John T.
Willis When
I first became a member of the denomination called
The Churches of Christ, a big issue was the
Holy Spirit.
In fact a denomination is not just a named
group but they will have headquarters, address, a head, and a
set of laws sent out to all of the preachers under their
control. John T. Willis uses "denomination" to deny any
uniqueness. It is a fact that John Calvin called for a
Restoration of the Church of Christ: this would happen when
you pry off all of the laded burdens and burden laders.
"the lazy asses can be fed while the
ploughing oxen starve" (John Calvin.)
Many preachers and author of
written articles in PULP MAGAZINES
argued
that the ONLY way
the Holy Spirit works
is THROUGH
the written word of God, that is the present Bible.
These advocates based
this on two texts:
1. Ephesians 6:17: "Take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the WORD of
God."
God always puts
His WORDS into the MOUTH of a Moses, the Prophets and
lastly into the man, Jesus of Nazareth. SPIRIT is
never and has never defined a PERSON but the BREATH which
articulates WORDS. SPIRIT is defined as a figurative
or parable to help us understand the process.
Jesus defined
Holy Scripture as the prophets and other prophecies
CONCERNING ME. When these were fulfilled the law
would lose it's power and the Priests and Levites would be
excluded from the LAOS or the fellow-members of the
Church.
Is. 59:12 For our transgressions are
multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us:
for our transgressions
are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
Is. 59:13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
and departing away
from our God, speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and UTTERING
from the heart WORDS of falsehood.
Is. 59:14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice
standeth afar off:
for truth is fallen in
the street, and equity cannot enter.
Is. 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from
evil maketh himself a prey:
and the Lord saw it,
and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
Is. 59:16 And he saw that there was NO MAN, and wondered
that there was NO INTERCESSOR
his arm brought
salvation unto him;
and his righteousness,
it sustained him.
Is. 59:17 For he put on
righteousness as a
breastplate,
and an helmet
of salvation upon his head;
and he put on the garments
of vengeance for clothing,
and was clad with zeal
as a cloke.
Is. 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he
will repay,
fury to his adversaries,
recompence to his enemies;
to the islands he will
repay recompence.
2Pet. 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pet. 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now,
by the same WORD are kept in store, r
Reserved unto FIRE against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Is. 59:19 So shall they fear the name
of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of
the sun.
When the enemy shall
come in like a flood,
the SPIRIT OF
the Lord
shall lift up a
standard against him.
Is. 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion,
and unto them that
turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
Is. 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith
the Lord;
My SPIRIT that is upon thee,
and my WORDS which I have put in
thy MOUTH,
shall not depart out
of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed,
nor out of the mouth
of thy seeds seed, saith the Lord,
from henceforth and
for ever.
Eph. 6:14 Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth, a
nd having on the breastplate
of righteousness;
Eph. 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts
of the wicked.
Eph. 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of
the SPIRIT, which
is the WORD of God:
Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart.
The TESTIMONY
OF JESUS is the SPIRIT of the Prophets. Jesus said
MY WORDS ARE SPIRIT.
Rev. 19:10 And I fell at his feet to
worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I
am thy fellowservant,
and of thy
brethren that have the TESTIMONY
of Jesus: worship God: for the TESTIMONY of
Jesus is the SPIRIT of prophecy.
Rev. 19:13 And he was clothed with a
vesture dipped in blood: and his name is CALLED The WORD of God.
Word is LOGOS and
outlaws personal opinions or experiences, rhetoric,
singing, playing instruments or ACTING.
Rev. 19:15 And out of his MOUTH
goeth a sharp SWORD, that with it he
should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
The Word or
Logos is called the Regulative Principle: it is the
oppposite of rhetoric, singing, playing instruments,
acting or dancing. Isiah 8 says that if you do not
SPEAK the word There is No Light
in you.
John 6:62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:
the WORDS that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT, and they are life.
Spirit is almost
always the Spirit OF something or some one. OF is a
Preposition and the Spirit OF Christ is the Spirit OF God
which is God's Mental Disposition and can never be a
PEOPLE.
Jesus said that Doctors of the Law "take away the key to knowledge." They do that by ignoring that the "the church is built upon or educated by the prophets and apostles." You can get a bucked of Phds without having read the Prophets: that is where the Spirit OF Christ defined the Church of Christ (the Rock) both inclusively and exclusively. The godly preachers before the good sister took the leadership at Highland and filled the elders with false teachings.
SPIRIT in Hebrew. Holy just means WHOLLY with no flesh, bones, or blood.
