Some Christadelphians argue that the Holy Spirit was given to certain people in Biblical times so that they could perform miraculous signs to prove that their message was truly from God. They then go on to argue that seeing as we now have the Word of God in its final and complete form (i.e. in the Bible), there is no further need for these authenticating miraculous signs, and therefore no further need for the Holy Spirit.
However, this argument lacks Scriptural support.
For example, John the Baptist (of whom Jesus said: "among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist" [Matthew 11:11]) was "full of the Holy Spirit even from birth" (Luke 1:15). If the Holy Spirit was given to individuals for the purpose of authenticating their message through miraculous signs then we should expect that this man who was the greatest of the prophets (and indeed the greatest among those born of women!) and who was full of the Holy Spirit from birth would have performed some outstanding miraculous signs. Yet we are told very specifically in Scripture that "John never performed a miraculous sign" (John 10:41).
A couple of things puzzle me. The Christadelphian writer I quoted in an earlier post also wrote: "When God pours out his Spirit, He gives unmistakable signs so that others can see and believe."
However, this is not what I see in Scripture. David had the Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11; Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16; 4:25), but what "unmistakable signs" did he do "so that others can see and believe"? John the Baptist was full of the Holy Spirit from birth, but what "unmistakable signs" did he do "so that others can see and believe"? What about those in the early Corinthian church who Paul quite specifically said could not speak in tongues or perform miraculous signs, yet were filled with the Holy Spirit? What "unmistakable signs" could they do "so that others can see and believe"?
Some Christadelphians resort to emotional arguments when it becomes clear that their position lacks Biblical evidence. For example, I've had Christadelphians say to me "if you have the Holy Spirit then why don't you go into hospitals and heal everyone? If you were truly a loving and compassionate person you would use this gift to eradicate suffering." This question and its accompanying comment not only lack logic, they actually ignore the Biblical evidence. If anyone could go into hospitals and heal all the sick then it would have been our Lord Himself. Yet Jesus didn't heal all the sick people He encountered, even when He had the opportunity. In Acts 3:1-10 we read of a man who had been crippled from birth and who was carried every day to the Beautiful Gate at the Jerusalem Temple. Anyone going into the Temple had to pass through this gate. It was the perfect place to beg. This would have meant that Jesus passed him every time He went into the Temple, and every time He passed up the opportunity to heal this man. Did Jesus lack love and compassion?
In 2 Timothy 4:20 we read Paul saying that "I left Trophimus sick in Miletus". Paul clearly had the Holy Spirit, yet he didn't use this gift to heal a fellow-missionary who was sick. Either he couldn't heal him, or he wouldn't. Did Paul lack compassion?
The assertion that someone who has the Holy Spirit should go into hospitals and heal all the sick is not only contrary to the examples of people full of the Holy Spirit such as Jesus, Paul and John the Baptist, but is based on the false assumption that the Holy Spirit enables its recipients to perform miracles and to heal the sick. John didn't perform miracles, and Jesus and Paul didn't heal all the sick they encountered. Paul explained very clearly to the Corinthians that while all believers have the [Holy] Spirit, they do not have the same kinds of gifts: "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit" (1 Cor 12:4). He explained that there are different "manifestations" of the Spirit. Through some people the Spirit is manifested in miracles, through another in healings, through others in faith, words of wisdom, or knowledge. Paul went on to ask the questions "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?" (vv. 29-30). Obviously not everyone can work miracles. Not everyone speaks in tongues. We can't all heal the sick. Yet everyone in the body of Christ has the [Holy] Spirit (e.g. see verses 3 and 7).
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the Word (2)
In my previous post I referred to a theory advanced by one Christadelphian writer and widespread in Christadelphianism that the Bible uses the term Spirit to mean a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" while the term Holy Spirit means "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes".
This theory does not explain the many Scriptures I quoted in my previous post where the terms "the Spirit" and "the Holy Spirit" are used interchangeably. But if we accept the theory as reasonable for a moment and apply that writer's definitions to the parallel Gospel accounts then we will see that it is impossible for these texts to have both meanings at the same time.
For example, in Matt 3:16 we read that after Jesus' baptism they saw "the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. " If the popular Christadelphian theory is correct then Matthew meant that a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus (or God) created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" descended on Jesus. That would hardly make sense, and would be difficult to reconcile with the parallel account (Luke 3:22) which says that "the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove" and would therefore mean that "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes" descended on Him. So what was it that descended on Jesus? Was it God's power, given for specific purposes, or was it a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus (or God) created by the impact of the gospel on an individual"?
As another example, Matt 12:43 refers to "David, speaking by the Spirit" while Mark 12:36 says David was speaking by the Holy Spirit. So was David speaking by God's power, given for specific purposes, or by a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus (or God) created by the impact of the gospel on an individual"?
John 7:39 refers to "the Spirit, which those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified." How could this mean the "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" and not the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost or "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes"?
In John 14:17, 26; 16:15 the "Counsellor" (parakletos) is also called "the Spirit of truth", simply "the Spirit" and "the Holy Spirit". How could the Counsellor be both a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" and "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes" at the same time? How we are able to tell when the Counsellor is "a mental and moral disposition" and when it is "God's power", or can it be both at the same time?
When Jesus said "But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matt 12:28) did He drive out demons by the "mental and moral likeness" of God, or by "the power of God"? If the latter, then why did our Lord use a term that we should understand to mean "a mental and moral likeness"?
Once we put this theory to the test we see that the Christadelphian distinction between Spirit and Holy Spirit cannot be applied consistently through Scripture and that in many instances an attempt to apply the distinguishing definitions makes the texts nonsensical.
This theory does not explain the many Scriptures I quoted in my previous post where the terms "the Spirit" and "the Holy Spirit" are used interchangeably. But if we accept the theory as reasonable for a moment and apply that writer's definitions to the parallel Gospel accounts then we will see that it is impossible for these texts to have both meanings at the same time.
