The Godhead Is Not Three Persons

gillespie9669 · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 7:05 am Post subject:

Steve,
WRONG AGAIN!! See Ez. 8:1-5 about the "body parts" of the manifested Holy Spirit, "lifting" Ezekiel up in vision and taking him to another location to see the Father on His glorious throne as was earlier seen in CHAPTER 1(the Wheel within a wheel). Why present the Spirit with body parts if he is impersonal, and why move Ezekiel to another location to see the Father's glory (in vision) if the Spirit was already just the Father Himself in actual and not Representative Personage. Get it?
See also Rev. 1:4 about the Holy Spirit's location BEFORE the throne as the 'Ever ready' Representative to be dispatched as it were. The Holy Spirit's role is to be the Representative "Presence" of the Father and the Son at all times (EVEN DURING ETERNITY); hence Him not being on the Throne, or seen on the throne. His office is not one of Kingship, but Omni-Presence ON BEHALF OF THE FATHER AND SON!! So while we are in Paradise beholding the Father and Son face to face, the Spirit is all over the universe as their Representative; NOT ON THE THRONE. I have never missed the "obvious", as you put it, but is seeking to pass the missed truth on to the misguided and deluded. It is just that the "obvious' is sometimes so "plain as the nose on our face", that we forget it's there, UNTIL WILL LOOK IN THE MIRROR!! The Bible is the best "MIRROR" I know to show us what we are not seeing.
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Derrick Gillespie (First labelled "SDA", THEN, "Pseudo-SDA", and then "Impolite". What label next?)

Steve · pseudo 7th-day Adventist Joined: 09 Jun 2002 Posts: 148

To be lifted by the Spirit does not mean the Spirit is a person.

The description of the person in Ezekiel 8:2 is the same as that given in Ezekiel 1:26 and 27. In chapter 1 we see the person sitting on a throne (Verse 26) and as you have already pointed out the Holy Spirit does not sit on a throne. This person then spoke to Ezekiel and when he did “the spirit entered” into Ezekiel. Then the following words were spoken,

“And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me…and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.” Ezekiel 2:3,4.

If I had to guess who the person was that was sitting on the throne, which had the appearance of fire, I would say that it was the Lord God. This is the same person that in chapter 8 says,

“Son of man, seest thou what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?” Ezekiel 8:6

I agree with what you were saying about the Spirit being the "Representative 'Presence' of the Father and the Son at all times" But this does not necesitate "personhood"

gillespie9669 · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 9:24 pm Post subject:

FINAL WORDS-
God is a Person, and only a person can personally Represent Him (one that is either human, angelic, or divine). God is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17), THUS THE SPIRIT CANNOT BE ANYTHING ELSE BUT A PERSON, and the Spirit by which He Represents Himself (as Jesus who also represents Him) is not a thing, or force, or a split personality (as a mad man has) but is Someone who, in the words of 'SOP', "IS ALSO A DIVINE PERSON... WHO HAS A PERSONALITY" (call that contradictions in her writings if you want to). That Someone Representing the Father and the Son is the "third person of the Godhead" (meaning, as we would count, "one, two, three; He is third), or of a "Heavenly Trio" (Matt. 28:19), and is Someone who has A "SELF" because Jesus Himself said so: "He shall not speak of Himself"! ONLY A PERSON HAS A "SELF". I will die ever declaring so because I have the Bible, and 'SOP' in my support, and thus we can agree to disagree, and agree that we will never probably agree on this issue of the personhood of the Holy Spirit (IF YOUR ARGUMENTATION REMAINS THE SAME). Present your closing/summative arguments, and lets leave it at that. Our readers will decide for themselves. God bless.
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Derrick Gillespie (First labelled "SDA", THEN, "Pseudo-SDA", and then "Impolite". What label next?)

Steve · pseudo 7th-day Adventist Joined: 09 Jun 2002 Posts: 148

The Bible says that there are two we have to know to have eternal life,

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3

We do need to understand what the Holy Spirit does for us and in us.We do not know what the Holy Spirit is. Therefore, whether it is a person or not we do know. We cannot say “who” until we know what. To ask the question “who” we have to know that the thing we are speaking of is a person. There is no clear Scriptural reference that the Holy Spirit is a person. Therefore we cannot say otherwise. Human reasoning and circumstantial evidence is not enough.

The Scripture is full of descriptions of the work and office of the Holy Spirit. We know that it is the “Spirit of God” but the full scope of what that means is beyond our understanding.

I will continue to pray and study. May God bless you.

gillespie9669 · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 6:41 pm Post subject:

Steve,
Now that we have both said our piece on the matter, let's leave it there for the readers to decide for themselves (since we are both already decided). May "God, the Eternal Spirt" (as expressed by the 'SOP') bless and keep you and me always as we continue to study His words. Ciao!
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Derrick Gillespie (First labelled "SDA", THEN, "Pseudo-SDA", and then "Impolite". What label next?)