God." God has been processed.... The "watermelon" has been fully processed to become the "juice." Because God has been processed, He is drinkable.25
Witness Lee provides us with an analogy of a man full of purpose who reveals himself in three different appearances. The illustration of this man carrying out three different roles in life is characteristic of the three Persons of the Trinity - according to Witness Lee. Lee clearly redefines the meaning of "person" here to fit his own theological mold. Likewise, according to Lee, the Father, Son, and Spirit are merely "three kinds of persons" encompassed within a compound name for God. States Lee:
If you could visit him at his home in the early hours of the day, you would see that He is a father or a husband. After breakfast, he may go to a university to be a professor. Then at the hospital in the afternoon, you may see him in a white uniform as a doctor. Why is he these three kinds of persons?...Matthew 28:19 says that we are to baptize people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit. There are three Persons, but only one name. It is not in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, but in the name. The father in the home, the professor in the university, and the doctor in the hospital are also three persons with one name.26
Considering the fact that Lee clearly teaches that the three Persons of the Trinity are one and the same Person, it is not too surprising to read that he also teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally partakers of the human nature through incarnation and that the Three died on the cross.
...we must be very clear that today the Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) has completed everything - the creation, the incarnation and the life sufferings on earth; He has gone into death and passed through death; He has resurrected, ascended into heaven, and has been enthroned. Everything has been attained by the wonderful Triune God, and all these realities are in the Holy Spirit, who has come into us.27
The dispensing of the Triune God can first be seen in John 1:14 and 16. These verses tell us that the Word [the Triune God] became flesh and tabernacled among us....What was the purpose of the Triune God becoming flesh and tabernacling among us? It is correct to say that the Triune God became incarnated to be our Savior....The incarnation of the Divine Trinity is for the dispensing of Himself into us for our enjoyment and for our inheritance.28
John 1:14 reveals that [the Triune] God became incarnated. The entire God - the Father, the Son, and the Spirit - was involved in the incarnation ....Thus, the Son's incarnation is also the Father's incarnation. After sending the Son, the Father did not remain in the heavens. When the Son came in the womb of Mary, the Father was with the Son. Matthew 1:20 says, "That which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit....the incarnation was not only of the Son but also of the Father and of the Spirit. All Three of the Divine Trinity were incarnated. The birth of Jesus was with the Triune God. He was the complete God and the perfect Man, the Triune God-man. He was the Triune God incarnated, the God who is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The incarnation was the incarnation of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The very Savior in whom we believe and whom we have received is the wonderful Triune God-man.29
The Divine Trinity can also be seen in the crucifixion of Jesus. First John 1:7 and Acts 20:28 show that the blood of Jesus [the Son] was considered as the blood of God [including the Father and the Son]....When Jesus died on the cross, God died there....Jesus did not die on the cross alone and separate from the Spirit. The Spirit was one with the Son. The Son died on the cross with the Father and by the Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit were all involved in the Son's crucifixion. The death of Christ was not only the death of the man Jesus but also the death of the Son with the Father and by the Spirit....30
Witness Lee, however, will also employ language that suggests that the three Persons of the Trinity are indeed three distinct persons.
