Personal Influencing & Fruiting Presence of the Holy Spirit (5)
By Eusebio Tanicala
Note: Ang temang ito ang pinagdebatehan noong nakaraang taon sa Urdaneta City at Quezon City: “Resolved, that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit indwells, influences and guides the Christian today only through the word of God.” Tapusin muna natin ito bago talakayin yaong “indwelling” kung referido ba sa individual Christian or the corporate church.
Advocates of the “through the word only” influence of the Holy Spirit put a burden on the advocates of “personal indwelling.” Unknowingly, the seeming difficulty is a shared burden for both sides.
Let’s make a comparison and contrast table on the influencing and seducing personal work of Satan on one hand and the influencing and fruiting personal work of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s analyze 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” (NKJV)
Now we ask “thro the word only” as well as the “personal indwelling” advocates to answer the following questions:
- Is it possible for a personal Satan to be in 1,000 different barangays at the same one moment in time?
- Is it possible for a personal Satan to roar at 1,000 different individuals at the same one moment in time?
- Is it possible for a personal Satan to divide himself into 1,000 personal Satanitos that simultaneously go around in 1,000 different barangays and simultaneously tempt 1,000 different individuals at the same moment in time?
- Satan is the God of this age says 2Cor. 4:4, is he everywhere around the world at the same moment in time?
- When Satan roars and tempts every 1,000 individual at the same moment in time, does each individual Christian feel he is confronting a personally present Satan?
- Who is more omnipresent Satan or the Holy Spirit?
- Who is more omnipotent and omniscient the Holy Spirit or Satan?
- If Satan employs individual evil spirits to act for him, could not the Holy Spirit employ good angels to act for Him?
- Is it possible for the omnipresent and omnipotent Holy Spirit to be one person and yet make every individual believer feel that the Holy Spirit is personally dealing with him?
- Is it against the scriptures for the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, immanent, transcendent God to personally attend simultaneously to the petitions of 1,000,000 believers at the same one moment in time?
- Since the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, immanent, transcendent God is present everywhere, in heaven and on earth, does God’s presence both in heaven and on earth divide God into many Gods?
- Since the Holy Spirit is God and God is everywhere, that makes the Holy Spirit persona present both in heaven and on earth, does the Holy Spirit’s presence in several places divide the Holy Spirit persona into several persons?
I suggest that both sides should answer the above questions and that no further argumentation be made unless these are given honest answers. Have a nice day reflecting on the questions. More short articles are forthcoming. Kung mayroong kahinaan ang aming analysis, handa kaming tumanggap ng inyong pagtutuwid.
Related Articles:
The Person, Mission and Medium of the Holy Spirit Viewed in Various Biblical Periods (1)
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I have a small problem with question #9. Please explain how a believer could possibly “feel” the presence of the Holy Spirit even if it has been established that the Spirit personally resides in the Christian. Consider John 3: 6 – 8.
Another thought: I find it interesting that our “word only” brethren are quick to deny the direct influence of the Spirit by His positional indwelling of the Christian. At the same time, they will not admit to the positional indwelling of Satan within Judas to be consistent yet they quickly affirm Satan’s direct and personal influence on Judas (Luke 22: 3). Is this not an inconsistency?
In the case of our brethren who believe in the “literal, personal” indwelling, many of them deny the personal influence. When it comes to Satan, they deny his indwelling but affirm his influence. When it comes to the Spirit, they deny His influence yet affirm His indwelling! Why not be consistent and affirm both. Just a thought.
That being said, though, I am still studying this subject and reaching for an answer regarding the doctrine of the influence of the Spirit. Thank you for the great articles on this important matter.
Blessings!
Mike Hildreth