I can tell this is going to be the week of long quotes on my blog. :)
"Teaching on Christian holiness has frequently concentrated almost exclusively on the “holy man” or the “holy woman,” to the neglect of the biblical concern for “the holy people” or the “holy church.” The ideal of the “omnicompetent Christian individual,” able to meet every spiritual challenge and live a life of unbroken victory over sin and the devil, has undoubtedly produced remarkable examples of Christian character; but, as every Christian counsellor knows, this emphasis has driven many to a lonely struggle ending in despair and disillusionment, or, worse, in the hypocrisy of a double-standard life. . . All the major exhortations to holy living are plural — “we,” “you” (Ro. 6:1-23; Gal 5:13-6:10; Eph 4:17-6:18)...Similarly all the New Testament promises of
victory are corporate (1Co 15:57; 1Jn 5:4; Rev 15:2)."
Bruce Milne, Know the Truth (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,1982), p. 194.
So, what's your take?