dr. pinkham shares a discussion of the staTE OF BEING, A DISCUSSION WHICH WILL CONCLUDE MY POSTING OF EXCERPTS FROM HIS BOOK AS BLOG POSTS:

“ONENESS WITH THE FATHER IN CHRIST BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A STATE OF BEING. IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE LOVED, VALUED, AND AFFIRMED THROUGH AN INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH THEM, NOT AS A RESULT OF WHAT WE DO OR FAIL TO DO. . . . RECEIVING CHRIST IS THEREFORE THE ACT OF ENJOINING THE RELATIONAL ONENESS OF THE TRINITY. THE IDEA OF ‘MUTUAL INDWELLING’ DESCRIBES AN ONTOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP. IT IS MUTUAL IN THAT THERE IS A BACK-AND-FORTH RELATIONSHIP [A BIDIRECTIONAL INTERACTION]. IT IS ONTOLOGICAL BECAUSE IT INVOLVES INDWELLING - THAT IS, FINDING A PLACE IN EACH OTHER’S INTERNALITY. IF CHRIST INDWELLS ME, THEN MY ONTOLOGY [STATE OF BEING] IS DEFINED BY HIM. . . . THE ACT OF RECEPTION IS DONE IN THE HEART (EPH 3:17; 2 COR 3:3; HWV 8), WHICH IS NOT A STATIC SUBSTANCE, BUT RATHER THE CENTER OF THE HUMAN BEING’S FACULTIES OF AFFECT (EMOTION) AND INTENTION (WILL). FURTHER, THIS ACT IS AIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT (JOHN 15:26; ROM 5/5, 8:9; 1 COR 6:11; 2 COR 3:3), WHO FACILITATES THE ONTOLOGICAL RECEPTION OF CHRIST. THIS, THEREFORE, ANSWERS THE HOW QUESTION. WE RECEIVE CHRIST IN AN ONTOLOGICAL MANNER BY ALLOWING HIM TO LIVE IN OUR HEARTS [OUR SOULS, CONSISTING OF MIND, WILL AND EMOTION], BY THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

BY READING MY BOOKS AND SELECTED BLOGS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MY OVER 25 YEARS OF RESEARCH HAS ADDRESSED THIS HOW QUESTION. iT IS A DUALIST INTERACTION BETWEEN THE MIND OF GOD AND THE MIND OF MAN THROUGH THE NEURAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS OF THE BRAIN. IT IS A CAUSAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THAT WHICH IS IMMATERIAL AND THAT WHICH IS MATERIAL. LINGUISTIC, SPECIFIED INFORMATION IS TRANSMITTED THEREBY, GIVING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT.

As i wind down the excerpts from dr. pinkham’s outstanding book i am posting the following which gives testimony to how god reveals himself to us:

“we can only know god as he reveals himself to us. he has decided to do so through the heart of the son, the communion of the spirit [Italics added], and the body of christ. knowing the depths of god occurs when we have communion with the [indwelling] holy spirit. grace enables us to share those depths. thus, we can mutually indwell the son, the incarnate word. and we can know the father and be known by him.”

“…communion or community with the father, through the son, and by the holy spirit is the basis of spirituality - being in relationship that is spirit-formed.”

Dr. pinkham continues:

“the kind of relationships enjoyed between father, son, and spirit are now available to us! this is the good news! salvation is not limited to the forgiveness of sin. rather, salvation paves the way for a much deeper and more personal relationship with the members of the trinity, and with one another. . . . believers take on the nature of the trinitarian relationship. this is interpersonal oneness expressed in the divine family. we receive the enabling to engage in this kind of relating due to the miraculous work of christ [who sent the holy spirit as he promised to be our helper and counselor]. however, we are also able to reflect such interpersonal oneness as image-bearers of god.”

i continue to post excerpts from dr. pinkhams’s book as blogs to show in compelling manner the reality of dual interaction between the indwelling holy spirit and the human spirit enabled by the neural synaptic networks created by god to give us a personal, intimate communion with jesus and the father. we are increasing our understanding of this wonderful process through neural science.

