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(The following responses to questions were written spontaneously as emails, so need additional editing for better clarity. This is a project we hope to do soon.)

Don: I sense from reading Matthew 24 that things are going to get worse in the world. What has God giving you on this matter?

World conditions are absolutely going to get worse, much worse. The Bible is clear on that. In the same way a man (each of us) dies, so also mankind and all his kingdoms will die. This dying or decline toward death began 6000 years ago when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. Ultimately, all the water (life) leaks out of the bucket (physics second law of thermodynamics). It is appointed/ordered by God (Hebrews 9:27).

But not so fast (I like to say)! God is merciful (which is that virtue about God from which his grace provisions flow to us)! Otherwise, he would have thrown Adam and Eve (mankind) into the trash (so to speak). Instead, he immediately made provisions for our recovery, beginning with Christ, but including also all he has given us in creation (the soil and atmosphere) for our biological recovery and through community (support/leadership relationships in the home and church) for our psychological healing (mind, emotions, and will). This means, we as world nations, as organizations, and as individuals have the opportunity to extend our health and longevity as we give opportunity for his grace provisions to flow into our lives.

So, yes, ultimately, the external and material will come to its last breath. But according to the Bible, this is when God intervenes to take us home, and for mankind, to set up his Kingdom on earth for a thousand years, and then afterward, to culminate all things in Heaven for eternity. To that we say "Amen!"

I love your email and rejoice for the work God is doing in your heart, also your family.

DonLoy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 11J14

Don: You write about our need to stay connected to Christ, but if we are in Christ and he is in us, how can we ever be disconnected from him?

1) The Holy Spirit is resident in the spirits of believers, but enters our souls (mind, emotions, and will) only as he is invited during our quiet time worship.

2) We are immersed into Christ by the Holy Spirit (so that we are in him) when we trust God's provision of Christ's blood/death on the cross for our eternal salvation. Think of a sponge being immersed into a bowl of water. Also, consider that it is by this immersion into Christ that the spirit is born again. But the body is not born again, and neither is the soul. The soul experiences sanctification and fruitfulness only when we open the door of our hearts (the mind, emotions, and will) and are filled incrementally to fuller measure of the Life of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

Again, by our spiritual immersion into union with Christ, we are in Christ. This is the basis/security of our eternal salvation. Christ is in us only in the sense that the Holy Spirit indwells our spirits, but he lives in our souls (to transform our minds, emotions, and wills) only as we abide in (remain connected to) him. This means we can be in Christ, but not connected to him so that he is in us.

3) This is supported by

Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, you will find rest for your souls."

Galatians 5:4: "You are severed from Christ, you who seek to be righteous by obeying the law; you have fallen away from (God's provisions of) grace." (Paul wrote this to the Galatia church.)

Hebrews 4:1: "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it."

Hebrews 6:4-6: "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit (who have been born again), and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away (from God's provisions for healing/sanctification), it is impossible to renew them again to repentance (because there is no other provisions other than God's provisions for them to consider or turn to), since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame (since they reject God's provisions made possible by the blood/death of Christ)."

Hebrews 12:15: "See to it that no one misses the grace of God."

John 15:4-5: "Remain in (connected to) me. If you do not, you will not be fruitful."

Revelation 3:30: "I stand at the door (of the Laodicea church - his Bride) and knock; if any one will open the door, I will come in to him..."

Philippians 3:12-14: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize (sanctification) for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 10H20

Don: I can't find a translation for 2 Peter 1:3 that reads "through our experience of Him." They all seem to say "through the knowledge of Him." Was this your own paraphrase or am I missing a translation?

I haven't found a translation that uses the word "experience" either.

I use the word because it best expresses how I understand the Greek word epignosis. The root word is gnosis, meaning "a recognition or understanding of data or information." The little prefix (actually a preposition) epi ("upon" in the sense of "superimposed upon") changes/intensifies the root to mean "an intimate relationship with, or experience of, the truth" or, according to Vine, "a greater participation by the knower in the object known, thus more powerfully influencing him" (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p641).

Sometimes, it seems the word gnosis may also mean experience. For example, Paul wrote "I want to know (gnosis) Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship (koinonia) of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10). 

The context of Peter's message (godliness for deliverance from corruption by merit of our participation in the divine nature) supports the word "experience." Mere recognition or understanding of Truth (Christ) does not have the power to produce godliness, except legalistically in the sense of behavior motivated by self-effort or performance.

So there is a knowledge that transcends what we know by intellect. For example, we know the love of God, not just by our understanding of the report concerning it, but by our experience of it. Also, we experience sunlight, renewal, and happiness in a way which transcends knowing information about them.

Read verses 3 and 4 prayerfully in its context, also in the context of the grace message in Paul's letters. The words participate, life, godliness, called, glory, and goodness are very relevant to understanding the word "knowledge."

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 9C19

Don: Who thought up the idea of God?

No one thought up the idea of God. He already existed before anyone did who could have had the thought.

But who brought God into existence?

No one brought God into existence. He existed before any power existed to create him.

Well, where did he come from?

He did not come from anywhere; he is now where he has always been.

But doesn't every effect have a cause?

Yes, but every effect must have a cause greater than itself. So the cause that produced the first effect could not itself have also been a first effect. First can exist before second, but it cannot exist before first.

Also, God is not an effect, but the first cause. And there can be no cause for a cause which has no beginning.

