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Old 07-29-2008, 03:59 PM   #77
Arizona
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Debelak View Post
I personally think the crux of the disagreement here again boils down to the language Lee used and the emphases he employed – rather than on whether he was patently wrong/heretical/etc…

God is spirit. Always has been, always will be. Its how he does that cool thing of being everywhere at once.

The Son of God, (aka the “second Person” of the Trinity), has eternally existed and has eternally co-existed with the other “two Persons” of the Trinity. Same with the Holy Spirit (aka the “third Person” of the Trinity).

But God was not, in eternity past, human. He was not “flesh.” Nor did humanity have any “divinity” as such.

When Christ came in the flesh, he brought divinity into humankind. But he was flesh – which meant he was limited spacially. His being had defined limits of time and space. God had never experienced this before. So, we should be careful about how broad we make the scope of statements like “God is unchangeable.” It doesn’t make that phrase incorrect to say that it has a particular scope.

Further, the actual experience of a human life, a life of temptation and of limitation, was never “part of” or experienced by God prior to Christ’s incarnation and life.

When Christ incarnated, humanity and divinity were merged – but only in this physical being, Jesus, as he walked and moved on earth in time and space.

In resurrection, humanity – personified by ADAM – was merged with divinity as spirit, not just in the Person of Jesus, the physical being in time and space. No “entity” came into existence that was not already existing. There was just something that was “added” to that entity, which is spirit. There can be unintended adverse effects of using this language, but I think it is apt to say God went through a “process” and that humanity was “added” to God. What that means to me is that I do not have a High Priest that cannot be touched with a feeling of my weaknesses. Inside me is God – God as Spirit. It’s the same God who took on human form and went to the cross for me. Does that confound the second and third persons of the trinity? I don’t know. But the scripture hasn’t given me any commands not to “confound persons,” so I am not too concerned. Its just what the Bible seems to be teaching.

As always, I’m open to being taught, reproved, corrected, or instructed differently. .

Peter
Peter,

Thank you for saying in much more clear language what I tried to say previously. I agree,, and I hold this teaching to be truth. Let me add some further thought:

When I first came into contact with the saints at Elden Hall in 1970, I was not a christian but a rather good heathen. I had a marvelous experience of God's forgiveness and the Divine removal of extreme condemnation. But more than this, I first heard that I could be "much more saved by His life". Forgiveness was wonderful but I really, really needed to be saved from my fallen humanity.

This topic being discussed is to me more than just a conversation. If I have no way to contact this Living God, right here and right now, then I have a real problem. It is not enough for me to be forgiven and then just left on my own.

As I said before, there is one mediator between God and man and that is the same One who is now my High Priest bringing me to God. I do believe that if the humanity of Jesus Christ was not "added" to the Spirit in His resurrection then I have no way to fellowship with God and then how can I be "saved by His life"?

I do not believe that W Lee was the only, nor the first, to teach this and I hold that it is an imperative in our spiritual and subjective experience.

Thanks for listening.

Grace.

Arizona
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