Hi Marilyn,

          I have just a few final thoughts.  I think you may be blurring the three persons of the Godhead too much.  

          You said: "Actually, as God, he was in all places at one time. As man, he was in one place at one time.  As a visible man, Jesus had to ascend out of man's sight before he could descend 10 days later and enter into each believer on Pentecost."

          First, only the Word became flesh.  There is no Scripture that has the Father or the Holy Spirit becoming incarnate; so the Father and the Spirit are not confined to being in one place at one time.  Jesus, however, chose to be confined to a mortal body.  He chose to become like us.

          Second, Scripture expressly tells us that the Holy Spirit entered each believer on Pentecost – not Jesus Christ.  Here are the words of Peter on that Pentecost:

          “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.  Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.  For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.”  Acts 2:32-35.

          And for further clarification:  “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  Acts 2:4.

          It was the Holy Spirit who came down on Pentecost – while Jesus was sitting on the right hand of the Father, after he had “ascended into the heavens.”  And that was my original point many posts ago – we know where Jesus can be found now.  So the search for a worthy man in Revelation 5 had to occur prior to the time that He sat down in heaven.

The Trinity

          Here is a quick definition that I found on the Blue Letter Bible site, by Don Stewart:

          "The doctrine of the Trinity, simply stated, is as follows: The Bible teaches that there is one eternal God who is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  He is the only God that exists. However, within the nature of this one God are three persons, or three centers of consciousness - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  These three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal. They are also distinguishable or distinct from one another. These three distinct Persons are the one God.  Everything that is true about God is true about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

          So, yes, there is one God, but He is exists as three distinct persons. 

Effect of the Incarnation

          The Incarnation required Jesus to subject Himself to the limitations of a mortal body.  He never stopped being God, however.  His deity was still evidenced by His many miracles and the ability to see into the minds of the people around Him.  BUT He also allowed Himself to get hungry, to get thirsty, to feel pain, etc.  Though still God, He humbled Himself. 

          “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”    Philippians 2:5-8.

          I have already cited verses to show that when the incarnate Jesus was here on earth, He was not in heaven with the Father.  I also cited verses which show that the incarnate Jesus did not sit down on the right hand of God until after His death and resurrection.  If these Scriptures cannot convince you of this, then I surely cannot.

          Remember that Jesus became a mortal at a specific point in history.  He was not always mortal, but He was willing to take on mortality for us.  And a mortal body has limitations.  Point in fact: it cannot be in two places at once. 

          In fact, Jesus is still in a body, albeit an immortal one.  “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”  Luke 24:39.  So, Jesus is still bound by the parameters of a body.  And His resurrected body is like the ones that we are all hoping to get someday. 

          Can an immortal body be omnipresent?  I do not think so.  After His resurrection, we see Jesus appearing and disappearing, but we do not see Him appearing at simultaneous locations.

          At any rate, why would the universe fall apart just because Jesus was in a body that was (is?) restricted to one location?  He was and is and will be the Word.  The Father is the will, the Son speaks or expresses that will, and the Spirit accomplishes the will of God.  (“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”  John 5:30.)

          Why would that change?  As words are expressions of abstract thought or ideas, Jesus the Word is the expression of God.  His incarnation is just another form of this expression.  When the Word became flesh, Jesus Christ became God expressed in a physical form.  The Word Incarnate is the ultimate way that God speaks to us.

          “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”  Hebrews 1:1-4.

Spirit, Soul, and Body

          Let me tell you from the outset that this is going to be a very imperfect analogy between human beings and God.  (But I won’t let that stop me from going forward with it :)   As you probably know, human beings also have a triune nature. 

          “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Thessalonians 5:23.

          This triune composition makes sense because we are made in the image of God.  Each person of the Trinity, however, is fully realized and distinct. 

          [I am afraid that I have to give the New Agers credit for this phrase – “body, mind and spirit.”  But I prefer the use of the word “mind” instead of the word “soul.”  Maybe because the word “soul” is not as obviously defined as the words "body" or "spirit."  I see the Father as the mind or will of the Trinity.]

          I believe that our reconciliation to God is accomplished in three stages.  First, our spirits to the Holy Spirit – at the second birth when we are born of the Spirit.  Second, our bodies to the body of Christ – at the resurrection when we get immortal bodies.  Third, our mind to the mind of God – when we see Him face to face in eternity. 

          Now here is the analogy: The spirit and soul of a human being can exist and function separate from the body.  Just ask the millions of people who are currently in heaven or hell.  If this is possible for us, then the Father and Holy Spirit should also be able to function even if Jesus the Body is restricted to one location.

          This would explain how Jesus, weighed down with our sins on the cross, could be forsaken by the Father.  Their fellowship was broken by the presence of sin.

My final thought on the location of Christ

          According to Jesus Himself, the Son left the Father in heaven in order to come to earth: "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father."  John 16:28.

          I am going to have to take Jesus' word on this issue.  He would know where He was and where He was not.

Lord in the Air

          So where was Jesus if he was not in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth?  He was in the air.

          During the Ascension, His disciples watched Him being taken upward until He went out of sight into a cloud:

          "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."  Acts 1:9-11.

          Significantly, they were told that Jesus would return in like manner.  And we find the following prophecy about to our own resurrection:

          "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

          Please note that Jesus will descend from heaven to meet us in the air.  He had to pass through the air during His Ascension; and He will descend back to it again to get us.

          I have previously told you that I believe in a Sixth Seal Rapture.  I believe that you can see the effect of the resurrections of the dead and the living in the applicable passage:

          “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”  Revelation 6:12-14.

          First, we see a great earthquake.  And we know that the dead in Christ will be resurrected first in the Rapture.  I believe that there is an earthquake-resurrection pattern established in the Bible: by Jesus in Matthew 27:50-51, by some Old Testament Saints in Matthew 27:52, and by the 2 Witnesses in Revelation 11:11-13.  This pattern could explain the great earthquake that may result from the resurrection of bodies from the earth/graves.

          Then we see activity in the heavens, including the atmosphere rolling up like a scroll.  I believe that this could be explained by the catching up in the air and resurrection of those who are still alive at the time of the Rapture.  The power released by their resurrection could have a detrimental impact to the atmosphere above the earth. 

          So, the Sixth Seal could be a description of the impact of the Rapture on the earth and above the earth.

Conclusion

          Admittedly, the Trinity can be a difficult concept for us to fully understand.  But there is enough support in Scripture to show that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are both one with and distinct from each other.   God bless you in your studies.

                                                                                                                                – Lisa Taylor