The HOLY SPIRIT wants ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION

The HOLY SPIRIT wants ENTIRE SANCTI- FICATION

Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars

Click to get our FREE MOBILE APP and stay connected

| PentecostalTheology.com

               

Joseph D. Absher I just read his essay on the conscience last night (3rd time). Sorry I haven’t gotten through all his stuff. I like Wesley and Arminius
Joseph D. Absher Arminius talks like a lawyer though
Joseph D. Absher I would rather cry and be weak and be right with God than bold and presumptuous. It takes courage to serve God. Faith isn’t always easy. It’s easy to fall back on works and church attendance and all that. God says different
Grover Katzmarek Sr Works is a major part of a Christians life, not salvation.Like James said show me your supposed faith without works and ill show you mine by my works
Grover Katzmarek Sr Also read william Law A Serious Call To A Devout and Holy Life
Marc Jackson Grover We are saved by grace not by works How do you justify that? What was the point of Christ coming if we could be saved by our own good works?
Grover Katzmarek Sr When have no good works until the blood of Christ washed away our sins after we are baptised
Joseph D. Absher Mr Troy Day. I think brother Katzmarek said works are “not Salvation”
Grover Katzmarek Sr That’s exactly what I meant. Sorry I didn’t get to you comments on acts 2:38. Had a family emergency I had to come to Florida
Marc Jackson So the post is ON sanctification Obviously a second work of grace post salvation Obviously work of the Spirit, not oursHow did pelagianism creep into the comments?
Joseph D. Absher Sanctification is by faith. If you have holy passion for Jesus Christ he’ll keep you on the straight and narrow
Marc Jackson Pelagianism is the belief that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special divine aid.
Joseph D. Absher In short, “the goodness of God”
Grover Katzmarek Sr To be Pelagianism and Pretestist are damnable false doctrine
Joseph D. Absher That’s a pretty plain statement
Grover Katzmarek Sr I’m a plain and direct person. I believe scripture is infallible and literal. I have a very dear brother I’ve known for over 4 decades who has fallen for pretestist views which makes my hesrt
Joseph D. Absher I’ve known precious saints, faithful men and servants of God go astray in the end. It’s scarey. Dowie, among others. But it’s the ones you know personally that hurts. I think it’s that desire for something new maybe
Joseph D. Absher To be honest Mr Troy Day I think most pentecostal don’t talk about sanctification to much. When it’s preached at all it’s called victory over sin and the devil. And sometimes pick up your cross and follow Jesus
Marc Jackson The person and work of the Holy Spirit have a significant role in the theological thought of John Wesley. That role is primarily redemptive, and it is therefore interwoven in Wesley’s doctrine of salvation, which was the chief burden of his more than fifty years of evangelism.[1] The two great poles of his doctrine of salvation were justification and sanctification, and the experiential basis of his thought is the soil out of which grew his deep concern with the work of the Holy Spirit.[2] For Wesley, every doctrine of the Christian faith is centered in the context of vital Christian experience in which the Holy Spirit is a key factor. The Trinitarian basis is apparent, for it was the office of Jesus Christ to reveal the Heavenly Father and thus make possible our salvation by His life and death, and in turn it is the office of the Holy Spirit to reveal the Son to sinful man and administer His atoning work in his soul. Hence, Wesley’s theology is Christoscentric and the person of Christ is essential to every other doctrine. The administrative role of the Holy Spirit in relation to the work of Christ makes it imperative to have a proper understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in Wesley’s thought.
Joseph D. Absher Thank you Dr. Arnett,Thats simple enough for me to understand. Jesus he ain’t to hard to understand. He can do a lot in a moments time. Might take awhile to get to that moment though. lol But he does take that sin and burden and guilt and give peace and joy and assurance. He takes the sin and the “want to.” Jesus does by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the blood and the water they all agree together. I’m grateful and happy to rest and trust in Jesus Christ. Even if I have hard questions and difficulties and the occasional bowing down to work through. That’s the only works I know. The bowing down. Man that’s hard sometimes. Lol
Scott Phillips Often people want to philosophize truth to the point that there is not practical application of the scripture. Sanctification in previous generations was not only taught as an idea, but there were guidelines, suggestions and standards of holiness that were a reflection and application of the theology.However today, people have been so numbed by so much traditional philosophy, one can be the definition of wicked in lifestyle, appearance, music and activity… Yet sing Amazing grace and be called and claim Christianity.Faith Alone has produced empty sentimentality with no message of repentance and no motivation for personal pursuit to live a godly and holy life.
Joseph D. Absher I’d say if that’s the fruit of your repentance that ain’t repentance
Scott Phillips And Pentecostals to a great degree are going down the very same drain of doubt and disobedience wrapped up in the flimsy wrapper called faith alone.
Joseph D. Absher A very real conviction of of sin and the very real ministry of the holy Spirit leaves no other hope but faith in Jesus Christ
Marc Jackson I would only addENTIRE Sanctification in previous generations was not only taught as an idea, but there were guidelines, suggestions and standards of holiness that were a reflection and application of the theology.
Joseph D. Absher Sanctification for everything else is a breaking up and a planting. Jesus Christ was dead. First. Then comes the resurrection. Second. John 12:24 KJV — Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Marc Jackson Can one go to heaven without sanctification?For without holiness no one shall ever see God Melvin Harter
Gerardo de Dominicis Do we go to heaven by the means of our sanctification or our justification? We could consider ourselves to be sanctified and living holy lives but when we compare our sanctification to the holy standard of God’s then we see that we are short and not pure enough. The moment we believe and are born again we are justified and is because of that we have entrance with confidence before the Throne of God. Sanctification is a process of the Spirit in us and all the true Christians have different degrees of it, that’s why I think Wesley was wrong believing that we could reach perfect holiness in this life, especially if the efforts we make aren’t guided by the Holy Spirit, because he is the one that put in us to will and to do his will.
Marc Jackson We go to heaven by the means of grace. Grace also gives us sanctification and the gift of the Holy Spirit
Gerardo de Dominicis Yes, of course, the grace of God manifested in being justified when we believe and born again.
Joseph D. Absher “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” – Romans 8:11If the holy Spirit dwells in you he will heal your soul and give a holy passion for Jesus Christ. So that every emotion is redeemed and cleansed by the blood of Christ. A holy fire to do God’s will. To love, forgive, and testify to the goodness of God his willingness to reconcile and release the captives bound up in sin and hate and pride.

