At jesus’ death on the cross as aN ATONING sin sacrifice the curtain of the temple wAS TORN IN TWO (luke 23:45). IT WAS LOCATED BETWEEN THE HOLY PLACE AND THE MOST HOLY PLACE. ITS TEARING SYMBOLIZED cHRIST’S OPENING THE WAY DIRECTLY TO GOD FOR ALL PEOPLE. THE MOST HOLY PLACE IS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PERSONAL GOD. HISTORICally, the levitical priest stood and performed his religious duties, offering sacrifices which could never take away sins. “but when [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of god. since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, becAUSE BY ONE SACRIFICE HE HAS MADE PERFECT FOREVER THOSE WHO ARE BEING MADE HOLY. THE HOLY SPIRIT ALSO TESTIFIES TO US ABOUT THIS. FIRST HE SAYS: THIS IS THE COVENANT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THAT TIME, SAYS THE LORD. I WILL PUT MY LAWS IN THEIR HEARTS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR MINDS. THEN HE ADDS: THEIR SINS AND LAWLESS ACTS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” (HEBREWS 10:12-17)

IT IS MY PRAYER THAT THE INFORMATION I HAVE SHARED IN MY BOOKS AND BLOG POSTS PROVIDES COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR THE PERSONAL COMMUNION AVAILABLE BETWEEN THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND SOUL IN OUR TIME. WE UNDERSTAND BETTER HOW THIS DUALIST INTERACTION TAKES PLACE INVOLVING THE NEURAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS OF THE BRAIN. IT IS BIDIRECTIONAL, GIVING REPENTANT PEOPLE ACCESS TO THE MOST HOLY PLACE IN FAITH.

April 12, 2024

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

pinkham refers to the term perichoretic communion which “best expresses the nature of the trinity. barth and t. E. Torrance contend that perichoresis is an ontological way of being that is based on the mutual indwelling of the father, son and spirit. . . . humans were made in god’s image, and therefore a greater understanding of the nature of god naturally results in a greater understanding of the nature of humanity. humans are relational persons, who are able to relate to god in their perichoretic personhood . . . . for T. F. Torrence, ‘the reformed doctrine of communion of the spirit’ is better understood as ‘union with christ through the communion of the spirit.’” (minds in communion, the title of this website) “the combination of ‘union with christ’ and ‘the communion of the spirit’ lies at the foundation of the church’s hope and forms the heart of its eschatology.”

Pinkham speaks to the personhood of god in these statements:

“. . . the person of god is relationally dynamic . . . the personhood of god is revealed in the life and character of the incarnATE CHRIST. TO EXPLORE THE PERSON OF JESUS IS TO EXPLORE THE TRINITY. UNDERSTANDING GOD IN THIS WAY ALLOWS US TO RECOGNIZE INTERPERSONal nature as a defining characteristic of the trinity, but also as an invitation into their dynamic relationship through christ himself. . . . the theological reality of the trinity requires that we see god as irreducibly relational, and thus lays the unbreakable foundation for human relationality.”

dr. pinkham refers to the holism of the trinity. I include these excerpts that will give definition to this description:

“the nature of the trinity is relational and holistic. the trinity focuses inward with the relationships between the three members. the trinity focuses outward with the inclusion of humaNITY. THE TRINITY FOCUSES UPWARD WITH THEIR SHARED SUMMIT OF GLORY. AND THE TRINITY FOCUSES DOWNWARD WITH THE OFFER OF SALVATION TO THE WORLD. . . . WE MUST LEARN TO THINK HOLISTICALLY ABOUT CHRISTIANITY AND ATTEMPT TO SEE THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF GOD’S DYNAMIC ACTIVITY IN HUMAN LIFE. FURTHER, WE MUST VIEW THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS AS BEING PERSONAL AND RELATIONAL, NOT JUST THEORETICAL.”