by Ron Kangas

C oncerning the knowledge of the Triune God revealed that if we would know the true God both in outward, ob-
in the Word of God, the New Testament contains a jective knowledge and according to the inward, subjective
prayer, a promise, a provision, and a proclamation. The consciousness of the divine life within us as genuine chil-
prayer is recorded in Ephesians 1:17, where Paul invokes dren of God begotten of Him, we must fulfill certain
“the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory” to requirements, or prerequisites. Actually, these prerequi-
give us “a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowl- sites are the ways in which we come to know the Triune
edge of Him.” Paul expressed a similar desire in Colossians God. In a two-part article we will endeavor to present the
1:9-10, where he prayed that we would “be filled with the crucial requirements for knowing the full truth regarding
full knowledge of His will in the Triune God unveiled and
all spiritual wisdom and un- unfolded in the Word of
derstanding” and grow “by the God. These numerous re-
full knowledge of God.” The If we would know quirements, which can be
promise is given in Hebrews covered here only in an in-
8:11: “They shall by no means the Triune God, troductory and elementary
each teach his fellow citizen way, fall into three basic cate-
and each his brother, saying, we need to rely not gories: the Bible, the Triune
Know the Lord; for all will God, and our person. Know-
know Me from the little one to on traditional terms, ing God therefore entails a
the great one among them.” dynamic triangular interac-
The provision is mentioned in teachings, and expressions tion among the Word of
John 17:3: “This is eternal life, God, the Triune God, and
that they may know You, the but on the pure the person of those who ear-
only true God, and Him nestly seek the truth of God
whom You have sent, Jesus word of the Bible. and the God of truth. In ad-
Christ.” The proclamation is dition, we will see that this
made in 1 John 5:20: “We triangular interaction takes
know that the Son of God has come and has given us an place in a very particular context—the reality of the Body
understanding that we might know Him who is true; and of Christ.
we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is
the true God and eternal life.” With these and other verses The Pure Word and the Complete Truth
as the basis, we may be assured that, as believers in Christ,
we can know the true and living Triune God—the Father, God has spoken, and the Triune God’s speaking has be-
the Son, and the Spirit. come His written word—the Holy Scriptures. Apart from
God’s word, His speaking, we cannot know God, for His
The Bible further shows us, in various and sundry ways, word is His expression, definition, and explanation. We

12 Affirmation & Critique

can know Him only as He has explained, defined, and ex-
pressed Himself in, by, and through His word. If we
want to know God, we must know the Scriptures.
In order to know the truth
concerning the Triune God
The Scriptures teach us the things of God and the things
concerning God. Furthermore—this may come as a surprise in a full, complete,
to many Bible readers—the Scriptures actually teach us God
Himself. The more we realize this, the more we will come
and balanced way,
to the Bible not merely to learn about God but to learn we need to see
God. There is a great difference between knowing about
God and knowing God. Those who are dissatisfied with the the principle of the
former and desire the latter will begin to read the Bible not
only as a theological text replete with propositional truths
twofoldness of divine truth.
but as the written revelation of the true and living God.

If we would know the Triune God revealed in the Word leaven of human opinion, concept, and tradition, or, at
of God, we need to rely not on traditional terms, teach- least, distinguish between it and the divine revelation em-
ings, and expressions but on the pure word of the Bible. bodied in and conveyed through the Bible.
We must honor the Word of God in its intrinsic purity,
not mixing it with human opinion or speculation. This As we consider the revelation of the Triune God in the Bi-
means that our stand with respect to the Trinity should ble, we wish to uphold the purity of God’s word and not
be the Holy Scriptures, not according to traditional inter- blindly adhere to traditional terms, concepts, systems, and
pretations but according to the pure word of God. “Every theological formulations. Although, due to the poverty of
word of God is pure… Add thou not unto his words, lest our language, we need to use certain terms, we must be on
he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Prov. 30:5a, 6, guard not to equate them with, much less allow them to
KJV). Adding to God’s word is most serious and is replace, the word of the Bible. We would do well to heed
strictly proscribed in Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32 and in the words of E. W. Bullinger: “If we confine ourselves to
Revelation 22:18. the Word of God, and that alone, both the writer and
reader may, and will, all learn together what God has re-
What does it mean, in a practical way, to add to the vealed concerning Himself ” (Selected Writings, p. 45).
Word of God? The Lord Jesus provides a clear answer
when He says to His disciples: “Watch and beware of the In order to know the truth concerning the Triune God in
leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matt. 16:6). a full, complete, and balanced way and to maintain a tes-
Leaven is something added to dough to produce fermen- timony faithful to the whole truth of God’s revelation in
tation (cf. Matt. 13:33). Since the disciples were unable the Scriptures, we need to see the principle of the
to understand His word, the Lord Jesus went on to ask twofoldness of divine truth. As a help in understanding
them: “How is it that you do not understand that it was this principle, let us quote several portions from The
not about bread that I spoke to you? But beware of the Twofoldness of Divine Truth, a booklet by Robert Govett, a
leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matt. 16:11). meticulous and perceptive student of the Word of God.
His further word must have made them clear, for the next Govett says:
verse reads: “Then they understood that He did not say
to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of The twofoldness of truth as offered to our view in Holy
the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The Lord Jesus Himself Writ is one strong argument of its not being the work of
likens the teachings (i.e., the doctrines taught) of the man. It is the glory of man’s intellect to produce oneness.
Pharisees and the Sadducees to leaven. In Matthew 15:6 His aim is to trace different results to one principle, to
He told the scribes and Pharisees: “You have deprived clear it of ambiguities, to show how, through varied ap-
the word of God of its authority because of your tradi- pearances, one law holds. Anything that stands in the way
tion.” Therefore, quoting Isaiah, He could say: “In vain of the completeness of this, he eludes or denies (p. 3).
do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the command-
ments of men” (v. 9). When we put all these verses “But,” as Govett continues, “it is not so with God. In na-
together, we see that the leaven of the Pharisees is the tra- ture He is continually acting with two seemingly opposed
ditional teachings and commandments of men. According principles” (p. 3). Therefore, Govett says, “It is not then
to the Lord Jesus if these are added to the word of God, to be wondered at, if two seemingly opposed principles
or held equal to it, God’s word is deprived of its author- are found placed side by side in the Scripture. ‘Unity in
ity. As those who would honor God’s word in its purity plurality, plurality in unity’ is the main principle on which
and receive it in faith and obedience, we must reject the both the world and the Scripture are constructed” (p. 4).