pinkham speaks to the mutual indwelling that is the model for christian doctrine:

“in john 5:19-27 and 16:13-14, we see that the relationships between the trinity are self-emptying and self-giving. the father gives his authority AND POWER TO JESUS. YET JESUS GIVES IT ALL BACK BY REFUSING TO DO ANYTHING APART FROM THE FATHER. FURTHER, THE HOLY SPIRIT [INDWELLING THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND SOUL IN OUR TIME] SPEAKS ON BEHALF OF JESUS, AND GIVES GLORY TO JESUS IN THE PROCESS. THE MODEL HERE IS THAT OF INTERDEPENDENCE, UNEQUIVOCAL TRUST, MUTUAL INDWELLING, AND LOVING UNITY. THIS MUST BE THE MODEL FOLLOWED IN CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, AS WELL AS IN THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.”

pinkham shares:

“certainly, christians should be careful not to neglect any aspect of the faith. while the doctrine of the trinity may be difficult to explain, it is certainly not irrelevant, nor an unnecessary complication. rather, it is a glorious, mysterious, and majestic understanding of god. without it, christianity loses the power of the relationship between father and son, as well as the personal nature of the divine indwelling of the holy spirit within believers.”

Dr. pinkham shares the following:

“the pursuit of self, rather than god, is not only a dire mistake, but is an expression of the sin of pridefulness, arrogance, and self-centeredness. it is a ‘salvation by self-help’ (Heb 6:1-3). however, the self cannot attain salvation alone! inward contemplation will never be a substitute for a genuine relationship with jesus christ”

I include this important excerpt from Dr. pinkham’s book that speaks to the giving of the holy spirit by jesus christ:

“christ is lord, redeemer, and head of the church. without the holy spirit’s involvement, however, the church does not reflect christ’s own ministry as giver of the spirit. just as jesus himself functioned by the holy spirit, he makes the way for his followers to do the same. without the dependency upon the holy spirit, the church is not only lame and ineffective, but also lacking in genuine christlikeness. christ’s witnesses should be characterized by the power of the spirit.”

again, i share that my writings have provided compelling evidence for dualist interaction between the immateriAL HOLY SPIRIT AND THE IMMATERIAL HUMAN SPIRIT AND SOUL MADE POSSIBLE BY GOD’S CREATED MATERIAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS THAT TRANSMIT SPECIFIED INFORMATION WITHIN NEURAL CODES INTERPRETED BY THE HUMAN MIND. GOD’S PLAN WAS AND IS TO HAVE A PERSONAL, INTIMATE COMMUNION WITH HIS HUMAN CREATIONS VIA THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT.

dr. pinkham cites gordon fee who “finds it ‘utterly tragic that most expressions of the protestant tradition have ended up being trinitarian in name only, but not in practice.’ fee refers here to the ignorance of the person and work of the Holy spirit that leads so much of the protestant church to be, practically, binitarians (acknowledging only two persons in the godhead). christian spirituality, however, cannot be undertaken without the aid of the holy spirit. . . . pinkham cites shivers who writes, ‘just as christ’s personhood is characterized by relationship with others through the power of the spirit, so human personhood must be characterised by the same.’ therefore the recognition of the role of the holy spirit is integral to the person of christ himself, as well as the christian emulation of christ.”

“another important aspect of christ’s personhood that speaks to his relation to humanity is his suffering, which was relational in that he accepted it for all of humanity (Heb 2:9). further, it was an expression of his relationship with the father in that he chose to suffer and die in obedience to the father, and it led to his glorification with god (heb 2:9). the concept behind the greek word kenosis captures christ’s personal choice to empty himself, humble himself, and give himself for others in response to god’s plan. due to that choice, ‘the personhood of the divine son cannot be separated from the personhood of the human jesus of nazareth.’ no longer is jesus only identified as divine, but he is also now and forever identified as human. his personhood reflects both the divine and the human. humanity, therefore, is already associated with the trinity via the participation in christ. therefore, by virtue of jesus’ humanity, in christ we participate in his communion and worship of the father. the trinitarian relationship exemplified in christ is now available to all who are in him.”