This episode addresses some of the "positive" attributes of the Holy Spirit, all of which presume the personhood of the Spirit. As stated in previous episodes, Jews and Christians disagree over the Spirit as a distinct person in the godhead. The last program emphasized that salvation depends on the personal attributes of the Spirit. Fellowship of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14) is the natural bond that develops among all believers who are born of the Spirit and placed into the body of Christ by that very same Spirit. They connect based on the Spirit's work of conforming them into the image of Christ, and consequently genuine fellowship of the Spirit is possible: "one body and one Spirit..one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-5) This mutual partaking of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and the "fellowship of the Spirit" makes possible the "mind of Christ" that eagerly and unselfishly gives based on this overflowing Spirit. (Philippians 2:1-2) The fellowship of the Spirit connects the millions of Holy Spirit-dwelt temples as they aim for the mind of Christ. John similarly concludes in 1 John 1:7: "as we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another.." The "fellowship of the Spirit' then is clearly a manifestation of the personality of the Holy Spirit.
The Weakest Interpretation of Galatians 5:4
This episode focuses on the weakest interpretation of Galatians 5:4. "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace." Interpretations typically follow one of the following: 1)this passage refers to unbelievers 2)this passage refers to believers who lose their salvation 3) the passage refers to believers who don't lose their salvation, but experience loss. The entire book of Galatians presumes its recipients have in fact received Christ. Galatians are called "brethren" and "children" by Paul. (Gal. 1:11)(Gal 4:19) They are described as "sons of God" who were "baptized into Christ." (Gal 3:26-27) And Paul affirms that they began "by the Spirit." (Gal. 3:3) Finally and crucially, the immediate context of Galatians 5:4 concedes that the Galatians "were running well." (Galatians 5:7) Arguing that Galatians 5:4 refers to unbelievers is untenable, based on both the immediate context and the entire book of Galatians.
Navigating the Obligations to the Visible and Invisible Church
This episode provides practical application on how to navigate obligations made to the invisible church upon conversion and those derived from participation in the visible assembly. The believer's ultimate identity is Christ Himself, He Himself declaring that He is the Rock upon which the church is built. (Matthew 16:18) He is the foundation upon which we build, incurring the responsibilities and obligations binding on all believers present throughout Scripture, and one of them is participation in the local assembly (Hebrews 10:25). The episode warns against 2 extremes. Some Christians subsume their individual calling by Christ (His Invisible church) into the visible church, so conflating the two that a falling out with an assembly results in refusal to participate in other churches. Visible churches and saints undergoing sanctification inevitably disappoint, and disagreement often highlights our predominant identity, either Christ or the visible church. Those with a healthy identity in Christ may part ways with a local assembly, but their devotion to Christ results in them serving Him in another location, for their responsibilities and obligations to Christ remain, irrespective of disagreement with a visible church. The episode also addresses the other extreme, where participation in a visible church is largely subject to our individual calling by Christ, colored by the lens of OUR gifts and preferences. Those subject to this extreme tend to participate in the visible church based on their myopic agenda without respecting leadership oversight in promoting that church's vision, where "every joint supplies." (Eph. 4:16) All saints should ideally live out of their fundamental identity in Christ, but be willing to submit their giftings and natural abilities to Christ's overseers.