Reflections on Omnipresence

REFLECTIONS ON OMNIPRESENCE

One point has to be made clear from the onset; God’s omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence cannot be limited to creatures, if you say that created beings sustains his attributes and without them he is incapable of exercising them, then the creatures must be more powerful than him for without them it means he didn’t have these attributes or he is helpless.

There are also three things that should be accepted by a basic Bible reader and a PhD holder because they are clear and Biblical, yea five which are acceptable to me

Angels are fellow servants and should never be worshipped – Revelation 22:9
Light comes to us through the Word, Angels, Servants and Holy Spirit – Psalms 119:105, Daniel 9:21-23, Acts 8:26-35, Matthew 16:17-18
The Holy Spirit is not a conscious intelligent disembodied entity walking around but the omnipresence of God – Psalms 139:7
The word is not “THE” Holy Spirit per se but the mechanism which cannot be disconnected with the holy spirit – John 6:63, Ephesians 1:13
Angels are holy spirits, ministering spirits and not “THE” Holy Spirit – Hebrews 1:7, 14.

God Inhabiteth Eternity

Isaiah 57:15: For thus saith the high and lofty One that INHABITETH ETERNITY, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

“Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, FOR THE PRESENCE of the high and holy One who INHABITETH ETERNITY can alone constitute a church. Where two or three are present who love and obey the commandments of God, Jesus there presides; let it be in the desolate place of the earth, in the wilderness, in the city enclosed in prison walls. THE GLORY OF GOD HAS PENETRATED THE PRISON WALLS, flooding with glorious beams of heavenly light the darkest dungeon. His saints may suffer, but their sufferings will, like the apostles of old, spread their faith and win souls to Christ and glorify His holy name. The bitterest opposition expressed by those who hate God’s great moral standard of righteousness should not and will not shake the steadfast soul who trusts fully in God. All things shall work together for good to those who love God. “This is the love of God, that ye keep His commandments.” They that will be doers of the Word are building securely, and the tempest and storm of persecution will not shake their foundation, because their souls are rooted to the eternal rock. {Lt108-1886}

What is to inhabit?

Inhabit – Wikipedia

Inhabit means TO LIVE IN, RESIDE IN, and OCCUPY OR POPULATE SOME PLACE

This is conclusively to be present at that place. Is God present in 2020. The answer is NO, he is physically present in heaven today not even in tomorrow and on the other side YES for we are told he inhabiteth eternity whether it be past or future. How is he present in the future? The quote below will answer “HE SEES”. SO GOD INHABITETH ETERNITY BY HIS KNOWLEDGE. This is the case of omnipresence made possible by omniscience.

God is everywhere by virtue of his omniscience, as will be seen by the very words of David referred to above. Verses 1-6. “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high; I cannot attain unto it.” {1861 JW, PERGO 3.5}

John 8:57: Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58: Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.

I AM MEANS AN ETERNAL PRESENCE; the past, present, and future ARE ALIKE with God. HE SEES the most remote events of past history, and the far distant future with as clear a vision as we do those things which are TRANSPIRING DAILY……..CHRIST WAS USING THE GREAT NAME OF GOD THAT WAS GIVEN TO MOSES TO EXPRESS THE IDEA OF THE ETERNAL PRESENCE. {Lt119-1895}

In Revelation 1:8, the purpose of using “FROM HIM WHICH IS, AND WHICH WAS, AND WHICH IS TO COME” is to retell he is EVERLASTING EMBRACING ALL DURATION, PAST, PRESENT. No expression could more strikingly denote eternity than this. He now exists; he has existed in the past; he will exist in the future. There is an evident allusion here to the name JEHOVAH, the name by which the true God is appropriately designated in the Scriptures. That name seems to have been adopted because it denotes EXISTENCE, or being and as denoting simply one who EXISTS; and has reference merely to the fact of existence. Such a word would not be inappropriately paraphrased by the phrase “WHO IS, AND WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME,” or WHO IS TO BE; and there can be no doubt that John referred to him here as being himself the ETERNAL AND UNCREATED EXISTENCE. The name carries the OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE AND OMNIPRESENCE that is the attribute of the Father. The words “WHICH IS, AND WHICH WAS, AND WHICH IS TO COME” are an exposition of the meaning of the Hebrew word JEHOVAH [Exodus 6:3]. A wonderful transliteration of the great name JEHOVAH: he was of OLD, HE IS NOW, HE COMETH; that is, WILL BE FOREVER. This is a title the son inherited from the Father.