Acts 2:32 says, "This Jesus [the Son] God [including the Father and the Spirit] raised up." The dead Jesus was raised up by God. Acts 10:40 and 41 show us that, on the one hand, God [including the Father and the Spirit] raised this One [the Son] on the third day; on the other hand, He [the Son] rose from the dead. Regarding the Lord as a man, the New Testament tells us that God raised Him from the dead; considering Him as God, it tells us that He Himself rose from the dead. Romans 8:11 refers to "the Spirit of Him [the Triune God] who raised Jesus [the Son] from among the dead." The "Spirit of Him" may also be translated "the Spirit of the One." The One who raised Jesus did the raising by the Spirit. These verses show us that the Divine Trinity was involved in the resurrection.31
[The Triune] God our Savior saved us through the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ [the Son] our Savior (Titus 3:4-6). According to Colossians 1:12-13, the Father delivered us. First Timothy 1:15 says that Christ Jesus [the Son] came into the world to save sinners. John 3:5 says that unless a man is born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Thus, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all participated in our salvation.32
The Three of the Godhead coinhere. To coinhere is to dwell mutually. In the Godhead, the Three coinhere, that is, They dwell within one another. They are three, yet They are still one. This is a mystery....Although our Triune God is one God, He is three in His Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are distinct, but They are not separate. There is only distinction in the Godhead but no separation. The Three of the Godhead are not separate because They dwell in one another. They cannot be separated, but They are distinct because They are the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Our God is three-one.33
The Local Church's primary hymn book, Hymns, includes a number of fine hymns, many of which would find acceptance in the evangelical Christian community. Other hymns in this book, however, require close evaluation. Consider Hymn #608. Sung to the tune, How Great Thou Art, this hymn teaches Local Church doctrines of the Trinity and mingling.
1. 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!
The Triune God has now
become our all!
How wonderful! How Glorious!
This gift divine we never can exhaust!
How excellent! How marvelous!
2. 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!
3. How wonderful, the Son is God's expression
Come in the flesh to dwell
with all mankind!
Redemption work, how perfectly effective,
That sinners we with God might oneness find.
4. 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!
5. 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!34
In the first stanza we read that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are "three persons," yet one substance. The Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct divine Persons Who are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent as one God. However, as we have seen, Witness Lee fails to define "three persons" as presented here as being truly three distinct Persons in nature.
Stanza three states that the Son (Jesus) is the Father's expression. Although Jesus is not the Father, He revealed to His disciples His Father's character, personality, love, and will. However, as we have seen, Witness Lee has identified Jesus as being the Father of the Trinity.
When we come to stanzas four and five, we read that the Spirit is the Son's transfiguration and God is now the Spirit . As we have seen, Witness Lee teaches that the Son (Jesus), became the "life-giving" Spirit. A reading of a number Witness Lee's books reveals this to be so, based primarily upon Lee's own interpretations of verses such as 1 Cor. 15:45 and 2 Cor. 3:17.
The Word "Person"
It was hoped that the 1997 death of Witness Lee might bring about some
dramatic changes within the Local Church movement, such as some shifts in
doctrinal perspectives. Sadly, such changes have not taken place. The following
article from a 1998 Affirmation & Critique journal demonstrates
the Local Church movement's commitment to adhering to the teachings of the late
Witness Lee.
Misaiming concerning the Oneness of the Trinity
Misaiming: “The Son of God, theologians say, is one of three eternal Persons of the Trinity - ‘person’ is defined as possessing intellect, emotion, and volition. So while the Trinity is one God, the Father, Son and Spirit, each has His own mind, feelings and will….Jesus was still God, yet a separate person” (Preaching, Vol. 12, No. 1, July-August 1996, p. 27).