January 1996 13
Regarding the apparently irreconcilable statements in Note Govett’s statement that this “master-truth…takes its
God’s Word, Govett remarks: “It is not necessary to rec- rise in the nature of the Godhead.” In other words, God’s
oncile them before we are bound to receive and act upon revelation of Himself in the Scriptures, being twofold, is
the two. It is enough that the Word of God distinctly af- an expression of the nature of God. The two aspects of
firms them both” (p. 6). “Their claim on our reception,” God’s intrinsic being—that He is three being one and one
Govett goes on to say, “is not that we can unite them, but being three—are testified by the twofoldness of the truth
that God has testified both” (p. 8). If we see this, we will of His revelation in the Scriptures. “From this twofoldness
realize that many debates regarding the truth in the Bible of truth designed difficulties arise. Thus does God try man-
kind. Thus does He try His people” (p. 20). And
thus does He try not only every theological sys-
Another prerequisite tem and school of thought but also everyone
who seeks to know the Triune God.
for knowing the Triune God
Many of today’s believers have been tried and
revealed in the Word of God found wanting, for they fail to maintain without
bias and distortion the twofoldness of the truth
is holding to the complete truth regarding the Trinity. Christians easily lapse into
an emphasis on God’s being three. Recognizing
revealed in the Bible and not merely that this tendency is common among believers,
Stuart Olyott expresses concern:
to the incomplete truths
It is probably true to say that many Christians, in
summarized in the creeds. their heart of hearts, tend to think of God more in
terms of His three-ness than His one-ness. They
think of Him more easily as Three than as One-in-
are unnecessary, for, in Govett’s words, “Opposite views three and Three-in-one. Such people…nurse an er-
of truth arise from different parts of the subject being ror in their hearts which keeps them from thinking of God
viewed at different times” (p. 9). Govett not only articu- as they should (The Three Are One, p. 87).
lates the twofoldness of divine truth but also expresses
forthrightly what the attitude of the Christian should be Recognizing that the truth concerning the Triune God is
toward the truth of God’s revelation: twofold is a requirement for knowing God in His trinity.
This twofoldness of the truth is embodied in the word
Thus does God try His people. Will they trust Him when triune, a Latin word composed of tri-, meaning three, and
He affirms that view of truth which runs counter to their -une, meaning one. To say that God is triune is to testify
temperaments and intellectual bias? or will they trample that He is three-one. He is uniquely one, yet He is dis-
on one of His sayings in their zeal for the other? The tinctly and inseparably three. In the Godhead the Father,
humble, child-like saint will acknowledge and receive the Son, and the Spirit are distinct but inseparable. In
both; for his Father, who cannot err, testifies to each God’s being one there is no separation among the Father,
alike…Will they receive both His statements on His sim- the Son, and the Spirit, and in God’s being three there is
ple assertion? Most will not, for they are one-sided. They a distinction among the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
will force everything to unity.…They ignore all evidence The three of the Trinity cannot be separated, yet there is a
that tells against their views.…The Lord give us a single distinction among them. This is the twofoldness of the
eye, and the teaching of His Holy Spirit that each part of truth concerning the Triune God.
His Word may leave its due impression on our judg-
ments, our hearts, and our conduct! (pp. 11, 20, 23).

Govett specifically applies the principle of twofoldness of

A nother prerequisite for knowing the Triune God re-
vealed in the Word of God is holding to the complete
truth revealed in the Bible and not merely to the incomplete
divine truth to the nature of God: truths summarized in the creeds. The word creed denotes a
succinct statement of belief which epitomizes the central
The same twofoldness of truth appears in the Scripture points of the Christian faith. As concise, formal statements
statements concerning the nature of God. It affirms His of crucial elements of Christian doctrine, the ecumenical
unity.…But the Scripture as plainly affirms the distinction creeds serve a useful function. In the view of G. W.
of persons in the Godhead. ‘Unity in plurality and plural- Bromiley, the creeds “form a succinct basis of teaching, safe-
ity in unity’ is the assertion here. This master-truth, guard pure doctrine, and constitute an appropriate focus for
which takes its rise in the nature of the Godhead, flows the church’s fellowship in faith” (Evangelical Dictionary of
out into all His works (p. 12). Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell, p. 284). The problem with

