Everything we preach and teach in this ministry is thoroughly and carefully considered. Years ago, under the leadership of Brother Watchman Nee, we not only studied the Bible, but also church history, biographies, autobiographies, and the writings of the important Christian teachers. After much study and investigation, we were enlightened by the pure Word, and the Lord revealed much concerning Himself as our enjoyment and concerning the church as God’s expression. Before the recovery came to this country, had many of you heard of the human spirit? Had you ever heard that for Christ to be experienced by us as the all-inclusive One, He must be the life-giving Spirit? Had you ever heard that the Triune God is for the dispensing of Himself into us, His chosen people, for our experience? Had you ever heard of the practice of the church life in the localities where we are? Years ago, the Lord enlightened us and revealed these things to us, and we have been practicing them for a long time. Today, we wish to present the truths we have seen to all Christians that they may see them as well. At least, we must clear up the sky for the truth that the Christian public may know where the truth is. Everyone must know the truth concerning the living experience of Christ, the dispensing of the Triune God, and the practice of the proper church life.
After much study, we have been confirmed in believing that, according to the Bible, the Triune God is revealed, not for doctrinal apprehension, but absolutely for our experience. If we try to understand the Triune God as a doctrine and neglect experience, we shall find ourselves in difficulty. When I was young, I was taught about the Trinity according to the Nicene Creed, the creed held both by Catholicism and Protestantism. When I was under the teaching of the Brethren assembly, I was told that we should pray to the Father in the name of the Son through the power of the Spirit. But as I practiced this in my experience, I got into trouble. I asked myself, “To whom shall I address my prayer-to the Father, to the Son, or to the Spirit?” As I prayed, I had to remind myself, saying, “Don’t make a mistake. You must pray to the Father in the name of the Son through the power of the Spirit.” I took caution to practice in this manner.
When I first stayed with Brother Nee, a Chinese evangelist who belonged to the China Inland Mission was invited to speak to us. Brother Nee told me privately that this brother was supposed to be the most spiritual one among the Chinese preachers in the China Inland Mission. At a certain point in his message, he said, “Don’t think that the Lord Jesus is separate from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit today is simply the Lord Jesus.” After this sentence was uttered, Brother Nee, sitting afar off, loudly said, “Amen!” That surprised me. As Brother Nee and I were taking a walk after the meeting, he said, “Witness, we must believe this and realize that today the Lord Jesus is just the Spirit.” From that time onward, I received the best help to experience Christ as life. In all the years since then, I have entered more and more into the reality of the Triune God.
In doctrine, we may speak of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as being separate and distinct. But what about our experience? According to our experience, are They three or one? The New Testament reveals that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all in us (Eph. 4:6; 2 Cor. 13:5; John 14:17). Tell me, according to your experience, are there three in you or one? When you exercise your mind to talk about Them, They are three, but when you exercise your spirit to experience Them, They are just one.
Recently, I read the writings of many others who have said affirmatively that the Triune God is not for doctrinal understanding, but for our experience of the reality of our God. If our Savior were not the life-giving Spirit, how could we touch Him? According to fundamental interpretation, we touch Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. But what does this mean? It is meaningless terminology. What does it mean to say that the Son comes to us in the Spirit? The Bible does not say this. Rather, it says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Christ dwells in us and abides in us directly, not through any power. This is the revelation of the New Testament. But where is the verse saying that Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit? There is no such verse. Neither is it so complicated in our experience. In our experience, the living Christ is in us. As we turn to our experience, we shall see that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. The all-inclusive Christ, who as the life-giving Spirit indwells our spirit, is everything to us. We must believe the clear Word in a pure way, saying, “Amen,” to whatever the Bible says, and we should take care of our experience. There is no need to interpret. Simply take whatever the Bible says and believe it.
by Witness Lee
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