Questions by Editor

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Mar 27, 1879

Questions.

By Editor

IN what sense does the spirit of God dwell in man? Does 1 Cor. 15:53 refer to the body only, or to both soul and body?

1. It is impossible to describe the operations of the Spirit of God. We know that it is promised to the Saints, to dwell in them, &c. Also to reprove, or strive with sinners. But we should be careful on such a solemn subject, not to go beyond the words of inspiration into the field of conjecture.

2. The passage refers to the man. The man is now mortal, but in the resurrection he will be made immortal, if he is Christ's. Much confusion might be avoided if the primary meaning of soul were kept in view, namely, person, or being. In a large majority of the instances of its use in the Scriptures it has only this meaning. The second meaning, life, is used as a concrete term, as representing a person or being by its qualities, namely, a living being. All other meanings or uses of the term are but different shades or modifications of these. The destiny of the body and the soul cannot be separated. Together they represent a man—a living man. But as the primary meaning of ne-phesh is person, it is used of a dead person as well as a living person; thence arises a peculiar use of the term in the concrete; the life has left the body; as soul, or ne-phesh, is often used for life, it is easy to glide into the expression,—the soul has left the body. Some go further and make the life, the ne-phesh, or soul, a living entity, a personality, in distinction from the body. This cannot be true, for as person is predicated of the dead, or dead body, if the soul were an other person, then there would be two persons of one man at the same time, a dead person and a living person. This is absurd. But this absurd view has long been the popular view. Much light has been shed on this subject of late years by English and American authors, but it has not been exhausted.

PLEASE explain Luke 14:26.

Greenfield gives as a definition of miseo, from which the word hate comes, in this passage, "to regard with less affection, love less, esteem less, slight." No further explanation is needed.

PLEASE answer the following: 1. In what sense is the term day used in Gen. 2:17? 2. Those who advocate sprinkling claim that it would be impossible to immerse so many in one day. 3. Explain Matt. 9:16, 17.

1. The word day, as to-day, is sometimes used to give force and emphasis to a declaration. We think in this case it means that he would fall under the condemnation or sentence of death the very day in which he should eat of it. This is in harmony with Bible usage. Comp. Gen. 20:3. "But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife." That is, he was in danger of death, because he was taking a man's wife. See also Ex. 12:33.

2. They are mistaken. Conjecture is not argument. There were about a hundred and twenty disciples together on the day of pentecost. There were eighty-two appointed to the ministry by the Lord. If all were engaged in baptizing there would be less than thirty-seven candidates to each administrator. If the twelve only, there would be 250 to each. They could easily have baptized them in a few hours.

3. The connection plainly shows that the Saviour meant that the Pharisees were unfitted by reason of their religious prejudices, to receive the doctrines of the gospel. As is often said, we would rather work on new material to make Christians than on old bigoted professors.