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Unity
vs. Individuality By
Bob Myhan Many
books and articles have been written on the Holy Spirit and His indwelling of
Christians. Many such articles have appeared in the pages of the Faith Builder.
But it has been two-and-a-half years since the last one. Perhaps it is time for
another. First,
it should be remembered that the Holy Spirit is a person. But what is a person?
A person is “a being conscious of self, subsisting in individuality and
identity, and endowed with intuitive reason, rational sensibility, and a free
will” (H. Leo Boles: The Holy Spirit, His Personality, Nature, Works;
page 33). 1.
“Conscious of self” – is aware of having a personal, independent
existence. 2.
“Subsisting in individuality and identity” – exists as an individual,
having his own identity, separate and distinct from all other individuals. 3.
“Endowed with intuitive reason” – possesses the ability to analyze and
explain. 4.
“Endowed with…rational sensibility” – possesses mental faculties. 5.
“Endowed with…a free will” - has the ability to choose from a variety of
alternatives. Because
of the way the Bible speaks of Him, the Holy Spirit must
be a person. (The
following quotes are from the New World Translation, which was produced by the
New World Bible Translation Committee, and copyrighted by the Watch Tower Bible
& Tract Society of Pennsylvania, because
those who produced the NWT deny both the personality and the Deity of the Holy
Spirit. We thus demonstrate that their translation belies their doctrine.) 1.
“Of all persons set Barnabas and Saul apart for me for the work to which I
have called them” (Acts 13:2, NWT). The Holy Spirit, in this place, used the
first person pronoun, “I,” and is therefore “conscious of self.” 2.
“But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name”
(John 14:26, NWT). The Holy Spirit is separate and distinct from both the Father
and the Son. Therefore, He “subsists in individuality and identity.” 3.
“That one will teach you all things” (John 14:26, NWT). The Holy Spirit has
the ability to analyze and explain. He is therefore “endowed with intuitive
reason.” 4.
“That one will…bring back to your minds all things I told you” (John
14:26, NWT). The Holy Spirit is in possession of mental faculties with which to
retain information and impart the same to others. Thus He is “endowed with
…rational sensibility.” 5.
“However, when that one arrives, the spirit of the truth, he will guide you
into all truth, for he will not speak of his own impulse, but what things he
hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things coming” (John
16:13, NWT). The Holy Spirit has His own impulses, but chooses not to speak of
them but “what things he hears.” He is therefore “endowed with…a free
will.” Second,
it should be remembered that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead. The
Bible teaches that there is but one
God (Dt. 6:4; Isa. 43:10; 44:6; 1 Cor. 8:4). But this is a collective
“one,” not an absolute
“one” (compare Gen. 1:26, 27; 3:22; 11:5-9). A collective
“one” is a unity not an individual. Specifically, the Godhead is a unity of
three individuals. This is clearly seen at the scene of the baptism of Jesus by
John. When
He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
(Matt. 3:16-17) Here,
we have the Son of God (one individual) on the earth, the Holy Spirit (a second
individual) between heaven and earth, and the Father (a third individual)
speaking from heaven. Thus, they are three separate and distinct individuals. While
a collective “one” can
be divided, an absolute “one” cannot
be. As an individual having identity, the Holy Spirit is an indivisible entity,
as are the other two members of the Godhead. He is an absolute
“one” and cannot be divided up and parceled out. It is therefore impossible
for the totality of His person to literally personally and directly indwell the
body of every Christian. Such would result in an individual personal Holy Spirit
entity and personality for each Christian. But the Holy Spirit is not
a unity of multiple individuals; He is a single individual. And an individual,
by definition, is indivisible. “A
person, then, is the indivisible
self which is and acts as a self-conscious being and free moral agent; his
personality is that which makes him a person rather than a brute or a thing; his
nature is the sum total of the traits of mind and heart which the self possesses
and expresses more or less perfectly, consciously and unconsciously. Personality
in God is the sum total of the infinite attributes resident in the inmost depth
of his one divine nature; the three persons in the Godhead are the three
individualities, the three personal centers of consciousness, the three separate
self-conscious and self-determining persons or selves” (The Holy Spirit:
His Personality, Nature, Works, p. 33). Thus,
those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells do not
have His literal infinite self in their bodies as this would require a separate
Holy Spirit for each Christian’s body. Therefore, it must
be the case that He indwells Christians
indirectly, that is, through a medium. And that medium is God’s
word.
& The
Lord’s People (Part 5) By
Bob Myhan Another
figure Jesus used in referring to His people was a building. During the
patriarchal age (so-called because God revealed His will to the fathers) no
specific building was identified as being God’s. Only two acts of worship were
emphasized—prayer and sacrifice. One could pray anywhere and sacrifice
required only an altar of stone. During
the Mosaic age (so-called because God gave the law to But
what of God’s building now? How is it described? What is its foundation? What
is its composition? The
church is “God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9); it is “the The
“temple of the Lord” is built by and on Jesus Christ. He is the Divine
Architect (Zech. 6:12-13; Heb. 3:1-6). But He is also the foundation (1 Cor.
3:11), because His unique Son-ship to God must be believed by one who would
enter a proper relationship with God to receive eternal life (Matt. 16:13-18;
John 20:30-31). Jesus
is referred to as the “Chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:16;
Isaiah 28:16; Matt. 16:16-18). "The corner-stones of our present day
buildings are but ornamental. Any importance attached to them is honorary and
artificial as far as the construction of the building is concerned. But this was
not so in the apostolic age nor in the ages prior to the first century."
"By the measurement of the cornerstone was the whole building plumbed. All
measurements horizontal and vertical finally related to the corner-stone. As
well as being the basis for the measurements, because of its size the
corner-stone also formed the essential part of the foundation…. It then can be
said of Jesus, as the chief-corner stone of God's house, that in Him all things
consist or hold together" (Don DeWelt: The Church of the Bible). This
“stone” was "rejected indeed by men" (1 Peter 2:4, 7), in that
they rejected His claim to be the Messiah for whom they had waited so long. But
this same “stone” was "chosen by God” not because of their rejection
of Him but in spite of it. He
is “precious” because, as a cornerstone, He supports [gives substance to the
foundation] (Eph. 2:19-20), unites [serves as the point of reference] (Eph.
2:21-22), and adorns [is the focal point of attention] (1 Cor. 1:1-2). Thus,
the building of God is no longer a physical structure, such as the tabernacle or
the temple of the Mosaic Age; it is "the house of God, which is the church
of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). Paul
told the saints at Those
who are built upon the foundation of the Lord are referred to as “gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw” (1 Cor. 3:12). The first three will
“endure” the fiery trials of life, while the last three will be “burned”
(1 Cor. 3:13-15). Each
Christian is someone else’s work, in that someone labored to bring him into
the church by building on the foundation of Christ (1 Cor. 3:10, 14). One does
this by preaching “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2; Acts
18:1-8). Those
who have been built into God’s building are called “living stones” (1
Peter 2:5), and “a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). But
we are His house only "if we
hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end"
(Heb. 3:4-6).
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