For example, in Matt 3:16 we read that after Jesus' baptism they saw "the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. " If the popular Christadelphian theory is correct then Matthew meant that a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus (or God) created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" descended on Jesus. That would hardly make sense, and would be difficult to reconcile with the parallel account (Luke 3:22) which says that "the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove" and would therefore mean that "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes" descended on Him. So what was it that descended on Jesus? Was it God's power, given for specific purposes, or was it a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus (or God) created by the impact of the gospel on an individual"?
As another example, Matt 12:43 refers to "David, speaking by the Spirit" while Mark 12:36 says David was speaking by the Holy Spirit. So was David speaking by God's power, given for specific purposes, or by a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus (or God) created by the impact of the gospel on an individual"?
John 7:39 refers to "the Spirit, which those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified." How could this mean the "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" and not the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost or "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes"?
In John 14:17, 26; 16:15 the "Counsellor" (parakletos) is also called "the Spirit of truth", simply "the Spirit" and "the Holy Spirit". How could the Counsellor be both a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" and "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes" at the same time? How we are able to tell when the Counsellor is "a mental and moral disposition" and when it is "God's power", or can it be both at the same time?
When Jesus said "But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matt 12:28) did He drive out demons by the "mental and moral likeness" of God, or by "the power of God"? If the latter, then why did our Lord use a term that we should understand to mean "a mental and moral likeness"?
Once we put this theory to the test we see that the Christadelphian distinction between Spirit and Holy Spirit cannot be applied consistently through Scripture and that in many instances an attempt to apply the distinguishing definitions makes the texts nonsensical.
The Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the Word (1)
There is a theory which is widespread throughout Christadelphianism that in the Bible the terms "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit" mean different things. One Christadelphian writer explained the perceived difference this way:
By comparing the following parallel accounts in the Gospels we see that the Gospel-writers understood "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit" to mean the same thing.
1. Matt 3:16 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. " (cp. John 1:32 "Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.")
cp. Luke 3:22 "and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. "
2. Matt 4:1 "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil."
cp. Luke 4:1 "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert."
3. Matt 10:20 "for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
cp. Luke 12:12 "for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.
4. Matt 12:31 "And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ."
cp. Mark 3:29 "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." (cp. also Luke 12:10).
5. Matt 12:43 "He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'?"
cp. Mark 12:36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." '.
6. Luke 2:26 "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ."
cp. the next verse (27) "Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts."
When we read further in the New Testament we see that other writers also meant the same thing by the terms "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit".
For example, 1 Cor 12:3 "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."
Also, Jude 20 "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." Cp. Eph 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions."
Again, 2 Cor 1:21-22 "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." Cp. Eph 1:13-14 "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, which is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."
The similarity between these passages is striking. The writers obviously saw no difference between 'the Spirit (of God)' and 'the Holy Spirit.'
The following passage shows that some other terms have the same meaning and are also used interchangeably:
Rom 8:9-11 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, which lives in you."
I believe therefore that it is demonstrable that in Scripture these terms have the same meaning:
• the Spirit
• the Holy Spirit
• the Spirit of God
• the Spirit of Christ
• Christ in you
Other texts show that the NT writers thought of 'the Spirit of God' or 'Holy Spirit' as the same as 'the Spirit of Christ' or 'Spirit of Jesus'. For example:
Acts 16:7 "When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." Cp. the previous verse "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia."
Also, Phil 1:19 refers to "the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ." Are we to conclude that this is a diffferent 'Spirit' to the help-giving Spirit referred to elsewhere? e.g. Rom 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness"; 2 Tim 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit which lives in us."
Consequently, I believe that to say God dwells in us, or Christ dwells in us, is the same as saying the Holy Spirit dwells in us. This is confirmed by the following texts:
John 14:16-18 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth (referred to as "the Holy Spirit" in verse 26). The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
It is through the parakletos, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, that Jesus comes to us. Cf. verse 23 "Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
The same concept (i.e. that God 'dwells' in the church and the believer through the Holy Spirit) is found in the following places:
• 1 Cor 3:16-17 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."
• cp. 1 Cor 6:19-21 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
• cp. 2 Cor 6:16 "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
• Eph 2:22 "And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
• Cp. Eph 3:16-17 "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
• 1 John 4:13 "We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit."
This selection is by no means exhaustive, but it is more than adequate to demonstrate that it is quite wrong to make an artificial distinction between the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit. The Bible uses both terms to mean the same thing, but never uses the term "Spirit" to mean "the Bible" (more on that later).
The Spirit is a "mental and moral likeness of the Lord Jesus created by the impact of the gospel on an individual" while the Holy Spirit is "God's power ... given in the first century for specific purposes".In this post I'd like to dispel these myths and demonstrate that the Bible uses the terms "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit" interchangeably and that any distinction between them is artificial and unBiblical.
By comparing the following parallel accounts in the Gospels we see that the Gospel-writers understood "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit" to mean the same thing.
1. Matt 3:16 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. " (cp. John 1:32 "Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.")
cp. Luke 3:22 "and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. "
2. Matt 4:1 "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil."
cp. Luke 4:1 "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert."
3. Matt 10:20 "for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
cp. Luke 12:12 "for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.
4. Matt 12:31 "And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ."
cp. Mark 3:29 "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." (cp. also Luke 12:10).
5. Matt 12:43 "He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'?"
cp. Mark 12:36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." '.
6. Luke 2:26 "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ."
cp. the next verse (27) "Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts."
When we read further in the New Testament we see that other writers also meant the same thing by the terms "Spirit" and "Holy Spirit".
For example, 1 Cor 12:3 "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."
Also, Jude 20 "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." Cp. Eph 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions."
Again, 2 Cor 1:21-22 "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." Cp. Eph 1:13-14 "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, which is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."
The similarity between these passages is striking. The writers obviously saw no difference between 'the Spirit (of God)' and 'the Holy Spirit.'
The following passage shows that some other terms have the same meaning and are also used interchangeably:
Rom 8:9-11 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, which lives in you."
