Exalted Above the Heavens: The risen and ascended Christ by Peter C. Orr

Chapter 3: The Identity of the exalted Christ. Chapter book and critical review by Renee Nolte

The author presents academic theories on Christ and the Spirit, drawing on philosophies from Paul’s and John’s New Testament writings. Amongst academic scholars, there are debates over whether the Exalted Christ and His Spirit are one and the same, while others argue that the Exalted Christ and the Holy Spirit are one in purpose but separate, as Christ is one and the Holy Spirit is an entity. In the chapter’s culmination of hearing out all others, Orr concludes that scriptural passages aren’t precise in their identifiers but provide sufficient evidence stating that while Christ sits at the throne on God’s right hand, the Spirit is working with believers.

1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV) For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

“Let him ask of God” an invitation to James 1:5

There is tension among those who neither affirm nor embrace the Godhead, the three distinct persons as individuals, two of whom have a body and one, a spiritual entity, that does not have a body yet. The language interpreted in the New Testament are often of Oneness. Non-Trinitarian Christians debate because the New Testament often uses the titles “Spirit of God,” “Holy Ghost,” and “Spirit of Christ” interchangeably, their belief hinges on trying to understand how Jesus can be limited to a physical body in heaven while being present everywhere on Earth. They claim that the Bible presents a paradox: the Holy Ghost acts as a distinct helper sent by Jesus, and the Bible also claims the Spirit in your heart is having Christ in your heart. 

John 15:25 (KJV) But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.

“The suspense is terrible. I hope it’ll last”. -Willy Wonka

The image that presses in my mind when reading about the coding of the Godhead I see the desperate businessman of the 1971’s Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory asking the computer to pinpoint the exact location of the remaining Golden Tickets. The computer processes the data but instead of giving an answer, it prints out a tiny tape. The scientist reads it and “It says: I won’t tell you. That would be cheating”

Ephesian 3:17 (KJV) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.

The movies computer possessed the cold hard data but wouldn’t tell, it had to be found. Likewise, the truth of the Godhead is not a matter of academic information. It requires personal revelation from the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t spell everything out for us; it requires faith from those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Personally, having allowed the Power of The Holy Ghost to influence me discerning truth from falsehoods, I will touch on the purpose of the Holy Ghost, His roles in revelation, and His part in the Plan of Salvation. This will be Spirit-led as we listen and read the scriptures in hopes that, through the Comforter, we unlock answers, learn, apply, be a decision maker, stand for truth and righteousness and be a servant to The Lord.

John 14:26 (KJV) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The stories of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath, Ananias and Saul, David and Barzillai, and many others show that the Spirit works great service in accord with the Angel of the Lord to help move the Kingdom of God forward. In diverse ways, the Spirit moves others and edifies Christ’s love. I can testify throughout my life of this manifesting power and see how all things can be circumscribed into a single unified whole.

To do a work says in John (16:14) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you.

Before we look at what the appointment of the Spirit is and share examples of His work, I want to share a somewhat recent example of how interconnected we all are and how the Spirit moves in people.

“So shines a good deed in a weary world”. -Willy Wonka

The Spirit intervened during one of my appointments while I was brokering insurance in New Mexico. This meeting was in 2022. Earlier that morning I woke at 3:30 AM, drove from Navasota, Texas to Houston to catch a flight to El Paso where I rented a car and began meeting with clients as early as 8:00 am, I also gained an hour upon landing so I had more time in my day and looked forward to getting much accomplished, even though I hadn’t stopped anywhere to eat and by this time, which was 2:00 pm, I had worked up an appetite, I was hungry.  I would drive from El Paso to Albuquerque throughout the entire morning, day and night and stopping to meet with clients along the way. I had an appointment on the desolate west margin of I-25 with a Spanish-speaking lady who could only provide a partial location and description of her address when she booked the appointment several days earlier.