The reason why “HE WHICH IS TO COME” is used, instead of “HE THAT SHALL BE,” is because the grand theme of Revelation is the Lord’s coming [Revelation 1:7]. Verse 4 is repeated in verse 8 and can be pointed to Jesus as a revelation of WHO HE IS; HE WAS FROM ETERNITY; HE IS NOW; AND HE SHALL BE FOREVER as titles inherited because the Father’s name is in him. He was in his promises before his incarnation; he is now God manifested in the flesh; and he is to come as a Judge, to judge the quick and the dead. Consider Exodus 3:14, I AM THAT I AM. These words interpret the name JEHOVAH. So the title of the Father in Revelation when pointed to the son only reveals his inheritance from the Father.

This portion of the salutation in Revelation 1 has no parallel in Paul, and is distinctively characteristic of the author of Revelation. It is one of the solecisms in grammatical construction which distinguishes this book from the other writings of John. While Revelation 1:4 directly points to the Father, Revelation 1:8 points to the son if it may be accepted; he is “which is“, since before Abraham he was the “I AM“; and he “which was“, the eternal Logos or Word; and “is to come“, as the Judge of quick and dead. THE PHRASES ARE EXPRESSIVE BOTH OF HIS ETERNITY, HE BEING GOD FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING; AND OF HIS IMMUTABILITY, HE BEING NOW WHAT HE ALWAYS WAS, AND WILL BE WHAT HE NOW IS, AND EVER WAS, WITHOUT ANY VARIABLENESS, OR SHADOW OF TURNING: they are a periphrasis, and an explanation of the word “JEHOVAH”, which includes all tenses, past, present, and to come. So the Jews explain this name in [Exodus 3:14]; a paraphrase of the “INEFFABLE NAME” revealed to Moses or, rather perhaps, a paraphrase of the explanation of the Name given to him “I AM THAT I AM” which is rendered by the LXX. “I AM HE WHICH IS;” by the Targum of Palestine on Exodus. “I AM HE WHO IS AND WHO WILL BE.” The same Targum on Deuteronomy 32:39 has “BEHOLD NOW, I AM HE WHO AM AND WAS, AND WILL BE.” He has redeemed us, and in due time he will come to take us where he is as promised [John 14:1-3].

What is INEFFABLE NAME?

Wikipedia

Ineffability

Ineffability is concerned with ideas that cannot or should not be expressed in SPOKEN WORDS [i.e. 2Corinthians 12:4], often being in the form of a taboo or incomprehensible term. This property is commonly associated with philosophy, ASPECTS OF EXISTENCE, and similar concepts that are INHERENTLY “TOO GREAT”, COMPLEX, OR ABSTRACT TO BE ADEQUATELY COMMUNICATED. A typical example is the name of God in Judaism, written as YHWH but substituted with “the Lord” or “HaShem” when reading.

God and Christ are literally in heaven while they are everywhere by their spirit.

Objection 1: Is God Present everywhere in the universe?

Numbers 14:21

But indeed, as I live, all the EARTH WILL BE FILLED WITH THE GLORY OF THE LORD.

Psalm 72:19

And blessed be His glorious name forever; AND MAY THE WHOLE EARTH BE FILLED WITH HIS GLORY Amen, and Amen.

Jeremiah 23:24

“Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the LORD “DO I NOT FILL THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH?” declares the LORD.

Isaiah 6:3

And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, THE WHOLE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS GLORY.”

Habakkuk 3:3

God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran Selah HIS SPLENDOR COVERS THE HEAVENS, And the earth is full of His praise.