Truth (the Local Church movement's position): The balanced, twofold truth revealed in Scripture consistently maintains that the “persons” of the Trinity are distinct but not separate. To claim that Jesus is “a separate person” from the Father and the Spirit is a serious misaiming which can lead to tritheism. Interestingly, the Bible never actually uses the word persons to describe the Trinity, and if we press that term with its natural, human denotation too far, we end up in the heresy of having three separate Gods. Indeed, many believers unwittingly pray to three different Gods, based on their perception of the Trinity as more separate than united. It is thus much safer to affirm the Bible’s revelation of the distinctions within the Trinity and avoid the extreme of separation. There are verses which emphasize distinction within the Trinity, and taken in isolation, these would seem to indicate a separation. However, the Bible always presents a balanced view of the Trinity by also emphasizing the oneness among the “persons” of the Triune God. Still clearer are the Scriptures which indicate both unity and distinction within the Godhead. Passages emphasizing distinction include the scene portrayed in Matthew 3:16-17 where the Son is baptized, the Holy Spirit is descending, and the Father is speaking from the heavens. The distinction among the Trinity continues to be affirmed following the Lord’s resurrection, particularly by verses which emphasize God’s working within the believers and their inward experience of Him. For example, in 2 Corinthians 13:14 Paul prayed that God the Father’s love, Christ the Son’s grace, and the Spirit’s fellowship would be with us all. Similarly, in Ephesians 3:14-17 Paul prayed to the Father for the Spirit to strengthen us in order that Christ may make His home in our hearts. Such verses emphasize the aspect of the economical distinction between the Father, Son, and Spirit for the accomplishment of His purpose within His believers. Other verses temper this view, safeguarding us from carrying the economical distinction too far. Lest we err in attempting to separate the persons of the Trinity, we are provided verses which underscore the essential unity of the Trinity in His existence, such as John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.” In verse 38 Christ the Son states, “The Father is in Me and I am in the Father.” The Lord attested to this practical oneness when Philip asked to see the Father: “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.…I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (14:8-10). A few verses later, Christ identifies Himself intrinsically with the Spirit as well. He promised that “another Comforter… the Spirit of reality” would come (v. 16-17), but then declared, “I am coming to you” (v. 18, emphasis added). Second Corinthians 3:17 also extends this unity beyond the Father and Son to incorporate the Holy Spirit, declaring, “The Lord is the Spirit.”
Even more compelling are verses which indicate both the distinction as well as the essential coinherence within the Trinity. We can see this balance in Matthew 28:19 where we are charged to baptize new disciples into the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Spirit (plural). Likewise, John 1:1 tells us that in the beginning Christ as the Word was with God (distinct), yet was God (inseparable). The Old Testament similarly testifies to this twofold truth: Isaiah 9:6 heralds the newborn Christ who is a child, yet God; He is the Son, yet simultaneously exists as the Father. The entire revelation of the Triune God thus reveals an eternal distinction among the Father, Son, and Spirit as well as a simultaneous essential unity, a balance which the believer’s understanding and experience should reflect.35
This passage text taken from the Affirmation &Critique journal clearly demonstrates the Local Church movement's failure to respect the unique individual Personhoods of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and instead, portraying Them as being only one person. The Local Church movement won't get any argument that there is unity among the three Persons of the Trinity. However, such unity is in regards to the one essence, the shared divine nature, and the focus of purpose among the Members of the Trinity - not the Local Church movement's extreme position that teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one (unified) person only. For instance, in this Affirmation & Critique journal passage we read:
To claim that Jesus is “a separate person” from the Father and the Spirit is a serious misaiming which can lead to tritheism.... and if we press that term with its natural, human denotation too far, we end up in the heresy of having three separate Gods. Indeed, many believers unwittingly pray to three different Gods, based on their perception of the Trinity as more separate than united. It is thus much safer to affirm the Bible’s revelation of the distinctions within the Trinity and avoid the extreme of separation....
Identifying the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three distinct and separate Persons existing within the Trinity IS NOT making Them out to be "three gods" as the editors of this journal state. The wording "Person" and "three Persons" have historically been used to identify the three Members of the Trinity. It's probably the best term available, in layman's terms, to distinguish the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from one another, and to make perfectly clear that They are indeed distinct from one another and that They are not to be confused with one another.