72 Comments

  • Philip Williams
    Reply April 9, 2019

    Philip Williams

    For that, one’s life and possessions must be entirely devoted to the Lord. One must be dead to the world and alive to Christ.

    Otherwise, one is just gonna be entirely sanctimonious.

    • Louise Cummings
      Reply April 11, 2019

      Louise Cummings

      Philip Williams I love your comments. You are getting very good.

  • John Duncan
    Reply April 9, 2019

    John Duncan

    Scriptures promise he will entirely sanctify Christians but many think it is impossible until we get to Heaven.

    • Ray E Horton
      Reply April 9, 2019

      Ray E Horton

      John Duncan And, as I see it, that is exactly what happens, entire sanctification at the spirit level of our identity when we are Born Again. But the sanctification of our soulish lives is a lifetime process, which may not be completed in this lifetime. That complete sanctification spoken of in 1 Thess. 5:23, by which we are kept blameless,spirit, soul and body, must mean to the effect that our souls and bodies are “considered” blameless by virtue of our complete spirit sanctification at he new birth. After all, in this life the body has not yet been glorified, so I take it that our souls will not have arrived in this life either.

    • John Duncan
      Reply April 9, 2019

      John Duncan

      without a Holy Life lived as a result of Jesus in the heart no person will hear “well done. no sin will enter heaven.

  • Ray E Horton
    Reply April 9, 2019

    Ray E Horton

    I once more see the crucial need to understand the distinction between the human spirit and soul. Sanctification is two-fold. At the time of our justification at the New Birth, our new creation spirits, our very identity, are completely and instantly sanctified. But that has to be worked out over a lifetime of the process of gradual sanctification of our soul lives (mind, will, emotions) as we run the race and grow from glory to glory as we renew our minds to who we already are in Christ at the spirit level.

    This understanding, which I believe is the Biblical one, resolves a lot of theological problems.

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 9, 2019

      Charles Page

      There are others of the Wesleyan persuasion who believe entire sanctification is a work subsequent to being born again. Salvation they say is twofold regeneration is separate from sanctification. Both anticipate that the end work is final glorification.