The greatness of God is to us incomprehensible. “The Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4); YET BY HIS SPIRIT HE IS EVERYWHERE PRESENT. He has an intimate knowledge of, and a personal interest in, all the works of His hand… {Ed 132.2}

The Bible shows us God in His high and holy place, not in a state of inactivity, not in silence and solitude, but surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of holy beings, all waiting to do His will. THROUGH THESE MESSENGERS HE IS IN ACTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH EVERY PART OF HIS DOMINION. BY HIS SPIRIT HE IS EVERYWHERE PRESENT. THROUGH THE AGENCY OF HIS SPIRIT AND HIS ANGELS HE MINISTERS TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN. {MH 417.2}

THE PSALMIST REPRESENTS THE PRESENCE OF THE INFINITE ONE AS PERVADING THE UNIVERSE. “If I ascend up into Heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” WE CAN NEVER FIND A SOLITUDE WHERE GOD IS NOT. The ever watchful EYE OF OMNISCIENCE IS UPON ALL OUR WORKS, and although he can marshal the armies of Heaven to do his will, he condescends to accept the services of frail, erring mortals. {ST, July 14, 1881 par. 10}

YET WE SHOULDN’T CONFOUND GOD WITH HIS SPIRIT WHICH MAKES HIM OMNIPRESENT

Does not God say he fills immensity of space? We answer, No. Psalm 139:7, 8. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there, etc. God by his Spirit may fill heaven and earth, etc. Some confound God with his Spirit, which makes confusion. Psalm 11:4. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, etc. Habakkuk 2:20; Psalm 102:19. For he hath looked down from the height of his Sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth. 1 Peter 3:12. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers, etc. Psalm 80:1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. Psalm 99:1; Isaiah 37:16. [ARSH March 7, 1854, p. 50.9]

– God is everywhere. Proof. Psalm 139:1-8. He is as much in every place as in any one place. {1861 JW, PERGO 3.4}

ANS. – God is everywhere by virtue of his omniscience, as will be seen by the very words of David referred to above. Verses 1-6. “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high; I cannot attain unto it.” {1861 JW, PERGO 3.5}

Objection 2: “Man’s spirit is not a different person; so also God’s Spirit is not a different person. The Spirit of God is the conscious mind of God, aware of the thoughts within Him”

Refer to 1Corinthians 2:11

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Objection 3: “Christ is Omnipresent at all times everywhere in the universe.”

Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His Father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself, divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. HE WOULD REPRESENT HIMSELF AS PRESENT IN ALL PLACES BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT, AS THE OMNIPRESENT. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall [ALTHOUGH UNSEEN BY YOU] teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you…..” {Lt119-1895}

The work of the Holy Spirit is immeasurably great. It is from this source that power and efficiency come to the worker for God; and the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, AS THE PERSONAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST TO THE SOUL.: {Ms143-1901}

So the statement should rather read

“God is Omnipresent i.e. present everywhere in the universe by his spirit” as the two quotes above says and also refer to {ST, July 14, 1881 par. 10}

Objection 4: His spirit fills the entire universe. THIS IS A TRUE STATEMENT

Pantheistic Theories

Today there are coming into educational institutions and into the churches everywhere spiritualistic teachings that undermine faith in God and in His word. THE THEORY THAT GOD IS AN ESSENCE PERVADING ALL NATURE IS RECEIVED BY MANY WHO PROFESS TO BELIEVE THE SCRIPTURES; BUT, HOWEVER BEAUTIFULLY CLOTHED, THIS THEORY IS A MOST DANGEROUS DECEPTION. It misrepresents God and is a dishonor to His greatness and majesty. And it surely tends not only to mislead, but to debase men. Darkness is its element, sensuality its sphere. The result of accepting it is separation from God. And to fallen human nature this means ruin. {MH 428.2}

Hence God does pervade the universe yet we are told that his spirit does so. Notice the following quotes: –

