The Spirit indwells like the Father and the Son [106–110a]
Part III: The Spirit’s Activity [74–110a]
74. On the basis of the passages I have brought to our attention (as well as many others), we have shown that the Holy Spirit is not a creature and is never classified with created things but is rather always placed together with the Father and the Son. And so, let us now investigate in what way he is not different from either of them.
The Spirit bestows the same grace and love as the Father and Son [75–80]
75. At the end of the second epistle he wrote to the Corinthians, Paul said: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all [2 Cor 13.13]. This passage clearly shows that there is a single reception of the Trinity, since whoever receives the grace of Christ has it as much by the Father’s administering as by the Holy Spirit’s bestowing. Now God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give grace in the way described in the passage: Grace be with you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Christ [Rom 1.7]. It is not the case that the Father gives one grace and the Savior another, inasmuch as Paul writes that the grace given by both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is perfected by the communion of the Holy Spirit.
76. Indeed the Spirit himself is also called grace, according to the passage: And he insulted the Spirit of grace in whom he was sanctified [Heb 10.29]. In Zechariah too God promised that he would pour himself out: that is, he would be most lavish in granting to Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and compassion. For whenever anyone receives the grace of the Holy Spirit, he has it as a gift from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the fact that there is a single grace of the Father and the Son perfected by the activity of the Holy Spirit demonstrates that the Trinity is of one substance.
77. In yet another passage: The love of God be with all of you [2 Cor 13.13], it is the Trinity who both grants and sustains the love. In fact the Savior says: Whoever keeps my commandments and obeys them loves me, but whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him [Jn 14.21]. After all, the Savior’s love for those who are loved is not different from the Father’s love. For God loves in order to save, since God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in the Son may not perish, but have eternal life [Jn 3.16]. The same holds true also for the Son, who is life: in order to grant life and salvation, he loves those whom he wants to become better. This is why he says that he loves whoever is loved by the Father. The same point is made in the Prophet: And he himself will save them because he loved them [Is 33.22; 35.4].
78. The Apostle bears witness that this love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, just like the joy and the peace granted by the Father and Son, when he says: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace [Gal 5.22]. This love is poured into the hearts of believers by the Holy Spirit: Indeed, the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit [Rom 5.5]. In fact, according to the passages: And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you [2 Cor 13.13], and: If there is any communion with the Spirit [Phil 2.1], since everyone who has communion with the Holy Spirit through participation in him possesses God’s Wisdom and Word and Truth in every way, he will also possess a share of holiness with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. For God is faithful, through whom you have been called to communion with his Son [1 Cor 1.9]. 79. John too writes concerning the Father: If we walk in the light, just as he himself is in the light, we have communion with him [1 Jn 1.7]. And again: But our communion is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ [1 Jn 1.3].
80. Therefore, since whoever has communion with the Holy Spirit immediately has communion with both the Father and Son, whenever anyone has the love of the Father, he has it as a gift from the Son through the Holy Spirit. In addition, whenever anyone is a participant of the grace of Jesus Christ, he has the same grace as a gift from the Father through the Holy Spirit.
The Father, Son, and Spirit have a single activity, indicating a single substance [81–86]
81. On the basis of all these passages it is proved that the activity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is the same. But those who have a single activity also have a single substance. For things of the same substance—ὁμοούσια—have the same activities, and things of a different substance—ἑτερoούσια—have discordant and distinct activities.
82. Beside these passages just mentioned, countless others teach the unity of the Trinity. We will now cite a few of these one by one. 83. When Peter publicly exposed Ananias as a fraud in the passage where Ananias claimed he was offering all the proceeds from the sale of his field, Peter proved the Holy Spirit’s unity with God not according to number but according to substance, when he said: Ananias, why has Satan so filled your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and hid away part of the proceeds of the field? Isn’t it true that while it remained unsold it remained yours and that when it was sold it was at your disposal? Why have you contrived such a thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God [Acts 5.3–4]. Now if whoever lies to God lies to the Holy Spirit, and whoever lies to the Holy Spirit lies to God, there can be no doubt that the Spirit has partnership with God. And it is understood that in whatever way holiness subsists in God, in the same way deity subsists in the Holy Spirit.
84. Now it is also true that this Holy Spirit, whom we have said is of the same nature as the Father, does not differ from the divinity of the Son. The Savior said to his disciples: When they bring you in to synagogues and authorities and powers, do not be anxious regarding how and what you should respond, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that hour what it is fitting to say [Lk 12.11–12]; therefore keep it in your hearts not to prepare beforehand how you will respond since I myself will give you a mouth and wisdom which no one will be able to oppose and refute [Lk 21.14–15]. After saying in these passages that “they ought not be anxious regarding what they should respond to opponents because at that hour they will be taught the appropriate response by the Holy Spirit,” he immediately adduces the grounds for this confidence: Keep it in your hearts not to prepare beforehand how you will respond since I myself will give you a mouth (that is, a word) and wisdom which no one will be able to oppose and refute [Lk 21.14–15]. For after he said that when it is time to respond they will be taught the appropriate response by the Holy Spirit, he says in what follows: since I myself will give you a wisdom which no one will be able to oppose and refute [Lk 21.14–15].