As I could scarcely see past the sandstorms and tumbleweeds the size of R2D2, I passed several frightening-looking trailers. One was fenced extremely high, and vicious dogs prowled the lines with barks that would split atoms. The drool was so scary that as I drove by, it was like they could taste me just by their wicked eyes. I thought surely that was not the place. No such luck. That was the place. I don’t speak dog, and there was no way I was even going to attempt to find a gate. I had been driving so long that I ran out of water, hadn’t eaten since the night before, and still had appointments lined up before I would arrive in ABQ. Plus, I do not speak Spanish.

I sat in my car for a bit. I used my cell phone to call, Maria. No service, and no GPS; hence, I really didn’t know which mobile property was hers. All I had was the sound of her voice (I could picture her) and her brief description, which I recalled as “Verde.” The mobile home was indeed green.

I finally honked a few times. I looked around and saw some folks in the dusty wind walking right down the middle of the dirt road with wheelbarrows, as they came out of time, their heads turning slowly. I honked repeatedly, and with each honk, the dogs grew more vicious. 

A little man opened the door; he was not Hispanic, he was white or white with a tan, he was a dwarf, and he looked at me with no facial expression, then shut the door. Next, a Spanish lady, just as I had pictured her, opened the door, waved her arm, and motioned for me to come in. Meanwhile, the dwarf came out through a side door and gathered the dogs for my safe passage.

I entered the home. When I got to the door, Maria spoke to me in Spanish, and all I could do was show her my ID, say Hola, coma, Esta, and ask to sit with her at a table. She motioned for me to follow. 

The home was not well lit, but as I walked toward her kitchen, I passed a small sitting area where four men were sitting. Two sofas faced each other with a small coffee table in between. The men were sitting straight up with their hands on their knees; they looked like they had just walked in from outside. Three of them kept their eyes forward, while the dwarf, when I looked, turned his head and nodded to me. I nodded back. It was a strange scene, something out of the Twilight Zone—or was it?

I was so hungry, I was willing to sacrifice all my overboard tolerations of food. For healths sake I don’t eat store-bought cookies or store-bought treats; I’ve just never been a fan of processed foods, colorful and bright as they are, my body is body is selectively picky. Yet, on Maria’s extremely tall table, there were several bowls and buckets of these types of treats, and I was willing! I sat down, pulled open my briefcase, and asked to see her I.D. As she left the kitchen to retrieve it, I looked at those treats and wanted to shove them in my mouth; my mouth watered, I was so hungry. There was even an instance where she was taking a bit longer than I hoped, and I had the thought of hurrying up and shoving some wafers in my mouth, but I restrained myself. She finally returned, and I did my best to communicate using visuals and a calculator and conducted business.

“Time is a precious thing, never waste it” -Willy Wonka

The next thing was the most peculiar. The dwarf man entered the kitchen. Maria never looked his way; she never spoke a word to him and kept her eyes on my illustrations and my iPad as we conducted business. But I was watching him now and then. He entered the kitchen, looked at me, and nodded his head. I nodded back. He opened a cabinet and took out a loaf of wheat bread, laid it on the counter, walked to the pantry—which was to my side—and grabbed a jar of peanut butter. Then he opened the fridge, took out a half-gone jar of strawberry preserves, looked at me, nodded his head again, and began making a sandwich with a butter knife he pulled from the drawer just below his chest level. He then grabbed a large plastic cup near the sink, reopened the fridge, replaced the jam, took out a pitcher of Kool-Aid, poured the red liquid into the cup, and grabbed a paper towel.

Maria left the room to get her checkbook. Never speaking to this little man or paying any attention to his actions, she walked away. He reached up to the very tall table where I was sitting and laid down the sandwich on its napkin in front of me, then the tall cup of Kool-Aid. He nodded. His nod spoke to me as if I knew his thoughts: “You won’t be hungry anymore—here you go.” I said ever so gently, “Thank you,” and picked up that sandwich and took the biggest bite, almost swallowed it, then gulped down some of that Kool-Aid, and then set it aside. Maria returned to the table, and we finished the work. I lifted up the sandwich to her and said I would take the rest with me. She looked at me as if she didn’t know what I meant, but I picked up my briefcase, placed the half of the napkin-wrapped sandwich in it, and walked out of the kitchen where the four men had not moved—except the little man, who turned his head and nodded with closed eyes as if to say, “You’ve been fed, safe travels.” I left the property with no vicious dogs, no more barking, and the gate closed. I got in my car, and as soon as I could get a signal, I called my son Jared and told him I had just been fed by an angel of the Lord—a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich on square wheat bread, served with red Kool-Aid. The lady of the house didn’t seem to even know he or the others were there.