“Upon all created things is seen the IMPRESS OF THE DEITY. Nature testifies of God. The susceptible mind, brought in contact with the miracle and MYSTERY OF THE UNIVERSE, cannot but recognize the working of INFINITE POWER. Not by its own inherent energy does the earth produce its bounties, and year by year continue its motion around the sun. An unseen hand guides the planets in their circuit of the heavens. A MYSTERIOUS LIFE PERVADES ALL NATURE–A LIFE THAT SUSTAINS THE UNNUMBERED WORLDS THROUGHOUT IMMENSITY, THAT LIVES IN THE INSECT ATOM WHICH FLOATS IN THE SUMMER BREEZE, that wings the flight of the swallow and feeds the young ravens which cry, that brings the bud to blossom and the flower to fruit. {Ed 99.1}

“Nature is a power, but the God of nature is unlimited in power. His works interpret his character. Those who judge him from his handiworks, and not from the suppositions of great men, WILL SEE HIS PRESENCE IN EVERYTHING. They behold his smile in the glad sunshine, and his love and care for man in the rich fields of autumn. Even the adornments of the earth, as seen in the grass of living green, the lovely flowers of every hue, and the lofty and varied trees of the forest, testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God, and to his desire to make his children happy.”–S. of T., 1884, No. 11. {HL 285.1}

THE PSALMIST REPRESENTS THE PRESENCE OF THE INFINITE ONE AS PERVADING THE UNIVERSE. “If I ascend up into Heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” We can never find a solitude where God is not. The ever watchful eye of Omniscience is upon all our works, and although he can marshal the armies of Heaven to do his will, he condescends to accept the services of frail, erring mortals. {ST, July 14, 1881 par. 10}

Again some confound God with his spirit, this I did in my earlier days back in 2009-2012. Transition from Trinitarianism to Non-Trinitarianism carries with it a lot of garbage and crude way of explaining things but as we mature in truth, there are corrections and clearness of thoughts on those things that seemed obscure hence a re-explanations of earlier views.

Objection 5: God’s spirit fill the entire universe as what?

THE PSALMIST REPRESENTS THE PRESENCE OF THE INFINITE ONE AS PERVADING THE UNIVERSE. “If I ascend up into Heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” WE CAN NEVER FIND A SOLITUDE WHERE GOD IS NOT. The ever watchful EYE OF OMNISCIENCE IS UPON ALL OUR WORKS, and although he can marshal the armies of Heaven to do his will, he condescends to accept the services of frail, erring mortals. {ST, July 14, 1881 par. 10}. AS EYES

“Upon all created things is seen the IMPRESS OF THE DEITY. Nature testifies of God. The susceptible mind, brought in contact with the miracle and MYSTERY OF THE UNIVERSE, cannot but recognize the working of INFINITE POWER. Not by its own inherent energy does the earth produce its bounties, and year by year continue its motion around the sun. An unseen hand guides the planets in their circuit of the heavens. A MYSTERIOUS LIFE PERVADES ALL NATURE–A LIFE THAT SUSTAINS THE UNNUMBERED WORLDS THROUGHOUT IMMENSITY, THAT LIVES IN THE INSECT ATOM WHICH FLOATS IN THE SUMMER BREEZE, that wings the flight of the swallow and feeds the young ravens which cry, that brings the bud to blossom and the flower to fruit. {Ed 99.1} The same power that upholds nature, is working also in man. The same great laws that guide alike the star and the atom control human life. The laws that govern the heart’s action, regulating the flow of the current of life to the body, are the laws of the mighty Intelligence that has the jurisdiction of the soul. From Him all life proceeds. Only in harmony with Him can be found its true sphere of action. For all the objects of His creation the condition is the same–a life sustained by receiving the life of God, a life exercised in harmony with the Creator’s will. To transgress His law, physical, mental, or moral, is to place one’s self out of harmony with the universe, to introduce discord, anarchy, ruin.” {Ed 99.2}

“Fathers and mothers, teach your children of the wonder-working power of God. His power is manifest in every plant, in every tree that bears fruit. Take the children into the garden and explain to them how He causes the seed to grow. The farmer plows his land and sows the seed, but he cannot make the seed grow. He must depend upon God to do that which no human power can do. The Lord puts His own Spirit into the seed, causing it to spring into life. Under His care the germ breaks through the case enclosing it and springs up to develop and bear fruit.” {8T 326.4}