85. These passages show that the wisdom given to the disciples by the Son is the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and that the teaching of the Holy Spirit is the teaching of the Lord, and that the partnership which the Spirit has with the Son is one in both nature and will. And since it was demonstrated above that the Spirit is associated by nature with the Only-Begotten of God and God the Father—and certainly the Son and Father are one according to the passage: I and the Father are one [Jn 10.30]—it is shown that the Trinity is undivided and inseparable according to nature.
86. Also, in another Gospel it is said: For it is not you who speak but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking in you [Mt 10.20]. Therefore, if the Spirit of the Father speaks in the Apostles, teaching them the appropriate response, and if what they are taught by the Spirit is wisdom, which we cannot understand as anything other than the Son, then it is clear that the Spirit is of the same nature as the Son and as the Father whose Spirit he is. Furthermore, Father and Son are one. Therefore, the Trinity is associated in a unity of substance.
The Spirit is the same nature and power as the Father and Son [87–90]
87. Another scriptural example shows that Trinity has a single nature and power. The Son is called the Hand, the Arm, and the Right-hand of the Father. Just as we have often taught that these terms demonstrate that the one nature lacks difference, so too is the Holy Spirit named the Finger of God because he is conjoined in nature to the Father and the Son.
88. In one of the Gospels, when some were disparaging the miracles of the Lord by saying: He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons [Lk 11.15], the Savior, asking why they said this, replied: If it is by Beelzebub that I cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast out demons? But if it is by the Finger of God that I cast out demons, then the reign of God has come upon you [Lk 11.19–20]. When writing about this same event, another evangelist has the Son say: But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons [Mt 12.28]. These passages show that the Finger of God is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if a finger is joined to a hand and a hand to him whose hand it is, then without a doubt the finger is ascribed to the substance of him whose finger it is.
89. But be careful not to descend to lowly things, forget what we are now discussing, and thereby depict in your mind a variety of bodily limbs and begin to imagine for yourself their sizes, their inequalities, and other body parts larger or smaller than they, saying “a finger differs in size from a hand by quite a bit and a hand differs likewise from him whose hand it is.” For Scripture is speaking here of incorporeal realities, and wishes only to demonstrate the unity of a substance, not also its dimensions.
90. For just as the hand, through which everything is accomplished and worked, is not divided from the body, and just as the hand belongs to him whose hand it is, so also is the finger not separated from the hand of which it is the finger. And so, spurn inequalities and dimensions when you think about God, and understand the unity that obtains among the finger and the hand and the entire body. Now it is by this Finger that the Law was written on tablets of stone [cf. Ex 31.18].
The Spirit gives the same wisdom and truth as the Father and Son [91–95]
91. But it is easy enough to prove our faith also through another Scripture. 92. God is called Only-Wise [Rom 16.27] not by receiving wisdom from another. Nor is he named wise through participation in someone else’s wisdom. If in fact many are called wise, it is due not to their own nature but to their communion with wisdom. But God is called Only-Wise not because he is made wise by participation in another’s wisdom or from some other source, but because he generates wisdom and makes others wise. This wisdom is our Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God [1 Cor 1.24]. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Wisdom, since in the old books it is recorded that Joshua the son of Nun was filled by the Lord with the Spirit of Wisdom [Deut 34.9].
93. Therefore, since God is the Only-Wise not by receiving wisdom from any source, but by making others wise and generating wisdom, out of all who are called wise based on his name, he alone is wise. A multitude of the wise is the salvation of the world [Wis 6.24]. And: Those who know themselves are wise. And again: When you have been with the wise, you will be wise [Prov 13.20]. In the same way the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Wisdom not by receiving wisdom from some other source. For his very being is the Spirit of Wisdom, and his nature is nothing other than the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of God. Now we discussed these matters at length in the book On the Sects. Hence in order to avoid needlessly repeating the same points, let the previous discussion suffice for us.
94. Therefore, since the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth is inseparable from the Son, he too is Wisdom and Truth. If he were to participate in wisdom and truth, at some point he could descend into a state of ceasing to possess what he received from somewhere, namely, wisdom and truth. And the Son, who is himself Wisdom and Truth, is not separated from the Father, whom the words of the Scriptures proclaim as the Only-Wise and Truth. We will see that the Holy Spirit, because he is the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth, possesses the same circle of unity and substance as the Son, and, moreover, that the Son is not divided from the substance of the Father.
95. Since the Son is the Image of the invisible God [Col 1.15] and the Form of his substance [Heb 1.3], whoever is fashioned and formed according to this Image or Form is led into likeness to God (though attaining such a form and image only insofar as the capacity of humans to advance allows). In a similar way, since the Holy Spirit is the seal of God, he seals those who receive the form and image of God and leads them to the seal of Christ, filling them with wisdom, knowledge, and above all faith.