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 8L11

Don: What is the old nature? Also, when Christ gives us his life, is our old nature eradicated, or must we still contend with it?

The sin nature is whatever is true about us physically and psychologically (the soul: mind, emotions, and will) in our natural state, as we were born, and apart from the new birth.

The spirit of man, his inmost being (remember, we are trichotomous: body, soul, and spirit), is dead (DOA) at birth, but it is given life and made perfect by our immersion into spiritual union with Christ (the new birth).

But the body and soul are not born again. Their status remains fallen under God's judgment for this lifetime. They can, however, be renewed and established to a state of increasing health, and the influence of our sin nature can be rendered powerless, as we connect (abide) to include God's provisions for our healing and sanctification.

Although the Life of Christ, the Seed of Life (John 1:3), is sown into our spirit (1 Peter 1:23), the soil into which it is sown remains under God's judgment.

This is the meaning of Romans 8:23: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit (been born again), groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for (the full realization of) our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." (Read 8:18-25 for the context.)

Also, this is why Paul confessed in Philippians 3:13, "I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it." (Read 3:7-14 for the context.)

So we can drink water to satisfy thirst, but thirst again, increase in health, but are subject to be sick again, or rejoice, but then despair. Light indeed does diminish the dark, but our hope for no more darkness is not promised until we are in Heaven.

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 8K10

Don: Can a saved person be lost again?

Here are some thoughts for you to consider:

1. Most important to understand is that salvation is a work of God; we do not save ourselves. This is the meaning of Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved..." (See also Titus 2:11.) We are not saved by anything we do, but by what Christ has already done for us by his death on the cross.

2. Salvation is past, present, and future. We are saved from the penalty of sin (past), the power of sin (present), and one day in Heaven we will be saved from the presence of sin (future).

God has made provisions in Christ for all three aspects of our salvation.

Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty of sin (which is separation from God for eternity). In soteriology (the study or doctrine of salvation), this includes the doctrines of regeneration, reconciliation, and justification. (See Romans 5:10a.)

Christ rose from the dead so that by his resurrected life in us we could be saved in this present life from the power (control) of our sinful nature. In soteriology this includes the doctrine of sanctification. (See Romans 5:10b.)

And, Christ is coming back again to save us from the presence of sin by transforming our bodies to be like his and taking us to Heaven. In soteriology this is called glorification. (See 1 Corinthians 15:49-57.)

It is important to view these three aspects of salvation separately because we are saved from the penalty of sin the moment we trust Christ's death on the cross as our only hope for going to Heaven, but salvation from the power or control of the sin nature is a process. Sanctification is the only aspect of salvation that is experienced in measure and can be lost in measure. Remember, though, that sanctification is not a condition for going to Heaven. It has only to do with this present life.

3. The Christian life is not a life that we live, but a life that is lived in and through us. Only one person ever lived the Christian life. WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) is an impossible standard for us to try to live by. No human being can live like Jesus did. He had a sinless nature; we do not. Our only hope for any measure of holiness is for Christ to live his life in and through us.

4. The belief some have that a saved person can be lost is partially based in the idea that we must turn from sinful behavior in order to be saved, and that if we turn back, we will be lost again. But we are not saved by turning from the "sins" we think will send us to Hell; rather, we are saved by turning from trusting in the "good works" and religious rule-keeping that we think will get us into Heaven. There's a difference.

5. Also, if we can lose our salvation by turning back to sinful behavior, where is the line? How do we determine which sins or how many sins will result in losing our salvation? Does it make sense that a reasonable, fair God would set a boundary, but not tell us very clearly where it is?

6. Also, understanding the purpose of God's laws is important. God did not give the Law as a set of rules for us to follow so that we could go to Heaven. That was exactly the teaching of the Pharisees. God gave the Law, however, to teach his people how to be healthy and happy. Obedience to God's laws is essential to health and happiness - just like driving on the right side of the street or observing any other law that increases health or protects us from harm.

7. The definition of "sins" is also important to understand. Sin, by its simplest definition, is disobedience to God's health plan for us. Sin is not behavior that makes you bad, but behavior that makes you sick. If sinful behavior can result in losing eternal salvation, than all sick people are at risk of being lost.

8. We are kept by the power of God, not by our own power. We have eternal security because God holds to our hand, not because we hold to his. (See 1 Peter 1:5.)

I hope this helps.

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: How can Christ who is in Heaven also be in my heart?

Remember that:

1) God is a Trinity;

2) God the Father, God the Son (Christ), and God the Holy Spirit are equally God (This means, for example, the Son is no less God than the Father, or any more God than the Holy Spirit);

3) God the Father and God the Son are in Heaven, and God the Holy Spirit is the member of the Trinity who indwells the spirit of born again believers;

4) Each member of the Trinity is present within us when one is present; and

5) The Father and the Son also dwell in us in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: How can I go to Heaven?

This is life's most important question. We can get lost going to other places, but if we get the directions wrong about going to Heaven, we will be lost forever.

The Bible says (Romans 5):

1) Mankind is under God's judgment (separation from him) because of the wrong choice Adam made in the Garden of Eden;

2) We are reconciled to God by trusting in the Blood of Christ (his death on the cross) as the only paymenthe will accept to satisfy that judgment.

3) In the courtroom of God's Justice, God the Righteous Judge, passed a judgment on the human race that no one could pay, then himself made the payment that satisfied the judgment. Our choice is to trust in his payment as Abel did which was effectual for eternal salvation, or to attempt a payment of our own as Cain did which had no value.