14 Affirmation & Critique

allegiance to and reliance upon creeds, however, is that (1 Cor. 15:45); nor of Christ’s heavenly ministry as the
creeds can be (and, in practice, often are) superimposed on Intercessor, the Mediator of a better covenant, the Ad-
the Bible and thereby hinder, if not actually prevent, one vocate with the Father, the High Priest according to the
from seeing the full revelation of the Triune God contained order of Melchisedec, the Ruler of the kings of the earth,
therein. Moreover, by their very nature creeds are incom- and the Administrator executing the decrees of God’s
plete, unable to embody the totality of the divine revelation. government (Heb. 7:25; 8:6; 1 John 2:1; Heb. 5:10;
J. N. D. Kelly remarks: “It cannot be too often repeated 8:1; Rev. 1:5; 5:5); nor of Christ’s indwelling, His be-
that, in the proper sense of the terms, no creed, confession ing with our spirit, and His making home in our heart
or formula of faith can be found in the New Testa- (2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27; 2 Tim. 4:22; Eph. 3:17); nor
ment.…What is manifest on every page is a common body of the Spirit—as the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2), the Spirit
of doctrine, definite in outline and regarded by everyone as of Jesus (Acts 16:7), the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9),
the possession of no individual but of the Church as a and the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19)—being the
whole” (Early Christian Creeds, pp. 24-25). all-inclusive Spirit; nor of the believers’ being born of
the Spirit in their spirit and of their having the witness

M uch of this “body of doctrine” is not included in

the ecumenical creeds. The Nicene Creed, for ex-
ample, although fundamental and scriptural, is
of the Spirit with their spirit that they have become chil-
dren of God who are now one spirit with the Lord
(John 3:6; Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17); nor of the Body of
incomplete. This incompleteness is a cause of concern, Christ, the organism of the Triune God for His expres-
for matters crucial to our knowing and experiencing the sion and move (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 27; Eph.
Triune God are ignored. This creed does not mention 1:22-23; 4:4, 12, 16); nor of the New Jerusalem, the ul-
the all-inclusiveness of Christ—the truth that Christ is timate consummation of the operation of the Triune
signified by and is the reality of every positive thing in God in His economy to complete His eternal purpose
the universe (Col. 2:16-17). Nor does this creed speak for the fulfillment of the desire of His heart (Rev. 21:2,
of five major points concerning the Spirit: that the Spirit 10; 3:12; Gal. 4:26; Heb. 11:10; 12:22; Eph. 3:9-11;
was “not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified” 1:9).
(John 7:39); that “the last Adam became a life-giving
Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45); that “the Lord is the Spirit,” the In view of the foregoing, we surely have a sound basis for
transforming Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17-18); that the Spirit is preferring the full truth of the Bible over the partial truth
the compound Spirit, signified by the anointing oil, the of the creeds. Although the use of creeds should not be
compound ointment (Exo. 30:23-25); and that the opposed, as believers in Christ we are not obliged to re-
Spirit, as “the seven Spirits” (Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6), is the cite them nor to base our teaching on them, and although
sevenfold intensified Spirit. Furthermore, the Nicene we believe what is stated in them, we need not be limited
Creed does not speak of the Triune God being life to by them. Anyone who desires to know, experience, and
His children (John 1:12-13; 1 John 5:11-12); nor of enjoy the Triune God would do well to advance in spiri-
Christ as the embodiment of the tual understanding beyond what
Triune God (Col. 2:9) and the is summarized in the creeds and
expression of the Father (John to consider seriously and thor-
14:9); nor of the all-inclusiveness In the oughly the complete truth
of Christ’s death—that in His concerning the Triune God re-
death He crucified the flesh of sin Word of God vealed in the Word of God.
(Rom. 8:3a), condemned sin and
took it away (Rom. 8:3b; John there is a In the Word of God there is a bal-
1:29), destroyed the devil (Heb. ance between objective and
2:14), judged the world and its balance between subjective truths. With respect to
ruler (John 12:31), crucified the God, the term objective truths de-
old man and terminated the old objective and notes truths related to the being,
creation (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20a; nature, attributes, and activities of
6:14), abolished the law of com- subjective truths. God as these exist in themselves
mandments in ordinances (Eph. apart from human experience; the
2:15a), and released the divine term subjective truths denotes
life (John 12:24); nor of the truths related to God’s living and
deeper significance of Christ’s resurrection—that in res- operating in us and to our experience and enjoyment of
urrection He became the firstborn Son of God (Acts Him. God is eternal, self-existing, infinite, transcendent,
13:33; Rom. 1:4; 8:29), regenerated God’s chosen ones and immutable. This is an objective truth, a truth con-
to be His brothers and God’s sons (1 Pet. 1:3; Heb. cerning God in Himself apart from human perception or
2:10; Rom. 8:29), and became the life-giving Spirit experience. But in John 6 this very God, embodied in

January 1996 15
Christ the Son, is our real food—bread for us to taste, the Spirit is in us (John 14:17). This Triune God—the
eat, digest, and assimilate. This is a subjective truth, a Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is the God who is now
truth concerning what God is to us in our personal spiri- operating in us (Phil. 2:13) and moving within us as the
tual experience. Several pairs of objective and subjective anointing (1 John 2:20, 27). When such a God enters
truths may be listed: Christ at the right hand of God into us for our experience and enjoyment, He remains the
(Rom. 8:34; Col. 3:1) and Christ in us (Rom. 8:10; Col. One on the throne (Rev. 22:1), yet He becomes our life
1:27); God’s love in sending His Son (1 John 4:9; Rom. and life supply.
5:8) and God’s love poured out into our hearts (Rom.
5:5); our crucifixion with Christ as an accomplished fact It is a marvelous fact that the objective Sovereign has be-
(Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20) and our experience of being con- come our inner life. Now we need to know Him both
formed to His death (Phil. 3:10); Christ’s resurrection as objectively as the One on the throne in heaven—the One
a once-for-all event (1 Cor. 15:4) and as a power for our outside of us in whom we believe and whom we wor-
daily experience (Phil. 3:10); sanctification as outward ship—and subjectively as the One in our spirit—the One
separation (Heb. 13:12) and as inward dispositional who dwells in us and who is making His home in our
change (Rom. 6:19, 22; 1 Thes. 5:23); the parakletos as heart (Eph. 3:17). How sad that those who are occupied
the Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1) and as the with traditional doctrines, historic creeds, and theological
Comforter within us (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7); re- systems often neglect, and sometimes even oppose, the
generation as accomplished by God in the resurrection of subjective aspects of the truth! The Triune God both
Christ (1 Pet. 1:3) and as experienced by us in our spirit transcends us and indwells us, and thus we need to know
(John 3:6). This is only a representative sampling of the Him in a balanced way.
biblical balance of objective and subjective truths.

