The Triune God was Involved with Christ’s Ascension and the Pouring of the Spirit

Even as the Divine Trinity is the framework of the entire New Testament, so the Divine Trinity is the structure of the book of Acts; in particular today we want to see how the Triune God was fully involved with the Son’s ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit. Amen!

This week we are in the last week on, Experiencing, enjoying, and expressing Christ (part 1), and the topic is, The Divine Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God.

We will focus mainly on the book of Acts to see what are the main points related to our experience, enjoyment, and expressing of Christ in this wonderful book.

Like the apostles in Acts 6:4, may we continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.

May we remain in the word of God with much prayer so that the Lord may have a genuine way to speak to us, unveil us, and shine into us what is in His heart.

It is one thing to understand what the Bible says and have the doctrines in the Bible in our memory, thus doing a Christian work for the Lord, and it is something else to have the ministry.

The ministry, according to what we see in the New Testament, is produced and formed by the experiences of the riches of Christ through suffering, continuing pressures, and the killing work of the cross. Amen!

There’s a difference between having a gift, which is given by the Lord and has nothing to do with what we are by constitution and having the ministry, which is wrought into us by many experiences of Christ and much suffering.

May we come to the Lord day by day to enjoy Him and even more, be infused with Him, experience Him, and allow Him to work Himself into us until He is expressed through us as our ministry in the Lord.

A person may have a gift and therefore be able to speak fluently and eloquently, giving many good illustrations and proverbs; this, however, is just a gift.

What the Lord needs today and what the Body needs today is the ministry that comes through suffering and experience of Christ.

In the book of 2 Corinthians, we see that the ministry and the ministers are constituted with, produced and formed by the experiences of Christ through sufferings, the consuming pressures, and the killing work of the cross.

The ministry has nothing to do with our gift, natural ability, or talent; it has to do with the Lord’s work on us and our cooperation with Him.

May the Lord make us those who enjoy the Lord, experience Him, and are constituted with the ministry that builds up the church as the Body of Christ.

The Divine Trinity is the Structure of the Book of Acts: the Divine Trinity Operates for the Carrying out of God’s New Testament Economy

The Bible is not just a book that is consistent, well written, and valid both historically, theologically, and morally, but even more, the framework of the entire New Testament is the Divine Trinity.

And in particular as we come to the book of Acts, we need to realize that the Divine Trinity is the structure of the book of Acts.

This means that, chapter after chapter, we see not just the Father or just the Son or merely the Spirit doing this or speaking that, but the operation of the Divine Trinity for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy.

If we were to have a quick read through the book of Acts with the view of seeing the Divine Trinity, we would see that in every chapter the Divine Trinity is mentioned and applied.

The first five verses of the first chapter of the book of Acts mention the things that Jesus began to both do and teach, the commandment through the Holy Spirit, the disciples waiting for the promise of the Father, and the disciples about to be baptised in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-5).

In chapter 2 we see that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, for this was the promise of God (the Father) to pour out His Spirit upon all men, so that all those who call on the Lord (Christ) would be saved (Acts 2:4, 17-17, 21-22).

In the same chapter, we see that God made Jesus both Lord and Christ, and everyone needs to repent and be baptized upon the name of Jesus, and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (vv. 36-38). Amen!

In chapter 13, for example, we see that some disciples were ministering to the Lord and fasting, and the Holy Spirit set some apart for the work; they then were sent by the Holy Spirit and preached the word of God (Acts 13:2-7). Amen!

Later in this chapter when Paul gave a gospel speech, he mentioned that God raised Christ from the dead, made Him the Savior, and in Him all need to believe; the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:12, 16, 23, 30, 33-39, 49-50, 52).

There are many other portions, but the ones we want to mention are in Acts 28:23, 25, and 31, where we see that Paul testified of the kingdom of God and persuaded others concerning Jesus, and he spoke concerning the Holy Spirit.

The whole book of Acts finishes with Paul proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus with all boldness, unhindered.

The book of Acts unveils the operation of the Divine Trinity for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy.

