Seeing that the Church is in the Triune God: We have a Life Relationship with God

According to 1 Thessalonians 1:1, the church of the Thessalonians is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ; according to Paul’s view, the church is not only of the Thessalonians but even more, the church is in the Triune God!

Hallelujah, the church is in the Triune God! Amen, Lord, may we see this wonderful truth. May we see the vision of the church not only being in a certain locality as the expression of the Body in that locality but even more, the church being in the Triune God! Amen!

Praise the Lord for the divine revelation in God’s word concerning the Triune God! God is Triune not just for our theological understanding but for us to enjoy, even for us to be organically joined to Him and related to Him.

God wants to dispense Himself into us, His chosen and redeemed people, and He does it as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

The Father is the source, the Son is the coming out and expression of the Father, and the Spirit is the realisation and application of the Son, who is the embodiment of the Father. And the Triune God is for our enjoyment and experience today!

We are blessed to see the revealed Divine Trinity in our experience!

When we are living our Christian life, day by day, we need to exercise our spirit and turn our heart to the Lord to enjoy the Father as the source of life, the Son as the expression of the Father, and the Spirit as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit.

The Triune God is in us; however, we do not have three distinct and separate persons in us – we have only one person, the person of the Triune God, that is, God in Christ as the Spirit! Praise the Lord!

We are organically joined to Him, we are one with Him in spirit, and we can enjoy and experience the Triune God as our life and everything today!

The revelation concerning the Triune God in the Word of God is for God’s dispensing in His Divine Trinity into His people so that they may enjoy and experience Him for Him to gain a corporate expression in His people for eternity. Praise the Lord!

Individually, each one of us is in God and joined to God as one spirit. Corporately, the church is in the Triune God.

It is easy to see that the church is a group of people who believe in Jesus and appreciate the Bible, gathering together to be the church in that locality.

But it takes revelation from the Lord to see that we are in the Triune God and that the church is in the Triune God!

The Church is of the Saints and the Church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ – in the Triune God!

How can we say that the church is in the Triune God? 1 Thessalonians 1:1 tells us that the church is of the Thessalonians in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, it seems that the Spirit is not mentioned here; how can we say that the church is in the Triune God? We need to see that in this case, the Bible does not mention the Spirit, but the Spirit is involved.

Many times, when we speak to someone, what we do not say – but imply – is as important as what we do say. In this instance, what the Bible does not say is just as important as what it does say, if not more so.

When the Bible mentions the Father and the Son, the Spirit is always involved, for this is a mention of the Triune God.

The Father and the Son do not do things or exist by themselves; they are intimately related to and connected with the Spirit.

When Paul said, the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, he also involved the Spirit; the church is in the Triune God.

At the most basic level of understanding the church, we see that the church is of the believers, for the church is composed of the believers in Christ.

If we are in Thessaloniki, the church is the church of the Thessalonians. If we are in New York, the church is of the New Yorkers. If we are in London, the church is of the Londoners.

This is obvious, and it is the most basic definition or understanding of the church.

However, it takes divine revelation from God for us to see that the church is not only of the believers but also in the Triune God! The church is in the Triune God.

Oh Lord, unveil us to see what this means! Unveil us and grant us divine revelation for us to see that the church is in the Triune God! Praise You for showing to us that the church is of the believers; now we want to go on to see the church in the Triune God!

When we exercise our spirit and look at the church according to the Bible, we see that the church is in the Triune God.

This means that the church is born of God the Father with His life and nature (John 1:12-13; 1 Cor. 1:30).

The church is composed not only of people who believe in what the Bible says and adhere to a certain religion or religious cause; the church is composed of those who are born of God!

All genuine believers in Christ are born of God – not of the will of man or of the will of the flesh but of God – and have God’s life and nature in them! Praise the Lord!

The church is born of God the Father with His life and nature, and the church is organically united with the Lord Jesus Christ in all that He is and has done (1 Cor. 6:17).

The church being in the Triune God points to an organic union which the church has with the Triune God.

We may say that we are of a person, but how can we say we are in a person? Humanly speaking, this is impossible.

We can be with someone, by someone, or of someone, but we cannot say we are in someone. But spiritually speaking, this is possible, for we are organically joined to the Lord as one spirit, and He is in us and we are in Him! Praise the Lord!

Just as the Son came and the Father was not only with Him but in Him, and He was in the Father, so today we are not only with the Lord or in the Lord but in the Triune God! Praise the Lord!

May we open to the Lord in this matter and allow Him to remove any old concepts, preconceived notions, and religious thoughts so that we may see the church as He sees it!