    • Ray E Horton
      Reply April 9, 2019

      Ray E Horton

      Charles Page Understood! Don’t know what their scriptural proof would be for sanctification being a second work. When we become a New Creation it seems to me it’s a part of the package. The only second work of the Holy Spirit is the Baptism in the H.S., where one receives the Holy Spirit at the New Birth, then the infilling for power at the Baptism.

  • Joe Absher
    Reply April 10, 2019

    Joe Absher

    Hebrews 13:12 KJV — Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

    If sanctification is a promise, and it is, why then isn’t it a real objective a holy passion and fervent prayer in our churches.

  • Reply April 10, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    what is your view of ENTIRE vs INSTANT sanctification as claimed coggers? Link Hudson Charles Page I read your posts Philip Williams you tend toward Orthodox/Catholic theosis divination which was in fact the initial view of John Wesley as Joe Absher has pointed from his works on several occasions already I like that

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      for certain regeneration is instant and apart from the cooperation of man so the word entire is preferable to instant when you discuss sanctification since it involves the cooperation of the born again with the Spirit and Word.

      Progressive AOG sanctification entertains the notion that like regeneration it is also instant and includes cooperation of man with the Holy Spirit. (semi-Pelagianism)

      Most coggers are siding with aoggers in the same manner Calvinist are siding with Arminians and calling themselves Reformed. ie. Donald Bowdle and open theist

    • Philip Williams
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Philip Williams

      Yes, I was just giving the historical roots of the Holiness/Pentecostal movements which does have the Anglican/Catholic understanding in its roots. That’s not my own view, which is based on how I read the New Covenant (Testament). Our new birth isn’t like a natural birth, but rather adoption through the sprinkling of blood. The new birth is a process very much patterned on Jesus’s own work from the beginning of his ministry until his death on the cross. We have to join him in his death by becoming dead to the world and alive in the Kingdom of God. In short, that is a process of Christian maturation. We do have to become perfect through repenting in our heart to God and man as we discover our shortcomings through God and man showing them to us.

  • Charles Page
    Reply April 10, 2019

    Charles Page

    Jesus’ analogy of the new birth lead Nicodemus to say “how can a person reenter their mother’s womb?” That defies the Anglican/Catholic view of the new birth. The Anglican view accepted original sin (as does the Catholic faith) and a semi-Augustinain view had to be contrived that incorporated water baptism thus baptisimal regeneration. In the sense of paedobaptism there is a working faith incorporated into the new birth: consenting parents, a Catholic mediator and the Holy Spirit (Espiritu Santo).

    I prefer an anabaptist argument for regeneration as opposed to a Catholic confession.

  • Philip Williams
    Reply April 10, 2019

    Philip Williams

    My view isn’t semi-Pelagian, but Pelagian.

    Of course, I am one of the view who understand Pelagius from his own writings and not from the writings of the Neoplatonist called Augustine of Hippo,

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      tabula rasa???

    • Philip Williams
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Philip Williams

      Charles Page what as John Locke to do with this. 🙂

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      just a question

    • Philip Williams
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Philip Williams

      Charles Page By natural birth, we are children of Adam. Adam was born innocent but sinned. So are we. So do we.

      Arminius was too Ausgustinian.

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      unlike Adam we were born depraved in that we are cut off from God, spiritually.

    • Philip Williams
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Philip Williams

      Charles Page

      Very Calvinistic, but not what Jesus says about the little children.

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      Why did Luther and
      Calvin oppose anabaptist?

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      Philip Williams Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed

      How does this defend Pelagianism?

      It does defend paedobaptism in that you must approach the baptismal font in a childlike manner. If you approached in an adult state of rebellion and disrespect you could not be born again! In anti-Catholic forms of salvation you have to respond to the call of the pastor in a childlike manner in order to be born again.

      I believe Jesus is saying that the regenerated child of God needs to receive the kingdom as a little child or else he could not be a part.

      I am setting aside theological arguments and trying to understand what Jesus was saying. There are many ways to apply his words in fitting with divergent systems.

    • Philip Williams
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Philip Williams

      Charles Page are you really basing this on Scripture? Jesus was saying that regarding natural born children. No one had yet been born again, possible only after his death on the cross.

    • Philip Williams
      Reply April 11, 2019

      Philip Williams

      Charles Page the magisterial Reformation opposed Anabaptists because it removed state control of the church and because they were Augustinian.

