The History of God in His Union With Man, Ch. 1, Sec. 7 of 9

Sections:

The Son Coming from with the Father 
and in the Father’s Name

The Son came from with the Father and in the Father’s name (6:46; 1:14; 5:43a; cf. 1 John 2:23b).

The Spirit Being Sent from with the Father 
in the Son’s Name

The Spirit was sent from with the Father in the Son’s name (John 15:26; 14:26). Thus, the Son came in the Father’s name, and the Spirit came in the Son’s name. This shows that the three came as one. The Son came with the Father, and the Father’s name is His name. He came with the Father as the Father. Then the Spirit came with the Father, and the Son’s name is His name. He came with the Father as the Son. Thus, the Son is the Father (Isa. 9:6) and the Spirit is the Son (2 Cor. 3:17), so the three are one.

Among the Three of the Divine Trinity, 
There Being Distinction but No Separation

Among the three of the Divine Trinity, there is distinction but no separation. The Father is distinct from the Son, the Son is distinct from the Spirit, and the Spirit is distinct from the Son and the Father. The three of the Godhead coexist in Their coinherence, so They are distinct but not separate. In the Triune God there is no separation, only distinction. The Triune God exists in His coinherence. On the one hand, the three are coinhering; on the other hand, at the same time they are coexisting. Thus, They are one. They are not separate.

GOD MAKING AN ETERNAL ECONOMY

In eternity past God made an eternal economy (Eph. 3:9-10; 1:10). This is God’s history in eternity past. Ephesians 3:9 and 10 say, “To enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, in order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church.” The economy of God’s mystery is to have a church for the manifestation of God. The first thing that God may have done before the foundation of the world in eternity past was to make an economy to produce the church to manifest God. The economy of the mystery hidden in God throughout the ages was to produce the church for the showing forth of God’s multifarious wisdom.

Ephesians 1:10 says, “Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” This verse shows that God’s economy is to head up all things in Christ. The above portions of Ephesians show us that God in eternity past made an eternal economy to produce the church for the manifestation of God and for the heading up of all things in Christ. Therefore, this economy is all-inclusive. In the whole universe two things are most crucial: (1) to produce the church for God’s manifestation; and (2) to head up all things in Christ. These two things were determined in an economy made by God in eternity. This might have been the first item of God’s history, the first thing He did in eternity past.

© Living Stream Ministry, 2021, used by permission