This is the clear word of Scripture: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
First Corinthians 15:45 states: “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Who is the last Adam? Jesus. Who is the life-giving Spirit? The Holy Spirit. Besides the Holy Spirit, there is no other spirit that gives life. 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.
Therefore, it is clear: The Lord Jesus is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the very God and the Lord.
In 2 Corinthians 3:17 we read: “And the Lord is the Spirit.” Who is the Lord here? No doubt it is Jesus. And who is the Spirit? It is of course the Holy Spirit. The Lord here is Jesus and the Spirit here is the Holy Spirit. So here the Bible says, “And the Lord is the Spirit.” To say that the Lord Jesus is the Spirit is absolutely scriptural!
In his book The Spirit of Christ, the twenty-fifth chapter, Andrew Murray says: “It was when our Lord Jesus was exalted into the life of the Spirit that He became ‘the Lord the Spirit’....The disciples knew Jesus long, without knowing Him as the Lord the Spirit....There may in the ministry be much earnest gospel preaching of the Lord Jesus as the Crucified One, without the preaching of Him as the Lord the Spirit....It is as the knowledge and acknowledgment of Christ as the Lord the Spirit, and of the Spirit of Christ as changing believers into His likeness, lives in the Church, that the ministry among believers will be in Life and Power-in very deed, a Ministry of the Spirit.”
The Father, Son, and Spirit are one God, not three. But, deep within, some Christians consider the Father, Son, and Spirit as three Gods. Some even clearly say this. Others may not say this in words, but they do hold this concept within them subconsciously. Perhaps even some of you reading this message held such a concept in the past but were afraid to speak of it for fear of being condemned. Once I had a talk with a certain Christian preacher who does not believe that the Son is the Father and that the Lord is the Spirit. I asked him, “Brother, how many Gods are the Father, Son, and Spirit?” He told me clearly and definitely that there are three Gods. Such a statement is absolutely heretical. The revelation of the Bible is that God is uniquely one. Without this controlling principle, centuries ago people would have said that there were three Gods.
Since theologians could not reconcile this matter, they came up with the term persons, speaking of the three persons of the Godhead. But to place too much stress on the three persons leads to tritheism. We should not be involved with the traditional terms. If we are, we shall find ourselves in trouble. Yes, the Bible does say that God is one, and it does make clear that God is triune-Father, Son, and Spirit. But to stress the Father, Son, and Spirit as three individual “persons” is to go beyond the revelation of the Bible.
Griffith Thomas, author of a well-known exposition on Romans, made this comment: “The term ‘Person’ is also sometimes objected to. Like all human language, it is liable to be accused of inadequacy and even positive error. It certainly must not be pressed too far, or it will lead to Tritheism....While, therefore, we are compelled to use terms like ‘substance’ and ‘Person,’ we are not to think of them as identical with what we understand as human substance and personality....The truth and experience of the Trinity is not dependent upon theological terminology” (from The Principles of Theology).
Ephesians 4:6 speaks of “one God and Father of all, who is...in all.” It is clear from this verse that the Father is in us.
That the Son also is in us is obvious from John 14:20: “In that day you will know that I am...in you”; Colossians 1:27: “Christ in you, the hope of glory”; and 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Do you not realize...that Jesus Christ is in you...?”
Then in John 14:17 it says, “The Spirit of reality...shall be in you.” Thus, the Spirit also is in us.
It is so clear that the Father is in us, the Son is in us, and the Spirit also is in us. Then, according to our experience, how many are in us? One or three? One! According to the letter, it seems that there are three, but according to our experience, there is one. This is because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one.
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