  • Joe Absher
    Reply April 10, 2019

    Joe Absher

    “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
    Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
    – Matthew 7:13, 14
    You’re washed in the blood of Christ and surrendered to do God’s will or you’re not. You rest in Christ by faith or you’re still striving in the wilderness. You enjoy the peace of God as Christ Jesus the prince of peace rules in your heart or you’re double minded and unstable and tossed about by doubt and unbelief. Jesus is your refuge in the storm the wind in your sails and the captain of the ship or you’re still of two opinions. One from hell and the world and the other from heaven and promise of God in the good book. You love God you serve God or you love yourself and your own pernicious ways…

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      and when you finally earn the new birth you will need to rest from your vigorous activity!!

    • Joe Absher
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Joe Absher

      I don’t know what happened to you over the years Mr Page but I didn’t do it.

  • Reply April 10, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    Bottom line – ENTIRE sanctification is what GOD wants He would not go for the partial one. And without it NO one will see GOD This is the good ol teaching Melvin Harter

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      Can a Assembly of God person see God?

    • Reply April 10, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      HOW does AoG receive the Holy Ghost without being entirely sanctified? – mystery of the ages

    • Charles Page
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Charles Page

      I’d say that God honors even erroneous faith mixed into what the seeker is seeking! Surely that includes me! This is why there will be Muslims in heaven!

      Correct doctrine doesn’t get you into heaven, you get there by new birth yes, amen!

    • Reply April 10, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      and just may be right about that

    • Link Hudson
      Reply April 10, 2019

      Link Hudson

      Charles Page What is your evidence for there being Muslims in heaven? Have youe ver seen any?

      Being sanctified and what you label your doctrine of sanctification are two different things. Btw, why did you join the A/G if you think like that?

  • Louise Cummings
    Reply April 11, 2019

    Louise Cummings

    I didn’t see anything against what the article brought out. Now as far as Catholics. I can’t see anything right about them. I believe you have to be born again before Sanctification. And then the infilling Of The Holy Spirit. But as far as the articals you had down. I didn’t see anything wrong with it.

  • Reply August 4, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    YES he does Joe Absher

  • RichardAnna Boyce
    Reply August 4, 2019

    RichardAnna Boyce

    wants but not compulsory. Rom 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified…. with no mention of sanctification.

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 4, 2019

      Charles Page

      A person can be born again and yet have an opportunity to be sanctified. They maybe incapacitated and incapable of willful compliance with the mandate to be sanctified.

      I believe that a willful person can willfully refuse to comply or at a latter point renounce their sanctification yet never loose their sonship.

    • RichardAnna Boyce
      Reply August 4, 2019

      RichardAnna Boyce

      Romans 7:18 New King James Version (NKJV)
      18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. This Paul as a believer following mixture of law and grace.

  • Joe Absher
    Reply August 4, 2019

    Joe Absher

    Welcome to pentecostal theology
    You heard it here first.
    Its “not compulsory” to be sanctified!

    Mr Day you must have real love for God and his people. And patience.

  • Tara Sing Bhandari
    Reply August 4, 2019

    Tara Sing Bhandari

    What is Sanctification ?

    • Reply August 4, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      if you are still asking you aint got it

  • Reply August 4, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    What is ENTIRE

  • Joe Absher
    Reply August 4, 2019

    Joe Absher

    that don’t take a college edjokasion

  • RichardAnna Boyce
    Reply August 4, 2019

    RichardAnna Boyce

    Romans 7:18 New King James Version (NKJV)
    18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. This is Paul as a believer following a mixture of law and grace.

  • Davidking Manelli
    Reply August 5, 2019

    Davidking Manelli

    Good topic

  • Davidking Manelli
    Reply August 5, 2019

    Davidking Manelli

    Gods grace

  • Reply August 6, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    YES HE DOES but what is it? Charles Page

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 6, 2019

      Charles Page

      Troy Day it’s what a born again child God receives when he/she earnestly seeks

      If the preacher teaches a progressive sanctification then the believer will struggle in confusion never knowing genuine sanctification though possessing sanctification.
      The preacher makes his disciple twice the child of hell as the preacher

    • Reply August 6, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Charles Page but the Spirit wants ENTIRE …

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 6, 2019

      Charles Page

      Troy Day if the Holy Spirit cooperates with your faith then you have the sanctification He wants

    • Reply August 6, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Charles Page so you can add the Holy Spirit cooperation to your own penance works?

