God’s Economy: recovered by Witness Lee, enjoyed by local churches

The Way of God’s Economy—the Dispensing of the Divine Trinity

Illustrations of the Divine Dispensing

God the Father is like a fountain of water
(Jer. 2:13)

Any attempt to explain the mysteries of the Divine Trinity by means of physical analogies will obviously fall short. With this caveat in place, however, we would like to present a few helpful illustrations. One likens the dispensing of the Divine Trinity to a river. A river has its source in a fountain, which is hidden underground and thus inaccessible. When the water emerges from the ground, it takes the form of a spring. Finally, when the water begins to flow forth from the spring, it becomes a river. God the Father is like a fountain of water (Jeremiah 2:13). He is the marvelous, abundant, eternal source, yet He is hidden from man. God the Son as a gushing spring is the emerging, the manifestation of God (John 4:14). Now the Spirit flows to us and within us as the river of water of life (John 7:37-38; Revelation 22:1), conveying the entire Triune God in His inexhaustibly rich supply to quench our inner thirst.

God the Son as a gushing spring is the emerging, the manifestation
of God
(John 4:14)

The Triune God can also be illustrated by electricity. God the Father is like a large, remote power plant. Although the plant may have an abundance of electricity, you have no access to that electricity unless it reaches your home. God the Son is like the power lines that connect the power plant to your house. Finally, God the Spirit is like the current that carries the electrical power into your house, where you can make use of its many applications. This analogy illustrates the distinct functions of the Father as the source, the Son as the course and the way, and the Spirit as the transmission of the divine dispensing.

Now the Spirit flows to us and within us as the river of
water of life
(John 7:37-38;
Rev. 22:1)

Another illustration is that of a watermelon. A watermelon is large and unwieldy; you could never eat one whole. But if you cut it into slices or even juice it, it becomes very easy to consume and enjoy. God was like that large watermelon. Although He was full of riches, no one could approach Him or receive Him. But through Christ’s incarnation and death on the cross, He was “cut into slices.” In resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45b), which, like the juice, is so accessible and easy for us to receive.

The Divine Trinity | Illustrations | Scriptural Basis