[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by Peter Debelak

Yet I personally think the notion of "person" when it comes to the Trinity is too "nice and tidy" - not capturing all of what the Bible has to say about the relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit.

Actually I don't believe the term person, or persons is addressing the relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit, it is only a very biblical way of describing the self-existence (self existing identity) of each of the three of the Godhead. I think the term Trinity could be thought of as addressing the relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit, and I believe this to be a biblical term as well. “The Triune God” could also be thought of addressing the relationship between the Father, Son and Spirit. I believe the term “The Triune God” is biblical as well, but Witness Lee sulleyed it greatly by adding on, and coming up with “The processed Triune God”. (probably an argument for another day)

The earliest church fathers, scholars and teachers did not arrive at the use of the term “person” lightly. There was much contentious debate among them. We know from biblical accounts, as well as from outside witness, that there were many false teachers and apostle wannabes polluting the churches with all manner of “destructive heresies”(2 Peter 2:1) Most of these heresies involved the nature of the Trinity, as well as the person and work of Jesus Christ. Many of the early councils addressed these heresies, and ended up producing a number of creeds, which in turn ended up becoming a major element in the “Statement of Faith” in much of what we know today as orthodox Christianity. I believe that the term person or persons is used in many (most) of these creeds, and the reason is that they were combating many of the early heresies, some of which denied the "personhood" of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit or both.

On the one hand, Witness Lee lays out a compelling argument that the traditional "language" about the Trinity is inadequate.

I don’t think the traditional language about the Trinity is inadequate in the least, and even if it was, Witness Lee was hardly qualified to single handedly change and/or add on to this traditional language. Of course this simple fact didn’t stop him, nor has it stopped his followers from trying to pass his unorthodox teachings off as “heavenly language”.

Thus, he attempted - from a well-intentioned place - to try to capture the more nuanced Biblical record. There may still be room for disagreement, but this impulse to use extra-biblical language specifically in an effort to more closely capture what the Bible says, is notable.

The problem is that when numerous other Christians (including Dr. Walter Martin, the original bible answer man) pointed out the flaws and weaknesses in Lee’s extra-biblical language, instead of challenging his critics to come and reason together, he took out full-page newspaper ads claiming they were tritheists and heretics. There was simply no disagreeing with Lee and his followers, or even "agreeing to disagree". Everyone was to swallow his every word wholesale, or be considered as evil opposers. This mindset is still very much alive in the Local Church to this day, and until this mindset goes away the LC will remain nothing but a tiny and uninfluential fringe group.

There is something amiss when a Word-based faith finds a separate pride in its own language which are "proxies" for what the Word itself says.

Very well said! As I noted before, many Local Churchers, and certainly most of the leadership, treat Witness Lee’s teachings as a proxy for the Word of God. In some cases, they even elevate Lee’s words to a position above the Word of God. This is a very serious error with very serious consequences. Unfortunately we are seeing the consequences born out in real time right before our eyes in the words and actions of many of the blended brothers. Their consciences are so compromised that they cannot tell the truth from fiction. This is what happens after decades of imbibing in the words of a man at the expence of the Word of God.