What is the economic Trinity?

In Scripture the name God is often used as embracing all three persons of the Trinity especially in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament the Father alone is often addressed as God, while the Spirit and the Son are not addressed as God in this way. For example, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal. 4: 6). This is not because of superiority in the Godhead, but rather because in the working out of the divine purposes the Son has taken His place as a servant and the obedient Man, and the Spirit takes the place as sent by the Father and the Son to glorify the Son. So in the place they have taken in the working out of the divine counsels they could not be called simply God in the way the Father is; though the Son is God and the Spirit is God, both coequal with the Father in deity.

In the working out of the divine counsels we see that God, the Father, is looked upon as the author and source of all things, the One who chooses, predestinates, calls and justifies and works all things after the counsel of His own will. (See 1 Cor. 8: 6; Eph. 1: 3-11; 2 Tim. 1: 9; Rom. 8: 28-33, etc.). The Son is looked upon as the workman or artificer by whom all things are made and upheld, the One in, by and through whom all the counsels of the Triune God are realized and made secure and the work of redemption is accomplished, and the One who, in coming in the flesh, manifests and declares and reveals God to man. (See 1 Cor. 8: 6; Eph. 1: 2 Tim. 1: 9; John 1: 18; 1 Tim. 1: 16; Phil. 3: 21, etc.). The Spirit of God is looked upon as the One who works directly in power upon and in the creature or created things. (Ps. 104: 3; Judges 14: 5, 6; Eph. 3: 16; 2 Cor. 4: 4, 10, 12-14; Rom. 8: 4-16, 26, etc.).

In Scripture the name God is often used as embracing all three persons of the Trinity especially in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament the Father alone is often addressed as God, while the Spirit and the Son are not addressed as God in this way. For example, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:6). This is not because of superiority in the Godhead, but rather because in the working out of the divine purposes the Son has taken His place as a servant and the obedient Man, and the Spirit takes the place as sent by the Father and the Son to glorify the Son. So in the place they have taken in the working out of the divine counsels they could not be called simply God in the way the Father is; though the Son is God and the Spirit is God, both coequal with the Father in deity.

In the working out of the divine counsels we see that God, the Father, is looked upon as the author and source of all things, the One who chooses, predestinates, calls and justifies and works all things after the counsel of His own will. (See 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 1:3-11; 2 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 8:28-33, etc.). The Son is looked upon as the workman or artificer by whom all things are made and upheld, the One in, by and through whom all the counsels of the Triune God are realized and made secure and the work of redemption is accomplished, and the One who, in coming in the flesh, manifests and declares and reveals God to man. (See 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:9; John 1:18; 1 Tim. 1:16; Phil. 3:21, etc.). The Spirit of God is looked upon as the One who works directly in power upon and in the creature or created things. (Ps. 104:3; Judges 14:5-6; Eph. 3:16; 2 Cor. 4:4, 10, 12-14; Rom. 8:4-16, 26, etc.).

To God the Father belongs initiative. All purpose, counsel, direction, are His. To God the Son belongs administration — the execution of the Divine purpose whether in creation, redemption, or judgment. To God the Holy Ghost belongs the energy all-pervading that, acting always in perfect harmony with the Father's counsels and the Son's administration, produces the desired effects whether upon matter in creation, or upon the souls and ultimately the bodies of saints in connection with redemption.

In the very nature of things, what is true of One, is true of all Three as we have said, yet in the working out of the eternal plan, each takes His Own place in relation to the Others. The Father is He by whom every family in heaven and in earth is named; He worketh all things after the counsel of His Own will; He is above all, and through all and as to His children, is in you all. Eph. 3:15; Eph. 1:11; Eph. 4:6. The Son creates. John 1:3. Col. 1:16. Heb. 1:2; Redeems. Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7. Col. 1:14; He is also the Judge. John 5:22. By creation He brought in the platform upon which the plan would be wrought out. He became Man to cleanse it and put it on the stable basis of redemption and finally, He will put down all that is offensive and rebellious against God. The Spirit performs the subjective work, working for glory and adornment. His part in creation was to garnish it. Job. 26:13. His work in the saints is to array them in the beauty of Christ. Luke 15:22. Col. 3:12-14. To accomplish this, He uses the word of God. He takes up His abode in the believer and thus becomes the subjective power for spiritual instinct; intuition; inspiration; revelation; and illumination. In this way it is the Holy Spirit which qualifies the saints for service whether for conflict in the kingdom; Levitical service in the testimony; or worship in the sanctuary. He is the power which qualifies for all moral activities whether estimates, values or measures. See Note A.