The truth in the Bible is balanced, and to know this truth

we also must be balanced. Regrettably, many Christians
I n knowing the Triune God revealed in the Word of
God, it is imperative that we continue steadfastly in
the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2:42). The apostles’
are not balanced. Some, especially those enamored with teaching is not merely part of the New Testament but the
systematic theology, emphasize the objective truths, al- entire teaching of the New Testament. This teaching is
most to the exclusion of the subjective truths. Such God’s speaking in the Son to His New Testament people
believers fear and revere the sovereign God in His abso- (Heb. 1:1-2). God’s speaking in the Son was first the di-
lute lordship and government, but they seem not to rect teaching of the Lord Jesus recorded in the four
acknowledge the Lord who is with their spirit (2 Tim. Gospels. God’s speaking in the Son is also the teaching of
4:22). God rules and lives forever in the heavens, but He the Spirit of truth (John 16:12-15) through the apostles.
seems not to live and rule within them. They eschew sub- This speaking was completed through Paul and John
jectivity. Others, obviously at the opposite extreme, are (Col. 1:25-26; Rev. 22:18-19). In brief, the teaching of
naturally subjective and care only to cultivate their relig- the apostles consists of the teaching of the Lord Jesus in
ious sentiments, having no interest in any truth that the Gospels, the teaching of the apostles in Acts, and the
transcends their personal consciousness. Neither of these teaching of the apostles in the Epistles from Romans
extremists can know the Triune God. The former have an through Revelation.
abundance of doctrine; the latter, an abundance of sensa-
tions. Neither knows God in reality. The teaching of the apostles includes the unique divine
revelation concerning three mysteries: the mystery of
According to our study and observation, traditional trini- God—Christ (Col. 2:2-3, 9); the mystery of Christ—the
tarian theology tends to overemphasize objective truths church (Eph. 3:3-11); and the great mystery—Christ and
and deemphasize subjective truths. For the most part, the the church (Eph. 5:32). The apostles’ teaching is also the
God of the theologians is an objective God—the God contents of the full gospel of God (Rom. 1:1-4) and the
“out there” who is the object of worship and study. The constituents of the Christian faith (Jude 3; 1 Tim. 1:19b;
Bible, on the contrary, reveals God not only objectively 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7). Any teaching different from this
but also subjectively. To employ an apt expression, the unique revelation and any belief besides the unique faith
Word of God testifies to the reality of the subjective God. are not allowed by the apostles (1 Tim. 1:3-4; 2 John 9-11;
The subjective God is the true and living God becoming Gal. 1:7-9). All teachings different from the unique teach-
inwardly real to us in our spiritual experience, that is, the ing of the apostles were regarded by the apostles as winds
Triune God as the indwelling One becoming life and eve- of teaching (Eph. 4:14) which seduce the believers into
rything to us for our experience and enjoyment of Him. accepting a system of error and which carry the believers
The Triune God eternally and objectively coexists and co- away from the centrality of the divine revelation unfolded
inheres in Himself, yet He now lives within us, the through the apostles’ teaching. If we would know the Tri-
believers in Christ. The Father is in us (Eph. 4:6); the une God according to His revelation in the New
Son is in us (John 14:20; Col. 1:27; 2 Cor. 13:5); and Testament, positively we must follow the teaching of the

16 Affirmation & Critique

apostles, and negatively we must be careful regarding much knowledge about God, but it was not until he saw
those teachings, even ones supposedly derived from the God that he began to know God. This indicates that
Scriptures, that distract us from knowing, experiencing, knowing God requires a spiritual vision of the Triune
and enjoying the Triune God. God revealed in the Word of God. Information is not
enough—we must have a heavenly vision (Acts 26:19).
Spiritual Vision and Spiritual Life
Such a vision has three fundamental elements: revelation,
“I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, / But light, and sight. The canon of Scripture is complete and
now my eye sees Thee” (Job 42:5). Job had accumulated closed, and nothing—no further revelation—can be added

