Sent: Wednesday, August 2, 2006 4:59 PM
Hello XXXXX
I have decided to respond to Brother Robert's comments on my article, The Holy Spirit Vs. The Spirit of Christ (Part 1 Of This Series), despite my previous position that I would not respond to the comments of someone who is not qualified to judge a teaching of the Doctrine of Christ. I decided to respond to Brother Robert, however, because I believe my response is necessary to pull this whole series of articles together.
I will also comment on the article that Brother Robert attached to his response.
Brother Robert's comments are in italics followed by my responses.
God bless you.
Sheila R. Vitale,
Pastor, Teacher & Founder
Living Epistles Ministries
Hi XXX,
This Sister has some truth in part, but overall, I would have to say that she's missing it, big time. Male and Female nouns can mess a person up if they can only discern things by the 'Letter of the Word.' For instance; Jesus is both the Wisdom (Sophia) and Power (Dunamis) of God, the trouble with this is that both these words are Female nouns - Now Jesus is definitely not a woman, but He (like all men) has some feminine characteristics.
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: Christ Jesus, the only mediator between God and man, is the only spiritual male. Mortal humanity is spiritually female. Physical sexuality does not define spiritual sexuality. This is why Paul said that there is no male or female in Christ Jesus.
When Christ Jesus is grafted to a human being, whether that human being is physically male or physically female, "the Man is in the house," and that person is spiritually male -- so long as he lives, preaches, teaches, out of the Christ mind.
This is the reality of 'perfection": Christ added to the individual and Christ Jesus ruling over the whole man (either physical male or physical female).
Jesus was physically male, but, like everyone born of a woman, Jesus inherited adam's fallen soul from Mary, and that fallen soul is spiritually female.
Jesus was a spiritual male because the Father, Jesus' spiritual manhood, dwelled within Him. Jesus was God in the flesh because the Father, the spiritual manhood that dwelled within Him, completely controlled the fallen adamic nature that Jesus inherited from Mary, to the point that Jesus was without sin.
Jesus had a sin nature which was completely immobilized by the righteousness of the Father within Him. This is th promise to the Church of God: That our inherited sin nature will be so immobilized by Christ Jesus within us, that we will arrive at a spiritual place of sinlessness, the point at which Satan loses all power to punish us. No sin, no punishment.... This is how our Righteous God will fulfill the Spiritual Law of God in each of us, without violating His own Law, which says, an eye for an eye........
Spirit (Pnuema) in the Greek is in the Neutral Gender (neither male nor female, an 'IT'), but in the Greek N.T. the Holy Spirit is always referred to as 'HE,' 'Him,' 'His,' etc.. - It would be a violation of Greek to do so unless the Spirit were truly Masculine, regardless of the laws of the Greek Language. God is a Spirit and He is Masculine.
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: Robert, you, yourself say in the study that follows that The 'El-Shaddai' principle of God is Feminine (The 'Almighty' or, 'Breasted God').
God's Spirit has both male and female principles.
Jehovah breathed into the man that He made and that man became a living soul.
The soul of God is the man that the Spirit of God lives in. God is Spirit and the man is soul. The man, Jesus, is the soul of the Father, who dwelled within Him.
The glorified Jesus said, "I am the beginning of the creation of God." What is the creation of God? Adam is the creation of God, and Elohim made him male and female. "The creation of God" is both male and female, spirit and soul. The male/spirit part is the Spirit of the Father, and the female/soul part is the spiritual earth that Adam, our forefather, was formed from. That same spiritual earth is formed into our fallen souls today.
Adam was a being made of light. He did not have a physical, animal body. The animal bodies that mankind dwell in today are a manifestation of the curse.
The glorified Jesus is now so integrated with the Spirit of God, that He is God. Jesus' physical body did not integrate with the Spirit of God. His soul did. That's how Jesus could be God while He was still in a physical body.
The glorified Jesus is the soul of the Father. That’s why, in your own words, Jesus the 'Son of God' [is] Revealed here with 'Paps (Mastos, or Mammary Glands)' and a 'Golden Girdle'
The Spirit of God has no soul, other than the man that He is joined to. The Spirit of God does have, however, both male and female spiritual principles. God is male and female and, in addition, has a female soul, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being made in Jehovah's image, is also male and female.