Care is called for here, lest, when speaking of the place of subordination taken by the Son, in relation to the Father and Spirit, or of the place the Spirit takes in relation to the Father and Son, we might lose the balance and allow that which might militate against the unity of the Godhead. Whatever be the place taken by Each, whether of Authority or Subordination, eternal with the Co-equality remains the same. While Scripture connects purpose with the Father, it is ever the purpose of the Godhead. That is to say, the whole scheme is from Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In its working out, the Father represents supreme authority, the Son by Incarnation takes a place of subordination, while ever remaining God, to glorify God, and the Spirit comes down from the glorified Lord to carry out the will of the Father and Son. A parallel to this may be seen by comparing the work of creation. While creation is the act of Elohim, namely the Godhead (Genesis 1:1), yet when it is imputed to one Person of the Holy Trinity, it is either the Son or the Spirit, never the Father. Note the place Each ONE takes in working out the divine plan.

Absolutely not. The persons of the Godhead act in unison of counsel (they are of the same mind and they work together) but undertake different tasks and activities in fulfilling a common objective. The Spirit voluntarily takes the subject place of being sent (as does the Son — see John 3:16; 6:38, Phil 2,7 etc.). Yet there is no question of inferiority and both are absolutely on the same level (‘coequal’) with the Father (see Q.3)

The Holy Spirit also now takes a place in the present dispensation that appears to be subordinated, He "proceedeth from the Father" and is "sent" by the Father and the Son. And having come, He does not speak of Himself but whatsoever He hears He speaks. His mission is to "glorify Christ" in receiving the things that are His and showing them unto us. (See John 15: 26; John 16: 13, 14). All such expressions as these appear to give a place of subordination to the Spirit as others appear to do to the Son but it is in appearance only and in respect to the place they have taken and the part they play in carrying out the divine purposes and not in anywise as to the dignity of their Persons. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are coequal in deity and all are one in thought, will and purpose though each has His respective part and sphere of action in the carrying out of the divine purposes.

The eternal counsels of the Father required a universe for the fulfilment of these counsels, and the One Person of the Godhead who was to carry out the eternal will of God created a universe in which that will could be fulfilled. In all the works of God the three Persons are ever said to be engaged; but in certain parts of those works certain Persons of the Trinity come more into prominence than the Others. Counsel belongs to the Father, creation and redemption to the Son, power to the Holy Spirit; but in each work All are concerned.

So if the Son takes a place of apparent subordination to the Father and the Spirit takes a place of apparent subordination to the Son, yet it is apparent only, for in fact, each is willingly doing His own part in conjunction and concert with the other two in carrying out one common purpose and will. All three are coequal in deity, essential in being and nature, but distinct in personality and in eternal unchanging relationship to the other and each having His own part and activity which He willingly does in carrying out one divine plan and purpose. Understand it we cannot, speculate on it we dare not, believe it we must, or else we make the divinely inspired Word of God a lie.

Here we must remember that we are dealing with deep and blessed things, things indeed which are beyond our creature minds. Think of Three Persons in One God. They are not Three, in the same sense as They are One, nor are Father, Son and Spirit different names for one and the same Person. The Father counsels and sends the Son; the Son comes to reveal the Godhead, a revelation which stands good for the whole creation; and the Holy Spirit, Whose work is the subjective part, comes to make good, in the souls of the heirs of purpose, that which has been revealed. This revelation includes every family in the heavens and earth, and indeed, it will go out to the place of eternal punishment, for the lake of fire will be an everlasting witness to the righteousness, holiness and majesty of God.

In these chapters we are reading we see that the Spirit is sent by both the Father and the Son; it reminds us of the prophetic announcement of our Lord's first coming in Isaiah 48:16, "And now the Lord God, and His Spirit, has sent Me." Both the Son, and the Spirit, were sent, yet both came forth in a voluntary way. This shows the Father, so to speak, at the Head of the whole, wondrous plan. He remains in His own absolute Godhead, in divine immutability, for ever; "Who is above all, and through all, and in you all."