The Church is in the Triune God – it is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

The church is in the Triune God – the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, not only of God but also in an organic union with God! Hallelujah, what a fact!

This week we come to another vital factor for the recovery of the church life entitled, The Factor of the Church Being in the Triune God, the Local Churches Being Expressions of the Body of Christ, and the Believers Practicing the Church Life in the Consciousness of the Body.

These vital factors are not just important, necessary, or good to have; they are vital for our existence and going on in the Lord.

For example, we may be able to live without a finger or a toe, but we can’t live without our heart, for our heart is a vital organ.

There are a few factors that are vital for the recovery of the church life; these factors are not just things good to have in the church life or positive spiritual principles – we have to have them, and we have to have all of them, otherwise, we can’t have a proper church life according to the divine revelation.

It is possible that we come short of them, but we need to look to the Lord and pray over these vital factors so that He may work them out in us and among us.

This week in particular we focus on one factor that is threefold – the church being in the Triune God, the local churches being the expressions of the Body of Christ, and the believers practising the church life in the consciousness of the Body.

These three aspects of one vital factor are crucial for our living of the church life, and they are not put together by accident.

First of all, we need to realize that the church is in the Triune God; the nature of the church is of God, the church is an organic union with God, and the church is in God.

The balance of this is that the local churches are the local expressions of the one Body of Christ.

Therefore, when we see that the church is in the Triune God and the local churches are the expressions of the Body of Christ, we practice the church life in the local churches in the consciousness of the Body.

The truth always has two sides; there is the twofoldness of the divine truth.

May we receive help from those who went before us and have recovered so much of the divine truth, and may we realize that the church is both in the Triune God and expressed as local churches, so we need to live the church life in the local churches with the consciousness of the Body of Christ.

The truth is twofold, and both sides of the truth are needed; however, there is an emphasis in the Bible, a central vision, which is the economy of God, the desire of God’s heart.

It is possible for someone to take one of the aspects of the twofoldness of the truth and over-emphasize it, and thus teach things that may be based on the Bible but lead to dissension, division, and much questioning.

May we know not only the twofold nature of the truth in the word of God but even more, may we have the right emphasis according to the divine revelation in the Bible.

The Church is in the Triune God – the Church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ

In 1 Thes. 1:1 Paul writes to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We may have read this and simply moved on, but such a designation is full of meaning, for it reveals that the church is in the Triune God.

In writing to these new believers, Paul tells them that they are the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; these ones were saved for one month when Paul left them, yet he emphasised that the church is in the Triune God. Amazing!

Here we see that the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ; the Spirit is involved, for the Spirit is the very way for us to get into God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the end of the book of Matthew we see that we are commissioned to go and baptize people into the Triune God – into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19); the name here denotes the person.

Through baptism, all believers in Christ are put into the Triune God, and the church is in the Triune God in a collective way.

For the church to be in God the Father – not just in God – means something; the church cannot be in God but it can be in God the Father.

God is the Creator, the unprocessed God, the One who dwells in unapproachable light; as such a One, He cannot get into us.

But praise the Lord, God has been processed to become a man, and this man became a life-giving Spirit; through believing into Him, we human beings become children of God, and God becomes our Father.

To say that the church is in God the Father means that the church, composed of the believers in Christ, is in the begetting Father, and all believers are sons of God.

It is an amazing thing to realize the fact that the church is in the unique God, and that this God is our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The church is not only of God and of Christ but also in God and in Christ.

A lot of “churches” call themselves to be “of God” but no one says they are in God; the reality is that the church is in the Triune God – the church is in the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our reality is that, as the church, we are in God and of God, and in Christ and of Christ. God is the very nature of the church, and God is the unique possessor of the church; the church’s element is God himself, the possessor of the church is God.

When we speak of the church being of God, we speak of the nature of the church and of God’s possession. Yes, the church is composed of human beings, but the believers in Christ are in the Triune God; therefore, the church is in the Triune God.

On one hand, the church is of the Thessalonians (or of Londoners, if you live in London), but on the other hand, the church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The fact that God is our Father indicates a relationship in life; God is no longer merely our Creator but also our Father.

God is the Father of the people in the church, and all the components of the church are born of God the Father.

For example, we may be in the UK and consider the queen as our queen; however, if you are a prince, the queen is not just your queen but also your mother, so you can call her, The queen, my mother.

Similarly, God is not only our Creator but also our Father; therefore, we can call Him, God, our Father.

As the Father, He has a purpose in producing many sons; He has a selection, predestination, a purpose, and a definite goal in having many sons.

First, He selected us, then He predestinated us, and He initiated and originated our organic salvation and the work of building so that we may become part of His corporate expression in glory.

The fact that the church is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ implies that the church is in God’s purpose, plan, selection, and predestination; God is the unique initiator and originator, and He is the very element of the church.

This is not just a doctrine to us; this should affect our daily living, for we as the church need to not be presumptuous to initiate or originate things but allow God, the unique originator and initiator, to do this.