Trusting in the Blood of Christ for going to Heaven can also be illustrated by getting into a boat that has been provided as the only way across the water to the other side. It begins with intellectually agreeing that the boat is indeed trustworthy (the same as to say that Christ's provision of his death on the cross is exactly what the Bible says it is - sufficient to satisfy God's judgment against us). But it also includes choosing to turn away from prideful or fearful self-effort (for example, to swim across to the other side) to, instead, getting in the Boat and surrendering the destination and well-being of our soul for eternity to God's care and provision for us.

The terms used in the Bible are faith (the conviction produced in our heart by the Holy Spirit that God's Word is true), repentance (a change of mind which the Holy Spirit also produces in our heart), confession (to intellectually agree with God's Word concerning all that the Holy Spirit convinces us to be true), conversion (to turn away from choosing one provision or solution to choosing another), and calling (to call out for help with willingness to receive).

"To as many as received him, to those who believed (trusted) in his name (in who he is and what he has done for us), he gave the right (authority, freedom, privilege) to become children of God (with citizenship in Heaven)." - John 1:12 (Romans 8:17)

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: How are we renewed spiritually?

We are renewed by the Holy Spirit, but in the strictest sense, we are not really renewed spiritually; rather we are renewed psychologically and physically. The spirit is given life by the Holy Spirit in the new birth experience and is indwelled by him. The power of who he is in our spirit does not change, so the health status of our spirit does not really change, but is made perfect.

However, the soul (heart) which is the mind, emotions, and will (our psychological being) is renewed by the flow of the Holy Spirit's life from the spirit into the soul as we invite him through the door of our will (Revelation 3:20). Sanctification or "attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13) and to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) does not reference the need of the spirit, but of the soul, the inner man. Also, we are transformed by the Holy Spirit's renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2).

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Please define Logos, the Incarnate Word, the Written Scriptures, the Bible, the Rhema, and Precious Seed.

1. The Logos is Christ, the Word / Seed / Firstborn / Truth / Life. The Word of God is the Seed of all life. He has inherent power (John 1:1-4).

"In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God." - John 1:1

"The seed is the word (logos) of God." - Luke 8:11

"For the word (logos) of God is alive and powerful." - Hebrews 4:12

2. The Holy Spirit sowed this Logos / Word / Seed / Firstborn / Truth / Life into the womb of the chosen and prepared vessel, Mary, to produce the Incarnate Word, Jesus.

3. He sowed also this Logos / Word / Seed / Firstborn / Truth / Life in the minds of chosen and prepared vessels to produce/author the Written Scriptures, now canonized for us in the 66 books of the Bible.

4. The Rhema is the Truth communicated to us by the Holy Spirit through the Written Scriptures which calls us into relationship with Christ (this is more than an invitation, but the effectual call). It is the "sword of the Spirit" which penetrates our hearts (the soul) to produce in us conviction (faith) and repentance concerning God's provisions for our redemption, and is manifested as Light in a dark world and as Precious Seed sown in redemptive service to others and bearing fruit.

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God." - Romans 10:17

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God." - Ephesians 6:17

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word (rhema)." - Ephesians 5:25-26

"If ye abide in me, and my words (rhema) abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." - John 15:7

"He who goes out weeping bearing precious seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying bundles of grain." - Psalm 126:6

5. The Holy Spirit sows this Logos / Word / Seed / Firstborn / Truth / Life into the human spirit of believers to birth in us the Life of Christ, the divine nature of God. This is the new birth.

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word [logos] of God, which lives and abides forever." - I Peter 1:23).

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Please explain again your comments on the Logos and the Rhema.

We call the words we read in our Bible the "Word of God," but strictly understood, they are not the Logos, but the Scripture. The Logos is Christ (John 1:1-2) who is the Truth (John 14:6). The Rhema is the expression or communication of the Logos by the Holy Spirit, first to those authors whom he prepared for giving the Scripture, then also to us who read it. We have the same opportunity to hear the Holy Spirit communicate Truth to us (rhema) as the writers of Scripture did. However, the action of the Holy Spirit to superintend over the recording of it without error (the inerrant Scripture) was a one-time event.

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Is it not true that we have all of Christ we will ever have, but that he does not have all of us?

No. Actually, by our spiritual union (immersion) into Christ by the Holy Spirit, he indeed does have all of us - otherwise, our eternal salvation would not be certain. And, while we do have all of the Holy Spirit we will ever have dwelling in our inmost person (the spirit), we are (or have opportunity to be) increased daily to a fuller measure of the resurrected Life of Christ in our inner being (the soul) which the Holy Spirit imparts to us in our worship and for which Paul longed to experience more of (Philippians 3:7-11).

"And I pray... that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:19

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: I heard today on radio that Christ dealt with our sin nature on the cross, and that he dealt with our sins (behavior) by his blood.

Well, that is a new one for me. I think it must be an Armenian position to support the belief that believers can lose their salvation. Actually, the cross was constructed of wood which has absolutely no power for redemption. We are not saved from eternal judgment by trusting in the cross, but by our trust in the Blood of Christ. Also, we are saved from the power and bondage of our sin nature, and from the contamination its behavior produces, by our trust in the Life of Christ birthed in us by the Holy Spirit. Study Romans Chapters 5 through 8.