The History of God and the Divine Romance

I f we would know the Triune
God revealed in the Word of
God, we need to read the Bible in a
be it from You to do such a thing as
this….Shall not the Judge of all the
earth do right?” (vv. 23, 25,
man being—God’s redeemed peo-
ple, including all the Old Testament
and New Testament saints—ulti-
very particular way—as the history NKJV). Whereas the Lord was the mately consummating in the New
of God. To be more specific, the righteous Judge in destroying Jerusalem as the bride. This couple
Bible is the history of God in His Sodom, He was merciful in sending is the secret of the universe, the
move with, among, and in human- angels to rescue backsliding Lot central thought of the Bible, and
ity. We may also say that, as God’s from Sodom. Lot lingered, even in the fulfillment of the desire of
history, the Bible is God’s autobi- the face of imminent destruction, God’s heart.
ography, a book about God written but the angels “took hold of his
by Himself through many different hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands This divine romance is revealed
writers who were moved by the of his daughters, the Lord being progressively throughout the Bible.
Holy Spirit. The living, purposeful, merciful to him, and they brought Immediately after the record of
and active God deserves a biogra- him out” (19:16, NKJV). Here, in God’s creation, we see the first mar-
phy, a written account of His the course of the narrative, we see riage, with Adam typifying Christ as
history. The Bible is such a record. the Lord in both His righteousness the Husband and Eve typifying the
If we see this, we will realize that to and His mercy. We may have the church as the wife (Gen. 2:21-25;
study the Bible is to study the his- terms righteous and merciful and be- Eph. 5:22-32). Several times in the
tory of God. lieve that these are attributes of Old Testament God refers to Him-
God, but we may not know how self as the Husband and to His
The whole Bible is the history of the God is righteous and merciful. people as His wife (Isa. 54:5; 62:5;
Triune God, and in this history, es- These attributes are exhibited in His Jer. 2:2; 3:1, 14; 31:32; Ezek.
pecially in the narratives involving history. Through countless stories 16:8; 23:5; Hosea 2:7, 19). The
His relationship with people, God is such as this one in Genesis, God is married life God desired with His
revealed in multifarious ways. Take, manifested and shown to us. Now people in the Old Testament is ful-
for example, the account of God’s we need to read the Bible as His filled in the New Testament. In the
coming to Abraham and His deal- history, His autobiography, that we Gospels Christ is presented as the
ing with Lot with respect to the may not only have information Bridegroom coming for the bride
destruction of Sodom and Gomor- about Him but truly know Him. (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke
rah. According to Genesis 18 the 5:34; John 3:29); in the Epistles
Lord, having appeared to Abraham The most wonderful aspect of the Christ and the church are portrayed
in a most remarkable manner, indi- Bible as the history of God is that, as Husband and wife (2 Cor. 11:2);
cated that He would not hide from in the most pure and holy sense, and in Revelation Christ is unveiled
Abraham what He was about to do. the Bible is the record of a divine as having a wedding, and the New
The Lord then made known to him romance. This is the romance of Jerusalem is revealed as His wife
the impending destruction of these what we may call a universal cou- (19:7; 21:2, 9). If we would know
two wicked cities. In a lengthy in- ple. The “male,” the Bridegroom the Triune God, therefore, we must
tercessory response Abraham said and Husband, of this couple is the know Him as our Husband
to the Lord, “Would You also destroy Triune God embodied in Christ, through reading the Bible as a holy,
the righteous with the wicked?…Far and the “female” is a corporate hu- heavenly love story.

January 1996 17
to it. Nevertheless, we still need revelation: not a revela- Word. If we contact Him whenever we contact the
tion in addition to the Word but a revelation of what is in Word, we will receive Him as life, and in this life we will
the Word. A revelation is an unveiling, the removing of a know Him (John 17:3). “To come to the Scriptures and
veil. If we would receive revelation of what is disclosed to know all the letter of them is of no avail unless
concerning the Triune God in the written Word of God, through them we are led to the crucified Saviour to re-
we must face the fact that as we read the Bible, our heart ceive life from Him” (Law, The Power of the Spirit, p. 45).
may be covered with veils (2 Cor. 3:14-15). We may read
but may not see because we are veiled. Thus, we need to In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who
be unveiled; we need revelation. Recognizing this, Paul gives life…the words which I have spoken to you are
prayed that the Father of glory would give us “a spirit of spirit and are life.” On the one hand, we should interpret
wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him” and understand the Bible as literally as possible. This
(Eph. 1:17). Yet revelation, unveiling, is not sufficient; means that in our study of the Word, we should seek to
we also need light, the illumination that dispels our dark- understand the thought of God strictly and accurately ac-
ness, and sight, the capacity to see divine things. cording to the letter of the words. On the other hand, we
Realizing this, Paul need to touch the Word as spirit and life. If we fail to do
went on to pray that this, we may have the knowledge about God in letters,
the eyes of our heart but we will not know the Triune God Himself, for He is
would be enlight-
To know Him, a God of life, and His Word is the Word of life (1 John
ened (v. 18). Those we should 1:1). To know Him, we should understand the thought
who are in spiritual of God recorded in the letter of the Word and also receive
darkness or who are understand the the life of God conveyed in the spirit of the Word.
spiritually blind can-
thought of God
not know God. To
know Him we need
revelation in our
recorded in the T he Scripture is life because it is the breath of God, be-
cause it is the breathing out, the exhaling, of God.
This is proved by Paul’s word in 2 Timothy 3:16a: “All
spirit and light and letter of the Scripture is God-breathed.” The Bible is God’s breath, and
sight in our heart. God’s breath is the Spirit of God, for God is Spirit (John
Word and also 4:24). To say that all Scripture is God-breathed is to say
Sadly, many Chris- receive that the Bible is the breath, the breathing out, of the very
tians today, even God who is Spirit. What God breathes out we should
theologians, are like the life of God breathe in by reading the Bible prayerfully with much exer-
Job before God cise of spirit. Then we will receive the Word not only as
appeared to him.
conveyed in God’s thought but also as God’s breath. The more we re-
They have informa- the spirit of ceive the Triune God by receiving His breath through the
tion without reve- God-breathed Word, the more we will learn Him and
lation. Further, they the Word. know Him.
may mistake mere
doctrinal knowledge According to Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 6:17-18 we
about God for genuine spiritual knowledge of God. If we should receive the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the
would be rescued from the former and ushered into the lat- word of God, by means of “all prayer,” that is, by means
ter, we must have spiritual vision, a combination of of all kinds of prayer. When we receive the word of God
revelation, light, and sight. by prayer, exercising our spirit, we breathe in God’s
breath and we touch the spirit and life in the Word. By
In addition, we need to come to the Word of God for reading we grasp the thought of God; by praying as we
life. “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in read we receive the life of God. If this kind of “pray-read-
them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify con- ing” becomes our daily practice, we will see the revelation
cerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that of God contained in the Word and will contact the very
you may have life” (John 5:39-40). This frank word, ut- God revealed in the Word. This is a crucial aspect of
tered by the Lord Jesus to the Jewish religionists, reveals knowing the Triune God revealed in the Word of God.
at least four crucial things: that the Scriptures testify con-
cerning Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God; that The Bible often speaks of feeding on the Word of God, of
we may search the Scriptures without coming to the receiving it as our life supply. A striking testimony of this
Lord; that we should come to the Lord whenever we is offered by the prophet Jeremiah: “Thy words were
come to the Word; and that when we come to the Lord found, and I ate them, / And Thy words became for me a
as we come to the Word, we receive life. We should never joy and the delight of my heart” (Jer. 15:16). Here we
separate the Word of God from the God revealed in the have three things: finding God’s words, eating the words

