We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Another Bad Hymn


Today another hymn was used from our hymnal, and apparently there was no discernment used in selecting it.  Here are the lyrics, followed by my comments:

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Soul of heaven, heart of God, wash over me.
Soul of heaven, heart of God, wash over me.
Cleanse me, teach me, hold me, reach me.
Soul of heaven, heart of God, wash over me.

Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.
Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.
Shield me, free me, call me, lead me.
Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.

Our song leader elected to sing the first verse twice rather than singing the other verses.  I’m at least thankful we did just the one verse, but I wish I’d never heard this one.

Okay, here are my questions:
1.  How does the Holy Spirit “fall fresh” on us?  Do not the Scriptures say that the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian?  And just how does the spirit “melt” us when it “falls”?

2.  What is the “Soul of heaven”?  Every place I read about a “soul” in the Bible, it is either about a human being or synonymous with the human’s spirit.

I’m sure if I study this song long enough, I could come up with more questions, but these were the ones that came immediately into my head when I looked at the lyrics in church today.  The song reeked of charismania.

Where is the discernment?

11 comments:

DMG said...

Thank you! Totally agree. ( I had to smile too!)

ali said...

I feel your pain.

This seems to be a problem in may churches today.

Feodor said...

Ezekiel 11:5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. KJV

Acts 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. KJV

Psalm 119:28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. KJV

Genesis 2:7 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 soul [nephesh in Hebrew].

Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature [nephesh in Hebrew], that was the name thereof.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Fedor,

The O.T. believers did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. N.T. Believers do. The H.S. does not fall on Christians.

The passage from Acts is during the transition period, and the H.S. "fell" upon these people as they became believers.

For Christians, the H.S. does not "fall fresh" upon us - He already indwells us.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Oh, and the issue about the soul from the cited passages do not reference God as being the soul.

Feodor said...

"The O.T. believers did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them."

I Peter 1:

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!

_______________________________________

Your complaint wasn't that "Soul of Heaven" referenced God. Let me get you your own words: "Every place I read about a “soul” in the Bible, it is either about a human being or synonymous with the human’s spirit."


Genesis 2:19

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature soul, that was the name thereof.






Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Fedor,
The prophets prophesied while the Holy Spirit was indwelling them, but the Holy Spirit did not remain indwelling anyone until after Christ. The Spirit would “fall” on them or “indwell” them as they were prophesying or otherwise acting under God’s power, but the Spirit did not remain with them. In the N.T., the Spirit indwells the believer at the moment of salvation, so there is no “falling fresh” to be had. You are comparing apples to oranges.

The context of my statement about “Soul of Heaven” is that it references God in contrast to a human.

And as to your correlation of “living creature” to “living soul,” I suggest you study the entry on the Hebrew word in “Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words” and after that review the Greek word. That is my response to you.

I also suggest you get a more accurate version than KJV, which uses "living being" for man and "living creature" for animal, or even "living creature" for both.
I still maintain that God is not a soul as defined by either the Hebrew or the Greek.

Feodor said...

"The O.T. believers did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them."

or

"The prophets prophesied while the Holy Spirit was indwelling them."

You're just making this stuff up as you go along. As evidenced by putting these two declarations together.

Everything you wrote in your last comes only from your head. You don't have any scriptural basis for telling anyone when and where and for how long the Spirit dwelt in Israel.

You're spiritually brittle, and Judaistically reliant on souless rules drawn from schismatically radical seventeenth century Protestantism. But you think they're eternal.

You're a superb witness to a withered heart who mistakes the whiff of the decay in your soul for the smell of life. And you enjoy subconscious fantasies of what you think will be punishment.

I pity you.

The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Fedor,
Do you ever look at context? Or will that spoil your argument.

The context of "The O.T. believers did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them." was comparing them to N.T. believers with the permanent indwelling. I don't have the time at this point to give you the Scripture support, but if you really cared, and really were interested, you could find it easily. The O.T. speaks of the Spirit coming on people during the time they are prophesying, etc, and leaving afterwards. As for the N.T., it is rife with passages stating the spirit dwells in the believer.

The rest of your rant is nothing but an ad hominem attack without basis in reality. I don't rely on anything but the Bible, and the Word of God IS eternal.

Your ad hominem attack violates my comment rules. Don't expect another of the sort to be posted.

Anonymous said...

Glenn, glenn...tsk, tsk, tsk, do you NEVER look at context, only teaching doctrines of your own creation...read the BIBLE, and weep, for you are the false teacher, tare, wolf in sheep's clothing:

1Sam 16:13 (ps--OT !)
"So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him (David)in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.

Lexicon: from that day מֵהַיֹּ֥ום me·hai·yo·vm 3117 day a prim. root
forward. וָמָ֑עְלָה va·ma·'e·lah; 4605

Of course, Feodor, a Spirit-led and Spirit-taught follower of Christ is correct. You, Glenn, lack any real thread of Truth in all these things you post, for which you will give an accounting.

Issachar


Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Issachar,

Your "proof text" says nothing about the Spirit indwelling David.

With my experience with Feodor, I would never believe he was a Christian.

I am not the false teacher here.