SPIRIT in Greek. Spirit can never define a PERSON but only the Mental Disposition or MIND OF That person
H7306 r๛ach roo'-akh A primitive root;
properly to blow, that is, BREATHE;
only (literally) to smell or
(by implication perceive
(figuratively to anticipate, enjoy):
accept, smell, X touch,
make OF quick understanding.
nephesh From H5314 ; properly a BREATHING creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): MIND
G5594 psuchō psoo'-kho A primary verb; to BREATHE (voluntarily but gently; thus differing on the one hand from G4154 , which denotes properly a forcible respiration; and on the other from the base of G109 , which refers properly to an inanimate breeze), that is, (by implication of reduction of temperature by evaporation) to chill (figuratively):wax cold.
G5590 psuchē psoo-khay' From G5594 ; BREATH, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from G2222 , which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew [ H5315 ], [ H7307 ] and [ H2416 ]:heart life, mind, soul, + us, + you.
H7307 r๛ach roo'-akh From H7306 ;
wind;
by resemblance BREATH,
that is, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation;
figuratively life, anger, unsubstantiality;
by extension a region of the sky;
by resemblance spirit,
but only OF a rational being
(including its expression and functions):
air, anger, blast, BREATHE, X cool, courage, mind,
tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).
G4151 pneuma pnyoo'-mah From G4154 ;
a current of air,
that is, BREATH (blast) or a breeze;
by analogy or figuratively a spirit,
that is, (human) the rational soul,
(by implication) vital principle,
mental disposition,
or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or
(divine) God, [God IS Spirit or Mind]
Christs spirit, the Holy spirit:ghost, life,
spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare G5590
G4154 pneō pneh'-o A primary word; to BREATHE hard,
that is, breeze:blow. Compare G5594
The Spirit OF Christ BREATHED or INSpirited the Prophets.
The Prophets radically repudiated the Civil-Military-Clergy complex as robbers and Parasites (PARASITE defines religious instrument noise makers such as Miriam and the Levites. And those who do NOT speak that which HAS been taught.
Christ in the prophets warned about the mercinary prophets who stole words from workshops and told lies.
God made Jesus TO BE both Lord and Christ so that He said My WORDS are SPIRIT. He made the prophecies more certain and the inspired writers left us a memory or THEIR PART.
Peter said this eye-- and ear-- witnessed record is NOT subject to private interpretation or further expounding.
Peter said that the MARK of a false teacher is one who does not speak that which is written for our LEARNING.
Isa 59:14 And judgment is turned away
backward,
and justice
standeth afar off:
for truth is
fallen in the street,
and equity
cannot enter.
Isa 59:15 Yea, truth
faileth; and he that
departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.
And the Lord saw it,
and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
Jas 5:6 YE have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
Isa 59:16 And he saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there
was no intercessor: [come between]
therefore his ARM brought salvation
unto him; [yasha]
and his righteousness, it sustained
him.
WILL BE means that he WAS NOT before WILL BE. That would mean that the Son is NOT eternal. Secondly, "I will be TO HIM a Father" means that the Invisible God Who is the Father of the Thought (in classical trinity) BEGAN to be a Father. And the begotten (not hatched) Son became or came into being at a point in time. Therefore, people with A holy spirit do not try to make the ONE DEITY into an idolatrous "family of people."
1 Cor. 1:30 But of him are ye IN Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and
righteousness, and
sanctification, and
redemption.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give unto you the
spirit of wisdom and
[spirit of] revelation in the
[spirit of] knowledge of him:
Ep.1:17Heb 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Heb 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son,
this day have I begotten thee?
And again,
I will be TO HIM a Father, and
he shall be TO ME a Son?
Isa 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation upon his head;
and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
and was clad with zeal as a
cloak.
Eph. 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in
the power of his might.
Eph. 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph. 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world,
against
spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph. 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.
We do NOT wrestle against flesh and blood:
Pale (g3823) pal'-ay; from pallo, (to vibrate; another form for 906); wrestling: - / wrestle
Pall๔, poise, sway a missile before it is thrown, sway, brandish, she drove it furiously, tripped on the shield-rim, quiver, leap, esp. in fear, II. Pass., swing, dash oneself, Pi.N.5.21; vibrate, of strings, Pl.Phd.94c (psalloito ap. Stob.); leap, bound, quiver, quake, phrena deimati pall๔n S.OT153 (lyr.); dash along, of horses, E.El.477 (lyr.).
Canto: III. In the lang. of religion, as v. n. or a., to use enchantments, charms, incantations, to enchant, to charm, cantata Luna, exorcised by magic, ignis, Cantus With instruments, a playing, music: in nervorum vocumque cantibus, citharae, horribili stridebat tibia cantuEuripides, Bacchae: Already like fire does this insolence of the Bacchae blaze up, a great reproach for the Hellenes.