"For if when we were God's enemies we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son, how much more certain and unfailing shall we be saved (sancitified) by his Life." - Romans 5:10

(Note: In a very strict sense, we are really not saved by the "death" of Christ, but by his Blood. He died because he shed his Blood.)

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: If we do not need to earn God's love and smile, does this mean God is never displeased but always smiling at us?

No, I do not believe God is always smiling at us. But this is not to support the idea that he frowns with disappointment because of our misbehavior; rather, he grieves because of our rejection of his provisions and because of the hurt and broken health we have as a result.

This is the context, I believe, for Paul's admonition in Ephesians 4:30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God" by whom we were sealed for the purpose of redemption. In legalistic thinking, this passage is taken to mean that we grieve God by our misbehavior. But when understood in the context of God's grace, the meaning is not that at all.

We know that Jesus grieved. In Luke 19:41-44, he looked out over the city of Jerusalem, foresaw its impending destruction, and sobbed over it. In John 5:39-40, Jesus lamented, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by obeying them you will possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have the life I give."

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Wouldn't you say God's purpose for everything he does is to bring glory to Himself?

God's purpose in the world does not focus on how he is served, but on how a fallen world is redeemed. This means, his relationship to us is not about what we can do for him, but what we will allow him to do for us.

The glory of God is the Light of "who he is." To glorify God means to radiate/reflect his Light into a dark world. God glorifies himself by living in us and manifesting his Light through us.

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Do you believe God has turned away from America in displeasure because so many have rejected him?

No, it is not God who turns away, but man. The mercy of God to make provisions of grace for man's redemption is renewed every day and flows to us out of who he is and not with respect to who we are. However, it is true that all who make choices for their lives to meet their needs with disregard to the resources God has provided make themselves vulnerable to the risks and danger of living in a fallen, broken world. But to explain God in a way that suggests he becomes frustrated and "put out" with our behavior, or that he steps back in a pout because he is "asked to" or "not allowed in" is not consistent with grace theology. See John 12:46-48.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: How does God enable believing?

God enables us to respond to every instruction or command he gives us, including to trust or believe in Christ for salvation. The distinction must be made, however, between God's enablement and the behavior it enables. They are opposite sides of the same coin, so to speak. For example, God enables faith (Gr. "pistis", is a noun, not a verb, so it is not a behavior; rather, it is a conviction that enables the behavior, i.e., trusting or believing). He enables it by sowing the Seed (his Word) in the soil of man's mind (when man hears and receives it). This faith (the conviction generated in man by the Seed concerning the Truth God communicates to him) enables him to repent (change his mind), to confess or agree with God (hence, we say "confession of faith"), to trust or believe, and to call out (Romans 10:13) leading to the new birth and all that follows in soteriology.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: What is your position on irresistible grace and unconditional election?

I don't like to debate my positions on Calvinism, mainly because I respect your conclusions, and also, I don't have a need to be right about it.

But with regard to your question, I cannot find support in Scriptures to satisfy me for the notion that the Holy Spirit arbitrarily imposes spiritual life on man (imposition grace, I call it) because, as the hyper Calvinist says, since man is spiritually dead, he cannot respond to the offer of salvation until he is made alive. Although man's spirit is indeed dead, he is not totally a stone, since he is also a living soul with a mind, emotions, and a free will, and has a living body. I believe the Holy Spirit communicates Truth to the mind of man, that it is an effectual call, not just an invitation, and that it is not irresistible - just as the sun is effectual to call vapors upward yet can still can be blocked. And as light is powerful to generate life and to prevail against darkness, yet can still be boarded against so that it does not enter into the darkness.

So my conclusion is:

1. The Holy Spirit sows (communicates) the Seed of God's Word into man's inner being, the soul (his mind, emotions, and will).

2. His Word has power to generate in man's soul 1) conviction (faith) and 2) repentance (a change of mind) concerning the Gospel message, particularly with respect to (a) God's judgment against the human race because of Adam's disobedience, (b) his provision of Christ's blood as the only payment he will accept to satisfy that judgment, and (c) his provision of Christ's resurrected Life for deliverance from the power of sin.

3. Faith and repentance, generated by the Word of God in man's soul (his mind, emotions, and will), enable his 1) confession (of faith), 2) conversion (a 180 degree turn from trusting in what he thinks he can do for salvation to trusting instead wholly and alone in what Christ has already done for him by his death on the cross and resurrection to life), and 3) calling out in prayer (Romans 10:13)...

4. the result of which, he (his soul and spirit) is immersed by the Holy Spirit into spiritual union with Christ,

5. the result of which, also, is new spiritual life (regeneration), justification, reconciliation to God, and adoption (all simultaneously).

I see divine election with respect to nations as with Jacob over Esau. I also see God's election with respect to believers over unbelievers that sovereignly makes secure our going to Heaven. But I don't see an election of unbelievers over other unbelievers. Also, I see predestination in Scripture with respect to God's determination before time, in eternity, to transform believers into the image of his Son. This is not a decision God made with respect to those outside of Christ, but to believers. But I don't see any of it with disregard to man's free will. Such a notion, I believe, overlooks the power of the Sword of the Spirit (the Rhema) to generate faith.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: I have visions and dreams. Is God speaking to me through these?

Please consider that whatever the source of your dreams and visions, you are being distracted from The Scriptures.

What would God need to say to you in a vision that he would not say to you by the Holy Spirit through his Word? Or is The Scriptures not enough?

