I have been condemned for saying that the Lord Jesus is the Spirit. Although I do not like to argue or to answer, I would like to ask those dear brothers who condemn me how they interpret 2 Corinthians 3:17 which says, "And the Lord is the Spirit." Do not ask, "Then are the Lord and the Spirit one?" We do not have the skill nor the means to explain this adequately. Although we cannot explain it adequately, we do have a verse in the Bible which says, "And the Lord is the Spirit." Where do you put this verse? Will you cut it out of your Bible? I would also present to those brothers Isaiah 9:6 which says, "Unto us a son is given..and his name shall be called..The everlasting Father..." Is He the Son or the Father? Again, although we cannot explain this adequately, we do have this verse that says that the Son shall be called the Father. Second Corinthians 3:17 says that the Lord is now the Spirit, and Isaiah 9:6 says that the Son is called the Father. This is the mystery of the Trinity. We do have the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; yet the Son is called the Father, and the Son is the Spirit. They three are still one God.

We all know John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." It is quite clear that the Word and God are distinct. However, the following clause of John 1:1 says, "and the Word was God." This clause creates a problem. In the beginning was the Word of God, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Are they one or two? This is a mystery, the mystery of the Triune God.

Ephesians 4:6 says that the Father is in us, Colossians 1:27 says that Christ, the Son, is in us, and John 14:17 says that the Holy Spirit is in us. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in us. Once I presented these verses to a certain person, asking him if he was clear about them and if he believed what they said. I asked him, "Do you believe all these facts—that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are in you?" When he said that he did, I asked him, "Tell me, how many are in you now?" He said, "One." Then I said, "Haven't you admitted that the Bible tells us that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all are in you? How can you say that only one is in you?" He could not answer. The Bible does say that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all three are in us. But, according to our experience, we have only one in us, whom we call either the Spirit or the Lord. This is the mystery of the Trinity of our God. He is the only one God, yet He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

The Trinity of God is for Him to be dispensed into us. No food can get into us without being cooked or processed. If a food is not cooked, at least it must pass through the process of being masticated, swallowed, digested, and assimilated. Without this process, nothing can get into us. The Triune God is the very God who is dispensing Himself into our being. Matthew 28:19 says, "Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." For what purpose do we baptize people into the Father, Son, and Spirit? For the purpose of processing them into God and for processing God into them. The Triune God, the Trinity, is not a theory or a theological teaching. It is God's dispensation.

The number three signifies God in His dispensation. The number three denotes the dispensing God, the very God who is dispensing Himself into people. Whenever the Bible speaks of God mingling with man, of God entering into man, or of God being dispensed into man, it always uses the matter of the Trinity. Consider, for example, 2 Corinthians 13:14. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." This is not a doctrine of three gods; it is the Triune God in the process of dispensing, of getting Himself into us, and of bringing us into all His riches. This is the significance of the number three.

What does the number five signify? This is quite easy to understand. The ten commandments were divided into two tablets each containing five commandments. In Matthew 25, we have ten virgins divided into two groups of five. If you look at yourself, you will see that you have ten fingers and ten toes, all arranged in groups of five. The five fingers on each of your hands are composed of four plus one. If you had two thumbs and three fingers, it would be awkward for you to do anything. But with one thumb and four fingers we can easily do anything. The thumb is number one, representing the one God as the Creator. Four is the number of God's creature, like the four living creatures (Rev. 4:6). Thus, four plus one means man, God's creature, plus God. The thought here, as signified by the numbers three and five, is that of the mingling of the Triune God with man. What is God's building? God's building is simply to build Himself into us, and us into Him, making Him one with us and making us one with Him. So, in the ark, the basic numbers of three and five signify that this building is the mingling of God and man.

Why was the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits? It is clear that the number three hundred is a hundred times of three, that the number fifty is ten times of five, and that the number thirty is ten times of three. The basic numbers are three and five, and the numbers three hundred, fifty, and thirty are the multiples of these basic numbers. The number one hundred denotes fullness. The Lord Jesus said that the best way to bear fruit is to bear it a hundredfold (Matt. 13:23). Thus, the number one hundred in the Bible is the number of fullness. The number ten means completeness (Dan. 1:12, 20). If you are lacking a thumb, you are incomplete. Since ten signifies completeness and a hundred indicates fullness, the ark is the mingling of the Triune God with man in completeness and in fullness.

If you read Exodus 27, you will find that the numbers three and five are also the basic numbers of the tabernacle. The court of the tabernacle was a hundred cubits long on both the south side and the north side (Exo. 27:9, 11). The breadth of the court on both the west side and the east side was fifty cubits (Exo. 27:12-13). The fence or curtains of the court were five cubits high (Exo. 27:18). The hangings on either side of the gate were fifteen cubits in length (Exo. 27:14-15). These hangings were supported by three pillars on each side, giving three sections of five cubits each. Nothing in the Bible is vain. The measurements of the entire court of the tabernacle are composed of the basic numbers of three and five. Furthermore, the whole tabernacle itself was of three sections: the outer court, the holy place, and the holiest of all. In the holy place there were three items: the showbread table, the lampstand, and the incense altar. This is all very meaningful. The numbers three and five are the basic numbers of God's building.

I hope that you take this word into your being and realize that whatever you share in building the church must be of three and five; it must be the Triune God mingled with man. Whatever you do for the building of the church must be in the mingling of the Triune God with you and others. This thought is deep.