III. THE SPIRIT OF GOD
To see the all-inclusive Spirit, we need to begin with the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2b; Matt. 12:28; Rom. 8:9a). The Spirit of God is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2. The phrase the Spirit of God is composed of two nouns plus the preposition of. In this phrase, God is in apposition to Spirit. Thus, the Spirit of God means that God is the Spirit, and the Spirit is God.
IV. THE SECOND OF THE DIVINE TRINITY IN THE FLESH,
WHICH HE HAD PUT ON IN HIS INCARNATION,
BECOMING A LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT
The Second of the Divine Trinity in the flesh which He had put on in His incarnation became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). The all-inclusive Spirit is also the life-giving Spirit, who is the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The Third of the Divine Trinity today is the transfiguration of the Second who was in the flesh. In eternity past, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit had merely one element, the divine element. Later, the Second of the three put on the flesh, and the flesh is human. Thus, with the Triune God today there are two elements: the divine element and the human element.
In eternity Christ was merely divine. One day in time He came into the flesh. That means He put humanity upon Himself. Then He died and resurrected. Through His death and resurrection, He did not drop His humanity. Some theologians wrongly taught that Christ put off His human nature in His resurrection. The Scriptures tell us that in the evening on the day of His resurrection, He came to the disciples (John 20:19-20). He told them to touch Him and to see that He was not a ghost, a phantom. After His resurrection, they could see the wounds in His hands, His feet, and His side (Luke 24:36-40). The Lord told Thomas to see His hands and touch His wounded side (John 20:25, 27). This shows us that the Lord’s body was not left in the tomb. His body came out of the tomb in His resurrection.
First Corinthians 15 tells us that in resurrection He brought His body into glory (vv. 42-44). Today we still have a body of humiliation. But the day will come when our body of humiliation will be transfigured into a body of glory (Phil. 3:21). We cannot fully understand this, but we can see an example of this in nature. A carnation seed grows up and eventually is transfigured into a beautiful blossom. The seed is transfigured into another shape.
When Christ was incarnated, He brought divinity into humanity. Then when He resurrected, He brought humanity into divinity. This is the divine traffic to bring God into man and to bring man into God. God and man, divinity and humanity, have been mingled together to be one. Now not only the Son is in humanity but also the Father and the Spirit are in humanity. All three of the Godhead are in humanity.
(The Christian Life, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)