I said a prayer thanking my Heavenly Father for keeping me safe and feeding me. I know that was the strangest, sweetest encounter in the middle of the desert highway in New Mexico, and I will cherish it forever.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (KJV) Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

1 Corinthians 12: 27 (KJV) Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Acts 8: 26-40 (KJV) 

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went and behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, how can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 

Acts 8:40 (KJV) But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

I have esteemed adoration for Philip. As PROCRASTINATION is the seed of self destruction!

What I love about this account is what he does. Upon reaching the place where he was transported, he went straightway to work for the Lord, not bragging or boasting about the conversion or the transport, but magnifying his calling and serving the Lord with all his heart, might, mind, and strength. Likewise, the Spirit was continually working and knew He could get Philip to where he was needed faster than Philip could himself!

Philip had a single eye to the Lord and made known the good news of Christ, reaching out to everyone about the Kingdom of God, who Jesus is. We too can cultivate specific spiritual habits to hear the Holy Ghost, so that our spirit is in tune and responsive to Him. Unlike a teen who may question everything or delay in taking care of an assignment or ask for a detailed blueprint, wasting time, Philip was successful because he was focused and decided a while back to get rid of the noise. The noise is resistance; delaying obedience dulls your spiritual hearing over time. Philip valued prep work and knew the gospel, its blessings, and the condemnations of procrastinators. His willingness to be swift, just like the Spirit, can help us work stronger, better, and faster for the Lord, and help us focus on what we are here to do as well.

1 Corinthians 1:31 (KJV) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

The Spirit’s primary purpose is to glorify and reveal Jesus Christ. As a result of glorifying Christ and revealing the truth of all things, it is inevitable that the Spirit brings guiding light, acts as a helper and comforter, and bears love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and restraint or self-control. The Spirit is not limited to just a warm, comforting feeling, but also powerful acts of love, boldness, and courage when needed to orchestrate miracles.

Acts 1:8 (KJV) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

God Bless America!

In American history, the very final sentence of the Declaration binds the founders to God’s ongoing protection. It states: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” They wanted the helping hand of God’s Spirit to guide human history. It did for a time, it does for some, and one day it will be a forever thing. In Christ, and The Father, and The Holy Ghost, and all believers, the hope for everyone.

My concluding remarks…

We all have a crucial role here on earth as we work toward eternal salvation. God the Father is the creator of the plan, His Son Jesus Christ paid the debt for it, and the executive power of the Holy Ghost is the closer. The Holy Ghost helps us see our wrongdoings; He can awaken our spiritual rebirth by helping us overcome old and bad habits to grow new, healthy, happy, loving, and active spiritual characteristics.

1 Peter 1:2 (KJV) Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

The little man in the desert who put away the dogs, nodded, giving me assurance, fed me, and helped sustain me, was of the Spirit. I won’t question it but embrace it, and hope to magnify it, and act on promptings. Had this not happened, or the work not happened due to procrastination, who knows what would have happened to Philip, the baptized man, Caesarea, the little man, Maria, or me? 

AND just like in the Willy Wonka movie people were relying on a giant expensive machine to give them the Golden Ticket. But the tickets were found by ordinary people buying candy bars in simple shops. People confused by the Godhead often look for answers in complex theological debates or philosophical arguments. Yet the Bible reveals a fullness, a simplicity of The Godhead when each of us sees the relationship we can have with each one.

1 Colossians 2:9 (KJV) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

It is my hope we can all apply salvation and simple heartfelt faith through repentance, keeping a single eye on God, and becoming transformed into a new creature. The Holy Ghost can help us do this. I testify to these truths in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.