The Spirit has been given by the Son (John 3:34). The Spirit was also given by the Father (John 14:16b; Luke 11:13). Just as there are two senders of the Spirit, there are also two givers. The fact that both the Father and the Son have given the Spirit is a strong proof that the Son and the Father are one.
John 3:34 says that the Son “gives the Spirit not by measure.” This indicates that the Spirit given by the Son is immeasurable. The word “immeasurable” denotes not only the sphere of the Spirit but also the content and nature of the Spirit. The immeasurable Spirit is immeasurable in sphere. It is immeasurable also in content and nature, that is, in what the Spirit is. The immeasurable Spirit is actually the all-inclusive compound Spirit typified by the compound ointment in Exodus 30:23-25. The immeasurable Spirit as the all-inclusive compound Spirit is not simply the Spirit of power or the Spirit of life. This immeasurable Spirit is actually the consummate expression of the Triune God. Such a Spirit has been given by the Son.
Concerning the giving of the Spirit to the New Testament believers, the Son as the last Adam became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). This is the Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God. Before the incarnation, the Triune God was “raw,” unprocessed. Through incarnation He was processed to become the last Adam. The Word, who is God, became flesh (John 1:1, 14). This was a process, and in this process He was “baked” to become the bread of life (John 6:35). The point here is that whereas the Triune God was raw before incarnation, through incarnation He began to enter into a process.
After nine months in the virgin Mary’s womb, the child who was the mighty God (Isa. 9:6) was born and placed in a manger (Luke 2:12). Later, the magi honored and worshipped Him as the very God (Matt. 2:11). For thirty years He lived in a carpenter’s house. He Himself worked as a carpenter and was called a carpenter (Mark 6:3). Eventually He was crucified, being on the cross for six hours. He was buried and went to Hades, even descending into the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9). Then He entered into resurrection, and in resurrection He, the last Adam, became the life-giving Spirit. All this was a process. The Triune God was processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God.
The process through which the Triune God passed to become the life-giving Spirit is an economical, not essential, matter. Change with God can only be economical; it can never be essential. Essentially, our God cannot change. From eternity to eternity He remains the same in His essence. But in His economy the Triune God has changed in the sense of being processed. First, He who was merely God became a God-man. When He was merely God, He did not have humanity. But when He changed by becoming a God-man, humanity was added to His divinity. This does not mean, however, that God changed in His essence. On the contrary, He was changed only in His economy, in His dispensation. God has changed in His economy, but He has never changed in His essence.
Although God has changed in His economy, no longer will He change economically. Rather, He will remain the same. This is the reason Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Before “yesterday” Jesus Christ did change economically. He changed by becoming a man. He changed in resurrection by becoming the life-giving Spirit. But now, after His resurrection, Jesus Christ remains the same. In Hebrews 13:8, a verse written after Christ’s incarnation and resurrection, the word “yesterday” counts from the day of His resurrection. Christ’s “today” is today, and His “forever” includes the coming age and eternity. Therefore, it is a mistake to use this verse as the basis for claiming that the Triune God cannot change economically. First Christ became a man through incarnation, and then He became the life-giving Spirit through resurrection. Now that He is the life-giving Spirit He will remain forever the same.
On the one hand, Christ, the Son, became the Spirit. On the other hand, the Spirit, who was sent in the Son’s name, came as the Son. In resurrection the Son did not simply become absolutely one with the Spirit-He became the Spirit. Now this Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, who is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God reaching us. Through Christ’s resurrection the coming of the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit was completed.
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