The terms God, Christ, and the Spirit are not interchangeable or used indiscriminately; rather, they are used in a specific way, for each of the Three of the Triune God has a particular function, and they work together to carry out God’s economy. Hallelujah!

Everything God does today is wrapped up and fully involved with the Divine Trinity.

It is the same in our Christian life and church life today; everything about us, all the processes we go through, all the situations we go through, the Divine Trinity is fully involved.

The Father has a plan and a purpose, and He is the source of all things.

The Son accomplishes everything that the Father desires, carrying out the Father’s plan.

And the Spirit applies to us all that the Father planned and the Son accomplished, making all the things of God and Christ real to us.

Especially in the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy, God is working in His Divine Trinity to do all things.

May we be unveiled to see how the Divine Trinity is the framework not just of the entire New Testament but also of the book of Acts, and may we cooperate with God’s work in us and around us for the carrying out of His economy.

Lord Jesus, we open to Your work in us and around us for the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. Hallelujah, the Divine Trinity is the framework of the entire New Testament, and today the Divine Trinity does everything in us and around us for the fulfilment of God’s economy. Amen, Lord, we call on Your name to be saved and receive the Spirit so that we may be children of God. Hallelujah, the Father has purposed, the Son has accomplished, and the Spirit applies! Amen, Lord, we open to Your divine dispensing as the Divine Trinity operating in us and around us for the fulfilment of God’s economy! We want to enjoy and experience the Divine Trinity dispensing all that God is and all that Christ has done by the Spirit into us for God’s economy! Amen, Lord, keep us under Your divine dispensing today, enjoying You and cooperating with You for the carrying out of Your New Testament economy in us and around us! Praise the Lord for the Divine Trinity!

The Triune God was Involved with the Son’s Ascension and the Pouring out of the Spirit

In the first two chapters of the book of Acts, we see two main events: the Lord’s ascension to the heavens and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. In both of these events the Triune God – the Father, the Son, and the Spirit – was fully involved (Acts 2:32-36).

In the Lord’s ascension, Christ the Son ascended, the Father exalted Him, and the Spirit was poured out (Luke 24:51; Phil. 2:9; Acts 1:9-11; 2:32-36). Hallelujah!

The Bible says both that Christ ascended into heaven (Eph. 4:8-9; Heb. 9:24) and that He was taken up and exalted by God (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51).

After He was exalted by the Father, after He was not only raised but also ascended, the Spirit was poured out.

Here we see that the entire Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit – was fully involved with the ascension and the pouring out of the Spirit.

When Christ was put to death on the cross, the entire Triune God was involved: the Father spoke from the heavens, the Spirit was with the Lord and then withdrew economically from Him, and Christ the Son was crucified on the cross.

In Christ’s resurrection, the entire Triune God was involved: Christ was resurrected, the Father raised Him from the dead, and in resurrection Christ became a life-giving Spirit.

Similarly, in His incarnation, the entire Triune God was involved: God the Father spoke to Mary, the Spirit was the essence that conceived the Lord Jesus, and the Son was born of a human virgin.

When He was on earth carrying out His earthly ministry, Christ the Son did what the Father told Him to do, and He did all things by the Holy Spirit.

Before He went through death and came back in resurrection, Christ the Son received the promise of the Holy Spirit.

First, He was conceived of the Spirit essentially for His existence in humanity (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20) and was anointed with the Spirit economically for His ministry among men (Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:18).

After He resurrected and ascended, the Lord still needed to receive the Spirit economically again so that He might pour Himself out upon His Body to carry out His heavenly ministry on earth for the accomplishing of God’s New Testament economy.

On one hand, in His resurrection Christ breathed the Holy Spirit into the disciples for their life essentially (John 20:22).

On the other hand, fifty days after His ascension, Christ poured out the Spirit economically upon the disciples praying in one accord.

This was the fulfilment of the promise uttered through Joel saying that in the last days, God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and everyone shall prophesy. Hallelujah!

Acts 2:15-18 speaks of the last days, the closing period of the present age (2 Pet. 3:3; Jude 18), which began from Christ’s first coming (1 Pet. 1:20) and will last until His second coming. Amen!