The Lord Jesus Christ, however is fully spiritually male in relation to mortal humanity, which is the soul of the Lord Jesus.
Soul is feminine, but since God is a Spirit and possesses a Soul He possess both Male and Female properties within himself. The 'El-Shaddai' principle of God is Feminine (The 'Almighty' or, 'Breasted God'). This is why when Jesus appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos as the 'Almighty' he had his 'Paps' girded with a 'Golden Girdle' (Men don't have 'Paps') - The word 'Paps' is defined in Strong's as: "3149. mastos, mas-tos'; from the base of G3145; a (prop. female) breast (as if kneaded up)."
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: I responded to this above.
Note: There is no doubt that the word 'Mastos' in it's bible useage is never applied to a man, yet the word itself as a Greek particle of speech is a Masculine Noun.
Quote From Pastor Vitale's Teaching: Man consists of spirit (male) and earth (female)
Evidently this Sister doesn't believe in the tripartrateness of Man; Spirit, Soul, and Body.
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: I cannot find a "body" anywhere in the account of the creation. I see only that Jehovah breathed Elohim, the breath of His Life, into the man that was formed from the earth (soul), and that earthen, soul man became a living soul, i.e, an earthen soul that was now alive, because Elohim, Jehovah's breath, gave him life.
Jesus is doing the same thing for fallen humanity today: He is breathing the breath of His Life, into us, the descendants of the first adam, who died, and we are quickened, made alive, because His Life breathed on us.
Spirit is Masculine, Flesh is Neutral Gender (Neither Male nor Female), and Soul is Feminine.
"My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad (Psa 34:2)." This is not 'License' to translate Soul (lit. 'Nephesh') in the Feminine, because in Hebrew 'Nephesh' is a Female noun..
There are many things I'd like to contribute toward the understanding of Masculine and Feminine properties of God and Man but time and space will not allow it at this point. But TLW I'll look in some of my archives and see what I already have written up on it and put it up on Adullam's Cave soon.
Much Love and Blessings Bro!
Apostolic Administrator,
*** The following blue text is a teaching of the Administrator of the Eagle's Forum which was attached to his response to the brother who was looking for a witness to Pastor Vitale's teaching on the Holy Spirit Vs the Spirit of Christ.
Dear Friends and Saints of God Most High;
Here is a clear New Testament picture of the 'El-Shaddai,' The Almighty, or 'Breasted God.'
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: A female principle of God that is not soul.
In the last several years here have been teachings brought in by the New Age movement in an attempt to make the Holy Spirit into a 'Mother God,' or The 'Goddess (Queen of Heaven)' of pagan folklore; I believe the Lord would have me to share some insights into this area of Christian Doctrine which has been very sadly neglected in most circles until the present time.
Perhaps the Lord is using the New Ager’s to spark life into some of those who are still knowledgeable enough to address this issue; I don’t know, but I feel there needs to be some clarification for the benefit of those who may be wondering about some of these things.
We all believe that God is a 'Triune Being..'
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: Deut 6:4, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: KJV
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: KJV
this is evident from just a rudimentary study of Scripture; But is He three separate and distinct persons, or is He One Person with three distinct 'Personalities??' Jesus is shown here as the El-Shaddai (The Almighty God), so that eliminates the Holy Spirit from being the 'Mother Goddess;’ Why then, is Jesus the 'Son of God' Revealed here with 'Paps (Mastos, or Mammary Glands)' and a 'Golden Girdle' about them??
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: Robert, I cannot find your answer to the question you ask: Why then, is Jesus the 'Son of God' Revealed here with 'Paps (Mastos, or Mammary Glands)' and a 'Golden Girdle' about them??
