B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #194
I Cor.. 16:9 ‘For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.’
PENTECOST – June 12, 2011
Pastor Paul Fleischer (CLC) sends this on the Holy Spirit. The festival of Pentecost reminds us of the Spirit’s importance in the birthing of the Christian Church and individual faith. This article explains the idea of His “proceeding” from the Father and Son.
Proceeding from Father and Son
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each full and equal persons of the Godhead. Within that Godhead there is, however, a peculiar relationship of the Holy Spirit to the other two persons. This the Bible describes as procession. Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as “The Spirit of your Father” (Matthew 10:20). Both Peter and Paul refer to him as “the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9; 1 Peter 1:11). Jesus tells us: “[The Spirit] will not speak on his own….He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:13,14).
The relationship that makes the names “Spirit of your Father” and “Spirit of Christ” true is described by Jesus this way: “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out [KJV proceedeth] from the Father, he will testify about me” (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father; he is sent by Jesus. The Athanasian Creed expresses that truth in these words: “The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son” (Christian Worship, [CW] page 132.
This procession from the Father and the Son is understood as an eternal procession. It is not just a matter of the Father and the Son sending the Holy Spirit onto the New Testament church at Pentecost. Somehow, in a way that goes beyond our comprehension, the Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son from all eternity, just as the Son was begotten of the Father from all eternity.
Some may argue that since the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son, he must be inferior to them. Everyday experience exposes the faulty logic of such a claim, however. Human children are not necessarily inferior to their parents. Many children equal or even exceed their parents in things such as size, intelligence, skills, or accomplishments. Within the Trinity, procession does not mean inferiority in any way. The Holy Spirit is full God. He is eternal. Procession, therefore, is something unexplainable that occurs within the equal persons of the mysterious Trinity. The Scriptures give us no further details.
The doctrine of procession led to heated debate in the early Christian church. The Eastern, or Greek-speaking, part of the early church confessed in the original version of the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325) that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father with no mention of him proceeding also from the Son. Saint Augustine later called attention to the many Scripture verses that point to the Holy Spirit coming from or being sent by the Son (A.D. 400). At a church council in Toledo, Spain, in A.D. 589, the Western, or Latin-speaking, church amended the Nicene Creed to read, “Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” This brought about the Filioque (Latin for “and from the Son”) Controversy. The easterners charged that a false doctrine was inserted into the Nicene Creed by this unauthorized addition. This Filioque Controversy was one of the factors that led to the Great Schism of 1054. The pope in Rome excommunicated the Eastern church. In turn, the patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated the pope. The Christian church was split into the Orthodox churches of Asia and the Roman Catholic Church of Europe. The Filioque Controversy remains an unresolved issue between those churches to the present day.
It may be debatable whether the Western church had the right on its own to alter the Nicene Creed. What cannot be debated is the correctness of defending the deity of the Holy Spirit and his equality within the Trinity. It is false doctrine to teach that the Holy Spirit is subordinate or inferior to the Father or the Son. While the Holy Spirit usually is placed third in a series, this is simply a logical sequence. The Apostles’ Creed would be just as correct if it began with “I believe in the Holy Spirit” and ended with ” I believe in God, the Father almighty.” Such a reversal would not follow as logically as the traditional order, however. When we speak of the Holy Spirit as “the third person in the Trinity,” we are simply using the numerical listing found in passages such as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19). It would be wrong to read into that term any implication of lower rank or less dignity.
Some might still ask, “What difference does it make whether we are clear regarding the person of the Holy Spirit?” That question is easy to answer. In the First Commandment the Lord says, “You shall have no other gods.” Believers desire to obey their Lord. Therefore, we need to know who the true God is, the one we are to fear, love, and trust above all things. It would be sinful to worship and revere the Holy Spirit as God if he were not God. On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit is God, as the Bible teaches, then we are sinning if we slight him or withhold from him the honor he is due.
Pp. 17-20, “HOLY SPIRIT—The Giver of Life” – People’s BIBLE Teachings, John F. Vogt. 1997, NPH; the above is a subsection to chapter 1. His Divine Person; Earlier subsections are: A distinct Person, Equal to Father and Son, Full God
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HELPS FOR WITNESSING(taken from a leaflet)
Before using these references, familiarize yourself with the complete verse; then use the verses which seem appropriate from these suggestions.
