The tritheists, on the contrary, hold the side of the three, but neglect the side of the one. They say, “If the Father, Son, and Spirit are not three Gods, then how can They be three Persons?” Actually, to use the designation “three Persons” to explain the Father, Son, and Spirit is also not quite satisfactory because “three Persons” really means three persons. Therefore, Griffith Thomas (famous for his exposition on the book of Romans) in his book The Principles of Theology wrote in this wise concerning the Trinity of the Godhead: “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.” By denying the fact that the Son is the Father and that the Lord is the Spirit, our critics spontaneously fall into the danger of being tritheistic. Although they would deny that they are tritheistic, unconsciously and subconsciously they hold the concept of three Persons of the Godhead as three Gods. While most dare not admit this, some do admit it.
In 1965, a brother who had accused me of being heretical in teaching that the Son is the Father and the Lord is the Spirit, came to visit me. He told me definitely that he believed in three Gods. When I told him that we should never say this, he attempted to argue with me, using Psalm 82:6, which says, “Ye are gods.” I pointed out that the word “gods” in that verse refers to the angels. In the entire Bible, there is no verse saying that we have more than one God. Rather, everywhere we are told that our God is the only one God. He is God alone.
To press the “three Persons” in the Godhead too far will surely “lead to Tritheism.” Whoever does this spontaneously falls into the heretical extreme of tritheism. Tritheism does not have the safeguard of the aspect of the one. But the Bible says again and again that there is just one God. Because the tritheists hold the side of the three and neglect the side of the one, they also have no balance or safeguard.
Both modalism and tritheism go to an extreme. But we are in the middle and are balanced. When we believe that the Son is the Father and that the Lord is the Spirit, we are simply quoting the Bible. But, as we have pointed out, we also believe verses such as Matthew 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Revelation 1:4-5, and Ephesians 3:14-17. We believe both sides of the truth regarding the Triune God. We condemn both modalism and tritheism as heresies. We believe that God is uniquely one for eternity, yet He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Some may ask, “How can the Father, the Son, and the Spirit be three and at the same time still be one?” My answer is, “I do not know. I cannot tell you. If you try to understand this, you will be, in Martin Luther’s terms, ‘the teacher of God.’” The Trinity far transcends our mental apprehension, and only fools would try to understand it.
Actually, there is no doctrine of the Trinity in the Bible. In the Bible, the revelation of the Triune God is related to His relationship with man and to man’s experience of Him. The first verse indicating the Triune God is Genesis 1:26, which says, “Let us make man in our image.” This is not a doctrine; it is a revelation of God’s relationship with man. The first time the three of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, are revealed is in Matthew 28:19. This verse says, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This also is not a doctrine, but an experience. Many terms have been invented or adopted by theologians related to the Trinity: person, substance, hypostasis, subsistence, etc. It is better to avoid these terms as much as possible and to simply quote the Bible, for anything we say may be wrongly understood or interpreted. Nevertheless, for the sake of the experience of the Triune God, we cannot keep from telling people that eventually the Triune God today is the all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit. Examine your experience. Although many of the critics are fearful of experience, our burden is that people would experience the Triune God as the all-inclusive, wonderful Spirit who is God Himself-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The Trinity is not for doctrinal apprehension; it is absolutely for our experience. Before I came to this country, I did not give a clear word saying that the Triune God is for the dispensing of Himself into man. One day, while I was ministering the Triune God to people, I suddenly received the impression that the Triune God is for His dispensation, for the divine dispensing of Himself into man. God’s intention is to work Himself into human beings. For this purpose, God created man with a human spirit. God created man with a mouth and a stomach that he may take in, retain, digest, and assimilate food. Likewise, God created us with a spirit that we may touch Him, contact Him, take Him in, and retain Him. God is Spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit (John 4:24). Throughout the years, I have been more and more confirmed that the Triune God is for the dispensing of Himself into man. This is not a matter of doctrine, but of experience.
Home | First | Prev | Next