Second Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship (Gk.) of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." Here three things are mentioned: grace, love, and fellowship. Why is grace mentioned first? Because the emphasis of 2 Corinthians is on the grace of God. Second Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for thee." Chapter one, verse 12, says, "In the grace of God, we behaved ourselves in the world." This book speaks of the grace of the Lord; therefore, when it reaches the end it mentions the grace of the Lord first, then the love of God, and lastly the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. This sets forth the reason why God is three-in-one: it is thus that He can dispense Himself into us, work Himself into us for us to enjoy, and be our all. The love of God, that is, the love of the Father, is the source. The grace of Christ, that is, the grace of the Son, is the flowing out of the love of the Father. And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the flowing into us of the grace of the Son, together with the love of the Father, for us to enjoy. This can be proved by our experience. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit within us is the transmitting of the grace of the Son into us. And the grace of the Son within us is simply the practical tasting and enjoying of the love of the Father. The love of the Father is the source, the grace of the Son is the manifestation, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the transmission, transmitting the grace of the Son with the love of the Father into us. The result is that all three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—become our enjoyment. You have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit within you, and the more you live in this fellowship, the more you will have of the grace of Christ; then, the more you have of the grace of Christ, the more you will enjoy the love of God. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit brings the grace of Christ, and in the grace of Christ there is the love of God. Therefore, the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are not three different things, but three stages of one thing for us to possess and enjoy. Likewise, the Father, Son, and Spirit are not three Gods, but three stages of one God for us to possess and enjoy. For example, ice becomes water, and water becomes vapor—one substance assumes three forms. When it reaches the vapor stage, it is available for us to breathe in. Thus, all that the Father has is in the Son, and all that the Son has is received by the Holy Spirit, who brings Him into us for us to enjoy (John 16:14-15).
1. The Father is in us. Ephesians 4:6 says, "God and Father of all, who...is...in you all" (KJV).
2. The Son is in us. Colossians 1:27 says, "Christ in you." Also, in John 14:20, the Lord says, "I in you."
3. The Spirit is also in us. John 14:17 says, "The Spirit of truth...shall be in you."
Therefore, the Bible clearly states that the Father is in us, the Son is in us, and the Spirit also is in us. Our experience tells us that these are not three in us, but just one. The Father is in the Son to be in us, and the Son who is in us is the Spirit. The Spirit in us is the Son in us, and the Father is in the Son to be in us. Therefore, as long as we have the Spirit, we have the Son and the Father too. First John 2:23 says, "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that confesseth the Son hath the Father also." Romans 8:9-10 further reveals that the Spirit of Christ in us is Christ Himself in us. Therefore, when man has the Spirit, he also has the Son; and when man has the Son, he also has the Father. The Father is in the Son, and the Son is the Spirit who comes into us for us to have and enjoy as the Triune God. In word there are three, but in experience there is only one. It is really a mystery!
(Concerning the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)