The Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit—is a mystery, in fact, a mystery of mysteries! Small and finite as we are, we human beings cannot understand it thoroughly; even less can we define it in a full way. Many things relating to the matter of life are not within the comprehension of men; men can only have a general idea of them. For instance, though we have life in our physical body, no one can explain it thoroughly, for life is a mystery. Furthermore, there is a spirit within us—this is even more of a mystery. What is the life of man? And what is the spirit of man? No one can give a full explanation. We are not able to comprehend such a comparatively small mystery as man, to say nothing of the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit. There are many other inexplicable things in the universe—electricity is one example: in certain aspects, we with our limited mind can only understand that they are so, but we cannot perceive why they are so. If we cannot fully understand things such as electricity, how much less the Triune God!
Although we cannot understand this mystery of the trinity of the Godhead, we can receive and enjoy this mysterious God. We cannot understand, but we can enjoy! In former days men had no knowledge of vitamins, though they greatly enjoyed their benefit. Praise the Lord! The Triune God is not for us to understand, but to enjoy. All that He is for us to enjoy is revealed in the Scriptures; we can simply accept it according to scriptural revelation. Although we cannot fully understand it, yet we may, according to all that is declared in the Scriptures, accept whatever is said.
For instance, John 1:1* says, "The Word was with God," and it also says, "The Word was God." Based upon the statement "the Word was with God," the Word and God are two distinct entities. But the declaration "the Word was God," clearly indicates that the Word and God are one. Are they two then, or are they actually one? We cannot clearly explain such a mystery. But we can accept what is said in the Scriptures just as it is.
Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "The Lord is the Spirit," and it also says, "The Spirit of the Lord." "The Lord is the Spirit" tells us that the Lord and the Spirit are one. Thus, in the following verse the Lord is called "the Lord Spirit." ("The Spirit of the Lord" is "the Lord Spirit" in the original text.) "The Lord Spirit" as a compound name is used to show that the two, the Lord and the Spirit, are one. But the title, "the Spirit of the Lord," clearly indicates that the Lord and the Spirit are two. We really cannot thoroughly understand this kind of statement. But since the Scriptures have said it, we must accept it as such.