pip threlfall
2007-11-19 01:58:57 UTC
For the past year I have been attending a Pentecostal bible study at a local church.
Recently I have become aware of a difference between the Pastor s
understanding of basic doctrine and my own. I found your site and
would value your opinion regarding our respective views.
We both agree that Jesus Christ is divine. However he believes
Almighty God left heaven and was born as baby Jesus. During his time
on earth the Holy Spirit was in charge of heaven, and then after
Jesus rose from the dead he returned to heaven and sent the Holy
Spirit to be with us on earth.
I believe Almighty God (the Father) sent his Son into the world who
was born as baby Jesus, died and rose from the dead, and ascended
into heaven, and now the Holy Spirit is on earth as a result of our
relationship with our heavenly Father which we have through The Lord
Jesus.
It seems the basic difference in our theology is, I see Jesus as The
Son of God, and the Pastor sees Jesus as Almighty God.
I should value your observations.
Yours
Pip
----
[Your pastor's view is very far from the standard Christian one.
Yours is much closer. I see two issues with yours:
* Typically "almighty God" would be used to refer to God "as a whole",
i.e. the whole Trinity, not just the Father.
* You speak of the Father sending the Son to earth. That's certainly
fine. However it's worth noting that in standard Christian theology
the Son is seen is eternal, just as the Father and Holy Spirit are.
You can see this in passages such as Heb 1:2, where the Son is the
agent of creation. When Jesus appeared on earth, it's not that this
eternal Son left heaven, so that the Son is now just on earth. Rather,
the eternal Son took the human being Jesus as his way of being human.
The problem with the Son coming down from heaven is that it leaves the
Son as neither really God nor human being, but a sort of compromise.
The standard doctrine protects both the eternal Son's full divinity
and Jesus' full humanity.
Pentecostals have a variety of views on this subject. These days many
Pentecostals (e.g. the Assemblies of God, which is the largest
Pentecostal denomination) are in effect evangelicals with a special
emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit, and Christians' experience of
the work of the Spirit. As such they hold orthodox views on the
Trinity and on Jesus' nature.
Groups such as the United Ptencostal Church International reject the
Trinity. They believe that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different
ways in which one God reveals himself.
However that's not what you're describing. I'm not an expert in the
Pentecostal movement, but your pastor is saying something that I
haven't heard of before among Pentecostals. If you've understood your
pastor correctly, I would say he's holding a view that is very unusual
indeed. Without hearing him directly I wouldn't want to judge him, but
it sounds like an idea that doesn't make much sense, and would cause
serious problems.
--clh]
Recently I have become aware of a difference between the Pastor s
understanding of basic doctrine and my own. I found your site and
would value your opinion regarding our respective views.
We both agree that Jesus Christ is divine. However he believes
Almighty God left heaven and was born as baby Jesus. During his time
on earth the Holy Spirit was in charge of heaven, and then after
Jesus rose from the dead he returned to heaven and sent the Holy
Spirit to be with us on earth.
I believe Almighty God (the Father) sent his Son into the world who
was born as baby Jesus, died and rose from the dead, and ascended
into heaven, and now the Holy Spirit is on earth as a result of our
relationship with our heavenly Father which we have through The Lord
Jesus.
It seems the basic difference in our theology is, I see Jesus as The
Son of God, and the Pastor sees Jesus as Almighty God.
I should value your observations.
Yours
Pip
----
[Your pastor's view is very far from the standard Christian one.
Yours is much closer. I see two issues with yours:
* Typically "almighty God" would be used to refer to God "as a whole",
i.e. the whole Trinity, not just the Father.
* You speak of the Father sending the Son to earth. That's certainly
fine. However it's worth noting that in standard Christian theology
the Son is seen is eternal, just as the Father and Holy Spirit are.
You can see this in passages such as Heb 1:2, where the Son is the
agent of creation. When Jesus appeared on earth, it's not that this
eternal Son left heaven, so that the Son is now just on earth. Rather,
the eternal Son took the human being Jesus as his way of being human.
The problem with the Son coming down from heaven is that it leaves the
Son as neither really God nor human being, but a sort of compromise.
The standard doctrine protects both the eternal Son's full divinity
and Jesus' full humanity.
Pentecostals have a variety of views on this subject. These days many
Pentecostals (e.g. the Assemblies of God, which is the largest
Pentecostal denomination) are in effect evangelicals with a special
emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit, and Christians' experience of
the work of the Spirit. As such they hold orthodox views on the
Trinity and on Jesus' nature.
Groups such as the United Ptencostal Church International reject the
Trinity. They believe that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different
ways in which one God reveals himself.
However that's not what you're describing. I'm not an expert in the
Pentecostal movement, but your pastor is saying something that I
haven't heard of before among Pentecostals. If you've understood your
pastor correctly, I would say he's holding a view that is very unusual
indeed. Without hearing him directly I wouldn't want to judge him, but
it sounds like an idea that doesn't make much sense, and would cause
serious problems.
--clh]