While the word "person" does fail to adequately and accurately describe each of the three Members of the Trinity according to the normal human usage of the word, it has served as a means to distinguish Them nonetheless. Many of the creedal confessions of the Christian faith use this language to insure that the three Members of the Trinity are properly understood in relation with one another. The word "person" and language such as "the three Persons of the Trinity," God in Three Persons," and so on, are commonly used in theological books, magazines, journals, classrooms, and in general conversation. Some of our hymns point to such distinctional language. Theology books makes use of such wording:
The Trinity in General. The Bible teaches us that the one God consists in three persons. This is decidedly a doctrine of special revelation, a doctrine that is not revealed in nature, and that could not be discovered by human reason.... God is one in His essential being, but in this one being there are three persons, called, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These persons are not, however, like so many persons among men three entirely separate and distinct individuals. They are rather three modes or forms in which the divine essence exists. At the same time it should be borne in mind that these self-distinctions in the divine being are of such a nature that they can enter into personal relations. The Father can speak to the Son and can send forth the Holy Spirit. The real mystery of the Trinity consists in this that the three persons are one in their essential being. And this does not mean that the divine essence is divided among the three persons. It is wholly, with all its perfections, in each one of the persons, and has no existence outside of and apart from the persons. Moreover, the persons are not subordinate the one to the other in their essential being. It may be said, however, that in order of existence the Father is first, the Son second, and the Holy Spirit third, and this order also reflects itself in the work of creation and redemption. The three persons are distinguished by certain personal distinctions: the Father generates the Son, the Son is generated by the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both Father and Son. This doctrine is one of the great mysteries of faith, and as such is far beyond our human comprehension.... There are passages which indicate that there is more than one person in God... there are some in which three persons are more or less clearly indicated... There are several passages in which the three persons are expressly mentioned....36
While the doctrine of the Trinity is a central fact of Christian faith, it is also beyond human comprehension and has no parallel in human experience. It is best defined as holding that, while God is one, He exists as three persons. These persons are equal, have the same attributes, and are equally worthy of adoration, worship, and faith. Yet the doctrine of the unity of the Godhead makes clear that they are not three separate gods, like three separate human beings such as Peter, James, and John. Accordingly, the true Christian faith is not tritheism, a belief in three Gods. On the other hand, the Trinity must not be explained as three modes of existence, that is, one God manifesting Himself in three ways. The Trinity is essential to the being of God and is more than a form of divine revelation. The persons of the Trinity, while having equal attributes, differ in certain properties. Hence, the First Person of the Trinity is called the Father. The Second Person is called the Son and is sent forth by the Father. The Third Person is the Holy Spirit who is sent forth by the Father and the Son. This is called in theology the doctrine of procession, and the order is never reversed, that is, the Son never sends the Father and the Spirit never sends the Son. In the nature of the uniqueness of the Godhead, there is no illustration or parallel in human experience. Thus this doctrine should be accepted by faith on the basis of scriptural revelation even if it is beyond human comprehension and definition.37
That the one God is three-personed is an audacious conception. Yet it is the confidence which has possessed us Christians ever since it dawned upon us in the days of His sojourn that Jesus Christ too was divine. We have understood that God is three persons existing in a single, uncompounded nature, in structural togetherness; the mid-numbered one in this eternal society being an actual alter ego, as is the Holy Spirit as well; there being three "Hims," three centers of consciousness, but one nature, essence, substance, Godhead.38
These theologians and countless other people in Christian circles have no problems using "person" and "persons" in reference to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Why is it that Witness Lee and his followers do? I suspect that Lee had used arguments against the word "person" and his concern that such use could lead to tritheism, to justify and espouse his own theological viewpoints in regards to the distinctions among the three Members of the Trinity. Lee and the so-inclined members of the Local Church movement cannot accept the concept of God (one God), existing in three distinct Persons. Such a notion is clearly and quickly rejected by them, as evidenced by this comment:
The Old Testament similarly testifies to this twofold truth: Isaiah 9:6 heralds the newborn Christ who is a child, yet God; He is the Son, yet simultaneously exists as the Father.
Here, the editors of the journal clearly state that the Messiah - Jesus Christ - simultaneously exists as the "persons" of the Father AND the Son. This is fully in line with the documented teachings of the late Witness Lee.
Modalism
Witness Lee stood opposed to the concept that the God of the Bible exists
in three distinct Persons who are one in nature, essence, and purpose. Lee
offers a variety of illustrations that reveal his unorthodox belief that God
exists as one distinct Person who performs the functions, modes, operations, or
roles of "three persons." Lee's viewpoint is known as modalism or
monarchianistic modalism, which declares that a single person as
the Godhead manifests Himself as if He were three distinct persons, performing
the roles or functions that would be carried out by each Person of the Godhead.