“Nature is a power, but the God of nature is unlimited in power. His works interpret his character. Those who judge him from his handiworks, and not from the suppositions of great men, will see his presence in everything. They behold his smile in the glad sunshine, and his love and care for man in the rich fields of autumn. Even the adornments of the earth, as seen in the grass of living green, the lovely flowers of every hue, and the lofty and varied trees of the forest, testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God, and to his desire to make his children happy.”–S. of T., 1884, No. 11. {HL 285.1} AS A SUSTAINER

“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Christ declares: “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Christ is invested with power to GIVE LIFE TO ALL CREATURES. “As the living Father hath sent me,” He says, “and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT, AND THEY ARE LIFE” (John 6:57, 63). Christ is not here referring to HIS DOCTRINE, but to His PERSON, THE DIVINITY OF HIS CHARACTER. “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” He says again, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:25-27). {1SM 249.3}. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE BREATH OF SPIRITUAL LIFE IN THE SOUL. THE IMPARTATION OF THE SPIRIT IS THE IMPARTATION OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST. IT IMBUES THE RECEIVER WITH THE ATTRIBUTES OF CHRIST. Only those who are thus taught of God, those who possess the inward working of the Spirit, and in whose life the Christ-life is manifested, are to stand as representative men, to minister in behalf of the church.—[The Desire of Ages, p. 805.] AS DIVINE CHARACTER THAT’S SPIRITUAL LIFE

When it comes to the nature of the spirit, we have to remove our shoes because we are standing on the holy ground because we cannot JUST DEFINE WHAT IS THE SPIRIT but can just experience its work. Refer to John 3:8. Also

“It is not essential for us to be able to define JUST what the Holy Spirit is. Christ tells us that the Spirit is the Comforter, “the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father.” It is plainly declared regarding the Holy Spirit that, in His work of guiding men into all truth, “He shall not speak of Himself.” John 15:26; 16:13. THE NATURE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A MYSTERY. Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction on them, but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding, SILENCE IS GOLDEN. { AA 51.}”

Objection 6: Does the spirit fill the universe as a living conscious mind?

About this, refer to the above quotes but we are told “There are three living persons [personalities] of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ. {Ms21-1906}

So I can’t go beyond this on the issue of how conscious the spirit is conscious or how living it’s living but accept it by faith and hold onto though the Holy Spirit is not a disembodied cognitive intelligent person moving around. If that were so, then the plants and atoms have a conscious mind. The nature of the Holy Spirit is mystery.

“Every faculty that we possess has been provided for us in Christ; for when God gave his Son to our world, he included all heaven in his gift. And God would have men value their powers as a sacred gift from him. A SPARK OF GOD’S OWN LIFE HAS BEEN BREATHED INTO THE HUMAN BODY, MAKING MAN A LIVING SOUL, THE POSSESSOR OF MORAL ENDOWMENTS, and A WILL to direct his own course of action. He has the privilege of becoming a PARTAKER OF THE DIVINE NATURE. This will give him power to conquer evil, and love and choose that which is good. He has a CONSCIENCE, WHICH, UNDER THE CONTROL OF GOD, will approve the right and condemn the wrong. And he may, if he will, have fellowship with God. He may walk and talk with God as did Enoch. THIS HOLY COMPANIONSHIP is denied to none who will BELIEVE ON CHRIST as their personal Saviour. {ST, August 26, 1897 par. 8}”

Christ was an instructor, but in a simple and unassuming manner. Yet no one, looking upon the childlike countenance, shining with animation, could say HE WAS JUST LIKE OTHER CHILDREN. He was God in human flesh. And when urged by His companions to do a wrong action, HIS DIVINITY FLASHED THROUGH HUMANITY, and He spoke decidedly. IN A MOMENT HE DISTINGUISHED BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG, and placed WRONG ACTIONS IN THE LIGHT OF GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, holding up the law as a mirror which reflected its light upon the wrong. {Ms37-1898}

Also think about this, the spirit of God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. But when he gives it to us as a spiritual life, does it come or imbue us with those three omnis; I mean does it make us have those three attributes as God?