The answer is that Jesus is both the female principle of God and the soul of God. The female principle of God is seeking to acquire (adopt) mortal humanity through a spiritual union with us. Spirit and soul are completely opposite one from the other. Therefore, in order for the Spirit of God to join with the soul of mortal humanity, something must be added to mortal humanity that will receive and adhere to the Spirit of God. That "something" is Christ in us, the hope of our glorification (deliverance from the physical body), even the help that Jehovah promised Adam as he descended into the sleep of death.
The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is another form of the Shekinah Glory, a female aspect of God, which was upon, and departed from, Israel. The Holy Spirit is the female seed of God, which will receive and cleave to the male sperma of the Lord Jesus Christ to form Christ Jesus, the saviour in the midst of the individual.
Basically, God is a Spirit, possessing a Soul, and living within in a Body.
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: This is a description of the fallen adam. An aspect of God lives in the physical bodies of men, but God is both inside and outside of the body: His Spirit is so great, it even transcends the Universe as we know it.
Robert, is this just a misunderstanding on your part, or are you teaching that false doctrine that says that God poured Himself out upon humanity, and now mankind is the only place that He is to be found?
Acts 17:28, For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. KJV
He is in us, but we are "in Him," as well.
There are three distinct characteristics of the Godhead; He is 'Omnipotent (all Powerful), Omniscient (all Knowing), and Omnipresent (all present).' These things describe the characteristics of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, respectively. The Father Nature is seen in the Omnipotence of God, Messiah His Son is called the 'Wisdom' or Omniscience of God, the Holy Spirit relates to the Omnipresence of God.
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: Both the Father and the Son (Jesus) are spiritual beings and both are all powerful and all knowing. This is because the two are one God. There is no separation.
These relate to the Principles of 'Spirit, Soul, and Body' as they are relative to man, the Creature fashioned in His singular Image and likeness.
[Pastor Vitale's Response]: The first Adam, who was sinless before he fell, was a living soul. He did not have a physical body. The fallen adam, which we, mortal humanity are, have physical bodies, which are prison houses that are a manifestation of the curse that fell upon adam as a result of his transgressison.
The question was brought up of whether or not the Father had a Soul; to which we reply, ‘If He didn’t have a Soul He would have no Mind, Will or Emotions.'
[Pastor Vitale's response]: God does not have a mind. He does not sleep, slumber or think like mortal men. He created us by His Will, out of His own substance. The Mind of Christ is given to mortal man to replace the Carnal Mind that we are born with, because man needs a mind. The Mind of Christ is the Mind of Christ Jesus, our New Man, the only mediator between God and man.
Mind is the Mediator between God and man.
The Spirit of God meets us, the living soul, between the two cherubim, Christ and Christ Jesus (Mind), at the mercy seat, which is our heart.
That’s all we would need about now, a God with no Mind, Will, or Emotions. God said in the Book of Hebrews:
'Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my Soul (Psuche – Feminine) shall have no Pleasure in him (Heb 10:38).'
Jesus is the soul of God, as described above, that is joining God to mortal humanity. Our union with Jesus is likened to "eating." We are eating Jesus and He is eating us. Thus, Jesus said, you must eat my [spiritual] flesh (His Word), and drink my [spiritual] blood (the Spirit of Christ). Jesus also said that if we were not consuming Him with the diligence that He describes as "heat," He would spue us out of His mouth, i.e, He would stop consuming us.
'Wisdom' is a female noun, both in the Hebrew and in the Greek, and Jesus is referred to as the 'Wisdom of God' both in the Old and New Testaments… This seeming 'Femininity' is because He represents (and Constitutes) the 'Soul' of the Father. Now don’t anyone get scared, this is not any kind of traditional 'Oneness' teaching, and neither is it 'Trinitarian' obviously, I have been around both those blocks with them and they both think this is 'Heresy.' Both the 'Oneness' and the 'Trinity' as they have been taught traditionally, are easily disproved by the Scriptures; and both should be in an hour like this. We all need to take some very careful second looks at what we have been taught about so many things that have really led us nowhere but into confusion. I have never met a Pure Trinitarian. None of them really believe that the Holy Spirit is coequal to Jesus or the Father, or that Jesus is equal to the Father, yet this is exactly the claim of the Trinity (Three in Unity - coeternal, coefficient, co this, co that, and co everything) Doctrine. I don’t wish to attack or tear down anyone’s doctrine here; but we need to just take a good look at the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten us.
