All Posts Tagged "the Son and the Father"

Members of the local churches have written many responses to criticisms of the teaching of Witness Lee and of the local churches. These responses address vital issues of truth concerning God, Christ, His salvation, and the church, among many other subjects.

A brief examination of some key verses concerning the Triune God (including Isaiah 9:6; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 15:45; and Matthew 28:19) and an appeal to accept the biblical revelation of the mystery of the Divine Trinity.

This 2011 book is one of a series of four addressing criticisms by Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes. This book addresses various points of truth concerning the Divine Trinity, including:

• the use of the word persons to describe the Three of the Godhead;
• the coinherence and co-working of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit;
• whether Isaiah 9:6 prophesies that the “Son given to us” is the “Eternal Father”; and
• whether the Apostle Paul said the Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3:17.

Isaiah 9:6 is a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, who through incarnation is the Child born to us, yet the mighty God, and the Son given to us who is called “Eternal Father.” Witness Lee affirmed the perspicuous meaning of this verse based on the principle of coinherence, that is, the mutual indwelling of the Divine Trinity. For this, Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes wrongly accused Witness Lee of heresy. This article shows their error.

The oneness of the Triune God can be seen in three categories of Scriptures, which this article calls interpenetration, identification, and interchangeable Scriptures.

A critique of Walter Martin’s insistence that Christ is not actually present but is only represented in the believers by the Holy Spirit.

Two articles that point out flaws in criticisms of Witness Lee’s teaching concerning the Divine Trinity.

A 1977 response to a speaker at Melodyland Christian Center concerning the study of the Bible in the local churches, the Recovery Version of the Bible, and biblical interpretations related to the Divine Trinity.

In this 1977 booklet, Witness Lee directly rebuts the accusation that his teaching is modalistic. He examines key verses such as Isaiah 9:6, 1 Corinthians 15:45, and 2 Corinthians 3:17, showing that some who twist these verses to avoid their obvious meaning end up in the heresy of tritheism. Witness Lee concludes by showing that the biblical revelation of the Triune God is not for doctrinal formulations but for His people to experience of the reality of God.

A 1976 booklet by Ron Kangas refuting criticisms that those in the local churches are modalists. The booklet:

• shows that Christians’ understanding of the Triune God should begin from the Bible and not from man’s theological and philosophical constructs,
• gives a balanced biblical understanding of the Triune God being both one and three,
• demonstrates that the local churches’ stress on the believers’ subjective experience of the Triune God matches the revelation in the New Testament, and
• invites all believers to hold to the full truth of the Word of God and to care for the experience of God Himself.

A booklet by Witness Lee published in 1976 presenting the basics of his biblical teaching concerning the Triune God:

• God is uniquely one;
• God is triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all Three:
  • being God,
  • being eternal,
  • co-existing simultaneously,
  • being one, and
  • being in the believers.

The booklet concludes with a section on the Triune God being a mystery beyond explanation and an appeal to accept the full biblical revelation of the Divine Trinity.