Since there has been so much “Trinity” debate here on the kingdomready blog, I thought this week I would cover something on subject. Even more reason since during the debates between us Unitarians and our Trinitarian visitors, we also had a “Oneness” believer join in and several people didn’t really catch his positional stance at first. The following might help with that somewhat.
Historical Christianity has had four main belief views on who is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Some might say include other views such as the Latter Day Saints and Herbert Armstrong’s Church of God folk that believe in a “God family”. But when it boils right down to it, the following four are the longer term predominant viewpoints. And they are: Trinitarian, Oneness, Arian, and Unitarian. What does each profess? Well here is each one’s primary view of God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit.
Click here to listen to The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament presented by Jesse Acuff, Apr 29th 2008, Atlanta Georgia. Commentary by John Obelenus
“Whatever holds back a spirit of inquiry is favorable to error, whatever promotes it, to truth. But nothing, it will be acknowledged, has a greater tendency to obstruct the spirit of inquiry, than the spirit and feeling of party. Let a doctrine, however erroneous, become a party distinction, and it is at once entrenched in interests and attachments which make it extremely difficult for the most powerful artillery of reason to dislodge it.” - John Wilson
The subject of the purpose of the gifts of the Holy Spirit has been raised earlier on this blog, but I’d be interested in discussing it further.
Ephesians 4:7-12 explains the reasons why the gifts were first given.
“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned
it. This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”
… It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Isaiah 65: 24
It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
This outstanding indicator of unlimited access to God in prayer is part of the description of future millennial glory of which God declares that He will create “new heavens and a new earth.” This renovation will be a work of gladness to such a degree that there will no longer be heard in Jerusalem “the voice of weeping and the sound of crying.” The time described is not yet the time when death itself will be abolished (I Corinthians 15:26, Revelation 20: 14), but a blessing of extreme longevity seems to anticipate the abolishment of death (Isaiah 65: 20, part of v. 22):
What is the most quoted OT verse in the NT? It goes like this “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’ ” The answer is Psalm 110.1. This text was taken by the NT writers to apply to the ascension and second coming of Jesus. In fact, this was my main frame of reference for understanding what Jesus was in fact doing in heaven. Is he merely sitting on a chair next to God…waiting…until he is told to return. However, as I have continued to study the New Testament I have come to see Jesus’ heavenly ministry to be much more than that.
Luke Timothy Johnson is the RW Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta Georgia. He is well known in the field of New Testament scholarship by both liberal and convservative theologians. I was listening to a course he taught called Jesus and the Gospels in which he made the following statement.
click here to listen [4:16]
Most Christians see the holy spirit as the third person of the Trinity. However, the earliest Christians looked at the spirit as God’s energy or power to accomplish great deeds through them, psychologically (i.e. personal forgiveness, emotional healing, comfort, etc.), sociologically (the building of communities or fellowships through witnessing), and phenonomenologically (physical healings and other miracles). In fact this empowerment of the spirit was not looked at as a separate, nameless person but instead as the indwelling of ascended Christ. I appreciated this professor’s description of the spirit, what do you think?
In the New Testament, we are presented as God’s new Temple - where his spirit dwells. In the Old Testament God dwelt among his people in the the Tabernacle/Temple. This was a big deal for Israel. It meant that God was close to them, involved with them, and identified with them. It also meant that God saw what was going on intimately. God punished clearly and quickly when offense was made towards Him or His Temple. Think about Eli’s sons who offered strange fire, the earth swallowing up the families who stood against Moses in front of the Tabernacle. Think about Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the Temple - it will be destroyed because of the unholiness present in it. God is angry when his Temple is defiled with unholiness and sin.
Just before Jesus ascended he had the following conversation with his apostles:
Acts 1:4-6
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”