I believe therefore that it is demonstrable that in Scripture these terms have the same meaning:
• the Spirit
• the Holy Spirit
• the Spirit of God
• the Spirit of Christ
• Christ in you
Other texts show that the NT writers thought of 'the Spirit of God' or 'Holy Spirit' as the same as 'the Spirit of Christ' or 'Spirit of Jesus'. For example:
Acts 16:7 "When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." Cp. the previous verse "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia."
Also, Phil 1:19 refers to "the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ." Are we to conclude that this is a diffferent 'Spirit' to the help-giving Spirit referred to elsewhere? e.g. Rom 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness"; 2 Tim 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit which lives in us."
Consequently, I believe that to say God dwells in us, or Christ dwells in us, is the same as saying the Holy Spirit dwells in us. This is confirmed by the following texts:
John 14:16-18 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth (referred to as "the Holy Spirit" in verse 26). The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
It is through the parakletos, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, that Jesus comes to us. Cf. verse 23 "Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
The same concept (i.e. that God 'dwells' in the church and the believer through the Holy Spirit) is found in the following places:
• 1 Cor 3:16-17 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."
• cp. 1 Cor 6:19-21 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
• cp. 2 Cor 6:16 "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
• Eph 2:22 "And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
• Cp. Eph 3:16-17 "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
• 1 John 4:13 "We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit."
This selection is by no means exhaustive, but it is more than adequate to demonstrate that it is quite wrong to make an artificial distinction between the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit. The Bible uses both terms to mean the same thing, but never uses the term "Spirit" to mean "the Bible" (more on that later).
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Christadelphian SWOT analysis (4) - the Holy Spirit
In this message, for the first time in this series, I will look at an area of Christadelphian theology where the weaknesses seriously outweigh the strengths. The subject for consideration in this message is the Holy Spirit.
STRENGTHS - the Christadelphian view of the Holy Spirit is that it is the power of God, and not the third person of the trinity. One Christadelphian publication describes the Holy Spirit this way: "by His Holy Spirit, the expression of His power, He [God] controls the affairs of the world according to His ultimate purpose with mankind" and goes on to say "It [the Holy Spirit] is the power by which God achieves His ends, both physical and spiritual" (Fred Pearce, Who are the Christadelphians? Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Ltd).
Christadelphianism has correctly taught that the trinitarian understanding of the Holy Spirit as a 'person' in the Godhead has no basis in the New Testament or the beliefs of the earliest Christians. Christadelphian theology understands the Holy Spirit to be one with God, and not as a distinct person within the Godhead (The Holy Spirit is "His invisible power or energy breathed forth from His presence, and of like nature with His Glorious Person ... God and His Spirit cannot be separated. They are both one. The sun and the light that comes from the sun are both one. So God, and the Spirit that comes from God, are both one. God is the centre and glorious substantial form of the Spirit that fills heaven and earth." The Christadelphian Instructor questions 17 and 18).
WEAKNESSES - While Christadelphians generally explain the relationship between the Father and Son quite well, Christadelphian teaching about the role and purpose of the Holy Spirit seems to be rather inadequate. Christadelphian literature rarely explains how God "achieves His ends" through the Holy Spirit (especially not His "spiritual" ends), and sometimes restricts the activities of the Holy Spirit to "power concentrated through an individual or angel for the purpose of a specific miraculous event or activity" (The Testimony: The Distinctive Beliefs of the Christadelphians, Vol. 58, No. 691, July 1988, page 254).
This rather limited view and emphasis on the miraculous does not adequately explain how we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2) or how God can "strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being" (Eph 3:16-19). It does not come to terms with the numerous New Testament references to the continuous activity of the Holy Spirit, such as these:
OPPORTUNITIES - the Christadelphian understanding of God is definitely on the right track. It correctly understands God to be One, and Jesus as the Son of God who was begotten in the womb of Mary and not before creation. Christadelphian theology could benefit enormously by taking into account how the work of God and Christ in bringing believers to maturity is accomplished through the Holy Spirit.
THREATS - there are definite signs that Christadelphians are losing members to churches and denominations which have a greater emphasis on the operation of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. Perhaps this is because of a void in Christadelphian teaching and practice. It has been said that as a body without breath is dead, so a church without the Spirit of God is spiritually dead. This maxim would explain why those who leave Christadelphianism often complain of the lifelessness, the stifling rigidity, the dullness and morbid legalism of parts of the Christadelphian community. If this threat is not addressed Christadelphians are likely to continue losing members.
STRENGTHS - the Christadelphian view of the Holy Spirit is that it is the power of God, and not the third person of the trinity. One Christadelphian publication describes the Holy Spirit this way: "by His Holy Spirit, the expression of His power, He [God] controls the affairs of the world according to His ultimate purpose with mankind" and goes on to say "It [the Holy Spirit] is the power by which God achieves His ends, both physical and spiritual" (Fred Pearce, Who are the Christadelphians? Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association Ltd).
Christadelphianism has correctly taught that the trinitarian understanding of the Holy Spirit as a 'person' in the Godhead has no basis in the New Testament or the beliefs of the earliest Christians. Christadelphian theology understands the Holy Spirit to be one with God, and not as a distinct person within the Godhead (The Holy Spirit is "His invisible power or energy breathed forth from His presence, and of like nature with His Glorious Person ... God and His Spirit cannot be separated. They are both one. The sun and the light that comes from the sun are both one. So God, and the Spirit that comes from God, are both one. God is the centre and glorious substantial form of the Spirit that fills heaven and earth." The Christadelphian Instructor questions 17 and 18).
WEAKNESSES - While Christadelphians generally explain the relationship between the Father and Son quite well, Christadelphian teaching about the role and purpose of the Holy Spirit seems to be rather inadequate. Christadelphian literature rarely explains how God "achieves His ends" through the Holy Spirit (especially not His "spiritual" ends), and sometimes restricts the activities of the Holy Spirit to "power concentrated through an individual or angel for the purpose of a specific miraculous event or activity" (The Testimony: The Distinctive Beliefs of the Christadelphians, Vol. 58, No. 691, July 1988, page 254).