18 Affirmation & Critique

we find, and the words becoming to us the joy and rejoic- has given us the ability to know Him and be one with
ing of our heart. To eat God’s words is not only to taste Him organically in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true,
them but also to masticate them, digest them, and assimi- the genuine and real, God to us, God as a living, personal
late them with the result that we are constituted with reality.
them and live by them (Matt. 4:4). We agree with An-
drew Murray that in Jeremiah 15:16 eating is central. In
his exposition of this verse, Murray comments on the dif-
ference between finding and eating the words of God:
I n verse 21, the concluding word to his Epistle, John
warns us to guard ourselves from idols. Here idols re-
fers not only to heretical substitutes for and counterfeits
of the true God but to anything that replaces the real
Eating is here the central thought. It is preceded by the God. If a theological system replaces God, even as it pur-
searching and the finding: it is accompanied and followed ports to explain Him, that system is an idol. If a concept
by the rejoicing. It is the only aim and use of the one; it is of God, even a biblically based one, replaces God Himself,
the only cause and life of the other.…How much depends that concept, that appealing religious notion, is an idol.
on this—I did eat them! Theologians can easily become idolaters, for what they
love is often not God Himself but a cherished concept of
To realize the difference between this and the finding of God or a traditional formulation of carefully selected as-
God’s words, compare the corn [wheat] a man may have pects of the truth of God. For them, God is an object of
stored in his granary, with the bread he has on his ta- theological inquiry and metaphysical speculation. This is the
ble.…The fact of being occupied with, and possessing good danger of systematic the-
wholesome corn, will not nourish a man. The fact of being ology—mistaking know-
deeply interested in the knowledge of God’s word will not ledge about God, even
of itself nourish the soul.…The corn which the husbandman human opinion regarding Theologians
had grown and rejoiced in as his very own, could not nour- God, for God Himself.
ish his life, until he took it up and ate it, and so completely By the Lord’s mercy, we can easily
assimilated it, that it became a part of himself, entering into cannot be satisfied with
his blood, forming his very bone and flesh.…This is eating doctrines and theology.
become
the word, taking it into our inmost being, that it becomes a
constituent part of our very life.…
Concepts, notions, sys- idolaters,
tems, formulations—these
are not our interest. Our for what
You see at once how the two points of difference between goal is the true and living
the corn in the granary and the bread on the table, cover God Himself. they love
all your Bible study. The gathering of Scripture knowl-
edge is one thing. The eating of God’s word, the receiving If we would know the is often not
it into your very heart by the power of the life-giving
Spirit, is something very different (The Inner Chamber,
truth regarding the Tri-
une God revealed in the
God Himself
pp. 109-112). Word of God, and if we but a
would avoid theological
If we daily enjoy this “something very different”—eating systems which truncate cherished
the words of God—we will know Him by tasting that the and distort the truth of
Lord is good (Psa. 34:8; 1 Pet. 2:2-3). God, we need to have concept of
a balanced view concern-
ing the Trinity. To have
God or a
A Balanced View of the Trinity
such a balanced view is traditional
If we would know God, we need to have a proper regard to recognize in full the
for Him and His truth and a balanced view concerning twofoldness of the truth formulation
Him and His revelation. We should aspire to know Him concerning the Triune
not in a narrow, sectarian way but in a broad, compre- God in the Scriptures. of carefully
hensive way, appreciating Him both for what He is in Acknowledging this two-
Himself and for what He is to us in the divine economy. foldness of the truth will selected
The God of the Bible is a living, personal reality, and a
have a twofold result:
We will embrace the
aspects
primary goal of a believer’s spiritual seeking should be to truth that God is triune of the truth
know and experience Him as such. Concerning this, both essentially and eco-
1 John 5:20 says that “we are in Him who is true, in His Son nomically, and we will of God.
Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” This avoid the heresies of
refers to the God who, having come through incarnation, tritheism and modalism.