GOD LOVES YOU
“For God so loved”…………………………………………………………………John 3:16
“God commendeth his love………………………………………………..Romans 5:8
“Herein is love”……………………………………………………………………..I John 4:10
“gave Himself…might deliver us”……………………………………..Galatians 1:4
“Son…is come to seek”………………………………………………………..Luke 19:10
THE FACT OF SIN
“none righteous”………………………………………………………………Romans 3:10
“all have sinned”……………………………………………………………….Romans 3:23
“not a just man”………………………………………………………….Ecclesiastes 7:20
“The heart is…wicked”………………………………………………..Jeremiah 17:9,10
“righteousnesses…filthy rags;”……………………………………………Isaiah 64:6
“say that we have no sin”……………………………………………………….I John 1:8
THE PENALTY
“soul that sinneth…die.”…………………………………………………Ezekiel 18:4,20
“sin…bringeth forth death.”………………………………………………….James 1:15
“once to die…judgment…………………………………………………….Hebrews 9:27
“wages of sin is death”……………………………………………………..Romans 6:23
“shall give account…to God.”…………………………………………Romans 14:12
“dead were judged”……………………………………………….Revelation 20:12-15
MAN’S INABILITY
“Not by works of righteousness”,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,……….Titus 3:5
“not justified by the works”…………………………………………… Galatians 2:16
“faith—not of yourselves”……………………………………………Ephesians 2:8,9
“deeds…no flesh be justified”…………………………………………..Romans 3:20
“way which seemeth right”……………………………………………Proverbs 14:12
“righteousnesses…filthy rags”……………………………………………..Isaiah 64:6
GOD’S REMEDY
“Christ died for us”……………………………………………………………..Romans 5:8
“gift of God is eternal life”…………………………………………………Romans 6:23
“I am the way”…………………………………………………………………………John 14:6
“Neither…salvation in any other:”…………………………………………..Acts 4:12
“save that which was lost.”………………………………………………….Luke 19:10
“Christ died for our sins”…………………………………………..I Corinthians 15:3
MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY
“Repent ye therefore”………………………………………………………………Acts 3:19
“repentance…faith”………………………………………………………………..Acts 20:21
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”………………………………………Acts 16:31
“believe on his name:”……………………………………………………………John 1:12
“confess…believe…shall be saved”…………………………….Romans 10:9,10
“call upon the name of the Lord”……………………………………Romans 10:13
RESULTS OF SALVATION
“not condemned”……………………………………………………………………John 3:18
“hath everlasting life”……………………………………………………………..John 3:36
“he is a new creature”………………………………………………II Corinthians 5:17
“the children of God:”……………………………………………………….Romans 8:16
“heirs of God”……………………………………………………………………Romans 8:17
“peace I give unto you…neither…be afraid.”……………………….John 14:27
“Spirit of God dwell in you”………………………………………………..Romans 8:9
“names are in the book of life.”……………………………………..Philippians 4:3
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WORK IN ZAMBIA
“And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth”.
Ibrahim Karioki recently moved from Tanzania to Zambia and has been doing mission work in this country. He has faced many disappointments in this endeavor, but also many joys. He has been working mainly in the area of Lusaka, but recently had some contacts in southern Zambia that he went to meet. He writes: “This week I had a wonderful Bible class with brothers from southern part of Zambia and the conversation encouraged me very much to be with them. We discussed about comparison of CLC and Pentecostal churches especially about women to be pastors. These brothers are not agreeing with the church to ordain women to be pastors. When I explained to them from Disciple of Jesus and to connect to the book of Timothy and Titus, where it speaks about church leaders qualifications, they were shocked to have my explanation from these passages. Remember before I started I told them that I will not speak my thought but I will let the Bible speak. All together we reached the conclusion and they welcomed me more to have class with them.”
What a joy to see the Word of God growing in this part of southern Africa! Mission Board Chairman Pastor Todd Ohlmann and Missionary Matthew Ude plan to visit Zambia in January and meet with Pastor Yumba and the churches he has established in central Zambia (close to the Democratic Republic of Congo). They also plan to meet with Ibrahim to see the work that he is doing and to encourage him in his field of labor.
Please keep Ibrahim in your prayers. May the Lord sustain him and keep him from losing heart, and enable him to faithfully proclaim the Word of Truth revealed in Scripture!
In His service,
Pastor Mayhew(Missionary to East Africa)
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Pastor Koenig