[780] But we must not hesitate. Go to the Electran gates, bid all the shield-bearers and riders of swift-footed horses to assemble, as well as all who brandish the light shield and pluck bowstrings with their hands, so that we can make an assault against[785] the Bacchae. For it is indeed too much if we suffer what we are suffering at the hands of women.Pi.N.5.21 Pindar, Nemean 5.
[15] how indeed they left the glorious island, and what divine power drove the brave men from Oenone. I will stop: it is not always beneficial for the precise truth to show her face,
- and silence is often the wisest thing for a man to heed.
[19] - But if it is resolved to praise wealth, or the strength of hands, or iron war,
[20] let someone mark off a long jump for me from this point. I have a light spring in my knees, and eagles swoop over the sea. The most beautiful chorus of Muses sang gladly for the Aeacids on Mt. Pelion, and among them Apollo, sweeping the seven-tongued lyre with a golden plectrum,[25] led all types of strains. And the Muses began with a prelude to ZeusThere joyful bands welcome the god with the cry of reed-pipes, and contend with the bold strength of their limbs.
[40] The fortune that is born along with a man decides in every deed. And you, Euthymenes from Aegina, have twice fallen into the arms of Victory and attained embroidered hymns.
Incentor, one who sets the tune or begins to sing, a precentor, singer, carminis, incentore canam Phoebo Musisque magistris. [Phoebe=fear=Apollo or Abaddon]
II. Trop., an inciter, exciter: igneus turbarum, rebellionis totius meaning "a renewal of war, revolt, rebellion"
Magicus, belonging to magic, magic, magical. superstitiones, vanitates, that were invoked by incantations:
linguae= skilled in incantations, cantus, magicae resonant ubi Memnone chordae, mysteriousEze.13:6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them:
2.
1 Corinthians 13:8-13: "Love never ends. But as for
prophecies, they will come to an end; as for TONGUES
[referring back to 1 Corinthians 12:10 and expanded in 1
Corinthians 14], they will cease; as for knowledge, it will
come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy
only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will
come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I
thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I
became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we
see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.
Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I
have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide,
these three; and the greatest of these is love."
In those days in the 1950s and
1960s, exponents argued that God empowered
Christians to speak in tongues through the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 14), but 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
CLEARLY teaches that after the deaths of the early
apostles, speaking in tongues and other miracles
cannot occur.
In 1 Corinthians 12 Christ enabled ONE person to be able to
translate or interpret DIALECTS but then He gave ANOTHER
another gift. No one is ever recorded having such a gift
unless it was bestowed by a LIVING APOSTLE. You only
needed ONE person in a given congregation. Prophesying was the
ability to "speak the WORDS God put into the Mouth of Jesus
and He taught the apostles. Peter left. his PART or
meros for our MEMORY which implies that we would not have any
other source than written. The Written WORD was the way to
MARK anyone who CLAIMED that they spoke by the power of THE
Holy Spirit as a God.
Zechariah 7:9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts,
saying, Execute true judgment,
and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
Zechariah 7:10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger,
nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
Zechariah 7:11 But they refused to hearken,
and pulled away the shoulder,
and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
Zechariah 7:12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone,
lest they should hear the law,
and the WORD which the LORD of hosts
hath sent IN HIS SPIRIT by the former prophets:
therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.
Therefore it is come to pass, that
as HE cried, and they would not hear;
so they cried, and I would not hear,
saith the Lord of hosts: Zechariah 7:13
Zech. 8:1 Again the WORD of the Lord of hosts came to me, SAYING,
Zech. 8:2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
Peter said that Jesus made the prophecies more certain and that defined the church both inclusively and exclusively
Matt. 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father:
and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father;
neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son,
and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?FATHER is not the name of God. Instead of the expectation of all pagans to SEE the father mother (spirit) and son, Jesus made His nature in the singuar Jesus of Nazareth.
he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
John 14:10 Believest thou not
that I am IN the Father,
and the Father IN me?
the WORDS that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:
but the Father that DWELLETH IN me, he doeth the works
Peter
claimed that HIS PART (meros) was based on Eye-- and Ear--
witnesses of the risen Jesus and:
2Pet. 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto youPeter left a WRITTEN MEMORY of His experiences proving that we would not hear beyond that revelation. And to guard against the sorcerers and witches:
through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pet. 1:3 According as his divine power
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2 Pet 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
Epilusis means "further expounding" which would deny that the Spirit OF Christ spoke once for all times.INSPIRATION VERBALLY AND IN A WRITTEN MEMORY IS THE ONLY WAY TO MARK FALSE TEACHERS.
