How did the Apostle Paul get it so wrong?

Egad. Once more, is the 'war' of Ro 7 something different than the conflict described in Gal 5?

Yes or no.

 

FWIW, and I DON"T expect that you will take this to heart or accept it as the truth that it is, but:

The scriptures teaches us nothing.

The scriptures provides us a way to articulate what the Spirit is teaching, nothing else.

The scriptures excel in brevity to the point, to which no other literature can compare.

 

no

For we through the Spirit (indwelling) wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

 

No, not really.
Romans 7 describes the difference between the two natures of the believers.
Galatians 5 describes the difference between the results of the two natures of the believers: that is--the works of the flesh, or the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 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.

 

Yikes!! You must be kidding!

2 Tim. 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

 

Of course all men have a "soul" or seat of self consciousness (intellect, will, affections). What all men do not have is a regenerated spirit.

The term translated "soul" is also translated "life" because as the heart thinketh in man, so is the outward expression of his life - as the human will expresses thoughts and affections in the form of words and actions - the outward life. Present tense salvation is about "redeeming the time" (Eph. 5:16) expressed in words and actions or making your time count for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:30) by doing the will of God (Eph. 5:17) under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). That is done by setting your affections and thinking on things above by PUTTING ON the newly created man (BTW which proves it is not the soul that is born of the Spirit, because what is born of the Spirit is already "created in righteousness and true holiness - Col. 3:10 and remains in that constant state of "true holiness") in your thinking, reasoning and willing by the power of the indwelling Spirit. Hence, that kind of MINDSET expressed through the body is "life" saved in forms of future rewards and present blessings. However, the MINDSET that yields to indwelling sin, is time/life that is not redeemed but lost forever, wasted, gone, and reaps present consequences accordingly here and now.

The body is the vehicle of soul expression. The self-conscious YOU (intellect, will and affections) is the seat self-consciousness - soul. The "spirit" is the seat of other world consciousness.

Regeneration of the "spirit" provides a perfectly sinless sanctuary in which the Holy Spirit dwells which changes the ruling inclination of the soul to delight in God's Law ACCORDING TO THE NEW CREATED SPIRIT but does not provide POWER for the soul to enforce that inclination. Remember, "I WOULD do good, but the good I would do, I do not" because the soul is without POWER. That POWER is not found in the realm of the soul but in the realm of the human spirit with the indwelling Spirit. That is why the Soul must "PUT ON" the inward renewed man "created in righteousness and true holiness" because the soul is not created in righteousness and true holiness.

If the soul were created in "true" holiness it would not have to be PUT ON by the soul. Do you know what "true" holiness is??? It is existing in a state of sinless perfection. The spirit exists in a state of sinless perfection because it has been CREATED by God in that state and is the inward sanctuary of the "HOLY" Spirit due to SPIRITUAL UNION with the HOLY Spirit. The spirit is created in a state of sinless perfection because that created action is the spirit brought into spiritual union with the HOLY Spirit who is sinless. Thus the human spirit is brought into a permanent union with SINLESS or "true" holiness. Spiritual union with the Holy Spirit is a state of sinless perfection as the "HOLY" Spirit cannot be SPIRITUALLY UNITED WITH SIN or something still SINFUL. That is why regeneration is a CREATIVE act by God that restores the moral image of God to the spirit and is an inward WASHING and RENEWING in that moral image, thus transforming the moral image of the human spirit into a STATE OF TRUE HOLINESS. Think about it! The HOLY Spirit cannot be brought into permanent union with sin. That very union demands a state of completed perfected holiness - finished glorification of the spirit - completed salvation as a completed action.

The soul has not been created in a state of sinless perfection. Regeneration of the spirit changes the ruling inclination of the soul from evil to good because the ruling inclination of the soul is located in the spirit as this is where the spirit and soul overlap with each other. The soul desires good but must "PUT ON" the inward man because the Holy Spirit dwells in spiritual union with the human spirit and to PUT ON the inward man is to PUT ON the POWER of the indwelling Holy Spirit in the soul, making its inclination toward good EFFECTUAL in power through the will over the flesh so that the outward life reflects that "good" which the soul is inclined to, but is powerless to perform. Putting it on includes yeilding to the indwelling Spirit for POWER to carry out the inclinations of the Soul.

1. The human spirit is regenerated and indwelt - past tense completed salvation
2. The human soul is progressively sanctified - present tense incompleted salvation of the LIFE-expression of the soul being saved and lost according to time being redeemed or lost
3. The human body needs to be saved from sin - future tense anticipated salvation

 

Some are ignorant of the truth and some hate the truth. The latter group is impossible to convince because they have reserved for them an added curse (2Thess 2:10-12). :tear:

 

Yikes! You must be kidding! Unless the Spirit is present the scriptures are nothing more than ink on paper.