Also, who besides the Holy Spirit do you need to teach you? Jesus said, "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things" (John 14:26) and, "When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth" (16:13). John said (1 John 2:27), "As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit - just as it has taught you, remain in him."

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: How does God speak to believers? Does he speak to us through teachers as well as through our reading the Bible?

Yes, of course God speaks through teachers with great benefit. But every word they say needs to be weighed against what the Holy Spirit is communicating to you and convincing you to be true through his Word.

I spent a lot of years listening to excellent teachers and researching favorite authors trying to understand the Scriptures, but it seems now that I came to some conclusions that did not serve me well. When I dared to began trusting God alone to do what the Bible says he does by the Holy Spirit, that is, to communicate his Truth to us personally as we take time daily to sit quietly before him with an open Bible, the result was a new perspective, especially concerning the message of grace.

The Holy Spirit authored the Scriptures - just as he authored the incarnate body of Christ. He communicates through the Scriptures, just as he communicated through Christ ("he has spoken to us by his Son" - Hebrews 1:2a). The Scriptures were prepared by the Holy Spirit as a perfect vessel for the communication of Truth - just as the body of Christ was.

To me, it makes as much sense that we can somehow come to a surer understanding of Truth through the books and sermons of gifted people as to think that the Disciples, in their desire and attempt to understand Truth, studied and analyzed more the reports of others about the words Jesus spoke - instead of listening to hear the words the Father by the Holy Spirit spoke through him to them personally.

I find it interesting that so many Bible students, with all their interest in the work of the Holy Spirit, tend to magnify what man says and writes while minimizing the very real experience of hearing God communicate in a powerful way by the Holy Spirit through his Word to our minds.

What others say can increase knowledge, but the words the Holy Spirit communicates generates faith (conviction). There's a difference. Knowledge is powerful: It can motivate and enable in a measure; it also "puffs" up (inflates self-importance - I Corinthians 8:1). But faith enables, especially for trusting and obedience.

I would so much rather hear what God is communicating to me personally by the Holy Spirit through his Word than to hear what someone else tells me that God is saying to them (canned food, I call it). Also, if the basis of what a person believes is what he learns from man, he may have reason to wonder if what he believes is Truth. So, even if I hear or read what others are saying to a crowd, my interest is mostly to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to me personally.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: How can we know Truth?

I believe the Holy Spirit guides us into all Truth, that we do not really need any man. Certainly, there is an aspect of understanding the Bible as a textbook or manual that teachers can guide, but I don't view that the same as Truth revealed in us by the Holy Spirit.

I define Truth as the mind of God. Our efforts to comprehend (or teach) that reality is, to me, like trying to drink the water in all the oceans. We are limited in this life as to what we can understand about Truth, and even when we have been in Heaven for eternity, we will not have begun to exhaust the mind of God.

In my earlier ministry, there were a few things I thought I understood about Truth by reading books and listening to men teach, but was totally wrong about much of it, and partly wrong by nearly all of it (if I use the little I understand now to measure).

Also, it is my saddest thought that anyone would live a day without hearing God communicate Truth to them, especially those who have opportunity for ministry.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: If we do not need to earn God's love and smile, does this mean God is never displeased but always smiling at us?

No, I do not believe God is always smiling at us.

But this is not to support the idea that he frowns with disappointment because of our misbehavior; rather, he grieves because of our rejection of his provisions and because of the hurt and broken health we have as a result.

This is the context, I believe, for Paul's admonition in Ephesians 4:30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God" by whom we were sealed for the purpose of redemption. In legalistic thinking, this passage is taken to mean that we grieve God by our misbehavior. But when understood in the context of God's grace, the meaning is not that at all. We know that Jesus grieved. In Luke 19:41-44, he looked out over the city of Jerusalem, foresaw its impending destruction, and sobbed over it. In John 5:39-40, Jesus lamented, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by obeying them you will possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have the life I give."

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: When there are differing opinions on the interpretation of the Scriptures, wouldn't you say only one can be correct?

I try to keep separated in my mind the meaning of words like opinion, information, knowledge (gnosis), understanding, and conviction (faith). Opinions and knowledge about information can be all over the place. Conviction, however, in the Bible sense concerning Truth, is a work of the Holy Spirit. We can have the certainty of conviction in different measures, small and great, concerning Truth revealed in the Scriptures.

But I don't know how anyone can have perfect understanding about Truth - and would be a little worried about someone who insisted they did. It seems to me that, in our finite view here on earth, we can sometimes be limited to see only one side of the house, while someone else may see another side of the same house. When two have different views on a subject, it is worthwhile to consider this possibility.

But the Holy Spirit knows Truth fully (reality as God knows it represented by all four sides of the house). And he reveals it to us - but only, I believe, as it is relevant to our need to know, not just as a matter of us knowing more than someone else (We wish!). Also, I believe that after we have been in Heaven forever, we will still be growing in our understanding of the mind of God.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Are you a five-point Calvinist?

I am a one pointer, maybe one and a half.

I accept Total Depravity to mean that man is in total moral ruin, but not that he has no ability to respond to the call of salvation.

I do not accept Unconditional Election (that election is of some unbelievers over other unbelievers to eternal salvation), but is a conditional election (that is, it is based upon God's foreknowledge of our trust in Christ).

I do not accept Limited Atonement. God's judgment because of Adam's disobedience was against the entire human race (Adam and Eve at the time!). To satisfy that judgment was the reason why Jesus died.

