We are all more than clear that the Scripture reveals Christ to us as the Son of God (Matt. 16:15-17). A son is always the expression of the father. Even so, Christ, as the Son of God, is God’s very expression (Heb. 1:2-3). “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son...hath declared him” (John 1:18). The Son “is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). This is why the Son could say, “All things that the Father hath are mine” (John 16:15), and, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do” (John 5:19). Therefore, we must acknowledge the Son that we may have God the Father (1 John 4:15; 2:23).
In the first part of the third chapter of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul speaks about the Spirit of God. He shows us that the ministry today of the New Testament is the ministry of the Spirit that gives life. Then he says in verse 17, “Now the Lord is that Spirit.” The Spirit of God who is mentioned in the previous verses is the Lord Himself. We know the Lord is the Son, and that He is also called the Father. Now we read that He is the Spirit. So we must be clear that Christ the Lord is the Spirit too.
Some Christian writers have clearly seen this matter in this verse. Dean Alford, in his New Testament for English Readers, page 265, says, “‘The Lord,’ as here (2 Cor. 3:17) spoken of...is identical with the Holy Spirit...Christ, here, is the Spirit of Christ.” Marvin R. Vincent, ‘in his Word Studies in the New Testament, Volume 3, page 308, regarding this verse, says, “The Lord Christ of verse 16 is the Spirit who pervades and animates the new covenant.”
First Corinthians 15:45 says, “The last Adam [Christ] was made a life-giving spirit” (ASV). Christ, as the last Adam, was made a Spirit. We must admit that this Spirit, who is Christ, is the very Holy Spirit of God. Therefore, Christ is also the Holy Spirit.
Let us look into another passage, John 14:16-19. We have previously seen (in verses 8-11 of John 14) that the Lord and the Father are one. He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him. Now, in verses 16-19, the Lord tells us something more- that He and the Spirit are one. In verse 18, the pronoun changes. “He” is changed into “I.” “I” will not leave you; “I” will come to you. In the previous verse, the Lord says, “He [the Spirit] shall be in you,” but in this verse He says, “I will come.” By this we realize that “He” is “I,” and “I” am “He”! We know the Lord is referring here to His coming back in resurrection. After the resurrection the Lord came back to the disciples. He left them for not more than three days-i.e., “a little while.” Then He returned! Now the world cannot see Him, because He has become the Spirit; yet we, the disciples, can see Him because He is with us and even lives within us. He is the Spirit as well as the Father. So we have the Father in the Son, and the Son in the Spirit. This is the Triune God-one God in three persons.
What does it mean to have one God in three persons? Second Corinthians 13:14 gives us an explanation: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” Three things are mentioned: love, grace, and communion. Three persons are also mentioned: God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Are love, grace and communion three different substances, or are they one? We need to see that they are one. Love is the source; grace is the expression of love; and communion is the transmission of grace. By grace love is expressed, and by communion grace is transmitted. These are not three different entities, but three forms of one substance. Love is in the Father, grace is with the Son, and communion is by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit communicates the grace of Christ, and the grace of Christ is the expression of the love of God-three forms, but one substance. We may illustrate this by ice, water, and vapor. Ice can be melted into water, and water can be changed into vapor. They are all the same substance, yet in three different forms.
We have a hymn with the words:
What mystery, the Father, Son and Spirit, In person three, in substance all are one.
One God, one substance, is expressed in three persons. Never think that Christ is someone other than God or the Holy Spirit. Outside of Christ there is no God, and outside of the Holy Spirit we cannot have Christ. Christ is the very embodiment of God, and the Holy Spirit is the reality of Christ. 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.
In Romans 8:9-11, the apostle Paul, at the mention of the Holy Spirit, uses three terms interchangeably. First, he mentions the “Spirit of God.” Then he speaks of the “Spirit of Christ.” This shows that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ. These are not two, but one Spirit. Again, he changes from the “Spirit of Christ” to “Christ” Himself. So we have the “Spirit of God,” the “Spirit of Christ,” and “Christ.” Are these three different beings? No, these are three terms of one Spirit. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself.
Why do we emphasize this matter? Because we must realize that the Christ in whom we believe is the center of the Triune God. We may illustrate in this way:
He is the Son with the Father, in the Spirit. If we have Him, we have the Father, and if we have the Spirit, we have Him. So, if we would have the Father, we must have Him, and if we would have Him, we must have the Spirit; because the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Spirit.
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