Lord Jesus, thank You for regenerating us with the life of God so that we may be children of God, part of the church in the Triune God! Hallelujah, the church is not only of the believers but even more, the church is in the Triune God! Amen, Lord, unveil us to see the church the same way You see it. Remove any veils from our eyes for us to realise that the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen, the church is of the saints, for the church is composed of the saints, and the church is in the Triune God! Praise the Lord, the church is born of God the Father with His life and nature! Hallelujah, the church is organically united with the Lord Jesus Christ in all that He has and has done! Amen, Lord, we want to live here, in the organic union with You, so that we may partake of all that You are! Keep us in You, in the Triune God, as we live our Christian life and church life today! Hallelujah, the church is in the Triune God!

The Church is in the Triune God: We have a Life Relationship with God, we’re Organically Joined as One!

We do well to prayerfully explore and consider what does it mean for the church to be in the Triune God.

It is rather simple to say that the church is of God or of Christ, but it is more profound and deeper to declare that the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we say that the church is of God, we say that the church comes from God and that God initiated the church, being the source of the church.

But when we say that the church is in the Triune God, we say that the church is organically joined to God, for the church has a life relationship with God.

Humanly speaking, how is it possible for a person to be in another person? This is impossible. But spiritually speaking, it is organically possible for us to be in God and for God to be in us. God does things in the way of life.

We need to see that the church is composed of human beings who are in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The church is composed of those who have the life of God and who are in the organic union with Christ (John 3:15; 15:1, 5).

When we believe into the Lord Jesus Christ, we are organically joined to Him; we are grafted into Him as branches in the vine. Hallelujah, we are now in Christ and Christ is in us!

On His side, God went through a process in order to make this possible.

God was incarnated to be a man, lived a perfect human life on the earth, died an all-terminating death on the cross to redeem us, resurrected to be a life-giving Spirit, and now He is the all-inclusive, life-giving, compound Spirit.

When we believe into the Lord Jesus, God in Christ as the Spirit comes into our spirit to make our spirit life. He dispenses Himself as life into our being, particularly into our spirit, and we are joined to Him as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). How wonderful!

At the time of our regeneration, we are joined to God in spirit, and we are put into the Triune God! Also, we become part of the church, the corporate Body of Christ, who is the Body of the Head.

When we come together with the saints, we love the saints, for we are fellow members of the Body, and together we enjoy the Lord and partake of what He is.

Each one of us has a life relationship with God, and together we are in the Triune God, for we are joined to Him organically.

For the church to be in God the Father means that the church is organically joined to the Father.

God the Father is the source of life; God the Father is the organic source of the church, for He initiated the church and He imparted His life into us as the church.

For the church to be in the Lord Jesus Christ means that we have a life relationship with Him.

Also, it means that Christ must be the Lord and Jesus to us. Hallelujah! It is important to see that the Bible doesn’t say that the church is in God.

It is not possible for the church to be in God, for God refers to His deity. But the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ, which refers to the processed Triune God in His economy.

In His economy, God went through a process in order to be organically joined to us and be one with us.

The church, therefore, is in the Triune God. When we speak of God, we speak of God who has not been processed; God dwells in unapproachable light, and we cannot see God.

But when we speak of the Triune God, we refer to the processes that God went through, and to the Triune God we are joined as one spirit.

Hallelujah, we are one spirit with the Lord, for we are in the Triune God and the Triune God is in us! May the Lord fill us with a sweet appreciation of the church being in the Triune God.

May we be in the Triune God today, doing all things in God, with God, by God, and because of God, for our God is Triune for His divine dispensing!

Lord Jesus, grant us a revelation to see that the church is in the Triune God! Hallelujah, the church is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen, Lord, may we realise that we have been born of God to have a life relationship with God! May we see that, as believers in Christ, we are members of the Body of Christ, the church, and we have an organic union with the Lord! Praise the Lord, the church is composed of human beings who are in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen, Lord, may we remain in the organic union with You today. May we abide in You so that You may abide in us, so that whatever we do, we do in the organic union with You! Hallelujah, we have the life of God and we’re joined to the Lord as one spirit! Amen, Lord, may we see that we as the church are in the Triune God, and the Triune God is in us, joined to us in our spirit, to be expressed through us! Hallelujah for the church! Hallelujah for the Triune God! Hallelujah for the church in the Triune God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brother Ron Kangas on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, msg. 7, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (part 3 – 2025 Summer Training), week 30, The Church in the Triune God – day 3.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – One God, one Lord, one Spirit— / Her elements all one— / One faith, one hope, one baptism, / One Body in the Son; / The triune God is in her, / One Body members own, / By faith they are united, / In hope of glory shown. (Hymns #824 stanza 4)
  – The Church the image has of Christ, / She is His increase and His spread; / Christ’s very self is found in her / The Body, she, to Christ the Head. / Thus, in the Son the Father is, / And now the Spirit is the Son; / The Spirit of the triune God / Is in the Church and with her one. (Hymns #818 stanzas 6-7)
  – The Church within the universe / Is one as Christ’s possession; / The Church must therefore locally / Be one in her expression; / For all her elements are one— / One God, one Lord, one Spirit, / One faith, baptism, Body too, / One hope all saints inherit. (Hymns #831 stanza 3)