Posted by Yong TM (202.156.2.219) on February 10, 2003 at 00:15:39:
In Reply to: Holy Sprits posted by Henry Pan on February 06, 2003 at 19:00:49:
Hi Henry,
First of all, typo: "Spirit" not "Sprit". And yes, your questions are too wide, each of them would take a long time to answer. So forgive me for general answers:
: 1.Does a human consist sprits, soul & body? What does the bible says?
A: Many people differ on this topic. The famous Chinese Christian Watchman Nee for example, did believe that a human being is made of the spirit, the soul and the body. It would seem logical to the Chinese, especially with the concept that the spirit leaves the body upon death, the soul controls the emotion, and the body being physical. However, scripture does not clearly state any of this. In fact, scripture indicate that there are no separation of states, and that we are all one unit (words like spirit and soul are used almost inter-changeably in scripture). The reformed understanding is that our spirit will depart from our body upon death, but in the resurrection, we will be rejoined with our body and be a new existence. Hence, our understanding is that we are all in one, not three states coming together.
: 2.What are the functions of each entity?
: 3.Does human soul or sprit provide human conscious?
A: Once we accept point 1, i.e. we are all together, spirit soul and body, then there is no question of individual functions. People tend to think of the physical body as a sort of hindrance, and like a shell for us to stay temporarily in. In fact, this is not the case because our physical well-being will affect our emotional and even spiritual state. If you are very ill, it is not likely that you can be spiritually too uplifted. The understanding of us being one being also validates the Christian understanding of sexuality being part of God's gift to mankind, and not something that somehow is 'dirty' because it is of the flesh and not the spirit.
: 4.Does it mean our sprit are changed or replaced when Holy Sprit abide/dwells in us?
A: No, it means our spirit (or our whole being) is brought back to God rather than replaced. Dr Tong's unique understanding is that Faith occurs when the prodigal reason is brought back to God; in the same manner, a redeemed soul is one that is brought back to God; not changed in essence, but changed in direction and allegiance, and having sin ultimately removed from us.
: 5.How does Holy Sprit works together with human conscious? Pls give an eg.
A: Even without a person becoming a Christian, the Holy Spirit already works within man's conscience (Romans 1). But his reflection of the common grace of God is not perfect, hence the special of revelation of God. The conscience is not what the Christian looks to for guidance. It is the Holy Spirit illuminating the WORD of God for us that is the guidance in our lives. The conscience is never a good guide (people always say their conscience is clear after they do something very wrong...). Only the WORD of God is true, because God is Truth.
: 6.How can we differentiate between voices from Holy Sprits, own conscious or the devil?
A: The one unfailing principle is that the Holy Spirit is God, and does not therefore go against His own Word. Jesus Christ said that we are to be sanctified by the truth, and God's WORD is truth (John 17:17). He also declared the Holy Spirit to be the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13). The conscience is often very far from the truth, so is the worst guide. The devil specialises in half-truths (what many churches are involved with today), so sometimes it can be very difficult to tell. Only the Holy Spirit is the Truth. Clearly then, the voice of the Holy Spirit is about truth, and is in accordance with God's own Word, the Bible. The closest next thing would be the voice of the devil, who can quote scripture better than you and I or anyone who ever lived; but he mis-interprete and deceive us of course. The Christian who is sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit is also the one who knows His Word well, and expects truth to be spoken in His voice.
: 7.How does one get prompting / guiding of Holy Sprit (Roman 7:6, Psalm 46:10, John 16:13)?
A: I do believe in the small still voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us in our heart. But again, this voice cannot be against God's own WORD. In my own experience, I hear the voice of God most often through the reading and studying of His WORD. I often felt that His WORD is speaking directly to me, addressing my questions and concerns. For example, God's WORD says in Galatians 5:22 that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. I spend a lot of time just seeing if I exhibit all the nine. I actually have problems understanding why people need to claim to hear or see God telling them this or that, when I don't even have enough life-time to absorb God's WORD.
: 8.Some Christians or non-believers I’ve known are affright of joining wrong denominations or learning wrong teaching. Beside telling them to check on their faith statement, Can I tell them to trust God and follow their heart based on 1 Corinthians 14:33, James 1:5 , Psalms 32:8?
A: My advise would simply be for the Christian to ensure that the church upholds the WORD of God as its highest and only authority (hence we need to know the WORD of God well in order to tell if the church is doing so). Secondly, I would tell the Christian to ensure that in this church, the Truth is honoured as God is to be worshipped in truth and in spirit. Warn them against half-truths being propagated in churches today. For example, the church of truth would not claim healing when there actually is none. A true Christian leader would be very sensitive to what he is preaching from the pulpit, rather than making claims which even non-Christians cannot possibly believe (and there are so much such claims these days that it is quite incredible).
: 9.Can one truly believe he has Holy Sprits guidance? Based on Mt 7:7, Mt 21:22.
A: Again, the guidance of the Holy Spirit cannot be against the scripture. For example, it is simply impossible to say that the Holy Spirit guided me to use deception to bring someone to Christ. On top of that, one cannot tell another person that the Holy Spirit tells me to tell you something (like going to missions overseas) without that someone feeling the same (unless the teaching is already in scripture, e.g. telling someone it is a sin to commit adultery).
: 10.If one can be guided by Holy Sprits, why do great Christians still have differences (big or small) in certain doctrines? For eg. differences between Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong and you. Does it mean we do not fully submit to the Holy Sprits?
A: Yes, you are right that most of the time, it does mean that we do not fully submit to the Holy Spirit via the WORD of God. I find this to be the reason for most differences. It surprises me very much that some teachings in scripture are so obvious but people simply refuse to follow (like in the case of Homosexuality being a sin, many Christians in the west would not agree). But at the same time, you must not forget that we are not perfected yet, and are still a sinner for as long as we are alive. Therefore, our sins would create a situation whereby none of us will ever be perfected while still on earth; so we will not agree with everything. Also, not all of God's mysteries have been completely revealed to us, so we would have different understanding. Having said that, the reformed understanding is that even though we may have differences in some understanding (like the role of woman and infant baptism), all of what is essential for life and faith is completely available from scripture. Having minor doctrinal disagreements therefore would not be surprising, and would not be problematic for those who truly love the LORD. We are able to accomodate and love one another despite of the minor differences. It is when major issues are involved that we will need to draw a line.