This rather limited view and emphasis on the miraculous does not adequately explain how we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2) or how God can "strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being" (Eph 3:16-19). It does not come to terms with the numerous New Testament references to the continuous activity of the Holy Spirit, such as these:
- "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Rom 5:5)
- God and Christ "live" in by the Holy Spirit (e.g. 1 Cor 6:19-21; Eph 2:22; 1 John 4:13; John 14:16-18, 23).
- The Holy Spirit brings about our rebirth and renewal (Titus 3:5)
- By the Holy Spirit we receive hope (Rom 15:13) and joy (Rom 14:17; 1 Thess 1:6)
OPPORTUNITIES - the Christadelphian understanding of God is definitely on the right track. It correctly understands God to be One, and Jesus as the Son of God who was begotten in the womb of Mary and not before creation. Christadelphian theology could benefit enormously by taking into account how the work of God and Christ in bringing believers to maturity is accomplished through the Holy Spirit.
THREATS - there are definite signs that Christadelphians are losing members to churches and denominations which have a greater emphasis on the operation of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. Perhaps this is because of a void in Christadelphian teaching and practice. It has been said that as a body without breath is dead, so a church without the Spirit of God is spiritually dead. This maxim would explain why those who leave Christadelphianism often complain of the lifelessness, the stifling rigidity, the dullness and morbid legalism of parts of the Christadelphian community. If this threat is not addressed Christadelphians are likely to continue losing members.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
God doesn’t tinker with the mind (2)
The following reply by Tim was posted to the Truth Alive forum in response to Russ Brierly's article. Tim makes some good points and I felt they were worth re-posting here.
Hi Russ,
I'm sorry you didn't get your article published, but I agree with much of what you write regarding the Spirit of God. The work of the Holy Spirit in us today is an area that much of the Christadelphian body resist, just as the Pharisees of Stephen's day also always resisted the Spirit of God, because the active working of God's Spirit would mean change that threatened all the human traditions that we find. For taking these verses as they are written and experiencing the presence of God I myself was disfellowshipped. Yet they do mean exactly what you say.
A lot of explanations other than what they say have been presented to me. For instance it has been suggested to me that they only applied to the first century Christians. It is suggested we now only get the action of God's working of His Spirit today through the medium of the Bible. Others suggest that the words really mean the 'spirit-word' a phrase which is to be found nowhere in the Bible. Yet it is hard to see how the direct working of God could easily be replaced by the indirect effect of our reading the Bible and our interpretations of it within the limitation of words.
God will not take this resistance of his Spirit lightly I don't believe. I hope he does find a way to draw the Christadelphians forward and it may happen as the world closes in as it is doing and we find we need more than words and interpretations and find we need God's real presence.
Much love and blessings in Jesus, your brother,
Tim
Hi Russ,
I'm sorry you didn't get your article published, but I agree with much of what you write regarding the Spirit of God. The work of the Holy Spirit in us today is an area that much of the Christadelphian body resist, just as the Pharisees of Stephen's day also always resisted the Spirit of God, because the active working of God's Spirit would mean change that threatened all the human traditions that we find. For taking these verses as they are written and experiencing the presence of God I myself was disfellowshipped. Yet they do mean exactly what you say.
A lot of explanations other than what they say have been presented to me. For instance it has been suggested to me that they only applied to the first century Christians. It is suggested we now only get the action of God's working of His Spirit today through the medium of the Bible. Others suggest that the words really mean the 'spirit-word' a phrase which is to be found nowhere in the Bible. Yet it is hard to see how the direct working of God could easily be replaced by the indirect effect of our reading the Bible and our interpretations of it within the limitation of words.
The issue of freewill is a little bit more complex. If everyone has freewill, then it means a lot of Christadelphians are willfully denying God in their lives by resisting God's Spirit. In my experience that is not so. Many simply do not understand. The idea of God working on our hearts is foolishness to them. they cannot understand how God could work in them and because they have no faith they cannot believe first and understand second through experience. So they are trying to understand something that we learn from within in our hearts with their minds. They are trying to understand too much first without taking the words exactly as they read.
In practice we do not have freewill, yet it is also true that we aren't automatons either. We have a will and we are conscious of having a will and of making choices. Yet we are also under the influence of certain things which cloud our ability to have fullness of will. We are influenced by our religious upbringings and traditions for instance. Certain people can have a bearing on our opinions. Our human nature creates a 'natural thinking' which affects us and the world we live in places pressures on us which affects our thinking and willingness to believe certain things. We are affected by what nutrition we take in, our state of fitness and health and much more. We certainly need strength from above to begin to overcome and challenge all the elements which resist God and his message.
From an Old Testament perspective we most certainly do have freewill, but from a New Testament perspective we do not. That is because the Old Testament was a shadow to bring people to Christ, whereas in the New Testament we find the reality of Christ and his Spirit spelt out more clearly. Since the Christadelphians tend to focus on the Old Testament they frequently miss the relevance of Christ and replace it with a focus on empirical doctrines which do not save. The Spirit of God is very much about Christ and how he and the Father now dwell in us. The Spirit is 'God in us' and 'Christ in us' and the 'Spirit in us' and the Bible says in Corinthians that 'no one can call Jesus Lord except through the Holy Spirit'. We have to have a real relationship with God and not simply one with the Bible that he inspired people to write. It is not the Bible which saves us, but knowing the risen Christ and whilst we can learn about Christ from reading the Bible we have to come to 'know Him' something which is very different.
