Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | your statement | 1 Cor 12:30 | tuli | 29051 | ||
Brother Joe, Peace unto you. I probably should have specified what part of that note I responded to. It was principally the last part oif it and I pretty much gave my thoughts on it. By the way, I prefer to stay away from the issue on tongues because it promotes divisiveness! I prefer to edify and build up. On other thing, what do you think of 2 Kings 2:9 The Lord Bless You. |
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2 | Who is the Spirit and what is He like? | 1 Cor 12:30 | Reformer Joe | 29261 | ||
You wrote: "...what do you think of 2 Kings 2:9[?]" That is a very good question, so I am putting it to the entire forum so we can get some discussion going on it. 'When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." He said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."' --2 Kings 2:9-10 You yourself have asked a pretty hard thing, so let's examine a couple of questions: 1. Elisha asked for a double portion of YOUR spirit (i.e. Elijah's spirit). Should we equate this with the Holy Spirit, or does Elisha have something else in mind? 2. We know that the Holy Spirit is God, and is therefore infinite in His existence. Is it Biblical to talk about "quantities" of an indivisible God? 3. The Scriptures often talk about the Holy Spirit as if He were a substance (e.g. being "poured out" on God's people, and the saints of God being "filled" with the Holy Spirit). In fact, Jehovah's Witnesses use passages like these to contend that the Spirit is not God, but rather His "active force." (Of course, they ignore that the passages which show Holy Spirit does things that only sentient beings do, like teach, correct, think, restrain, reveal, etc., and that Paul constantly equates the three Persons of the Trinity). In any case, how can Christians, using Scripture, best reconcile the passages which seem to indicate the description of the Holy Spirit as a seeming "substance" and those which clearly reveal that He is God? --Joe! |
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3 | Who is the Spirit and what is He like? | 1 Cor 12:30 | Emmaus | 29281 | ||
If we stick with 2 Kins 2:9 alone we see that Elisha is asking for the inheritance of a first born son. That is a double portion. Dt 21:17. See another example where God bestows some of the spirit of Moses on others. Num 11:17, 25. I think in this case "spirit" may mean more the gifts or sepcial grace of the Holy Spirit for specific tasks or commissions. Some call this kind of gift actual. So the 1 Cor 12:30 heading is approprite to this point. Verse 10 where Elijah says Elisha asks a difficult thing seems to get passed over in the commentaries I have at least. My personal take on it is two possible meanings. Elijah says it is a diffciult thing because it is not something he has the authority to promise on his own. Or he thinks it is a difficult thing because he has a difficult life with just a single portion and that Elisha may not know what he is asking for. I would like to hear other thoughts on that. Emmaus |
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4 | Who is the Spirit and what is He like? | 1 Cor 12:30 | Reformer Joe | 29286 | ||
Another interesting aspect to this is to note that John the Baptist was the "Elijah" that preceded the ministry of the Messiah. Luke 1:17 refers to John the Baptist as coming in the spirit and power of ELijah, and Jesus goes into an exposition of this Old Testament prophecy (from Malachi 4:5) in Matthew 11 and Matthew 17. So we have at least two individuals in Scripture referred to as having the spirit and power of ELijah: Elisha and John the Baptist. This would lend to a preliminary understanding on my part that we are talking about something more significant than the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that is an aspect of the life of every believer. So what do the rest of you think? --Joe! |
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5 | Who is the Spirit and what is He like? | 1 Cor 12:30 | Emmaus | 29290 | ||
Joe, I don't know if I would call it more significant that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, especially since Jesus said the lest in the Kingdom is greater than John the Baptist,Matt 11:11, because the grace of the Indwelling Holy Spirit is sanctifying grace. But I would say it is a different kind of grace for a specific mission of a specific person on a specific mission, whether it be a short term or lifetime mission. And God can do this with anyone, even a pagan as he did with Balaam in Numbers 22, as well as with other Old testament figures such as Elijah and all the others. Emmaus |
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6 | Who is the Spirit and what is He like? | 1 Cor 12:30 | Reformer Joe | 29329 | ||
I agree. Significant was a bad word choice. A better way to say what I meant is that perhaps it is something distinct from (or in addition to) the typical indwelling of the Holy Spirit of every believer. Or the Holy Spirit working in a different way. That is what I would like the Forum to address. --Joe! |
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7 | Who is the Spirit and what is He like? | 1 Cor 12:30 | tuli | 29407 | ||
Brother Joe, When our Lord was baptized, the Spirit came upon Him. In John He breathes His Spirit on the disciples and in Acts the Spirit comes upon them. Acts 2:17 is rather interesting to look at. We all have the same access to the provsion of the Spirit, we all decide how much can access. Elisha asked for the hard thing. He got it, and vs 14 he asks for the God of Elijah and vs 15 the sons of the prophets see that Elisha had the spirit of Elijah. There could not have been any less than the Spirit of God in these men. However when you read these men's lives they were committed to what God had called them to, just as Our Lord Jesus and the Apostles. The Lord Bless you. |
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