Many of the saints in the Lord’s recovery today still have not dropped their human concepts, cultural influences, and religious thoughts, not to mention the traditional teachings of Christianity. This is why there has not been much result even though we have released many things that God has shown us. The saints have heard what we have released, and they have seemed to receive it, yet there has not been much response in the church life in reality.
Suppose we told people that we were once fallen, but that God, who loved the world, came to be our Savior, and as our Savior died on the cross and shed His precious blood for the redemption of our sins. If we spoke in this way to people, it would be easy for them to comprehend because this kind of speaking not only corresponds to the Scriptures but also matches their natural concept. This kind of thought is very similar to the concept in the human mind. Hence, when we speak in this way, it is easy for people to understand, receive, and respond to our speaking. Suppose we also told them, “Since you have been saved, you need to have a change in your behavior. Before you were saved, your conduct was very poor and it did not glorify God. Today, however, you have been saved and have become children of God, and now you need to behave yourself in a proper way. If you cannot do it, you need to pray. Then God will lend you a hand and will enable you to be a good person.” This kind of teaching also conforms to man’s frame of mind, so man easily receives it and is stirred up by it. This kind of teaching is also found in the Bible.
However, everything has two sides-a surface and an inside-and what is on the surface is often different from what is on the inside. The concepts described in the previous paragraph can be said to be on the surface of what is revealed in the Bible. They are not on the “inside.” Then what is on the inside? Intrinsically, the Bible shows us that God is Spirit. God is not only Spirit in His essence, but He is also the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in His economy. God’s being the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is not merely so that we can have the doctrine of the Trinity but is for God’s economy. What is God’s economy? God’s economy is to work Himself into man. In order to dispense Himself into man, God has to be the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Traditional Christianity teaches the doctrine concerning the Trinity, saying that God is one, yet has three Persons. This teaching is not wrong, but it can be understood in a wrong way. In degraded Christianity, many people who teach this doctrine have the hidden concept that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three Gods. It is a very serious mistake to have this kind of concept. Apparently these ones believe that God is uniquely one, but if we converse with them at length, eventually they will disclose what they truly believe. They believe that the Father is a God, the Son is a God, and the Spirit is a God. They believe that there are three Gods. Of course, most will not say this explicitly, but when we speak with some believers, we realize that inwardly they do not believe that the Son is the Father or that the Son is the Spirit. If we were to ask them how many Gods they believed in, they would eventually have to confess that they believe in three Gods.
This matter has been an issue of great controversy in theology throughout the years. However, we must realize that God in His trinity-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit-is not for doctrinal study but for the dispensing of God into us. We should be very careful not to think that there are three Gods-the Father being one God, the Son being another God, and the Spirit being still another God. This is altogether a traditional concept that must be cast into the Pacific Ocean. This traditional concept is prevalent not only in China but also in America. In fact, most of the traditional Christian concepts came to China from the Western world. Today we are still fighting this battle in America. I have been challenging Christianity both privately and publicly concerning the traditional Christian concepts. For instance, I have challenged many of the Christians in America to explain how they understand Isaiah 9:6. That verse says, “For a child is born to us, / A son is given to us;... / And His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father, / Prince of Peace.” Most Christians do not have a problem with the names Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, or Mighty God. They only have a problem with the name Eternal Father. Isaiah 9:6 speaks about One who is so wonderful that His name is called Wonderful. Furthermore, He is so wonderful that even though He is a child, His name is called Mighty God. Fundamental Christians today all believe that the child who was born in the manger in Bethlehem was the mighty God. That child was called Jesus, and He was God. If someone does not believe in this, we cannot acknowledge him as our brother. Instead, we would have to consider him an antichrist. Judaism believes in God but does not believe that that child was the mighty God. We, however, believe this.
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