Objection 7: God spirit is not in the sinner as a spark of spiritual life but as a sustaining life

We met these theories again in Topsham, Maine. A brother there, who had accepted them, was very sick, and he wanted me to pray for him. I said, “I cannot pray for you so long as you and these sisters are so free with one another.” He sent for Elder James White who, when he came, asked him, “What are you going to do?” “Do!” he said. “Do you ask what I am going to do? I am going to cut loose from all these evils. I am going to take my stand in harmony with what Sister Ellen Harmon has been presenting to me. I accept what she has said as the word of the Lord.” Thus the company with which he was connected was broken up. And many more such companies were broken up by the light that God gave me. Thus I worked and suffered in my girlhood. And all through my life I have had the same errors to meet, though not always in the same form. In Living Temple the assertion is made that God is in the flower, in the leaf, IN THE SINNER. But God does not live in the sinner. The Word declares that He abides only in the hearts of those who love Him and do righteousness. GOD DOES NOT ABIDE IN THE HEART OF THE SINNER; IT IS THE ENEMY WHO ABIDES THERE. {Ms46-1904}

The spirit doesn’t fill anything as a conscious entity. In plants which are inanimate God works in them as a creative power but men have to accept him for him to work in them. They have a choice to make for God to work in them to perfect their character. In a sinner it can be said it is there in an inanimate level just as plants until he accepts to be worked on to impart spiritual life and work on moral capabilities.

Conversion Does Not Create New Faculties.–The Spirit of God does not create new faculties in the converted man but works a decided change in the employment of those faculties. When mind and heart and soul are changed, man is not given a new conscience, but his will is submitted to a conscience renewed, a conscience whose dormant sensibilities are aroused by the working of the Holy Spirit.–Lt 44, 1899. (HC 104.) {2MCP 692.3}

Objection 8: Can Christ breathe out his sprit?

John 20:22 is a good answer

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

When Christ entered within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned, amid the songs of millions of angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon His followers in rich currents according to Christ’s promise, and they were no more orphans. How quickly Christ fulfilled His promise, and sent from the heavenly courts the guarantee of His love! After His inauguration, the Spirit came and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had from all eternity with the Father. During His humiliation upon this earth, THE SPIRIT HAD NOT DESCENDED WITH ALL ITS EFFICACY; and Christ declared that if He went not away, it would not come, but that if He went away, He would send it. It was a representation of Himself, and after He was glorified it was manifest. {ST, May 17, 1899 par. 3}

“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.” The Holy Spirit was not yet fully manifested; for Christ had not yet been glorified. The more abundant impartation of the Spirit did not take place till after Christ’s ascension. Not until this was received could the disciples fulfill the commission to preach the gospel to the world. But the Spirit was now given for a special purpose. Before the disciples could fulfill their official duties in connection with the church, Christ breathed His Spirit upon them. He was committing to them a most sacred trust, and He desired to impress them with the fact that without the Holy Spirit this work could not be accomplished. {DA 805.2}

By his heavenly gifts the Lord has made ample provision for his people. An earthly parent cannot give his child a sanctified character. He cannot transfer his character to his child. God alone can transform us. Christ breathed on his disciples, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” This is the great gift of heaven. Christ imparted to them through the Spirit his own sanctification. He imbued them with his power, that they might win souls to the gospel. HENCEFORTH CHRIST WOULD LIVE THROUGH THEIR FACULTIES, AND SPEAK THROUGH THEIR WORDS. They were privileged to know that hereafter he and they were to be one. They must cherish his principles and be controlled by his Spirit. They were no longer to follow their own way, to speak their own words. The words they spoke were to proceed from a sanctified heart, and fall from sanctified lips. No longer were they to live their own selfish life; Christ was to live in them and speak through them. He would give to them the glory that he had with the Father, that he and they might be one in God. {GCB, October 1, 1899 par. 12}

Objection 9: Was the spirit of God literally upon the face of the water or just words?