It is very difficult to get through to many Christadelphians, because they are so entrenched in the idea that they and they alone have the correct interpretation of scripture and no one else can teach them anything. I believe it is this arrogance that has to be overcome before people will understand the issues that you are talking about. In our natural minds we are spiritually blind. None of us can come to God on the basis of our strength or intelligence or ability to correctly interpret scripture and unless we feel God's drawing we cannot come to him, because we naturally think we can see when we cannot, we can hear when we cannot. God has put us all in the same position of helplessness and yet the BASF doesn't recognise this and claims that people who are idiots cannot be saved. That's the inevitable consequence of having a form of religion where salvation is dependent upon your intellectual understanding. Yet in scripture the mentally ill often understood more than the most intelligent leaders of the Jews, because its not about our intellect, but about giving up the heart and to many Christadelphians there is no difference between the two. In essence you are changed by how much you read the Bible and understand it, not by how much you have given up the heart.
It all goes also against the tenor of the scripture, because in the Bible we find it is the poor and weak and despised of this world who are most likely to have faith. That's because they have least reason to trust in the flesh. It has let them down too many times. However they are the ones least likely to have that access to the bible, that training in reasoning techniques, that heightened ability to balance the text. A book-based method is also contrary to what we read in the acts of the apostles and it would have frustrated the fast spread of the gospels. They themselves talked of being 'led by the Spirit'. Yes they had the Old Testament scriptures (the New was not yet written) and they used it to reason with the Jews and see the progression of God's purpose, but primarily it was an oral message spread with a power don't see today in the main. I think it has less to do with the Spirit only being there to give us the New Testament and more to do with the body of Christ not having the necessary faith and wisdom which comes from experience and which we are still learning.
If the spirit comes purely through the medium of the Bible, then a body of people as well read and studious as the Christadelphians should by now have the perfect faith, yet what we see in practice is often a set of traditions and an adherence to doctrine and statements of faith which is stultifying. Something is missing and that missing something is power and spirit and life and every time someone realises that they will be more and more ready to be drawn to the leading of God's Spirit. Whilst they stand in the power of their intellect and interpretations and traditions they aren't ready to turn to God with all the heart. They have no need for Him. They've got the Bible and they can read and they are happy to believe that if they know the Bible enough they have God. That isn't necessarily the case. I could read everything about you and I would know all about you, but I wouldn't know you and more importantly you wouldn't know me. You might be happy to have a relationship with me simply by reading all about me. To me though that wouldn't be a relationship and its not what Son meant by him and his Son making their home with us. It's a little bit more personal and intimate than that.
Without the Spirit of God we are really serving God through the fleshly mind. We may have learn through mental discipline to keep the body physically in check, but it's an arduous and unrelenting way to try to serve God. You won't keep up your mental progress unless you read the Bible enough for instance. You have to be sure that you have the right interpretations and read the right translation of the Bible and balance it rightly. It is not like a relationship with God where you can feel your closeness and distance from him. You will always feel as if you aren't good enough and feel you must always read more and try harder. If you should have a mental breakdown you are in real difficulties, because it's only with a strong mind that your method will work. If you cannot absorb the Bible or get strength from its ideas you are now in a very helpless situation. In fact this constant pressure to move forward through knowledge could break you mentally, because without the Spirit of God we are under law and the object of law is to get you to give up and have faith. To deny the conclusion as an organisation is to make it very difficult for people to come to the real heart knowledge of God which matters.
God will not take this resistance of his Spirit lightly I don't believe. I hope he does find a way to draw the Christadelphians forward and it may happen as the world closes in as it is doing and we find we need more than words and interpretations and find we need God's real presence.
Much love and blessings in Jesus, your brother,
Tim
God doesn’t tinker with the mind
The following article by Russ Brierly was recently posted on the Truth Alive forum. Russ makes some really good points and I personally think this article is a good contribution to the discussion of the Holy Spirit in the Christadelphian community. The article is re-posted here with his permission.
He wrote: "I recently submitted the following article to one of the Christadelphian magazines. I got a pink slip on it and while I am not surprised at the pink slip on the one hand, I believe it’s indicative of a serious problem we have in the community, and that is the fear to discuss openly with Bibles in hand anything which resembles teaching on the subject of the Holy Spirit."
I agree with his conclusion that Christadelphians generally avoid this subject, probably through fear. As a result there is a great deal of ignorance about it in the Christadelphian community. Consequently I also feel that the Christadelphian community is impoverished through its neglect of a very important Bible subject.
I know that Russ would value feedback, and discussion is welcomed at the Truth Alive forum.
When discussing how God works in our lives recently with a group of brethren, the statement was made by one that “God doesn’t tinker with the mind.” I found this rather troubling for three reasons:
1. It leaves my spiritual growth and progress totally up to my own intellectual abilities.
2. My three-score and ten years on this earth has demonstrated that I possess a mind that does need “tinkering with” in a supernatural way.
3. It is not in accord with numerous scriptural passages, or perhaps one might go so far as to say, in accord with a total Biblical theology.
God works with us in many ways; through the words of wisdom and righteous examples we find in the scripture; through circumstances, something which we often refer to as providence; through our counsel with loving, God fearing friends; and through the direct impression of thoughts on our mind.
When we look at the concept of God working with us by direct impression of thoughts on our mind, we are talking about God bringing about a change of attitude from the worldly to the spiritual, from the natural to the Godly, from the un-holy to the holy. We are talking about God helping us overcome sin in all its forms. We are talking about God helping us deal with addictions and those things to which human nature can so readily become a slave.
In exploring this subject we are looking at the concept of indwelling – God and the Lord Jesus Christ dwelling in us in such a way that our thoughts, our resultant speech and actions, our very being and mindset are representative of Jesus Christ, the one whom we claim to be our Lord. When someone looks at us he should see the Lord Jesus in us just as the early disciples could look at Jesus and see God because God dwelt in him. Jesus spoke of this indwelling in the following manner when the disciples wanted to see the father; “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
Temple of the Holy Spirit
Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor 6:18-20 NIV). Though most of the spirit gifts appear to have died out over time, the gift of the spirit that Peter refers to in Acts chapter two is very much alive. Paul talks about it as the “earnest of the spirit.” Another version terms it a “deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Perhaps Paul was making the transition in his own thinking away from the Jewish concept of the temple being the temple made of stone in Jerusalem as he listened to Stephen. Shortly before the witnesses who stoned Stephen laid down their cloaks at his feet Stephen cried out the words of Isaiah the prophet. These were words stating that the “most high does not live in houses made by men.” He was telling the stubborn Jews that their beloved temple is not the place where God chooses to dwell. As Stephen continued the quote from Isaiah, God himself asks, “where will my resting place be?” The Jews that knew well that prophecy of Isaiah would have know that the answer to that question is found earlier in that same prophecy: “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isa 57:15 NKJV) Perhaps it was here that Paul began to see that God would dwell in the hearts of man and that his work would be accomplished through this indwelling, a teaching which shows up so strongly in his writings.