When Christ poured out the promised Spirit on the day of Pentecost, that was the descension of the resurrected and ascended Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit to carry out His heavenly ministry on the earth.

This was to build up the church (Matt. 16:18) as His Body (Eph. 1:23) for God’s New Testament economy. Amen!

We as the believers in Christ are receiving both the infilling of the Spirit of life essentially for us to be regenerated and live for the Lord, and the outpouring of the Spirit economically upon us for us to carry out God’s New Testament economy.

A very simple way for us to enjoy the infilling of the Spirit of life is by calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 2:21); everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Calling on the Lord is not a new practice that began in the New Testament; rather, this was practiced from the third generation of mankind, starting from Enosh (Gen. 4:26).

Thank the Lord, today we can call on the name of the Lord to be filled with Him as life!

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit were all wrapped up with the outpouring of the Spirit of the processed Triune God (John 7:37-39; Phil. 1:19).

Today we as the Body of Christ have the Spirit of life essentially and the Spirit of power upon us economically to accomplish God’s economy.

The Divine Trinity is continually working in us and around us to dispense God in Christ as the Spirit into us and even to clothe us for us to be one with the Lord in the carrying out of His economy.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us as the Spirit of life for us to breathe in for our life! Thank You for being poured out upon us as the Spirit of power for us to be clothed and accomplish God’s economy! Hallelujah, Christ the Son ascended to the heavens, the Father exalted Him, and the Spirit was poured out. We praise You, Lord Jesus, for being exalted by the Father and then pouring out the Spirit on the Body of Christ! Hallelujah, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit were all wrapped up with the ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Spirit. Amen, Lord Jesus, we call on Your name today! Save us much more in Your life! Fill us with Yourself. Clothe us with the Spirit for our work for the Lord and in the Lord to carry out God’s economy! Amen, Lord, may we live in and with the Divine Trinity today for the economy of God to be carried out and accomplished among us! Praise the Lord!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Acts, msgs. 9 and 14, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2024 July Semiannual Training), week 12, The Divine Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The Divine Trinity – Essential Bible Verses for a Deeper Study, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – A summary of the revelation of the Bible, a portion from, Life-Study of Acts, Chapter 58.
  – The History of the Bible, Part 3—Interpretation, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The incorporation of the Triune God in the character and service of the apostles (2), article by Kerry S. Robichaux in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – The One Unique New Testament Ministry, via, Shepherding Words.
  – The Lord’s accomplishment of the oneness of the Body, a portion from, Lesson Book, Level 5: The Church—The Vision and Building Up of the Church, Chapter 15, by Witness Lee.
  – The Trinity Prepares us for New Jerusalem, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – The Divine Trinity in John 14-17, a portion from, The Revelation and Vision of God, Chapter 7, by Witness Lee.
  – How I Use the Life-study of the Bible to Get More from God’s Word, via, Holding to Truth in love.
  – The Divine Trinity in the Teaching of Witness Lee, via, An Open Letter.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Christ the Savior hath ascended / To the heavens far above, / Crowned with glory and with honor / By the Father God in love; / He hath made Him Head of all things, / His supremacy to prove. / From this Christ to God ascended / Hath the Spirit been outpoured, / Poured upon the Church, His Body, / That His members be empow’red; / Thus the Lord of all in heaven / Thru His Church will be adored. (Hymns #277 stanzas 1-2)
  – The Spirit of life is within us today, / Who’s likened to water our thirst to allay; / Of Him we may drink and be filled thus with Him, / Until as a river He flows from within. / The Spirit of pow’r comes upon us today, / Who’s likened to clothing ourselves to array; / In Him we are baptized, with Him we are dressed, / For service equipping with power possessed. (Hymns #278 stanzas 1-2)
  – What mystery, the Father, Son, and Spirit, / In person three, in substance all are one. / How glorious, this God our being enters / To be our all, thru Spirit in the Son! / The Triune God has now become our all! / How wonderful! How glorious! / This Gift divine we never can exhaust! / How excellent! How marvelous! (Hymns #608 stanza 1 and chorus)