The Organism Of The Triune God In The Organic Union Of His Divine Trinity

The burden of these messages is to point out that the church is absolutely organic. We need to see that the church as the Body of Christ is altogether organic, absolutely of life, with nothing organizational. The Body of Christ is the organism of the Triune God.

"Dispensing means to distribute. God dispenses Himself to you just as you may dispense food to your guests. Many readers of the Bible have realized that in the Gospel of John the Father is revealed, the Son is revealed, and the Spirit is revealed. But not many have realized that in the Gospel of John the Triune God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is revealed for the dispensing of Himself into us first as life, then as life supply, and then as everything."

The complex nature of Christian communion with a personal God requires a nuanced expression. Since its inception, the early church affirmed God's unknowable nature and also participation in God through Christ. The church fathers employed the language of theosis in talking about union with God and human transformation in the likeness of God. However, the term theosis or deification is a broad category and requires precise explanation to avoid human dissolution in the divine in the mystical union. This book addresses the conundrum of imparticipable divine nature and personal union between human and the Trinity. If God is Trinity, then we are created and restored in the image of tripersonal God.

Who is the God of the Bible? From both within the church and outside her walls the orthodox doctrine of the Holy Trinity, declared in Scripture and passed down in ecumenical creeds and local confessions of faith, is under attack. The emerging absence of a Trinitarian mind-set so prevalent in the church today has enormous implications for the future of the Christian faith. Concerned to counter contemporary attacks on the doctrine of God, Peter Toon here demonstrates the existence and priority of a Trinitarian pattern in Scripture and defends the essential role of the Trinity in Christian belief, faith, and practice.

This edited work of John Owen helps modern-day believers understand the timeless truths of the Trinity.

The theology of the Trinity is undergoing an intense renewal filled with a vitality and vibrancy not seen since the fourth century. What had become, for most believers, dormant and peripheral to the understanding of the Christian faith is once again at the center of lively theological discussions. The Triune God offers a comprehensive overview of the theology of the Trinity from its origin in the Bible, through the significant periods of development in the early church, and up to the present time. Author Thomas Marsh reviews key biblical understandings of God, explains early church developments, highlights controversies about the Trinity considered at church councils, and chronicles the scholastic distinctions of the middle ages. He also explores contemporary efforts to revitalize the theology of the Trinity, and considers the question of inclusive God-language, the ÒrebirthÓ of the Spirit, and the role of the Trinity in the theology of the kingdom and in the place of the church in society. The Triune God is a serious exploration of the Tirnity well suited to college, seminary, and university courses. Anyone interested in an in-depth examination of the Trinity from a scriptural, historical, and pastoral perspective will find this book essential reading.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1988, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from April 18 through September 18, 1988. In the first few days of April Brother Lee visited San Jose, California, for two days, and in the second week of April he flew to Taipei, Taiwan, and remained there until early June. He returned to Anaheim, California, and remained there through the third week of July. In the remaining days of July he visited a number of cities in the California Bay Area, including Berkeley, Hayward, San Jose, Los Altos, and San Francisco. In early August he visited Spokane, Washington, and at the end of August he visited Seattle, Washington. In the last few days of August he visited Alhambra, California, and in September he traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia. The contents of this volume are divided into seventeen sections, as follows: 1. Two messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 18 and 25. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Proper Learning and Desire for the Practice of the New Way. 2. A message given in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 27. This message is included in this volume under the title The Reason for Changing the System and the Practice of the New Way. 3. Three messages given in Anaheim, California, on July 8 and 9. These messages were previously published in a book entitled A Timely Word and are included in this volume under the same title. Chapters 2 and 3 were included as chapters 4 and 5 in Elders' Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1) and also appear in The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1986, volume 3, in a section with the same title. 4. Three messages given in Berkeley, California, on July 22 through 24. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Our Urgent Need--Spirit and Life and are included in this volume under the same title. 5. Seven messages given in Berkeley and Hayward, California, on July 22 through 25. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Local Churches and the Body of Christ. 6. A message given in San Francisco, California, on July 30. This message was previously published in a booklet entitled Treasuring the Teenage Years for the Lord and is included in this volume under the same title. 7. Four messages given in San Jose and San Francisco, California, on July 26 through 31. These messages were translated from Chinese and are included in this volume under the title The Apostles' Relationship with the Churches and Their Perfecting of the Saints. 8. A message given in San Jose, California, on July 27. This message is included in this volume under the title The Need for Revival in the Lord's Recovery through Prayer. 9. Six messages given in Los Altos, San Jose, and San Francisco, California, on July 27 through 31. These messages are included in this volume under the title Building Up the Body in Oneness. Two of the messages were combined into one chapter. 10. Eleven messages given in Spokane, Washington, on August 5 through 7. They are included in this volume under the title Being Perfected to Build Up the Body of Christ. 11. A message given in Seattle, Washington, on August 18. This message is included in this volume under the title Being Trained in Our Character, Our Experience of Life, Our Knowledge of the Truth, and Our Skill of Shepherding to Gain People for the Building Up of the Body of Christ. 12. Five messages given in Seattle, Washington, on August 18 through 21. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Body of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title. 13. Two messages given in Alhambra, California, on August 27 and 28. These messages were translated from Chinese and are included in this volume under the title The Salvation of the Lamb and the Dove. 14. Three messages given in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 2 through 5. They are included in this volume under the title Caring for the Church according to the New Way in the Organic Union with the Lord. 15. Five messages given in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 2 through 5. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Organism of the Triune God in the Organic Union of His Divine Trinity and are included in this volume under the same title. 16. Two messages given in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 16 and 18. They are included in this volume under the title Cooperating with the Lord to Carry Out the Scriptural Way of Meeting and Serving for the Building Up of the Body of Christ. 17. Four messages given in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 16 through 18. These messages were previously published in a book entitled The Building Up of the Body of Christ and are included in this volume under the same title.

The complex nature of Christian communion with a personal God requires a nuanced expression. Since its inception, the early church affirmed God’s unknowable nature and also participation in God through Christ. The church fathers employed the language of theosis in talking about union with God and human transformation in the likeness of God. However, the term theosis or deification is a broad category and requires precise explanation to avoid human dissolution in the divine in the mystical union. This book addresses the conundrum of imparticipable divine nature and personal union between human and the Trinity. If God is Trinity, then we are created and restored in the image of tripersonal God.