Well now, here is an eternally important question! And the answer is eternally important as well. I'll attempt an answer.
Since God IS, (or exists), the "weight" of the first part of reality rests on itself (Himself) and is of no real weight (philosophically speaking). And since visible reality (part 3 of the triadic structure of reality) must obey or conform or take the shape part one (invisible God) commands, its weight is carried by God and therefore His burden (as if He can be burdened). So then, the real weighty matter of the tri-part reality is the "LINK" (Faith). For the Christian it all comes down to "faith." Even a "little faith" or "weak faith" is strong enough to carry the weightyness of any matter. But without faith it is impossible to please God. An un-pleased God tends to shape reality's reality differently than a pleased God (IMHO). So I guess I am saying that the "LINK" aspect of reality carries the most weight.

But while Faith may carry more weight than the physical world, it does not carry more weight than God. God exists whether there is faith or not, it's not like Peter Pan (where faires die because people lack belief in them). The Spirit seems to be the weightest of all the parts of reality because by its very nature it is Independent and Eternal. Everything else draws it's existence and continued dependence up it - including faith.

You are correct that the Spirit carries the greatest weight as the SPIRIT is always in the LINKING position. FAITH too is also always in the linking position as well as the WORD OF GOD. The Spirit the Word and Faith are indices which are positioned to link the visible side of reality to the invisible. The Christian always does himself/herself damage when the eternal is placed secondary to the material. This would be an inverted reality. So then for the Christian the weightiest aspect of reality is whether or not FAITH is the informing data of the mind. There are many other sources of data by which the Christian could make decisions and live life. But only Faith as knowledge is worthy of employment. All else is from the temporal part of reality. The Word of God, the Spirit and Faith are that which link the Christian mind to the mind of God.

Hi Apodictic -
That is not quite what I was trying to say. What I am getting at is the idea that God is the bottom foundation upon which everything else depends, therefore it is the more weighter of the three.

In your original comment you wrote, "Since God IS, (or exists), the "weight" of the first part of reality rests on itself (Himself) and is of no real weight (philosophically speaking)." I agree with that statement if we are talking about God before creation. But after creation the weight is very real indeed. Further, the Link seems to be temporal in some respects because the Link did not exist until the Creation event occurred, so the Link cannot carry the most weight since it requires for its existence both God and the temporal world. Before then, the Link was unecessary. Now, that does not mean that the Holy Spirit was extraneous pre-Creation. It just means that its role was expanded to be the Link between God and man post-Creation.

Now, I could be totally wrong about all of this - but that is how I currently understand it. Please provide any correction in my thinking. :)

Wow - this is a fantastic question and one that I was just having a conversation about this past Sunday.

I think because we live in a physical world and the majority of our experiences and interactions come from this particular mode of existence we make the material to be primary and the immaterial to be secondary (out of sight, out of mind...). The truth of the matter (no pun intended) is that the immaterial is primary and the physical is secondary. Genesis 1:1 - God created the heavens and the earth. Spirit preceeded physical, immaterial pre-existed material which means that it is greater and more permanent. It means that it is not bound by space, time, or any physical constraints.

Socrates had the idea that the "psyche" was an iron bar, the thing that lasts, while the physical body is what is temporary. For Greek who didn't know the Hebrew God, he was spot on.

You guys have stimulated my thinking, and I thank you for that! I had never thought of the Spirit, or any other connecting "index", as having such substance or weight; but indeed, "Whatever is not of faith, is sin."

We're going to launch next week into a Biblical situation in which people had to choose between the seen and the unseen. Of course we will see that how they linked the two (or failed to link the two) determined their actions. And those actions, as we will see, determined not only their immediate situation, but even racial relations for generations to come. Now, that's real weight in the real world.

Latayne C Scott
www.latayne.com
representationalresources.com
novelmatters.blogspot.com

Hi Latayne -

I expect that should be very interesting to look at it from that perspective. It seems that most, if not all, of our moral and ethical decisions have a relational impact associated with them - whether that is our relationship with God, or our relationship with other, or both.

An interesting side-note, have you ever noticed that all of the titles of Jesus are relational by their very nature?

Hm. I'm thinking of Shepherd, for instance. Give me some more.

My favorite, of course is "Author and Finisher." Is that relational? :)


Latayne C Scott
www.latayne.com
representationalresources.com
novelmatters.blogspot.com

Hi Latayne (sorry for making this such a long post) -
I would say "Author and Finisher" is relational. I'm guessing you are referencing Hebrews 12:2 where it says, "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (NKJV)

"pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (NRSV)
"the guide and end of our faith" (BBE)
"who both began and finished this race we're in" (MSG)
"on whom our faith depends from start to finish" (NLT)
"the author and perfecter of faith" (NASB)
"the author and perfecter of our faith" (NIV)
"the pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (NET)

The idea behind the word author is that Jesus is the pioneer of our faith, leading (relational), or pioneering, the way for us into faith. The greek word for "author" in this passage is "archegos" and it is used 3 other times in the NT.

Acts 3:15 "You killed the Originator of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses." (NET)

Acts 5:31 "God exalted him to his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." (NET)

Hebrews 2:10 "For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings." (NET)

It seems from the word that Jesus pioneered the way for us, by being the first and going ahead of us, but that he is also leading us and coming along beside us (escorting us) in our faith which is relational.

******

The word "Finisher" is the greek word "teleiotes" which is ultimately derived from the root word "telos" or the end (termination) or goal of something. As Finisher, Jesus has set the goal, aim, or purpose of what man (humanity) is to strive towards. He is the perfect example of our primary and end goal and in that sense it is relational because He becomes the final standard by which all things relate to Him in the end. He becomes the ultimate purpose and aim of our faith.

I love Greek. I really do! Thank you for your post.

However, I was making a tiny joke. People always say that Jesus' earthly profession was that of a carpenter, and I always say that I share another of His professions, that of author.

My kids, Ryan and Celeste, were probably right. I'm really not too funny. I'll stick to Bible study.

Latayne C. Scott
www.latayne.com
www.representationalresources.com
www.novelmatters.blogspot.com

Ha! You're not to blame for the joke not working, apparently I was employing "selective reading" and missed the smilie at the end of your post.

I'm so thankful for everyone taking the time to participate in this Bible study and discussion. Hopefully, this will benefit a lot of folks.
Thanks!
KL