[UntoHim]

From reading the last number of posts over the past few days, I am reminded of the real heart of the matter when it comes to "Lee's Trinity". The real problem, such as it is, is that Witness Lee put the emphasis on God changing - God needing to change, rather than the great and undeniable need for change in his fallen creation. This is not an accurate or complete reflection of what is presented to us in the Word of God.

God was always light - this is why he could proclaim "let there by light!" It was us, even the chosen, who "loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil". (John 3:19) God was always love - this is why the apostle John could proclaim "God is Love" (1 John 4:8) It is man, from the beginning, who fell into darkness and needed to get back to the light. It is man, from the beginning who fell under the deception of the devil and became one who "hates his brother and is in the darkness and walks in the darkness"

In the story of the "prodigal son", it was not the Father who changed - the Father was always there. The Father was there when the son left the safety and love of the Father's house. The Father was there while the son was squandering away all the Father's wealth. The Father was there waiting for his son to repent and come to his senses. The Father was there waiting when the son finally did repent and come to his senses. The son came back in humble repentance and expected to be treated as one of the hired servants. What the son didn't realize is that the Father had never changed - He was always the Father - His Father in the house of the Father, all along. It was the son who changed. It was the son who changed his position as a son of the wealthy Father. It was the son who left the love, mercy, grace and security provided by the Father and his house. It was the son who needed to change - Change his position (from his wondering in a foreign land) and change his attitude (as being a hired servant to a beloved son)

Witness Lee taught that God was "processed", or went through some process as it were. (what part of change did we not understand??) The first change was that of the Father becoming the Son. Using the Old Testament prophesy of Isaiah 9:6, and ignoring centuries of accepted orthodox biblical theology and hermeneutical standard, Lee wondered aloud "If the Son is called the Father, he must be the Father!". Once one concedes to " confounding the persons and dividing the substance", the floodgates open wide for all manner of aberrational and even heretical notions. The confounding of the persons continued with Lee's declaration that "This Christ...became a life-giving Spirit". Again, Lee questioned aloud before his captive audience "can there be two life-giving Spirits?". This is where Lee's lack of formal theological and linguistic education failed him (and by extension his followers), and the consequences were devastating.

Of course the debate about the orthodoxy, and lack thereof, of Witness Lee's "processed Triune God" will (and should) rage on in this forum. However, in my view, if we can't agree upon this basic, fundamental, foundational principle that it is fallen man who is in need of change, and not the One who declared "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Malachi 3:6), then I fear we will be treading water for the foreseeable future. Of course this beats the alternative of not entering into honest, open dialogue. May the Lord extend to all concerned a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
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