In
Glimpses of Truth, Dr. Rev. Thomas Shepherd
discusses, what he calls, the Let It In /
Let It Out Controversy. The controversy asks, “Do all human beings have
God’s spirit within them? Or must God send His Spirit to them?” (Shepherd 117)
Paul
wrote to the church at Corinth: Or
do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which
you have from God, and that you are not your own. Shepherd points out
the meaning is ambiguous. While Paul clearly says the Holy Spirit is within you.
His next statement, “Which you have from God," is not without debate. Is Paul
referring to a Holy Spirit which has been poured into the believer, or a divine
spirit welling up from within? (Shepherd
117). This is at the heart of the controversy.
A
search through the Bible gives little clarification. Some gospels refer to Spirit as the
life-force within each person (Mark 14:38, Luke 23:26), while others show Spirit as the empowering divine presence within the believers (John 3:6,
6:63, 7:39, 14:17). (Shepherd 118)
Shepherd
suggests that one resolution might be the middle path that would accept a
God-out-there and God-within. (Shepherd 119) If God in omnipresent and omnipresence it
would seem reasonable that God could be both.
We
can feel God’s presence “out there” as we watch a beautiful sunset, behold the
majesty of the mountains and feel the power of the crashing waves of the ocean.
We can also experience God within, as we gain peace and insights from the
“still small voice within”
In
the Bible, Jesus sometimes spoke of God within saying, “I and the Father are
one.” At other times he seemed to cry out to God, “Take this cup from me.”
Unity
co-founder Charles Fillmore speaks of a spirit within and a spirit out there. In
the Revealing Word Fillmore writes: wisdom
and divine understanding--These attributes come from the Spirit of Christ
within us. (RW 212) While in the Metaphysical Bible dictionary he states, “The
prayer of the soul alone in its upper room (state of high spiritual aspiration)
brings down the Holy Ghost.” (MBD 648)
When
Fillmore spoke of spirit within and spirit that is brought down, he was not speaking
of two separate spirits. In Lesson One of Christian
Healing Fillmore writes, “There is one Presence, one Intelligence, one
Substance, one Life: the good omnipotent.”
Fillmore
believed in one Spirit--omnipresent. Since Spirit is everywhere, not confined to location,
it would seem reasonable that Fillmore could easily speak of God-within and God-out-there without contradiction—both were true. It also seems reasonable to conclude that putting
God in a box, confined to a place within or a place out there, is limiting,
and contradictory to the very nature of God.
Cited:
Shepherd,
Thomas W. Glimpses of Truth-Systematic Theology for Skeptics, Mystics, and Metaphysicians.
2013
Fillmore, Charles. Metaphysical Bible Dictionary. 2013. Kindle
Edition.
Fillmore, Charles.
Revealing Word. 2013. Online tigerseyedowing.com
Fillmore, Charles.
Christian Healing 2013. Online. tigerseyedowing.com
Good commentary, Beth. So if Spirit is found both within and without, which way do we pray? Is one way better than the other? Is one way more effective for some circumstances, and the other way more effective for other circumstances?
ReplyDeleteGood post. No definition of God can be true, because any definition is limiting and the infinite cannot be limited or as you so well noted, "putting God in a box, confined to a place within or a place out there, is limiting, and contradictory to the very nature of God."
ReplyDelete