January 1996 19
According to the Scriptures, God is triune both essen- three stages of their economical work for the carrying out
tially—in His inner being—and economically—in the of God’s purpose.
outworking of His purpose with His chosen and re-
deemed people. However, so-called “historic Chris-
tianity,” having an unbalanced view, has emphasized the
essential Trinity but has paid less than adequate attention
A s a sharp contrast to modalism, tritheism is the belief
in three Gods. Whereas modalism stresses the side of
God’s being one to a heretical extreme by denying the eter-
to the economical Trinity. nal coexistence and coinherence of the three of the Godhead,
tritheism stresses the side of God’s being three to a heretical
The essential Trinity refers to the essence of the Triune extreme by teaching that the three of the Godhead are three
God for His existence. Essentially the Father, the Son, Gods. The Bible clearly and emphatically teaches that there
and the Spirit coexist and coinhere eternally at the same is only one God (1 Cor. 8:4; Isa. 44:6, 8; 45:5-6, 21-22;
time and in the same way without succession. Among the 46:9; Psa. 86:10). This foundational truth is jeopardized by
three of the Godhead, there is distinction but no separa- Christian theologians who claim that the Father, the Son,
tion. The Father is distinct from the Son and the Spirit; and the Spirit are three separate persons. If the distinctions
the Son is distinct from the Spirit and the Father; and the among the three of the Godhead are pressed to the point of
Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son. However, separateness, as is commonly done, the result will be trithe-
we cannot, and we must not, say that the Father, the Son, ism. Regarding the use of the term person we should listen
and the Spirit are separate, for they coinhere, that is, they to W. H. Griffith Thomas:
dwell in one another. In their coexistence the Father, the
Son, and the Spirit are distinctly three, but in their coin- Like all human language, it is liable to be accused of inade-
herence they are inseparably one. Because the Father, the quacy and even positive error. It certainly must not be
Son, and the Spirit coexist in the way of coinherence, pressed too far, or it will lead to Tritheism. While we use the
they are distinct but not separate. term to denote distinctions in the Godhead, we do not imply
distinctions which amount to separateness, but distinctions
The economical Trinity refers to the Triune God in the which are associated with essential mutual co-inherence or
steps, or stages, of His move to carry out His economy for inclusiveness (The Principles of Theology, p. 31).
the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. In God’s economy,
God’s administrative arrangement, the Father has purposed In his article on the Trinity printed in Nelson’s Introduction to
in the Son and with the Spirit (Eph. 1:4-6—the first step); the Christian Faith, Klaas Runia voices a similar concern:
the Son has accomplished the Father’s purpose by the Spirit
and with the Father (vv. 7-12—the second step); and the The term ‘person’ is not adequate.…In recent years it has
Spirit, with the Father and the Son, applies what the Son been increasingly criticized. Today this term has a mean-
has accomplished according to the Father’s purpose (vv. 13- ing different from in the days of the church fathers. In the
14—the third step). While God’s economy is being carried first centuries it was a rather neutral word, pointing to a
out in these three successive steps by the economical Trin- personal relationship. Today a ‘person’ is a self-conscious,
ity, the essential Trinity—the eternal coexistence and autonomous individual. But if you apply this to the Trin-
coinherence of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in the ity it sounds as if you are speaking of three Gods.…What
Godhead—remains intact and is not jeopardized. today we mean by the word ‘person’ applies to the divine
Being Himself rather than to the divine distinctions
If we would have a proper understanding of the Trinity, within the divine Being. There are not three individual
we must avoid two great trinitarian heresies—modalism personalities in God. There is only one divine Personality,
and tritheism. According to the modalistic concept of the which contains a threefold distinction (p. 116).
Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not eter-
nally coexistent and coinherent in the Godhead but are As we endeavor to know the Triune God revealed in the
merely three temporary and successive modes of God’s Word of God, we must acknowledge the twofoldness of
activity. Modalism thus denies that God is triune in His divine truth concerning the Divine Trinity and follow the
inner being, insisting that God’s revealing Himself as Fa- Scriptures to take a middle way by believing in and teach-
ther, Son, and Spirit in no way corresponds to anything ing a balanced Trinity. If we are faithful in this matter, we
in the ultimate nature of the Godhead (Henry Chadwick, will testify that God is triune both essentially and eco-
The Early Church, p. 87). For the modalists the Father, nomically, and we will castigate and repudiate the
the Son, and the Spirit refer only to the way in which heresies of both modalism and tritheism.
God reveals Himself but bear no resemblance to His in-
ner being (F. F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame, p. 256). In God’s Economy and the Believers’ Experience
contrast to modalism, the Bible reveals that, from eternity
to eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist essen- In the New Testament particular emphasis is placed
tially in their coinherence and coexistence, even during the on the revelation of the Triune God in His economy

