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Form
vs. Presence By
Bob Myhan Those
who defend a direct, immediate, personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit because
of His omnipresence do not accurately distinguish between His presence and His
form. Whatever
may be said of the nature of one member of the Godhead may equally be said of
all three because each one possesses the same divine nature. “God
is Spirit.”
(John 4:24) “Behold
My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does
have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
(Luke 24:39) Jesus
answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and
blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
(Matt. 16:17) Jesus
had a physical form consisting of flesh, blood and bones while on earth but not
in His pre-incarnate state. Neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit has ever had
a physical form but both have always had “form.” “And
the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His
voice at any time, nor seen His form.”
(John 5:37) Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of
God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no
reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
(Phil. 2:5-7) Since
there is such a thing as “the form of God,” the Holy Spirit – being God
– has “form.” Thus, the Holy Spirit is an entity having “the form of
God.” If this is not the case, why is it not? The
Holy Spirit’s form is in heaven. “‘Look
down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and
the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, ‘a land
flowing with milk and honey.’"' (Deut.
26:15; see also Matt. 6:9) This
is He who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water
and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (1
John 5:6-7) As
God looks “down” from His habitation in heaven, His presence is everywhere
but His form is in heaven. Where
can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend
into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If
I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
(Ps. 139:7-10) Therefore,
one cannot base a literal indwelling on the omnipresence of Deity. If a literal
indwelling of the Holy Spirit was possible because of His omnipresence, would He
not dwell in alien sinners? If not, why not? If He is present in every Christian
because He is omnipresent, He is present in every alien for the same reason. He
is present wherever alien sinners are, but He does not indwell them. And those
whom He does indwell do not have His literal form, or essence, in their bodies.
& The
Lord’s People (Part 6) By
Bob Myhan Jesus
the Master teacher also used a variety of figures involving vineyards: the
parable of the laborers, a tale of two sons, a parable of wicked vinedressers
and the metaphor of a vine and its branches. Before we briefly analyze those
figures, let us consider some basic principles of viniculture. First,
there are the laws of plant propagation,
which God established on the third day of creation week (Gen. 1:11-12), and the
conversion process. Each original plant created by God contained its own seed,
and each plant reproduced after its own kind. Agriculturists apply this science
by sowing the seed of the plant they wish to reap. Because it is unconscious,
vegetable life has only a passive role in procreation. Meteorological and
geologic forces [rain, wind, gravity, etc.] must be brought to bear for
vegetation to reproduce “after its own kind.” In some cases, animal
intervention is necessary [hence, “the birds and the bees”]. That
which is sown
in “the vineyard of the Lord” is the word of God (Luke 8:11), which is
“the doctrine of Christ” or “the gospel” (2 John 9; Mark 16:16). The
soil in which the word of God is planted is the human heart (Luke 8:12); not the
physical but the spiritual heart, consisting of mind, emotions, conscience and
will. God’s word must be planted in the heart because obedience is “from the
heart” (2 Thess. 1:8; Rom. 6:17). Just
as some soil is unsuitable for
producing physical fruit, some hearts are unfit
for producing spiritual fruit (Matt. 13:19-22; Luke 8:12-14). The
heart represented by the “way side” soil is slow to understand, giving Satan
the time to remove the word before he or she can “believe and be saved.”
Those hearts signified by “stony places” and “thorns” initially believe
but do not endure to the end, apparently because each fails to count the cost
(Luke 14:25-33). The
good and honest heart,
however, not only hears the gospel, initially, but also bears fruit with
patience. Having counted the cost of discipleship he is ready for the challenge
presented by the various tribulations, persecutions, temptations, cares, riches
and pleasures of life, rises to the challenge and overcomes (Luke 8:15; Matt.
13:23; Rev. 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21). Second,
we reap what we sow, both in the
physical and spiritual realms (Gal. 6:7). In the parable of the tares, Jesus
pointed out that a man who sowed good seed in his field had an enemy who sowed
tares, which appeared together with the wheat (Matt. 13:24-30). Tares were
reaped because tares were sown. The word of God, sown in the human heart, will
produce only Christians. Likewise, denominational doctrine will produce only a
member of that particular denomination. Methodist doctrine, for example, will
never produce a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Catholic or a Christian. Similarly, the
word of God alone will never produce a member of a denomination. The
doctrines and commandments of men are necessary for that, but they will always
and only result in vain worship (Matt. 15:9). The
child of God must be careful what he sows in
life, because “he that soweth to his flesh shall…reap corruption;
but he that soweth to the Spirit shall…reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:8).
One sows to the Spirit by seeking “those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God” and by setting his “affections on things
above, not on things of the earth” (Col. 3:1-2; see also Romans 8:1-6). A
third law that applies equally to physical and spiritual vineyards is that reaping
is proportionate to sowing; the more you sow the more you reap (2
Cor. 9:6). If we diligently sow the word of God, we will reap, not only an
increase in our faith, but also the seven “Christian graces:” Virtue,
knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity, or
love (2 Peter 1:5-11). If these things abound in us, we will receive an abundant
entrance into the everlasting kingdom. In
the parable of the laborers (Matt.
20:1-7), Jesus is pointing out that it does not matter at what point in time one
becomes a laborer; he will receive the same pay, which is illustrative of
eternal life. In the tale of two sons
(Matt. 21:28-32), Jesus shows that eventual actions are more important that
initial intentions. Though one might have refused to “go work” at first, he
might afterward repent and go. And one who might have, at the outset, given lip
service (“I go, sir”) might never begin to labor. In
the parable of wicked vinedressers
(Matt. 21:33-43), Jesus is warning the Jews who had rejected Him that the
privilege of being the people of God was soon to be taken from them and given to
others. Finally,
in the metaphor of a vine and its branches
(John 15:1-8), He is pointing out that His disciples cannot accomplish anything
of a spiritual nature apart from association with Him, and that those who try
will be eternally separated from Him.
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