Help Those Who Are Being Tempted
God would indwell in the hearts of men through his power or spirit and this would be channeled through the Lord Jesus Christ to whom he had given all power and authority. In the same passage in Matthew where Jesus states that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him he also states his promise to his disciples that he would be with them always, a promise that we can claim today.
In John chapter fourteen Jesus talks about a “comforter” or “counselor” that would be sent to help the disciples. The Greek word is ‘parakletos’ and it refers to one who stands along side of another to comfort, aid and help. In John 14:18 Jesus indicates that he would not leave them as orphans but would come to them, this time in another form, a spiritual being with all power and authority and a desire to “help those who are being tempted” and provide strength to the weak and encouragement to the faltering. He is there to help us in our time of need as the following portion of scripture teaches us:
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb 4:14-16 NIV).
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
Paul the Apostle writes many times of the uncommon power and energy at work in himself and the people he is writing to that is from God and the Lord Jesus Christ, a power that helps the disciple in his new life:
· Paul said, ”I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)
· In writing to the Colossians he says, “To them [the saints] God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
· In talking about his work of admonishing and teaching everyone so that he may present everyone “perfect in Christ” he talks about “struggling with all his [Christ’s] energy which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:29)
God Who Works in You
Paul writes some very warm words to the Philippians encouraging them to continue in the faith. In doing so he assures them that God is working in them toward a good end and that good end is their salvation.
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Phil 2:12-13)
To the Colossians he writes these words:
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (Col 1:10-12 NIV)
The God Who Gives You Endurance and Encouragement
Romans chapter fifteen is a powerful chapter. Paul is encouraging the Roman brethren toward a spirit of unity so that they might glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with “one heart and mouth.” He starts verse five with the words, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity….” We do not know the exact mechanics of how God will work to bring about the desired attitudes, but we do know that Paul states quite clearly that endurance and encouragement, which are attitudes or mindsets, are things that God works with in accomplishing his will among his people. Verse thirteen is a wonderful expression, found at the beginning and end of many of Paul’s letters, which conveys Paul’s conviction that God and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, work with the attitudes and spirit of those who would be disciples of the Lord Jesus.
Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. NIV
Paul constantly recognized a power within himself that was not of himself that drove him to accomplish the things he accomplished for Christ. Consider this verse:
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV)
We’d like to look at one more passage before we end our tour of a few of those passages that speak to the concept of indwelling. That passage is found in Romans eight, a chapter all of which speaks quite profoundly to the subject. We will look at verses six through eleven:
“The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” (Rom 8:6-11 NIV)
The question of free will.
This verse not only deals with indwelling, but it also deals with the question of free will. Fearing that the concept of indwelling takes away a persons free will is probably the biggest reason why some have difficulty with the concept of indwelling. It may appear to take away ones free will and make them into an automaton.
The opposite is the truth. We have free will and can exercise it as we choose. To choose to empty ourselves and let God work in us is a choice we make of our own free will. To refuse to allow God to work in us is also an exercise of our own free will. We have the choice all along, just as Jesus had the choice in his life.
We readily accept the concept of miraculous healing. We take the medications, we do what the doctor says, but we still look to God for the healing. We all know of times when the prognosis of the physicians has been very pessimistic yet the miracle of healing has taken place. And when it does occur, whether anticipated by the physicians or not, we give glory to God and recognize that he is the ultimate healer.
Why do we then have difficulty with the concept of God working with the mind or our thinking processes? Why do we work so hard at keeping God out of our mental processes? The answer of course is our human nature. To deny that God will “tinker with our minds” because we do not theologically accept the concept is far different from not letting God work with us because of our human weakness.
The concept of indwelling is seen not only throughout the scriptures but it is also firmly embedded in our statement of faith. It is part of the fabric of spiritual growth and faith-building. It is perhaps exemplified best in the words of David, a man after God’s own heart yet a very human being whose human nature too often ruled his being; “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 NIV)
Russ Brierly
He wrote: "I recently submitted the following article to one of the Christadelphian magazines. I got a pink slip on it and while I am not surprised at the pink slip on the one hand, I believe it’s indicative of a serious problem we have in the community, and that is the fear to discuss openly with Bibles in hand anything which resembles teaching on the subject of the Holy Spirit."
I agree with his conclusion that Christadelphians generally avoid this subject, probably through fear. As a result there is a great deal of ignorance about it in the Christadelphian community. Consequently I also feel that the Christadelphian community is impoverished through its neglect of a very important Bible subject.
I know that Russ would value feedback, and discussion is welcomed at the Truth Alive forum.
God doesn’t tinker with the mind
When discussing how God works in our lives recently with a group of brethren, the statement was made by one that “God doesn’t tinker with the mind.” I found this rather troubling for three reasons:
1. It leaves my spiritual growth and progress totally up to my own intellectual abilities.
2. My three-score and ten years on this earth has demonstrated that I possess a mind that does need “tinkering with” in a supernatural way.
3. It is not in accord with numerous scriptural passages, or perhaps one might go so far as to say, in accord with a total Biblical theology.
God works with us in many ways; through the words of wisdom and righteous examples we find in the scripture; through circumstances, something which we often refer to as providence; through our counsel with loving, God fearing friends; and through the direct impression of thoughts on our mind.