20 Affirmation & Critique

(Eph. 1:10; 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:3-4). The word economy is a we first experience regeneration in our spirit (John 3:6);
transliteration of the Greek word oikonomia, which is then transformation in our soul (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor.
composed of two Greek words: oikos, meaning “house,” 3:18); and finally, at the coming of the Lord, the redemp-
and nomos, meaning “law.” Oikonomia, therefore, de- tion, the transfiguration, of our body (Phil. 3:21). This is
notes household regulations or household management. the Triune God imparted to us for the fulfillment of His
This word is used in the New Testament to denote economy.
God’s household management, His administrative ar-
rangement to carry out His purpose for His good
pleasure (Eph. 1:4-6, 9-11). God’s good pleasure is the
desire of His heart, and God’s will is of this desire. Ac-
T
he desire of the Triune God to dispense Himself into
us can be seen in the biblical references to living wa-
ter. In this divine dispensing the Father is the fountain,
cording to His will God, in a council among the Divine
the Son is the spring, and the Spirit is the flow. As the
Trinity, made a counsel, a determined will. Then accord-
source, the origin, the Father is the fountain of living wa-
ing to this counsel, this determined will, God made aters (Jer. 2:13). As the embodiment and expression of the
purpose, and this purpose Father, the Son is the
has become His economy, spring of water that gushes
His plan or arrangement. up in the believers into
In the New Testament eternal life (John 4:14). As
In the New Testament the the flow, the Spirit is the
Triune God is revealed pri- the Triune God is revealed river of water of life (Rev.
marily in relation to the 22:1; John 7:37-39). This
divine economy. If we primarily in relation is the Triune God in His
would know Him, we must
know Him in His econ-
to the divine economy. dispensing—God the Fa-
ther as the source, God the
omy. As indicated above, in If we would know Him, Son as the course, and God
God’s economy, in God’s the Spirit as the flow dis-
administrative arrangement, we must know Him pensing Himself into us.
the Father takes the first
step (purposing), the Son in His economy. Many portions of the New
takes the second step (ac- Testament clearly indicate
complishing), and the Spirit that, in His economy and
takes the third step (apply- dispensing, the Triune God
ing). God’s economy is developed from the Father, in the is not for doctrinal analysis but for experience and enjoy-
Son, and through the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). Here we see ment. In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus says, “Go
that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, while coexisting therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into
and coinhering eternally in the Godhead, pass through the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
three stages, all the while coexisting and coinhering, in the Spirit.” Note the word name, which signifies the totality
process of the divine economy. This is the Triune God in of the person of the Divine Being, and the word into,
His economy. which indicates union. To baptize people into the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is to immerse them
Whereas God’s economy is His plan and arrangement ac- into all that the Triune God is and to usher them into an
cording to His desire and purpose, God’s dispensing is organic union with Him. Concerning this M. R. Vincent
His imparting of Himself to us according to His plan and offers the following vivid testimony:
arrangement. Actually, God’s goal in His economy is to
dispense Himself, as the Father in the Son through the Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a
Spirit, into His chosen and redeemed people. This means spiritual and mystical union with Him.…The name is the
that God desires to dispense Himself into—to distribute expression of the sum total of the Divine Being.…When
and impart Himself to—His people as their life, their life one is baptized into the name of the Trinity, he professes
supply, and their everything. to acknowledge and appropriate God in all that he is and
all that he does for man. He recognizes and depends upon
God’s dispensing is carried out through the Father’s God the Father as his Creator and Preserver; receives Je-
choosing and predestinating (Eph. 1:4-5), through the sus Christ as his only Mediator and Redeemer, and his
Son’s redeeming (v. 7), and through the Spirit’s sealing pattern of life; and confesses the Holy Spirit as his Sancti-
(v. 13). The Spirit’s sealing, which continues “unto the fier and Comforter (Word Studies in the New Testament,
day of redemption” (4:30), applies the entire Trinity to 1:84-85).
our inner being, causing us to be permeated and saturated
with the life and element of God. Through this dispensing A strong proof that the Triune God is revealed not for

January 1996 21
systematic theological understanding but for a dispensing possessing His life. That the divine life has the special
which results in spiritual experience is in 2 Corinthians function of knowing God is indicated by the words of the
13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love Lord Jesus in John 17:2-3: “You have given Him [the
of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you Son] authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all
all.” This is the Triune God dispensed into us for our ex- whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that
perience and enjoyment. The love of God the Father is the they may know You, the only true God, and Him whom
source; the grace of Christ the Son is the outflow, the You have sent, Jesus Christ.” To be sure, the life of God
course, of the love of God; and the fellowship of the Holy is able to know God. Because as believers we have been
Spirit is the flowing into us of the grace of the Son with born of the divine life and now have the divine life, we
the love of the Father. Day by day we may enjoy the Tri- are able to know God in the divine life. The life of God,
une God by participating in the love of God the Father, in which is actually the Triune God Himself as life, has been
the grace of Christ the Son, and in the fellowship of God dispensed into us and has given us the ability to know
the Spirit. God.

In Ephesians 3:14-17 Paul prayed Furthermore, 1 John 2:20, 27 re-

to the Father of glory that He veals that we, the believers in
would grant us, according to the Christ, have “an anointing from the
riches of His glory, to be strength- Holy One,” that this anointing
ened with power through His Many portions of teaches us concerning all things,
Spirit into the inner man, that and that therefore we all “know.”
Christ may make His home in our the New Testament What is this anointing and what
hearts through faith. This prayer, does it teach us? In brief, the
which is related to our experience clearly indicate anointing is the moving of the in-
of the Triune God, involves the Fa- dwelling Triune God experienced
ther as the source, the Spirit as the that, and enjoyed by us. According to
means, and the Son as the goal. the whole context of 1 John, the
The Father as the source and the in His economy things which the anointing teaches
Spirit as the channel do something us are the things concerning the
for the Son as the aim, and what and dispensing, Triune God. This means that the
the Father and the Spirit do in- Triune God is teaching us Himself
volves our heart, our inner being. the Triune God by moving within us as the anoint-
This is the Triune God becoming ing. The more we are anointed by
subjectively real to us in our experi- is not for Him—that is, the more the Triune
ence of Him. God anoints Himself into us—the
doctrinal analysis more we know Him. This is the
Knowing God is a matter of life, a subjective knowing of the subjec-
function of the divine life within but for experience. tive God through the subjective
the believers. We cannot truly anointing. To know God, there-
know the Triune God unless we fore, is to experience His anointing
know Him in the way of life. In Himself into our being. Apart from
doctrine we can know about God, this inner anointing with its teach-
but only in life can we know Him. The Triune God is a ing concerning God, the Triune God will remain for us a
God of life. The Father has life in Himself (John 5:26); mere doctrine, not a living, experienced reality in the di-
the Son has life in Himself and even is life (John 5:26; vine dispensing according to the divine economy. We
14:6; 1 John 5:11-12); and the Spirit is the Spirit of life should never be satisfied with doctrine but should desire
(Rom. 8:2). As believers in Christ, we have been born and aspire to know the Triune God Himself in the divine
of God, regenerated (John 1:12-13), to be His children life and by the inner anointing. Œ

Points of truth however interesting, scriptural knowledge however profound

and extensive, Biblical criticism however accurate and valuable, may leave the heart barren
and the affections cold. We want to find Christ in the Word; and having found Him
to feed on Him by faith. — C. H. Mackintosh

22 Affirmation & Critique