Sophisma A.acquired skill, method, stage-trick, claptrap, rhetorikos 2. of persons, skilled in speaking, fit to be an orator Pi.O.13.17 2. in less good sense, sly trick, artifice, dik๊n dounai s. kak๔n E.Ba.489 , cf. Hec.258; eph' h๊mas tauta paronta s. Th.6.77, cf. D.35.2; stage-trick, claptrapPi.O.13.17 Pindar Ode 0.13 [17] the Seasons rich in flowers have cast ancient inventiveness. But the fame for every work is due to its inventor. Whence did the graces of Dionysus first come to light, with the ox-driving dithyramb? [20] Who invented the bridle for the harness of horses, or placed the double king of birds on top of the temples of gods? And in Corinth the sweet-breathing Muse blossoms, and also Ares, with the deadly spears of young men.
WHY YOU CANNOT DISPUTE OR EXPOUND WITH RHETORIC OR MUSIC AS MAGIC.
2 Pet. 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people,
even as there shall be false teachers among you,
who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pet. 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways;
by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pet. 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you:
whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
Here are ONLY a few texts about the
work of the Holy Spirit in the Bible.
1. Romans 8:26-27: "Likewise the Holy Spirit helps us in our
weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but
that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
And God, who searches the heart, knows what is in the mind
of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
according to the will of God."
Paul never uses THE HOLY SPIRIT in
connection with a god person.
Rom. 1:9 For God is my witness,
whom I serve with MY SPIRIT in the gospel of his Son,
that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
Rom. 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So then with the mind [spirit] I myself serve the law of God;
but with [my] FLESH the law of sin.
Rom. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are IN Christ Jesus,
who WALK not after the FLESH,
but [who walk] after the SPIRIT.
gl4043 peripateoto live, deport oneself,Rom. 8:2 For the LAW of the spirit OF LIFE in Christ Jesus [The Gospel]
hath made me free from the LAW OF sin and death. [The Law of Moses]
Rom. 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the FLESH,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful FLESH, ,
and for sin, condemned sin in the FLESH, :
Rom. 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in US
who WALK not after the FLESH,
but [who walk] after the SPIRIT.
Rom. 8:5 For they that are after the FLESH,
DO MIND the things OF the FLESH;
but they that are after the spirit
[Do Mind] the THINGS OF the Spirit.
SPIRIT is not God but HIS SPIRIT g4151 pneuma, pnyooด-mah; from 4154;Notice that MIND [mind. Compare 5590] is parallel to SPIRIT
a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze;
by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human)
the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle,
mental disposition,
etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God,
SPIRIT is contrasted to FLESH or the LAW
Rom. 8:6 For to be CARNALLY minded is death;
but to be SPIRITUALLY MINDED is life and peace.
Rom. 8:7 Because the carnal MIND is enmity against God:
for it is not subject to the law OF God, neither indeed can be.
Rom. 8:8 So then they that are in the FLESH, cannot please God.
Rom. 8:9 But ye are not IN THE FLESH, but IN THE SPIRIT,
if so be that the Spirit OF GOD dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the *Spirit OF CHRIST, he is none of his.
I find no evidence that any "scholar" understands prepositions.
IN G1722 EN give self wholly to, TOWARDOF is a preposition: the Spirit OF Christ is Christ's own spirit meaning "Mental disposition."
IN can mean INSIDE of such as EIS but here "to be engaged, occupied with, to have under control or within reach philosophos, scriptiones verbum ex scriptione interpretari, according to the letter, literally
Rom. 8:10 And * if Christ be IN you,
the [our] BODY is dead because of sin;
but the [our] SPIRIT is life because of righteousness.
1Cor. 6:20 For ye are bought with a price:Rom. 8:11 But if the Spirit OF HIM that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
therefore glorify God in YOUR BODY,
and in YOUR SPIRIT, which are Gods.
he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by HIS Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom. 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors,
not to the flesh, to live after the FLESH.
Rom. 8:13 For if ye live after the [our] FLESH, ye shall die:
but if ye through the [our] SPIRIT
do mortify the deeds of the [our] BODY, ye shall live.
Rom. 8:14 For as many as are led by the SPIRIT of God,
they are the sons of God
g4151 pneuma, pnyooด-mah; from 4154;
a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze;1Cor. 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the FLESH ,
by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human)
the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition,
etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God,
that the SPIRIT may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Rom. 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:
but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom. 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the MIND of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
2. Galatians 5:16-18: "Live by the
Spirit, I say, and do no gratify the desires of the flesh.
For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and
what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these
are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what
you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not
subject to the law." All of God's true people must LIVE by
the Holy Spirit and BE LED BY the Holy Spirit.
Gal. 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the SPIRIT, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the FLESH.
Gal. 5:17 For the FLESH lusteth against the Spirit,
and the SPIRIT against the flesh:
and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal. 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
3. Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Our hope, joy, and peace comes from the power of the Holy Spirit.