When we look at the concept of God working with us by direct impression of thoughts on our mind, we are talking about God bringing about a change of attitude from the worldly to the spiritual, from the natural to the Godly, from the un-holy to the holy. We are talking about God helping us overcome sin in all its forms. We are talking about God helping us deal with addictions and those things to which human nature can so readily become a slave.
In exploring this subject we are looking at the concept of indwelling – God and the Lord Jesus Christ dwelling in us in such a way that our thoughts, our resultant speech and actions, our very being and mindset are representative of Jesus Christ, the one whom we claim to be our Lord. When someone looks at us he should see the Lord Jesus in us just as the early disciples could look at Jesus and see God because God dwelt in him. Jesus spoke of this indwelling in the following manner when the disciples wanted to see the father; “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
Temple of the Holy Spirit
Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor 6:18-20 NIV). Though most of the spirit gifts appear to have died out over time, the gift of the spirit that Peter refers to in Acts chapter two is very much alive. Paul talks about it as the “earnest of the spirit.” Another version terms it a “deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Perhaps Paul was making the transition in his own thinking away from the Jewish concept of the temple being the temple made of stone in Jerusalem as he listened to Stephen. Shortly before the witnesses who stoned Stephen laid down their cloaks at his feet Stephen cried out the words of Isaiah the prophet. These were words stating that the “most high does not live in houses made by men.” He was telling the stubborn Jews that their beloved temple is not the place where God chooses to dwell. As Stephen continued the quote from Isaiah, God himself asks, “where will my resting place be?” The Jews that knew well that prophecy of Isaiah would have know that the answer to that question is found earlier in that same prophecy: “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isa 57:15 NKJV) Perhaps it was here that Paul began to see that God would dwell in the hearts of man and that his work would be accomplished through this indwelling, a teaching which shows up so strongly in his writings.
Help Those Who Are Being Tempted
God would indwell in the hearts of men through his power or spirit and this would be channeled through the Lord Jesus Christ to whom he had given all power and authority. In the same passage in Matthew where Jesus states that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him he also states his promise to his disciples that he would be with them always, a promise that we can claim today.
In John chapter fourteen Jesus talks about a “comforter” or “counselor” that would be sent to help the disciples. The Greek word is ‘parakletos’ and it refers to one who stands along side of another to comfort, aid and help. In John 14:18 Jesus indicates that he would not leave them as orphans but would come to them, this time in another form, a spiritual being with all power and authority and a desire to “help those who are being tempted” and provide strength to the weak and encouragement to the faltering. He is there to help us in our time of need as the following portion of scripture teaches us:
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb 4:14-16 NIV).
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
Paul the Apostle writes many times of the uncommon power and energy at work in himself and the people he is writing to that is from God and the Lord Jesus Christ, a power that helps the disciple in his new life:
· Paul said, ”I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)
· In writing to the Colossians he says, “To them [the saints] God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
· In talking about his work of admonishing and teaching everyone so that he may present everyone “perfect in Christ” he talks about “struggling with all his [Christ’s] energy which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:29)
God Who Works in You
Paul writes some very warm words to the Philippians encouraging them to continue in the faith. In doing so he assures them that God is working in them toward a good end and that good end is their salvation.
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Phil 2:12-13)
To the Colossians he writes these words:
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. (Col 1:10-12 NIV)
The God Who Gives You Endurance and Encouragement
Romans chapter fifteen is a powerful chapter. Paul is encouraging the Roman brethren toward a spirit of unity so that they might glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with “one heart and mouth.” He starts verse five with the words, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity….” We do not know the exact mechanics of how God will work to bring about the desired attitudes, but we do know that Paul states quite clearly that endurance and encouragement, which are attitudes or mindsets, are things that God works with in accomplishing his will among his people. Verse thirteen is a wonderful expression, found at the beginning and end of many of Paul’s letters, which conveys Paul’s conviction that God and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, work with the attitudes and spirit of those who would be disciples of the Lord Jesus.
Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. NIV
Paul constantly recognized a power within himself that was not of himself that drove him to accomplish the things he accomplished for Christ. Consider this verse:
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV)
We’d like to look at one more passage before we end our tour of a few of those passages that speak to the concept of indwelling. That passage is found in Romans eight, a chapter all of which speaks quite profoundly to the subject. We will look at verses six through eleven:
“The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” (Rom 8:6-11 NIV)
The question of free will.
This verse not only deals with indwelling, but it also deals with the question of free will. Fearing that the concept of indwelling takes away a persons free will is probably the biggest reason why some have difficulty with the concept of indwelling. It may appear to take away ones free will and make them into an automaton.
The opposite is the truth. We have free will and can exercise it as we choose. To choose to empty ourselves and let God work in us is a choice we make of our own free will. To refuse to allow God to work in us is also an exercise of our own free will. We have the choice all along, just as Jesus had the choice in his life.
We readily accept the concept of miraculous healing. We take the medications, we do what the doctor says, but we still look to God for the healing. We all know of times when the prognosis of the physicians has been very pessimistic yet the miracle of healing has taken place. And when it does occur, whether anticipated by the physicians or not, we give glory to God and recognize that he is the ultimate healer.
Why do we then have difficulty with the concept of God working with the mind or our thinking processes? Why do we work so hard at keeping God out of our mental processes? The answer of course is our human nature. To deny that God will “tinker with our minds” because we do not theologically accept the concept is far different from not letting God work with us because of our human weakness.
The concept of indwelling is seen not only throughout the scriptures but it is also firmly embedded in our statement of faith. It is part of the fabric of spiritual growth and faith-building. It is perhaps exemplified best in the words of David, a man after God’s own heart yet a very human being whose human nature too often ruled his being; “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 NIV)
Russ Brierly
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The Holy Spirit in Christadelphian theology
During some recent correspondence I was reminded yet again that the Christadelphian understanding of the Holy Spirit is 'unclear' to say the least and the subject is often deliberately avoided.
