Bible teachers all know that the New Testament contains the four Gospels, which speak about four aspects of the Lord Jesus. This is so that an accurate picture will be presented. Similarly, if you want to make a bronze statue of someone, you have to take four pictures of him so that you can have the basis to create the statue accurately, or else it may not look so real. At the beginning of the New Testament are the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Most people agree that Matthew is on the Lord Jesus being the King, Mark is on the Lord Jesus being a slave, and Luke is on the Lord Jesus being a man. Concerning John, however, not many people have the boldness to say that it is on the Lord Jesus being God. If we do not have adequate revelation and knowledge concerning the mystery of the Divine Trinity unveiled in the Gospel of John, we surely will not have the boldness and confidence to say this. We need particular knowledge concerning the mysterious Triune God.

Let me use language as an example. In Chinese, some words are very close in pronunciation, and such words must be pronounced very carefully to avoid being misunderstood. I have been speaking [367] Shantung Mandarin since my youth, so my pronunciation of standard Mandarin is usually not so precise. For example, my last name is Lee, and Sister Lee’s maiden name is Li. When I say these two words, others often cannot make a clear distinction between Lee and Li because the pronunciation of these two words is so similar. Because of this, whenever someone asks me, “What is your wife’s maiden name?” I always hesitate and do not have the boldness to say it because I am not sure if I will pronounce it correctly. In the same way, if we do not have a deep and thorough understanding of the words of mystery in the Gospel of John concerning the Triune God, we surely will not have the boldness to speak them.

In actuality, the mystery in the four Gospels is the same as the mystery in the Gospel of John, and the mystery in John is the Triune God.

The Word Being in the Beginning, 
and the Word Being God

With respect to the Lord’s relationship to us, the first aspect of the mystery in the Gospel of John, as shown in the outline, is that the Lord Jesus is the Word. When the Lord came, He began to have a relationship with us as the Word. John does not begin with, “In the beginning was God,” but he begins with, “In the beginning was the Word.” The fact that God is referred to as the Word indicates that He has a relationship with man. Suppose I came to you and just looked at you and let you look at me. If we just look at one another without saying anything, nothing will happen. Once I open my mouth to speak, however, a relationship begins. When I speak, you respond. When I speak again, you respond again. With such speaking and responding, a relationship develops. Such a relationship is initiated and formed by words. What is this? This is the story of the word. Words are the medium by which two parties develop a relationship. Every day news happens all over the world. We develop a relationship with the news because it is communicated to us through the words of the media, including radio, television, magazines, and newspapers.

In order to have a relationship with man, the Triune God must be the Word. If He were not the Word, He would have no way to have a relationship with the created man. Therefore, throughout the whole Bible the Word is very crucial. Even when God created all things, He did it through His word, which is Himself. For example, [368] I am speaking to you now, and the words I speak are just myself. If I speak wrongly, not only my words will be condemned, but I myself will also be condemned. I am one with my words. The two—my words and I—are inseparable. If you were indicted in court for speaking wrongly and declared guilty by the judge, you could not say, “Your Honor, I am not wrong; it was my words that were wrong. You may condemn my words, but do not condemn me.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is God Himself.

FOUR STEPS TAKEN BY THE WORD 
IN HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH MAN

In the beginning of the Gospel of John, John speaks about the Word. This proves that God wants to have a relationship with man. How can God have a relationship with man? The first step is that He was incarnated to bring God into man; the second step is that He lived a human life on earth for thirty-three and a half years; the third step is that through His death and resurrection He brought man into God; and the fourth step is that He became the Spirit to abide and live in those who have believed into Him.

Concerning Christ as the Spirit

The Last Adam Becoming the Life-giving Spirit

Concerning the fundamental truth of Christ being the Spirit, there are two crucial verses. The first verse is 1 Corinthians 15:45b, which says, “The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” Some people argue that the life-giving Spirit here is not the Holy Spirit but the Spirit of Christ as a person. They say that just as we humans have a spirit, so Christ also has a spirit. They also say that when this Jesus Christ died, He became life-giving Spirit; however, this verse does not say that the last Adam simply became “Spirit,” without any modifier. Rather, it says that He became “a life-giving Spirit,” with the modifier life-giving. This indicates that this Spirit can give life. May I ask, What kind of spirit can give life? Can the human spirit give life? If Jesus Christ had not become the Spirit, and if the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 15:45b refers only to the spirit He had as a man, can that human spirit give life? Since 1 Corinthians 15:45b says explicitly that He became a “life-giving” Spirit, then it simply means that [369] He became a life-giving Spirit. That the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit is a very crucial revelation, and we cannot delete the word life-giving as it pleases us. Moreover, 2 Corinthians 3:6 says, “The Spirit gives life.” Only God can give life and enliven man. Besides God, no one in this universe can give life and enliven man.

The Lord Being the Spirit

The second crucial verse concerning Christ being the Spirit is 2 Corinthians 3:17, which says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” “The Lord” here, of course, is Jesus, and “the Spirit” is the Spirit who gives life, mentioned in verse 6, and who is the life-giving Spirit. Many Christian writers, including Henry Alford and Andrew Murray, all acknowledge this point. Praise the Lord, the Christ in whom we believe is the Spirit today.

The Lack in Christianity’s Theology

In our English hymnal there are twenty to thirty hymns concerning Christ as the Spirit. In the compilation of the hymnal, we did our best to collect all the truths expressed in hymns from different Christian backgrounds. Therefore, our hymnal may be considered a collection of the hymns of theology. If you want to study real theology, you need to first study our hymnal.

A great lack in Christian theology is that it does not say anything about Christ being the Spirit. Due to the fact that this truth is lacking, it is impossible to link all other truths together. Without this truth, the Father is the Father, the Son is the Son, the Spirit is the Spirit, and the three are totally separated. In other words, without Christ being the Spirit, the three of the Divine Trinity would be completely separated. From this standpoint we must consider it our responsibility to explain and preach the divine truth concerning Christ being the Spirit according to the revelation of the Bible.

In particular, the young people who desire to serve the Lord must know this truth thoroughly. You should not be the Philips who speak nonsense. Rather, you should spend time to study in order that you would see this mystery in the Gospel of John so that whatever you preach will involve this truth.