If we all as believers would give up our own purposes and plans and take God as the unique Planner, Purposer, Originator, and Initiator, we will experience being the church in the Triune God.

It is important for us to see that the church in our locality is of God and in God, of Christ and in Christ.

It may be easy to believe that the church in this or that locality is in God and of God, but we may not think that the local church where we are is in God and of God.

But this is how God sees the church: He sees the church being in God and of God.

Yes, He does see the condition of the church, the iniquities of the believers, and the situation among the saints; but He doesn’t emphasize this but rather, He has an eternal view, He knows how it will all end, and He sees the church being in the Triune God. Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, uplift our vision of the church to realize that the church is in the Triune God. Hallelujah, the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. The church is not only of the believers but also in God and of God, for God is the element of the church and its Possessor. Amen, Lord, You are the Originator and Initiator; we put aside our own plans and purposes and take Your plan and purpose in and for the church. We take You as our life and everything, and we want to be constituted and filled with You! Hallelujah, the church is in God and of God, and the church is in Christ and of Christ! Amen, Lord, may we see the church even as You see it – not according to her condition but according to her nature, in the eternal view of God!

The Church is of the Believers who are in the Triune God: we have an Organic Union with God!

The church is of God and of Christ – the church is of the element of God, God is the Possessor of the church, and God and Christ are the very essence and nature of the church.

At the same time, the church is of the believers, for the church is composed of human beings.

The church is composed of human beings – you and me, the believers in Christ; however, these human beings are in the Triune God.

The church is a group of human beings who have been born of God the Father with His life and nature and who have been brought into the organic union with Christ.

Every believer in Christ is not just a man but a God-man; every believer is born of God and is organically joined to Christ; the Spirit is mingled with his spirit, and as he lives in the spirit, he expresses God.

Every believer in Christ has the Spirit living in his spirit, witnessing that he is a child of God (Rom. 8:16), and Christ is in him as the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

Physically and outwardly we live in different localities, and we’re not proud of the city we live in, for sinfulness is very prevalent in our city.

Inwardly and intrinsically, however, we are in the Triune God, and we are happy to be the church in the Triune God!

The church is in God – God is our Father, and we have a relationship in life with Him (1 John 3:1).

Behold, what manner of love has the Father shown to us, for us to be called children of God – and we are, for God Himself is our Father who begot us, Christ lives in us, and the Spirit is with our spirit!

In 1 Thes. 1:1 the word “Father” indicates our relationship in life with God; in God the Father, we have been born again, regenerated, and now as His children, we have a life relationship with Him (John 1:12-13).

It is amazing to realize that God is not just our Creator but also our Father, and we are organically joined to Him!

As we live the church life in the local church where the Lord has placed us, we need to realize that the church is of the believers in that locality, but even more, the church is in the Triune God, for we all are organically joined to God!

This is how God views the church: of men yet in God and in the Lord organically and spiritually.

Because of our organic union with the Lord Jesus in the divine life and nature, we have a vital base to be in the Triune God and live a holy life for the church life.

It is true that the church is composed of human beings like me and you, but the church is in the Triune God, for we have an organic union with the Lord!

It is a fact that the church is composed of human beings, and what others see is men in blood and flesh; however, the reality is that the church is in the Triune God, for all believers in Christ are joined to the Lord as one spirit!

Thank You Lord for bringing us into an organic union with You to make us the church in the Triune God! Hallelujah, the church is of the believers in Christ and the church is in the Triune God, for we are organically joined to the Lord! Amen, Lord, keep us in the organic union with You, enjoying You and partaking of You in our daily life so that we may have a vital base for living a holy life for the church life! Keep us in this life relationship with You, enjoying all that You are in spirit, so that we may be the church in the Triune God in reality. May we focus not on our actual condition or situation but on the fact that we are in Christ, in God, and in the Spirit! Hallelujah!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Mark Raabe for this week, and portions from, Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msgs. 1, 3, 5, 7-9, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Vital Factors for the Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life (2021 ITERO), week 3, The Factor of the Church Being in the Triune God, the Local Churches Being Expressions of the Body of Christ, and the Believers Practicing the Church Life in the Consciousness of the Body.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God before the world’s foundation / Chose the Church in Christ the Son, / That the Church might share the sonship, / Holy, blameless, with Him one; / That the Church be His possession / With the Spirit as the seal, / Of our heritage the earnest / While His Son He does reveal. (Hymns #823)
  – Church of God, beloved and chosen, / Church of Christ for whom He died, / Claim thy gifts and praise the Giver, / Ye are washed and sanctified. / Sanctified by God the Father, / And by Jesus Christ His Son, / And by God the Holy Spirit, / Holy, Holy, Three in One. (Hymns #825)
  – Thus, in the Son the Father is, / And now the Spirit is the Son; / The Spirit of the triune God / Is in the Church and with her one. (Hymns #818)