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NASB | 1 Corinthians 12:30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 12:30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? |
Bible Question:
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! |
Bible Answer: 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 |