This heresy came about as the result of resisting the extreme and heretical view
that the three Persons of the Godhead were three separate Gods (polytheism). The
major proponent of this doctrinal belief in church history was Sabellius, from
which we derive the term, Sabellianism. A similarly related heresy
known as patripassianism suggests that the Father of the Trinity
suffered along with the Son on the cross.
Biblical Interpretation
Most of Witness Lee's unorthodox theological beliefs can easily be traced
to his methods of interpreting the Bible. Lee commits himself to the
wooden literalist approach to biblical interpretation. At times Lee will
rigidly accept the words of Scripture at face value without respecting their
literary use within the original biblical languages as pinned by the biblical
authors. This erroneous approach places Lee in sharp contrast to what is
revealed in Scripture. When considering Lee's approach to Bible study methods
it's important to discern how he defines his terms. How he defines the three
Persons of the Trinity is significantly different from how orthodox Christians
define the three Persons of the Trinity. Lee defends his teaching on the Trinity
by using this poorly-reasoned, illogical argument:
In 1977 we fought for the truth concerning the Triune God. We published a booklet entitled What a Heresy - Two Divine Fathers, Two Life-giving Spirits, and Three Gods! Some at that time were saying that there were two Fathers - the Father in the Gospels and the Father in Isaiah 9:6 who is called the Father of eternity. They said that the Father in Isaiah 9:6 is not the holy Father in the Trinity. Instead, according to them, to say "the Father of eternity" is similar to saying that Edison is the father of electricity. But there is not another Father in addition to the Father in the Godhead. It is heretical to say this. They also said that the life-giving Spirit in 1 Corinthians 15:45b does not refer to the Holy Spirit. But besides the Holy Spirit who gives life, is there another Spirit who gives life? Of course, there is not. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit who gives life (2 Cor. 3:6b), the life-giving Spirit.39
Does Isaiah 9:6 mean that the Messiah spoken of is the "Father" of the Trinity? No! Jesus the Messiah is the "Eternal Father" within the proper context of Isaiah 9:6. However, the eternality of Jesus and the reference to Him being a "father" should not be taken so far as to suggest that He is the "Father" of the Trinity. Isaiah here is not giving us a lesson on the Trinity. However, Witness Lee and his so-inclined followers would have us believe this is the case. Witness Lee's failure to properly distinguish the Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit should concern us.
Scripture Texts
Serious students of the Bible recognize that in ancient times one's name
was viewed with special significance. A name often reflected a person's total
being, encompassing his character, personality, and, as was the case of Abraham,
a special calling. Isaiah 9:6 records titles that are assigned to the Messiah
which reflect His character and personhood, and are descriptive of who and what
He is. The Messiah is spoken of as the Eternal Father (or Father of Eternity),
as an eternal being, the Creator, the Protector, and the Sustainer of His
creation. This is in line with other literary uses of "father" in the Old
Testament. Joseph is spoken of as a father to Pharaoh and lord of
all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt (Gen. 45:8). Eliakim was
a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah
(Isaiah 22:21). Although Joseph and Eliakim were clearly not God, they did
exercise oversight responsibility of the households God gave them charge over.
This is one of the Messiah's roles! We read elsewhere other names or titles
descriptive of the Lord Jesus Christ in Scripture - including bread, water,
rock, vine, light, door, lion, shepherd, and so on.
