Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn
Yes, the Holy Spirit has always existed, but the Holy Spirit could not enter into man as the giver of Gods life, until the death and ressurrection of our Lord Jesus; .
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Okay, I'm with you up to here, Shawn ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn
it was at this point that the Holy Spirit could become the life giving Spirit.
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I'm no longer with you on this. The Bible shows plainly that the "life-giving" Spirit already existed. The truth is that it was at this point that God accepted Christ's offering for sin (as evidenced by His resurrection) and we were able to believe God's forgiveness and receive the Holy Spirit. No change happened in the Holy Spirit so that it could become something it wasn't before this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn
This is the main point as I understood it from brother Lee's ministry. Not two Spirits but one Spirit that became the life giver to man after the Lords ressurrection.
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Shawn, I understood this, too. When I was under WL's ministry, I didn't believe he taught that there were two Spirits. I simply believed there was a new and improved version of the Spirit after the resurrection, because Lee told me there was. I believed it was only this new product that could give us life. I didn't question anything. I didn't look at the Bible for myself and pray and ask God to show me if this was true. I just believed Witness Lee because he was older and knew the Bible better than I did.
When He said God had been under a long process to make this new product, I said amen. I believed the processed Triune God teaching that said there was no life-giving Spirit until Christ resurrected.
Lee clearly taught this. He said that after Christ's resurrection, the Spirit, after a long process finally had all the necessary ingredients and had become a new product . There is no question that he taught this. He taught this plainly. This is what I am objecting to.
The Spirit didn't need any new ingredients. Everything Christ needed to tabernacle in the flesh on the earth, to walk without sin, to be obedient unto death, to be raised from the dead was in existence in God before Christ became flesh. God prepared a body for him through the virgin birth, not so He could add some new ingredients to the godhead, but so he could be a sacrifice for our sins. (Heb. 10:5-13).
To say otherwise is to say that God was lacking something and was under development in order to become something over time. This is exactly what Lee said. This is not true. The Bible does not support this. Lee brought this teaching into being through faulty interpretations.
He used his interpretation of John 7:37-39 to support his belief about the development of God, saying this verse shows the product wasn't complete yet. He then used his "compound" ointment interpretation of Exodus 30 to support his belief further. (I'll comment on Ex. 30 in my response to Paul M.)
The gospel is simple. Jesus is God's Lamb. In Him we see God's self-sacrificing love for us. As God's Lamb He suffered and died so we could be saved from our sins and be reconciled to God. We can now have a relationship with God by faith. Just what is wrong with this gospel? Why do we need some kind of teaching about a new God product? The gospel doesn't need improvement nor does God.
It's not too late to humble ourselves like little children and pray and ask God to show us what is true. I am starting to learn to do that. We each need to be persuaded in our own mind using the tools God gave us (the Bible, prayer, fellowship with others, etc.).
Why is all this important? Because wrong beliefs about God and about how he relates to us can hurt our walks with God. I have experienced myself and witnessed firsthand how Lee's teachings in this vein have hindered people from having real relationships with a living God who relates to each of us as unique individuals.
God is a living, interactive being who talks with us, asks questions of us, answers questions, corrects, instructs, encourages, leads, etc. He empowers us by His Spirit as we are in fellowship with Him. God isn't just some new product with power packed ingredients that will automatically do things for us without our conscious involvement if we just keep the intravenous line connected by calling and pray-reading.
I have seen the trail of tears of those who took Lee's teaching and way as the way. But that is another topic.
Thankful Jane