I do not accept Irresistable Grace. Darkness cannot prevail against the Light or diminish it. But Light can be barricaded from entering the darkness.

I do accept the Preservation of the Saints. That's one for certain and half of another.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: What is Truth?

Truth, in the sense it is commonly understood, means "information that is correct and reliable" as contrasted to falsehood. This information is gained by intellectual pursuit.

In the Scriptural sense, it seems to me to mean "reality concerning all things as God knows it" and as contrasted to our human perception of it. The essential point I believe to be made is that we cannot understand Truth except as the Holy Spirit ("the Spirit of truth" - John 14:17; 15:26) reveals it to us through his Word.

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." - John 16:13

Also, I don't believe we can know Truth apart from our experience of Christ who is Truth (John 14:6) and "who is of God made unto us wisdom" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Please comment on the following quotes.

"Regeneration: A supernatural change of our disposition which results in repentance and belief in the gospel... and this new disposition of heart means our delight is in the law of God."

I know this definition wants to identify this change of disposition as the new birth, but I absolutely can not find any support in the Scriptures for spiritual regeneration apart from faith to trust God's provision of Christ for our salvation.

"Regeneration is the fountain; sanctification is the river." - J. Sidlow Baxter

This quote may just be over my head, but it doesn't make sense to me. If we want to use these metaphors, I can only find Scripture to support that Christ is the fountain and the river making possible every aspect of personal salvation.

"Faith does not proceed from ourselves, but is the fruit of spiritual regeneration." - John Calvin

Indeed, faith does not proceed from ourselves, but is generated by the Word of God sown in our inner being by the Holy Spirit which enables a lost man to trust God's provision of Christ for salvation. Also, there is the faith of Christ produced in believers as one of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

"When God designs to forgive us he changes our hearts and turns us to obedience by His Spirit." - John Calvin

If the aspect of salvation (past) that secures our going to Heaven (the new birth as Calvin holds) is imposed arbitarily by God, why is the (present) aspect of salvation (sanctification) that relates to our holiness not also secured by imposition or irresistable grace? I can't find the distinction in the Scriptures that supports the notion that God imposes one aspect of salvation, but not another - that his grace is irresistable only to secure our going to Heaven but not also holy living. Yet when the Bible declares that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works, there is no indication that every aspect of salvation (past, present, and future) is not referenced.

"Regeneration is a spiritual change; conversion is a spiritual motion." - Stephen Charnock

Conversion by definition is an act of the will, a 180 degree turn having a negative aspect (which is turning away from going in one direction) and a positive aspect (proceeding in the opposite direction). The definitions are okay but the sequence suggested is not.

"Regeneration is the communication of the divine nature to men by the operation of the Holy Spirit through the Word.- A.J. Gordon

Regeneration is the result of being immersed by the Holy Spirit into spiritual union with Christ - as is justification, reconciliation, sanctification, and adoption.

"Whatever man may do after regeneration, the first quickening of the dead must originate with God." - A.A. Hodge

Amen!

"The Holy Spirit sows his Word in the spirit of man to generate in him just as in the beginning God said, 'Let there be light; and there was light' so, at the moment He appointed for our new birth, he said, 'Let there be life' and there was life. - J.A. Motyer

I have a hard time accepting that God relates to organic man who has a free will in the same way he related to an inanimate universe. It just doesn't make sense to me.

"Regeneration is inseparable from its effects and one of its effects is faith." - John Murray

I can't find support in the Scriptures for bypassing faith to get to regeneration, but I do see support that God's Word sown by the Holy Spirit in man's inner being generates faith which enables him to trust in God's provision of Christ's blood for going to Heaven and also in God's provision of Christ's resurrected life for his holiness.

"The embrace of Christ in faith is the first evidence of regeneration and only thus may we know that we have been regenerated." - John Murray

Again, I cannot find support in the Scriptures (Please help me! I am so willing to be wrong!) for the notion that regeneration precedes faith - but instead, I find overwhelming, clear support that God's Word generates faith for trusting Christ as Savior leading to our immersion into spiritual oneness with Christ and regeneration.

"Sinners cannot obey the gospel, any more than the law, without renewal of heart." - J.I. Packer

Absolutely, but sinners (enabled by faith generated by the Holy Spirit through his Word) can turn from trust in self effort to trust instead in God's provision of Christ's blood for our eternal salvation (from the judgment of sin upon us because of Adam's one transgression), just as born again sinners can turn from trust in self effort to trust (enabled by faith generated by God's Word) in God's provisions of Christ's resurrected life for his progressive salvation (sanctification from the contamination and power of our fallen human condition).

"God regenerates the Soul by uniting it to Jesus Christ" - Augustus H. Strong

Absolutely Amen! And when does the Holy Spirit unite the soul with Christ? It is not before faith, but after faith! To insist that we are immersed by the Holy Spirit into spiritual union with Christ before faith leads to conclusions that don't make any sense to me.

Summary: God's Word sown by the Holy Spirit into our inner being has power to generate conviction (faith) concerning God and his provisions for our salvation which enables a change of mind (repentance) concerning what we previously held to be true, personal confession (agreement with God's Word), conversion (the act of the will to turn away from trusting in a legalistic notion about salvation to trusting instead in a grace solution) and calling out to God in prayer.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: What do you mean by "I don't see an election of unbelievers over other unbelievers?"