The cross-reference of Genesis 1:2 is Psalms 29:3, 104:30, 33:6 and all I can add to this is

“Upon all created things is seen the IMPRESS OF THE DEITY. Nature testifies of God. The susceptible mind, brought in contact with the miracle and MYSTERY OF THE UNIVERSE, cannot but recognize the working of INFINITE POWER. Not by its own inherent energy does the earth produce its bounties, and year by year continue its motion around the sun. An unseen hand guides the planets in their circuit of the heavens. A MYSTERIOUS LIFE PERVADES ALL NATURE–A LIFE THAT SUSTAINS THE UNNUMBERED WORLDS THROUGHOUT IMMENSITY, THAT LIVES IN THE INSECT ATOM WHICH FLOATS IN THE SUMMER BREEZE, that wings the flight of the swallow and feeds the young ravens which cry, that brings the bud to blossom and the flower to fruit. {Ed 99.1} AS A SUSTAINER

GOD SPOKE, AND HIS WORDS CREATED His works in the natural world. God’s creation is but a reservoir of means made ready for Him to employ instantly to do His pleasure (Letter 131, 1897). AS CREATIVE POWER

In summary

Ways in Which the Spirit Is Received GOD’S spirit of life comes to the believing child of God in various ways – ways perhaps of which poor humans know nothing. Of these we are not speculating. We wish to note the most common ways in which God bestows His Spirit.

God must impart directly to the new-born child in Christ Jesus the constant life of the Spirit which gave it birth. He bestows that Spirit upon him, not as a segment cut off from the life of God, but as a constant life current connecting the human with the “Fountain of, Life.” “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Rom. 8:9.

He imparts that Spirit through His living Word; for as Jesus declares, “The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63. “For the Word of God is quick [living], and powerful.” Heb. 4:12. “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath [Spirit] of His mouth.” This scripture shows how clearly impossible it is to separate the two. He who feeds upon God’s Word feeds upon His life.

By angelic ministry God bestows His Spirit. Upon His shining messengers God places His Spirit, fills them with its power, and sends them forth to impart that Spirit to those fitted and willing to receive it. But Spirit-filled and Spirit-panoplied tho they come, the angels are not the Spirit of God. For even so God sends forth His earthly messengers Spirit-clothed and Spirit-filled to minister of His power and His goodness to others. But the Spirit of God is before the messenger and above the messenger. The messengers are but channels through which God’s life flows to the thirsty and needy.

Here are three ways in which the Lord reveals His will to us, to guide us, and to fit us to guide others. How may we know His voice from that of a stranger? How shall we distinguish it from the voice of a false shepherd? God reveals His will to us in His word, the Holy Scriptures. His voice is also revealed in His providential workings; and it will be recognized if we do not separate our souls from Him by walking in our own ways, doing according to our own wills, and following the promptings of an unsanctified heart, until the senses have become so confused that eternal things are not discerned, and the voice of Satan is so disguised that it is accepted as the voice of God. {5T 512.1} Another way in which God’s voice is heard is through the appeals of His Holy Spirit, making impressions upon the heart, which will be wrought out in the character. If you are in doubt upon any subject you must first consult the Scriptures. If you have truly begun the life of faith you have given yourself to the Lord to be wholly His, and He has taken you to mold and fashion according to His purpose, that you may be a vessel unto honor. You should have an earnest desire to be pliable in His hands and to follow whithersoever He may lead you. You are then trusting Him to work out His designs, while at the same time you are co-operating with Him by working out your own salvation with fear and trembling. You, my brother, will find difficulty here because you have not yet learned by experience to know the voice of the Good Shepherd, and this places you in doubt and peril. You ought to be able to distinguish His voice. {5T 512.2}

It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul. Thus it had been with these Jewish leaders. They were convinced that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this they deliberately chose deception; they yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were controlled by his power. {DA 322.2}

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Reflections on Omnipresence

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