In this message we shall cover the remaining aspects of the third stage of the Spirit’s work in the believers for the divine dispensing. This is the stage in which the Spirit works in us to keep us in fellowship with the Triune God.
The Spirit is partaken of by the believers. Hebrews 6:4 indicates that we are partakers of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God, and we are partakers of such a One. We have not only received the Holy Spirit; we are now partakers of the Holy Spirit. As long as we have the Spirit, we are His partakers.
The book of Hebrews was written to show the Jewish believers that the believers in Christ have Him as a wonderful treasure, a treasure that is much more precious than the angels, Moses, Aaron, and the old covenant. This treasure is the all-inclusive Christ. However, in our practical experience Christ is the all-inclusive Spirit. Hence, Hebrews does not say that we are partakers of the all-inclusive Christ but that we are partakers of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit, who is the consummation of the Triune God, is also the reaching to us of the Triune God. Without being the Spirit, the Father and the Son could not reach us. The reaching of the Triune God is the Spirit, and this Spirit is the reality of the new covenant, which is superior to the old covenant. Now, in a way that is actual and practical, we are partakers of the all-inclusive Spirit. Because we partake of this Spirit, we partake of and enjoy the processed Triune God with all His riches. In the divine fellowship we partake of the Spirit.
Eventually, the Spirit is the fellowship, the participation in the enjoyment, of the Triune God to the believers. Actually, this fellowship is a totality of all the aspects of the Spirit’s work in the third stage, the stage of maintaining our fellowship with the Triune God.
Among the sixty-six books of the Bible, 2 Corinthians is unique in that it concludes with a blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (13:14). This blessing is composed of attributes of the Triune God: grace, love, and fellowship. The love of God the Father is the source, the fount, and grace is the flow, the expression, of love. Love is with the Father as the source, and grace is with the Son as the expression. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a matter of communication, transmission. Therefore, love is the source, grace is the flow, and fellowship is the transmission of the flow with the source. In this way we have love, grace, and fellowship as our enjoyment, and we participate in them.
Second Corinthians 13:14 clearly says that grace is of Christ, love is of God, and fellowship is of the Holy Spirit. Because the book of 2 Corinthians emphasizes grace, grace is mentioned first in 13:14. As presented in 2 Corinthians, grace is actually the Triune God embodied in the Son and transmitted into our being through the Spirit for our enjoyment. Hence, grace is the Triune God as our life, life supply, and enjoyment. This grace issues out from the Father’s love and is transmitted into our being by the Spirit. Therefore, we have the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit-the full enjoyment of the Triune God.
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