I don't see God arbitrarily choosing from the total of mankind one unbeliever for salvation to the exclusion of another unbeliever.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Do you believe that God leaves some unbelievers alone?

That is a conclusion hyper Calvinists are forced to take but I can't find Scriptural support for it.

Don: Would you say there are people in the world who will never hear the gospel, or ever read the Bible in their life time, so will never be saved because they never hear the Word once?

I make a distinction. Just as a distinction can be made between the physical body of Christ and the Eternal Logos (or Word of God) that tabernacled in it (John 1:1-2, 14), a distinction can also be made between the body of written Scriptures (the original autographs) and the Eternal Word of God that expressed through them. Also, just as the Holy Spirit supernaturally sowed the Eternal Seed into the physical womb of Mary to father the incarnate Word (Christ), he also supernaturally sowed the Eternal Seed into the spirit and soul of men to author the Scriptures.

God spoke in Old Testament times through the prophets in various ways (including verbally and in writing), also through Christ during his incarnate ministry here (Hebrews 12:1-2), and now, continues to speak through the written Scriptures - all by the agency of the Holy Spirit.

We rightly call the Scriptures the Word of God, but more literally, they are infallible writings (ink on paper) supernaturally produced by the Holy Spirit as a conduit or resource through which God revealed a measure of himself (just as the sinless human body of Jesus was supernaturally produced by the Holy Spirit through which God also revealed a measure of himself).

So I am not prepared to say that any person in a remote part of the world must read the Bible (like a manual or textbook) in order to hear God's Word, although I would certainly hold that he will never hear anything from God by the Holy Spirit that contradicts the Scriptures.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: Can a person be saved without the Word, or without the Holy Spirit?

No, the Holy Spirit never operates in creation or redemption apart from the Eternal Logos or Seed. But he certainly did operate outside the Bible before it existed.

Are you saying that the Seed of God's Word has been sown by the Holy Spirit in every person in the world in all times?

I believe the Seed of God's Word has been sown (communicated) in all the world (in the sense it has been broadcast) by whatever means God has ordained, but that where the Seed has not found soil to receive it (for different reasons, including the opposing forces of Satan and the world, man's love of pleasure, his innate hostility to God, and the inborn strongholds barricading man's mind against Truth), the Seed does not have opportunity (for lack of a better word) to generate faith sufficient to enable repentance, confession, trusting, and calling out.

Also, the heat and light of the sun go out into all the earth (Psalm 19:1-6) so that all are without excuse, yet it does not penetrate in places where, by the will of man, it has been boarded against.

This supports in my mind that if any person was ever left cold or in the dark, it was not because the Sun failed to shine, but for other reasons, including his own free will choices (Romans 1:18-22) leading to the increased hardening of his heart.

Conclusion: I cannot accept that if anyone does not come to faith, it is because God chooses arbitrarily to limit the communication of his Word to only a select number. I believe, rather, it is because of the normative conditions of life allowed by God to exist that hinders and prevents it, including man's free will. The hyper Calvinist position gives no room for God to work in this way consistent with the laws he ordained to govern life.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: How can I know that what I am hearing is from God?

There seems to be evidence available to determine if what you are hearing is from God - or from Satan, the angel of light, liar, and deceiver.

God speaks quietly, so that if you are not still, you will miss it. Satan speaks loud, sometimes with extreme, bizarre sounds.

The words God speaks to you will call you to wise choices which establish you in health. Satan's hype will excite impulsive behavior which is addictive and will put you in bondage.

If you are quick and impulsive to agree, you are probably being deceived ("There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death." - Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). A change of thinking (repentance) from human reasoning to the conviction and understanding of Truth is a long journey.

Also, if you are overly impressed with the appearance, sound, or performance of the speaker (or singer), or with a writing style, you may be at risk to hear error and to Satan's advantage. The sounds you hear on tv, on the entertainment stage, or at the movie theaters communicate subtle messages that reinforce the inborn barriers (strongholds) and hostilities in your mind against Truth.

Where the crowds gather will not always be the evidence of Truth. The crowds came to see Jesus, some out of curiosity, some to spy, some for a feel-good experience or meal, others to support a rising political star (they thought). But many in those same crowds went away, denied him, betrayed him, and cried "crucify him."

Also, you are not hearing from God if what you hear is condemning or makes you fearful, or if it makes you proud (that maybe you know something no one else knows). When you hear from God you will bow in awe and humility. You will also soar in faith and hope concerning his love and care for you.

Don Loy Whisnant/The Grace Perspective 7D30

Don: Doesn't grace cancel out the Law?

No, no! Grace did not do away with the law (using this term to represent not only the Old Testament Law summarized in the Ten Commandments, but also the instructions and commands given in the New Testament); rather, it enables its fulfillment.

Grace (meaning, God's provision of Christ's death on the cross for us) only cancels out our separation from God due to his judgment upon the human race because of Adam's disobedience. Also, grace (when meaning God's provision of Christ's resurrected life in us) cancels out the dilemma we have related to obeying the law (i.e., our fallen, broken human nature).

"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to [enabled by, out of the resources of] the sinful nature but according to [enabled by, out of the resources of] the Spirit." - Romans 8:3-4

So the law is valid. God gave the Law (Heb. Torah, "teachings") to define a moral standard and to teach how individuals could live - the result of which is health and happiness. For this reason, the Bible says, "the law is holy, righteous and good" (Romans 7:12).