As we have seen, Witness Lee identifies the risen Christ in Paul's writings as the Holy Spirit. Lee totally ignores the context of 1 Corinthians 15:45b when identifying Christ as "the life-giving Spirit." Lee changes a life-giving spirit to the life-giving Spirit, as he quotes this verse in his Recovery Version New Testament footnotes and other Local Church movement publications. The Local Church's Recovery Version New Testament capitalizes the "s" in "spirit" to support the contention that Christ indeed became the "life-giving" Spirit. The context of the passage contrasts the first Adam (the first man) with the last Adam (the second man), including the whole 15:45 verse. Here we read that the first man, Adam, became a living soul, an event that occurred at the time of his creation. The statement that immediately follows, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit, suggests that God the Son (Jesus) became a "life-giving spirit" at His incarnation (when He joined Himself with the human race), or perhaps at the time of His resurrection. While the first Adam was merely a soulish creature, the last Adam was much more, as the contrast in this chapter makes clear. Christ will pass on a spiritual body much like His own to those who have passed from identification from the first Adam to the last Adam! We read of the contrast between the first Adam who is the progenitor of the earthly, perishable, natural body; with the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the progenitor of the heavenly, imperishable, spiritual body (15:40-50, 53-54). Those who are in Christ are assured of being raised in a body much like our Lord's own resurrected body. The Lord Jesus imparts spiritual life to His people. Although similar work is carried out by both Christ and the Holy Spirit, Their Personages are not confused by 1 Corinthians 15.
Not as clear is Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." The "Lord" and "Spirit" here are proceeded in the Greek by articles, suggesting that the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit are spoken of here. Paul may be offering doctrinal instruction on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, expressing the equality and unity of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. Paul may also be affirming the Lordship of the Holy Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one in nature, essence, and purpose. Being equally God, each Person of the Trinity exercises the same divine authority and are to be accorded equal recognition as God. Biblical commentator Charles Hodge offered his explanation of the Lord in this passage:
"The Lord is the Spirit," that is, Christ is the Holy Spirit; they are one and the same. Not one and the same person, but one and the same Being, in the same sense in which our Lord says, "I and the Father are one." It is an identity of essence and of power. Christ is the Holy Spirit, because, being the same in substance, where Christ is, there the Spirit is, and where the Spirit is, there is Christ.40
Whatever the case may be regarding the three Persons of the Trinity, they are clearly distinct. One need only appeal to more clearer passages of Scripture to discern the distinctions among the three Persons of the Godhead. We read in the Bible that the three Persons of the Trinity interact with one another within a subject-object relationship. The apostle John wrote of God the Son, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2). This passage illustrates that fellowship exists between God and the Son of God. More than one Person is in view here. John recorded the Lord's statement in John 10:30, that His Father and Himself are one in nature and essence, I and the Father are one. A more literal rendering of the Lord's statement here would read, I and the Father, We are one. The plural form, esmen (We are), denotes the distinction of the Father and the Son. The neuter form, hen (one) signifies the unity of nature, essence, and purpose of the Father and the Son. The neuter hen would rule out any possibility that John was stating that the Father and the Son were one Person.
In John 17 Jesus said in prayer to His Father that He came to make His Father known. Thus, when people looked upon Jesus they could view what their Father in heaven was like - John 10:32, 14:9. Although Jesus was not God the Father, He certainly made His Father known to others. Other passages of Scripture demonstrate subject-object relationships that mark out clear distinctions among the Persons of the Trinity - Matthew 3:16-17, 17:5, 27:46, 26:39; John 6:38, 11:41-42, 15:26, 16:7-15, 17; 1 John 1:3, 1:7, 2:1; 2 Peter 1-17-18; and so on.
Conclusion
Like other aberrational cultic groups, Witness Lee and the Local Church
fail to adequately understand one of the most crucial tenets of the Christian
faith. It is difficult to say for certain what Witness Lee actually believed
concerning the Trinity and what his motivation was for teaching it. We have read
that he employed language that suggests that the three Persons of the Trinity
are indeed three Persons. On the other hand, Lee clearly teaches that the Three
are one Person. To Lee the thought of three Persons existing together in the
Godhead suggested polytheism. Lee simply could not accept the possibility that
God could actually exist in three distinct Persons. Therefore, we must dismiss
his teaching on the Trinity as errant and heretical.
We are a people called of God to live our lives by faith. We must believe that what God inspired the biblical writers to include in the Scriptures was for our knowledge and use (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Although certain matters may not seem logically acceptable to us, they must be accepted as facts of our faith - by faith. There is sufficient biblical evidence to support the belief that the One true God of the Bible exists as three very distinct divine Persons Who are together one God, being co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent!
