Reading these replies, I'll comment on a couple I noticed. Beginning with John 1:12-13.
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. (Joh 1:12-13 NRSVue)
Notice, the entire sentence is not v12 alone, but v12 followed by v13. A man’s receiving and believing are acts of the man’s will, correct? Yet, v13 makes clear it was not by the will of blood, flesh or man-- but were born from the will of God! Man’s will did not birth him spiritually any more than his will birthed him into this world from the womb.
The argument that in Eph. 2:1ff that belief is by the mind, not the spirit and it is only the spirit that is dead in this passage. That is based on the unorthodox idea that man is “body, soul & spirit”, when the Bible indicates man is body and soul. The idea of separating mind from spirit in this manner just seems weird as you read the New Testament.
The standard or orthodox view of man’s nature in Christian theology is designated dichotomy which views man as “body and soul”. There is another view sometimes encountered, trichotomy, which views man as “body, soul and spirit”. This view originated in Greek philosophy and has not held the major part of the church in history. The idea that man can believe with the mind and not the spirit, is based on that idea from Greek philosophy. For a discussion of why dichotomy is the true biblical view is discussed in Berkhofs Systematic Theolgy, pages 207-210:
Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof
Regarding the following:
“A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.” (Act 16:14-15 NRSVue)
Explain what the underlined means if not the new birth. Maybe this is another argument that is based on the discredited idea that man is body, soul and spirit; trichotomy. A quote from Outlines of Theology by A.A. Hodge –
The Scriptures teach that man is composed of two elements, רָשָׂבּ, σῶμα, corpus, body, and ַחוּר, πνεῦμα, ψυχή, πνοὴ , ζωή, animus, soul, spirit. This is clearly revealed—
1st. In the account of creation.—Genesis 2:7. The body was formed of the earth, and then God breathed into man the breath of life and he became thenceforth a living soul.
2nd. In the account given of death, Ecclesiastes 12:7, and of the state of soul immediately after death, while the bodies are decaying in the ground.—2 Corinthians 5:1–8; Philippians 1:23,24; Acts 7:59.
3rd. In all the current language of Scripture these two elements are always assumed, and none other are mentioned.
Outlines of Theology
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. (Joh 1:12-13 NRSVue)
Notice, the entire sentence is not v12 alone, but v12 followed by v13. A man’s receiving and believing are acts of the man’s will, correct? Yet, v13 makes clear it was not by the will of blood, flesh or man-- but were born from the will of God! Man’s will did not birth him spiritually any more than his will birthed him into this world from the womb.
The argument that in Eph. 2:1ff that belief is by the mind, not the spirit and it is only the spirit that is dead in this passage. That is based on the unorthodox idea that man is “body, soul & spirit”, when the Bible indicates man is body and soul. The idea of separating mind from spirit in this manner just seems weird as you read the New Testament.
The standard or orthodox view of man’s nature in Christian theology is designated dichotomy which views man as “body and soul”. There is another view sometimes encountered, trichotomy, which views man as “body, soul and spirit”. This view originated in Greek philosophy and has not held the major part of the church in history. The idea that man can believe with the mind and not the spirit, is based on that idea from Greek philosophy. For a discussion of why dichotomy is the true biblical view is discussed in Berkhofs Systematic Theolgy, pages 207-210:
Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof
Regarding the following:
“A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.” (Act 16:14-15 NRSVue)
Explain what the underlined means if not the new birth. Maybe this is another argument that is based on the discredited idea that man is body, soul and spirit; trichotomy. A quote from Outlines of Theology by A.A. Hodge –
The Scriptures teach that man is composed of two elements, רָשָׂבּ, σῶμα, corpus, body, and ַחוּר, πνεῦμα, ψυχή, πνοὴ , ζωή, animus, soul, spirit. This is clearly revealed—
1st. In the account of creation.—Genesis 2:7. The body was formed of the earth, and then God breathed into man the breath of life and he became thenceforth a living soul.
2nd. In the account given of death, Ecclesiastes 12:7, and of the state of soul immediately after death, while the bodies are decaying in the ground.—2 Corinthians 5:1–8; Philippians 1:23,24; Acts 7:59.
3rd. In all the current language of Scripture these two elements are always assumed, and none other are mentioned.
Outlines of Theology
