Steve, From what I understand, the Spirit of God that is in man is the Word. When we obey that Spirit, the Word becomes flesh( the living Word) We dwell in God, God dwells in us and God dwells among us. Again, this does not make us God. God is not a man. Man is not God. However, God is a part of man.
Steve, From what I understand, the Spirit of God that is in man is the Word. When we obey that Spirit, the Word becomes flesh( the living Word) We dwell in God, God dwells in us and God dwells among us. Again, this does not make us God. God is not a man. Man is not God. However, God is a part of man.
Well obviously you can come to your own understanding but i’m not aware of several of your conclusions being spelled out in scripture. This last conclusion, “God is a part of man” is ambiguous because scripture says that the Holy Spirit indwells us or may even fill us but i don’t know how that means “God is a part of man.”? The Holy Spirit can also leave us IMO therefore i don’t see it as part of us, like an arm or leg.
One could ask the same question concerning the preceding clause. “Why not ‘The word is with God’?”
The answer to both questions is answered in the first clause “In the beginning was the Word.” All three clauses state the relationship between the Word and God IN THE BEGINNING.
One could ask the same question concerning the preceding clause. “Why not ‘The word is with God’?”
The answer to both questions is answered in the first clause “In the beginning was the Word.” All three clauses state the relationship between the Word and God IN THE BEGINNING.
Right and good observation. But presumably God spoke after Jesus birth yet we never hear God’s word referred to as God anymore. So i guess it’s a symbolic expression and that description did in fact transfer to Jesus.
Steve, man is made of more than just physical matter. We were given a spirit that comes from God.
Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
Eccl. 12:7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it."
Besides that, I believe even physical matter is a part of God. One cannot create something out of nothing, and if God is the only thing that exists eternally, then everything created has to be a part of the eternal God.
The answer to both questions is answered in the first clause “In the beginning was the Word.” All three clauses state the relationship between the Word and God IN THE BEGINNING.
Why does “in the beginning” preclude the connection after “in the beginning”?
Yes, “panentheism” (which literally means “all in God”).
Most Christians hold that God is transcendent—id est, that He it totally other than the creation.
And by the way, lest the idea enters someone’s head, I am NOT suggesting that what most Christians believe is necessarily true.
While God is transcendent and far above His creatures the paradox is that He is imminent and pervades the universe. Theologians usually speak of the omnipresence of God within the universe. The way I put it is that there are ways we are like God and ways we are not. It’s the paradox of union and separation. His energy of love unites us to Him while His divine holiness separates us from Him. Holiness when applied to God refers to everything that separates Him from His creation and creatures:
God is self- sufficient, omnipresent, perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing, infinite, eternal, in control of the universe, infinitely wise, while we are not. There are Creator - creature distinctions.