As far as Christadelphian anti-trinitarianism goes, there is no doubt about the Christadelphian position. The Holy Spirit is the power of God, not the third person of the Trinity. If asked to explain the Christadelphian theology of the Holy Spirit most Christadelphians would have no difficulty in explaining what the Holy Spirit is not - and would be acquainted well enough with sufficient texts to demonstrate that it is the power of God.
The difficulty for many Christadelphians is that their theology (or more precisely their pneumatology) has never been sufficiently developed to explain how this 'power of God' works today in the lives of individual believers, and some Christadelphians have complained over the years that their community does not provide good resources for understanding the subject.
In fact, controversies about the subject (especially in the 1960s and 1970s) led to division (especially in Australia where ecclesias were divided into two groups which were 'out of fellowship' with each other for many years while both groups claimed to be in the 'Central fellowship'). For fear of the consequences many people simply didn't discuss their views on the subject and almost an entire generation grew up with a poor understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit today.
It is sometimes claimed that Christadelphians believe the Holy Spirit is not active today in the life of the believer, that the gifts have ceased, and that there is no such thing as the 'indwelling' of the Holy Spirit beyond having an intellectual understanding of the Bible (and some Christadelphian groups have equated the Spirit of God with the Word of God - by which they mean the Bible - to such an extent that they refer to the Spirit-Word and read almost every reference to the Spirit to mean the Bible).
However, none of these propositions are stated in the Birmingham Statements of Faith (either amended or unamended). To the contrary, the Birmingham Statements of Faith positively affirm that an indwelling of the Holy Spirit is required in order for God to be manifest in believers.
What the BSF actually says about the subject is this:
What these statements clearly say is that God was manifested in the flesh by Jesus :
1. being begotten of God
2. being inhabited and used by God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
If Jesus is our example/model, the "firstborn among many brethren", then it follows that there is only one way we can manifest the Father, viz. by being:
1. born again, born of water and Spirit, so that we become childen of God
2. inhabited and used by God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
It amazes me that so many Christadelphians seem to have missed what is so clearly spelled out in their own statements of faith.
A proper study of the Holy Spirit and its role in the lives of believers is well overdue. Some progress was made in this direction with the short work published by "The Christadelphian Office" (The Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association) entitled "The Holy Spirit and the Believer Today" (A.D. Norris, 1975) This work has apparently been out of print for some time and may even be an embarrassment to the current editor who seems to have a different view on the subject and may be reluctant to admit that Christadelphian doctrine (at least the way it's explained by the CMPA) appears to have changed on this point. Edgar Wille's excellent studies "The Holy Spirit - an exploratory survey of Scripture teaching" (first published 1975, reprinted 2000) is undoubtedly the best work on this subject to be published in the Christadelphian community and deserves to be given careful consideration.
As far as Christadelphian anti-trinitarianism goes, there is no doubt about the Christadelphian position. The Holy Spirit is the power of God, not the third person of the Trinity. If asked to explain the Christadelphian theology of the Holy Spirit most Christadelphians would have no difficulty in explaining what the Holy Spirit is not - and would be acquainted well enough with sufficient texts to demonstrate that it is the power of God.
The difficulty for many Christadelphians is that their theology (or more precisely their pneumatology) has never been sufficiently developed to explain how this 'power of God' works today in the lives of individual believers, and some Christadelphians have complained over the years that their community does not provide good resources for understanding the subject.
In fact, controversies about the subject (especially in the 1960s and 1970s) led to division (especially in Australia where ecclesias were divided into two groups which were 'out of fellowship' with each other for many years while both groups claimed to be in the 'Central fellowship'). For fear of the consequences many people simply didn't discuss their views on the subject and almost an entire generation grew up with a poor understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit today.
It is sometimes claimed that Christadelphians believe the Holy Spirit is not active today in the life of the believer, that the gifts have ceased, and that there is no such thing as the 'indwelling' of the Holy Spirit beyond having an intellectual understanding of the Bible (and some Christadelphian groups have equated the Spirit of God with the Word of God - by which they mean the Bible - to such an extent that they refer to the Spirit-Word and read almost every reference to the Spirit to mean the Bible).
However, none of these propositions are stated in the Birmingham Statements of Faith (either amended or unamended). To the contrary, the Birmingham Statements of Faith positively affirm that an indwelling of the Holy Spirit is required in order for God to be manifest in believers.
What the BSF actually says about the subject is this:
1. That the only true God is He Who was revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by angelic visitation and vision, and to Moses at the flaming bush (unconsumed) and at Sinai, and Who manifested Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the supreme self-existent Deity ...
2. That Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, begotten of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of man, and afterwards anointed with the same Spirit, without measure, at his baptism.
10. That being so begotten of God, and inhabited and used by God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us, God manifested in the flesh - yet was, during his natural life, of like nature with mortal man, being made of a woman of the house and lineage of David, and therefore a sufferer, in the days of his flesh, from all the effects that came by Adam's transgression including the death that passed upon all man, which he shared by partaking of their physical nature.
What these statements clearly say is that God was manifested in the flesh by Jesus :
1. being begotten of God
2. being inhabited and used by God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
If Jesus is our example/model, the "firstborn among many brethren", then it follows that there is only one way we can manifest the Father, viz. by being:
1. born again, born of water and Spirit, so that we become childen of God
2. inhabited and used by God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
It amazes me that so many Christadelphians seem to have missed what is so clearly spelled out in their own statements of faith.
A proper study of the Holy Spirit and its role in the lives of believers is well overdue. Some progress was made in this direction with the short work published by "The Christadelphian Office" (The Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association) entitled "The Holy Spirit and the Believer Today" (A.D. Norris, 1975) This work has apparently been out of print for some time and may even be an embarrassment to the current editor who seems to have a different view on the subject and may be reluctant to admit that Christadelphian doctrine (at least the way it's explained by the CMPA) appears to have changed on this point. Edgar Wille's excellent studies "The Holy Spirit - an exploratory survey of Scripture teaching" (first published 1975, reprinted 2000) is undoubtedly the best work on this subject to be published in the Christadelphian community and deserves to be given careful consideration.
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