Endnotes
1. The Co-Workers in the Lord's Recovery (Witness Lee?), The Beliefs and Practices of the Local Churches (LSM: 1978) 3.
2. Witness Lee, "Message Six," The Life-Study of Genesis (LSM: 1987) Vol. 1, 61.
3. Witness Lee, "Message Ten," The Life-Study of Matthew (LSM: 1986) 131.
4. Witness Lee, Concerning the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (LSM: ND) 8-9.
5. Witness Lee, Five Emphases in the Lord's Recovery (LSM: 1991) 38.
6. Witness Lee, The All-Inclusive Spirit of Christ (LSM: 1969) 7, 8, 11-12. Originally printed in The Stream magazine (LSM: May 1965) 3-6.
7. Witness Lee, God's New Testament Economy (LSM: 1986) 230.
8. Witness Lee, The Practical Expression of the Church (LSM: 1970) 15.
9. Witness Lee, Young People's Training, 2nd ed. (LSM: 1989) 109-110.
10. Ibid., 82.
11. Witness Lee, God's New Testament Economy 225.
12. Witness Lee, The Triune God to be Life to the Tripartite Man (LSM: 1990) 48.
13. Witness Lee, The Wonderful Christ (LSM: 1989) 23-24. Originally printed in The Stream magazine (LSM: May 1975) 12-13, parenthetical note added.
14. Witness Lee, The All-Inclusive Spirit of Christ 4.
15. Witness Lee, Concerning the Triune God...27.
16. Witness Lee, What a Heresy-Two Divine Fathers, Two Life-Giving Spirits, and Three Gods! (LSM: 1977) 13-17.
17. Witness Lee, "Message Twenty-Seven," The Life-Study of Colossians (LSM: 1984) 219. Note: Lee quotes 1 Corinthians 15:45b, the last Adam became the Life-giving Spirit. Lee inserts the indefinite article, the, and capitalizes the s in spirit, identifying Jesus Christ here as the person of the Holy Spirit.
18. Witness Lee, The Wonderful Christ 24.
19. Witness Lee, Young People's Training 83.
20. Witness Lee, The Clear Scriptural Revelation Concerning the Triune God (LSM: ND) 3.
21. Witness Lee, "Message Nine," The Life-Study of John (LSM: 1985) 117.
22. Witness Lee, Concerning the Triune God...27.
23. Witness Lee, The Stream magazine (LSM: Feb. 1977) 25. Lee translates the Greek word for truth, reality.
24. Witness Lee, The Wonderful Christ 25-26, Stream 14, parenthetical notes added.
25. Witness Lee, The History of the Church and the Local Churches (LSM: 1991) 10.
26. Witness Lee, The Practical Expression...8.
27. Witness Lee, The Economy of God, 4th ed. (LSM: 1988) 37, parenthetical note added.
28. Witness Lee, Living In and With the Divine Trinity (LSM: 1990) 26.
29. Ibid., 10-11.
30. Ibid., 12.
31. Ibid., 12-13.
32. Ibid., 13.
33. Ibid., 42-43.
34. "Hymn #608," Hymns, 2nd ed. (LSM: 1980) 556, tune: How Great Thou Art.
35. The Editors, "Misaiming Concerning the Oneness of the Trinity," Affirmation & Critique (LSM: Jan. 1998) 60-61, parenthetical note added.
36. Louis Berkhof, Manual of Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans: 1984) 75-76.
37. Lewis Sperry Chafer and John Walvoord, Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids, Zondervan: 1974) 40-41.
38. Carl F. H. Henry, Basic Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Baker: 1983) 35-36.
39. Witness Lee, "Message Seven," The Christian Life (LSM: 3 Apr. 1992) 73.
40. Charles Hodge, I & II Corinthians (Carlisle, PA, Banner of Truth Trust: 1988) 450.