 

Did not Paul explicitly state that it is "THE SCRIPTURES which are ABLE TO MAKE thee wise..."???????? or did Paul mistate the truth????


The fact that the scriptures are "inspired" by God make them more than mere ink on paper. Certainly, the Holy Spirit must accompany Scriptures when the scriptures are used as the creative word for quickening, but the scriptures have power or else Paul was mistaken? Did Paul err in what he said?

 

The will of God is the sanctification of the WHOLE PERSON, beginning with the completed sanctification of the "spirit" then the progressive sanctification of the "soul"/life and finally the sanctification of the body.

The New birth accomplishes the first fully and completely - "saved"
The resurrection/glorification of the body accomplishes the last fully and completely - "shall be saved"

The working out of the created righteousness and holiness in the spirit of man through the soul by the power of the indwelling Spirit expressed by the body in words and actions redeeming the time for the glory of God is the present "save" or "salvation" now in progress.

In regard to present incompleted salvation of the LIFE expression of the soul, what LIFE expresses the inward man is being saved in forms of future rewards in heaven and present blessings. However, what LIFE expresses the outward man is being lost forever in regard to future rewards, and reaping the experience of death (experiential separation from God) here and now. Experiential death is loss of fellowship, joy, blessings, thus SEPARATION from the blessings of salvation here and now. So the present LIFE can be saved or lost depending upon the source and power of your present works (1 Cor. 3:12-15) and so the present time can be redeemed (saved) or lost (Eph. 5:16) but even if all the works are lost on the day of judgement, the "soul" which gives expression to both kind of life works or life expressions is not lost (1 Cor. 3;15).

 

Without the Spirit the scripture is dead inanimate letters. It has zilch power on it's own.

 

You did not address the scriptural problem I placed squarely before you! You simply repeated your mantra and ignored Biblical evidence that is contrary to your mantra.

Again, the scripture says that the "scripture IS ABLE" it did not say "THE SPIRIT is able". Did Paul err in saying "THE SCRIPTURE is able"?

 

Is it possible for the Holy Spirit to be IN SPIRITUAL UNION with anything sinful and thus become ONE with a spirit defiled by sin, or still able to sin, since it is sin that spiritually separates us from God in the first place???? If the soul is in spiritual union with the Spirit of God and the soul can and quite often does sin, how would that affect the SPIRITUAL UNION with the soul??? However, if my position is correct, that the Spirit is in spiritual union with the spirit of man and not the soul, then how would sin by the soul affect SPIRITUAL UNION with the Holy Spirit????? Would not your position demand a lost, saved, lost condition every time the soul sinned???? Whereas my position is the only position with ETERNAL life that is unneffected by soul sin???

 

The only problem here is your misapplication of scripture. Paul's not addressing an unregenerate man void of the Spirit. The Spirit is present.

 

I never quoted a text concerning whom Paul is addressing, I quoted a text that explicitly says "SCRIPTURE IS ABLE". It does not say TIMOTHY A SPIRIT INDWELT MAN IS ABLE but "SCRIPTURE IS ABLE" now is that what the text says or not?

 

What was the difference in Paul's understanding of the scriptures pre and post being called by God the Father through Jesus the Son?

 

and because from a babe the Holy Writings thou hast known, which are able to make thee wise -- to salvation, through faith that is in Christ Jesus;

this only do I wish to learn from you -- by works of law the Spirit did ye receive, or by the hearing of faith?

 

No difference. The designations "Old" and "New" as applied to scriptures or a division in scriptures is purely uninspired and of man.

 

Pre and post having received the Holy Spirit?

 

Adam, at the very moment he sinned in his heart, before he even crunched down with his teeth the fruit became SPIRITUALLY SEPARATED from God as that very attitude that preceded that action CAST GOD OUT of Adam's heart as King and final lawgiver.

Spiritual death is clearly defined in Ephesians 2:2-3 as the state of disobedience which Jesus says begins in the heart. Both Adam and the Ephesians were very much PHYSICALLY ALIVE when they died spiritually by disobedience.

The only possible solution for "spiritual separation" is spiritual union. God IS LIFE and God IS LIGHT and to be spiritually separated from him IS Spiritual death and spiritual darkness. There is no other Biblical solution for spiritual separation from God but spiritual union with God.

Spiritual union NECESSARILY exists only WITHIN MAN as it is the "spirit" of man that is born again/quickened/made alive and the "spirit" of man dwells within man. Hence, spiritual union by necessity is the INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT of God within man (Rom. 8:8-9) as "union" is impossible without indwelling because this union is WITHIN man. Where there is no indwelling, there is no union, and where there is no spiritual union with God there is only spiritual death and darkness.

Again, it is impossible for spiritual union to exist except IN man and as long as that UNION in man exists THAT IS INDWELLING of the Spirit.

Rom. 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
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.