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 6, 2019

      Charles Page

      Troy Day not for the new birth but for our sanctification

    • Reply August 6, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Charles Page so you work your own sanctification ?

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 6, 2019

      Charles Page

      Troy Day true repentance is our part in sanctification

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 6, 2019

      Charles Page

      Troy Day yes in cooperation with Word and Spirit all subsequent to the new birth

  • Davidking Manelli
    Reply August 6, 2019

    Davidking Manelli

    Yes you

  • Davidking Manelli
    Reply August 7, 2019

    Davidking Manelli

    Yes brother

  • Reply August 7, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    Philip Williams Charles Page if yall think you can add with your works to God you’ve got another thing coming

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 7, 2019

      Charles Page

      Troy Day calling justification and glorification are unconditional gifts of grace
      Can’t work for these

      Sanctification is an earn state of temporal salvation on earth

  • Davidking Manelli
    Reply August 7, 2019

    Davidking Manelli

    Yes absolutely

  • Davidking Manelli
    Reply August 7, 2019

    Davidking Manelli

    Yes

  • Joe Absher
    Reply August 7, 2019

    Joe Absher

    “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
    – 1 Corinthians 13:13

    Giving some more thought to “entire sanctification” purity of heart and singleness of mind. The grace of our lord Jesus Christ. The Saviour. And our advocate in heaven!
    “justification is when God takes you out if the world” sanctification is when God takes the world out if you”
    The world being the sin and evil and rebellion of the worldly systems, pride, greed, selfish ambitions and it’s lust. By “world” i do not mean the rivers and lakes and trees and beautiful mountains. Or even our neighborhoods that are sometimes overrun with devils and addiction and heartache and loss of hope. Loss of hope is the worst loss.
    Repentance in considering our ways and deeds deals with, not only our sin, in what we have done, but in what we have become.
    This is important when we have a desire to draw near to God and live for him in a consecrated life. Consecrated to do his will, to be useful to him, be pleasing in his sight, and have some meaningful influence for good in this old world with its tragedy and devastation.
    Christ, Jesus Christ rolls away not only with the burden of sin but helps a man to walk uprightly. Not just the fruit but the root. The soul and the spirit, the personal conviction and conversion.
    Salvation is Deliverance and Healing. Jesus heals that heart and cleanses that soul and makes it new. He takes the sin and the want to sin. He breaks the curse and power of sin. He sets us free. Thank God for that!

    • Charles Page
      Reply August 7, 2019

      Charles Page

      Joe Absher I was falsely taught that the cobwebs were cleaned out at original salvation and the web maker was killed at sanctification

    • Joe Absher
      Reply August 7, 2019

      Joe Absher

      The devil is still going about to deceive and devour with his temptation and pride and false accusation. but I’m sure you know that now

  • Joe Absher
    Reply August 8, 2019

    Joe Absher

    “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
    By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
    – Romans 5:1,2

    The greatest joy is justification know your sins are washed away and heaven is your home. Justification is when the Almighty gives a man a new life a new heart by faith in Jesus Christ. Sanctification then must be when that heart is returned to God in good order washed and cleansed, yielded, loving and kind, effectively trained for good and mercy.

  • RichardAnna Boyce
    Reply August 8, 2019

    RichardAnna Boyce

    Penalty of Sins – We were destined for eternal destruction; the wages or payment for sin is death (Romans 6:23);
    but we have been justified (declared innocent) by His blood and by His grace (Romans 5:9, Titus 3:7). We have been forgiven; without the shedding of blood there, there is no forgiveness of sin (Ephesians 1:7, 2:13; Colossians 1:14, 20; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This is based on what God did (Ephesians 2:8-9). The guilt has been removed; no more condemnation (Romans 8:1). When Jesus said: It is finished, the sin problem was taken care of permanently (John 19:30).

    Power of Sins – Sin has no dominion over us (Romans 6:14-19). We have been set apart through sanctification, and we must pursue it; follow after godliness (1 Timothy 6:11). Sanctification is a daily process of walking in holiness and righteousness. Mortify (kill) the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5).

    The process of sanctification must be progressive (2 Peter 3:18); putting on more of the new man (Ephesians 4:24). This is the conduct that is required for God’s children (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4,7). Because we still have bodies that are prone to sin, we need to continually ask for forgiveness to be in fellowship with God (1 John 1:9).