But as informative and helpful as the Law was/is ("I would not have known what sin was except through the law" - Romans 7:7), it failed to produce righteousness in man because of the fallenness of man's human nature (Romans 8:3). Holding out obedience to the law as the way to eternal salvation, or imposing it on another to motivate religious behavior is deadly. That's the reason we do not identify obedience to the Law to counselees as a starting point for finding solutions to counseling issues, including how to go to Heaven.

"I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death" - Romans 7:10.

Instead, we passionately present the Gospel (the Good News of God's Grace) because it provides "a righteousness from God which is God's power (dynamic) for the salvation (healing) of everyone who trusts in its provisions, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last (in every aspect of it)" - Romans 1:16-17.

This righteousness from God is Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30) and makes certain our going to Heaven, but also makes certain our freedom from the binding power of our fallen sinful nature (Romans 5:10) so that "...now, by our death to (freedom from - Romans 6:7) what once bound us (our sinful nature), we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code" - Romans 6:6.

So we report with Paul, "God has enabled us to be ministers of a new covenant - not of the written code, but of the Spirit, for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life" - 2 Corinthians 3:6.

Conclusion: Every command of God was given with a view of our obedience leading to health and happiness. When we break his laws, we suffer. But we take care not to view this obedience as a legalistic issue concerned with rules about behavior in order to stay out of trouble with God or to win his favor.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: What do you mean that grace cancels out the past?

Grace (particularly, God's provision of Christ's death on the cross for us, but also his resurrected life in us) satisfied in full the judgment of God against the human race because of Adam's disobedience. (See Romans 5:15-17.) Any issue/burden related to a believer not going to Heaven is cancelled out through his or her faith in God's provision of the blood of Christ. However, the health consequences of wrong choices in this life are not necessarily cancelled out. (But this opens up a discussion for another time on God's forgivenness as presented in 1 John 1:9, the Lord's [Disciples'] Prayer, and Mark 11:25.)

That said, however, remember that God's only purpose for allowing these consequences is for discipline, i.e, to teach his children regarding our fallenness and need for his provisions. It is not to punish.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective

Don: I have several questions:

What do you mean by "I don't see an election of unbelievers over other unbelievers?"

I don't see God arbitrarily choosing from the total of mankind one unbeliever for salvation to the exclusion of another unbeliever.

Would the Holy Spirit operate outside the Word (Bible)? Can a person be saved without the Word, or without the Holy Spirit?

No, the Holy Spirit never operates in creation or redemption apart from the Eternal Logos or Seed. But he certainly did operate outside the Bible before it existed.

Are you saying that the Seed of God's Word has been sown by the Holy Spirit in every person in the world in all times?

I believe the Seed of God's Word has been sown (communicated) in all the world (in the sense it has been broadcast) by whatever means God has ordained, but that where the Seed has not found soil to receive it (for different reasons, including his love of pleasure, the opposing forces of Satan and the world, and his innate hostility to God and inborn strongholds barricading his mind against Truth), the Seed does not have opportunity (for lack of a better word) to generate faith sufficient to enable repentance, confession, trusting, and calling out. Also, the heat and light of the sun go out into all the earth (Psalm 19:1-6) so that all are without excuse, yet it does not penetrate in places where, by the will of man, it has been boarded against.

This supports in my mind that if any person was ever left cold or in the dark it was not because the Sun failed to shine, but for other reasons, including his own free will choices (Romans 1:18-22) leading to the increased hardening of his heart.

Conclusion: I cannot accept that if anyone does not come to faith, it is because God chooses arbitrarily to limit the communication of his Word to only a select number. I believe, rather, it is because of the normative conditions of life allowed by God to exist that hinders and prevents it, including man's free will. The hyper Calvinist position gives no room for God to work in this way consistent with the laws he ordained to govern life.

 Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective
Don: Since the new year is soon approaching, it is traditional and typical for people and churches to revisit their vision.  Do you mind sharing with me the Grace Perspective on "personal" and "church" vision?  The scriptures instruct us to write the vision down and make it plain. 
If you are referring to Habakkuk 2:2, God was instructing Habakkuk to write/make plain Truth revealed to him which would be read by others, including future generations. Some might try to use this passage as a support for their teaching that we should review and write down our visions (performance goals) – which is another popular performance-based Plan B strategy for experiencing good outcomes that disregards God’s Plan during this Age of Grace for accomplishing his purpose in our lives.

In this Age of Grace, God produces outcomes for our lives according to the Spirit, working in and through us, not according to "work on yourself" strategies and mind games.

Again, in this present age (the Age of Grace), God imparts his LIFE (the 9 Fruits of the Spirit and Wisdom) into our hearts (during Quiet Time worship) which has power to transform our minds, emotions, and wills and support us for making the choices that effectually accomplish whatever his Will (purpose/goal) is for our lives. 

That's the reason God calls us first and foremost to experience Christ to a fuller measure each day. If you will take time to do that, he will cultivate in your heart (mind) the desire and enablement to do everything that fulfills his Will for you (Philippians 2:12-13).

God's plan for maturing the Body of Christ, the Church (Ephesians 4:7-16) replaces the need to write down and review your goals/visions – the same as we do not need to review and write down the many benefits of drinking water; instead, we just need to take time each day to drink the water. When we drink the Water of Life, Christ (his Life in us) will do the rest. This is the meaning of Romans 5:17; 7:6; 8:28; 2 Peter 1:3 and many other related Scripture.

Don Whisnant/The Grace Perspective


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