Jesus is the Pattern and the Goal of the Believer:
'Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For IN HIM dwelleth ALL the FULNESS of the GODHEAD BODILY (Col 2:8-9).'
I believe it is God’s will for the Overcomer to be filled with His Fulness, in his Spirit, Soul, and Body, thus sharing in His Omnipotence, Omniscience, and even His Omnipresence!!
'And to know (By Revelation and Experience) the LOVE (Agape Nature) of Christ, which PASSETH (Human) knowledge, that YE might be FILLED with ALL the FULNESS of GOD (Eph 3:19).'
Male - Female Elements:
The Father is, by far the most 'Masculine' entity that exists anywhere in all creation, when He is rightly defined in His 'Omnipotence (ALL POWERFUL - PURE SPIRIT)' we can easily see how His Feminine Soul is the 'Weaker Vessel,' this shows the relationship that Jesus has with the Father. Within the Godhead Spirit and Soul are 'One (One Nature - in Union)' even as Adam was created with both elements of Male and Female (Spirit and Soul) within himself. He never 'Argued' with himself, and he wasn’t created as 'Twins' or 'Triplets;' He was one Person in God's Image, with three distinct 'Characteristics' of Spirit, Soul, and Body. In Christ the Spirit Man is Masculine, the Soul is Feminine, and the Flesh (Sarx) is actually seen from God’s perspective as Neutral (Selah).
‘Male and/or Female’ from different perspectives
While we are addressing the subject of Masculinity, the Church from the world’s perspective is Masculine (the masculine, many membered Body of Christ). Example:
"But I would have you know, that the head of every man is (the many-membered) Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God (1 Cor 11:3)."
The Church from Christ’s perspective is feminine: The Bride of Christ..
Christ, from the Father’s perspective is Feminine (the weaker vessel).
The world is the weaker vessel from the Church's perspective, etc, etc..
The more we continue to grow up into the Lord, the less 'Feminine' and more ‘Masculine’ our identity becomes, for we become more and more 'Spiritual..' Our regenerated Spirit is called the 'Hidden MAN' of the Heart (1Pet 3:4). And by the way, Peter was talking to the women folk when he used this phrase 'Hidden MAN of the Heart!'
'Let every soul be SUBJECT unto the higher powers. For there is no power (Exousia) but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God (Rom 13:1).'
Jesus was always Subject to the Father:
'And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him (John 8:29).'
The Father was 'Greater' than Jesus:
'Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my FATHER is GREATER than I (John 14:28).'
As I said, the more we become like the Father, the more Masculine we become:
Again, Jesus (The 'Wisdom,' or Omniscient Element of God), with respect to the Father (The 'Omnipotent - Power Element' of God), is 'Feminine;' but with respect to the Church He is 'Masculine (The Bridegroom).' The Church with respect to Jesus is 'Feminine,' but in relationship to the World the Church is seen as 'Masculine (The Body of Christ - The Sons of God).
The Holy Spirit (The Omnipresence of God) in all this is 'Neutral (Pneuma),' just as our bodies are Neutral, with respect to Spiritual things:
'That which is born of the flesh is FLESH (Neutral); and that which is born of the Spirit is SPIRIT (or, Masculine - John 3:6).'
The more we grow into spiritual beings, the more 'Authority' we will possess, just as the Spirit possess more 'Authority' than the Soul; when the Soul perfectly 'Unites' with the Spirit she will take on a 'New Name' or Nature. Much more Power and Authority than we have ever witnessed will be 'Birthed' out of this relationship all the way around; I believe that this is what is called 'The Manchild.' The Manchild will possess much more Spiritual Power (Authority and Wisdom) than the Female Church that produced him ever had, even in his beginnings!
The Manchild will still have a Soul, but it will be strictly a 'Spiritual Soul,' not a Carnal one - a change in 'Nature' is in view. This 'New Nature' is the Fully Developed and Incorruptible 'Mind (or, Soul) of Christ.'
Robert