    When born-again believers fall into sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us from all those unrighteous acts (1 John 1:7-9). Why am I saying unrighteous acts? 1 John 1:5-7 lets us know whether we are walking in darkness or light. In other words, sanctification is action; therefore, we walk in righteousness and holiness.

    Presence of Sins – We will have glorified bodies that will not be capable of sin, because the bodies will be incorruptible (not perishable); this is total perfection (1 Corinthians 15:51-57). We will have the same perfection that Jesus has (1 John 3:2).

  • Reply April 27, 2023

    Anonymous

    YES HE DOES…

    • Reply April 27, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day then you best separates from da world!

    • Reply April 27, 2023

      Anonymous

      Philip Williams Isaiah 53:10‒12

      Isaiah 53:10‒12 is another passage that sets forth the spiritual aspect of Christ’s satisfactory death. Note especially that the word “soul” (nephesh) occurs three times in the passage:

      10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul [nephesh] an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul [nephesh], and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul [nephesh] unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

      Some who hold that Christ died only physically interpret “soul” (nephesh) in these verses as referring only to Christ’s body or physical life that He offered on the cross. They say the word “soul” in verses 10‒12 is limited in meaning to just Christ’s body rather than the immaterial part of Him. This theological view cannot allow the word “soul” (nephesh) in these verses to mean: (a) the immaterial part of man, or (b) the body and the immaterial part of man (i.e., a description of the whole person). Meaning “b” is the meaning of nephesh that occurs most frequently throughout the Old Testament. This physical/material + spiritual/immaterial meaning of nephesh occurs so frequently that we may safely say that it is the normal, primary meaning of the word, unless contextual factors indicate that a secondary meaning is intended.

      The interpretation that “soul” in Isaiah 53:10‒12 refers only to Christ’s body appears to be theologically driven based on a preconceived doctrinal conclusion, for there is nothing in the context, grammar, or parallel usage of nephesh within Isaiah to limit its meaning to the physical body alone. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, nephesh most frequently refers to the person as a whole—material and immaterial. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being [nephesh].” Here, the body of Adam is formed from the ground, but there is no animating principle until God breathes into Adam’s body and he becomes a whole, living person. In a few instances in the Old Testament, nephesh is clearly used of the immaterial part of man in distinction to the material body (Gen. 35:18; 1 Kings 17:21‒22). This is the sense in which “soul” is used centuries later by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 10:28 when He speaks of men being able to destroy the “body” but not the “soul” (Gr. pyschē = Heb. nephesh). In the Pentateuch, nephesh can even refer to a person’s “body” without its inner life (Lev. 21:1, 11; Num. 6:6, 11; 9:6‒7, 10). However, in the book of Isaiah, nephesh occurs in 10:18 in reference to the immaterial part of man, where Isaiah uses the expression “soul and body” to encompass the whole person. Isaiah 26:9 also uses Hebrew poetry’s standard form of synonymous parallelism to speak of the “soul” (nephesh) and “spirit” (ruach) as the immaterial, inner part of man (ruach cf. Dan. 7:15). Therefore, Isaiah’s use of nephesh permits the meaning of the word in 53:10-12 as being either (a) the immaterial part of man, or (b) the body plus the immaterial part of man (the whole person), but not (c) the body alone.8 Since nephesh never means the body alone everywhere else it occurs in Isaiah, to interpret the word this way in 53:10 would be an example of forcing one’s theological views onto the verse, which would be eisegesis rather than exegesis. Ironside fittingly concludes:

      We read in Isaiah 53, “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” How tremendously solemn! He upon whom the law had no claim whatsoever poured out His soul unto death in the sinner’s stead. Let me remind you that it was not simply the physical suffering which our blessed Lord endured upon the cross that made expiation for iniquity. It was what He suffered in His holy, spotless soul, in His sinless being, when the judgment that our sins deserved fell on Him .

    • Reply April 27, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day Ahhh! I see you are another one of those backslidden Pentecostals rejecting true sanctification for Reformed nonsense. The Hebrew soul does refer to the living body, but the soul that God saves. The Eternal Life cannot die!

    • Reply April 28, 2023

      Anonymous

      Philip Williams its in the bible

  • Reply April 28, 2023

    Anonymous

    Bad thoughts are not allowing us to go further with full-fledged sanctification.

Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply to Charles Page Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.