The Spirit is “distributing” like the Father and the Son [96–97]
96. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activity, but it is the same God who works them all in everyone [1 Cor 12.4–7]. This manifold fullness of gifts is produced by the Father, multiplied by the Son, and exists through the Holy Spirit. For to one is given a word of wisdom through the Spirit; to another a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit [1 Cor 12.8–9]. After the Apostle lists the rest of the gifts, he adds: But one and the same Spirit works all these, apportioning to each as he wills [1 Cor 12.11].
97. From this we learn that the nature of Holy Spirit is active and “distributing” (if I may speak thus). Accordingly, let us not be taken in by those who say that the Holy Spirit is an activity and not the substance of God. Many other passages also show that the nature of the Holy Spirit is subsistent, as in the passage that the Apostles write: For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us [Acts 15.28]. For the expression it seemed good does not indicate an activity but a nature, especially since we also find something similar said about the Lord: as it seemed good to the Lord, so it was done [Job 1.21].
The Spirit calls to ministry like the Father and Son [98–99a]
98. Next, there are the Spirit’s own words that we read very frequently, as in the following passage: While they were fasting and worshipping—that is, the disciples of Christ—the Holy Spirit said: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them” [Acts 13.2]. This voice of divinity and sign of authority indicates that his substance is not created but uncreated. For the Holy Spirit did not call Barnabas and Paul to some other work which is not that of the Father and of the Son, since the ministry which the Spirit entrusted and handed over to them is the ministry of the Father and the Son. Paul said to the Galatians: For he who has worked in Peter for the apostolate to the circumcised, has worked in me and Barnabas for the gentiles [Gal 2.9]; they are sent to the nations in the same way by the authority of the Holy Spirit. 99. Similarly, when Christ works in the Apostles, the ministry of the Spirit is perfected. Because of this, the Apostles confessed that they spoke in Christ [2 Cor 2.17], that they saw him with their own eyes [1 Jn 1.1], that they were made ministers of the Word [Acts 6.4], that is, Christ, and that they were stewards of the mysteries of God [1 Cor 4.1].
The Spirit baptizes like the Father and Son [99b–103]
Next, since the Apostles possessed primacy in priesthood, Christ indicated that they were initiators of the faith by saying: Go, go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit [Mt 28.19]. 100. And Paul was very correct to write: There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism [2 Cor 2.17]. Who, then, is not compelled by the truth itself to admit the absence of difference in the Holy Trinity? For there is one faith in the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and the baptismal washing is conferred and confirmed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
101. Nor do I think that anyone would be so foolish and insane as to consider a baptism given in the name of the Father and the Son complete without also adding the Holy Spirit. Or think one given in the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit complete if the name of the Son is omitted. Or think one given in the name of the Son and the Holy Spirit complete without the name of Father placed at the beginning. 102. For even if there could be someone with a stony heart (if I may speak thus) and a very disturbed mind who tries to baptize in such a way that he omits one of the prescribed names—such a man would clearly legislate against the law of Christ!—he would still baptize incompletely, or rather, he would be altogether unable to liberate those, whom he thinks he has baptized, from their sins.
103. From these texts we conclude that the substance of the Trinity is indivisible, and that the Father is truly the Father of the Son, and that the Son is truly the Son of the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is truly the Spirit of the Father and God, and especially the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth, that is, of the Son of God. So then, this is salvation for those who believe.
The Spirit establishes ecclesiastical discipline like the Father and the Son [104–105]
104. Furthermore, the administration of ecclesiastical discipline is made complete in this Trinity. For when the Savior sent his disciples to preach the Gospel and to teach the doctrines of truth, the Father is said to have established in the Church first Apostles, second prophets, third teachers [1 Cor 12.28]. On this same topic, the Apostle offers a similar opinion: And just as we have been approved by God to believe the Gospel, so too we speak, not in order to be pleasing to men, but to God who has approved our hearts [1 Thess 2.4]. Those whom Christ commanded to be teachers, these same the Father approved, and it is rightfully said that the Holy Spirit established the same as administrators and leaders in the Church.
105. When the Apostle Paul gathered presbyters from various places and many churches at Miletus, he said: Watch over yourselves and the entire flock over whom the Holy Spirit has set you as bishops to direct the church of the Lord, which he has acquired through his own blood [Acts 20.28]. If those whom Christ sent to evangelize and baptize the nations are those whom the Holy Spirit placed in charge of the Church and the Father appointed by his decree, there can be no doubt that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a single activity and approval. It follows from this that the Trinity has the same substance.
The Spirit indwells like the Father and the Son [106–110a]
106. We still need to consider the fact that it is impossible for any creature to dwell in a heart and mind, but that it is possible for God and his Word in the Holy Spirit. For instance, the Father said to a certain group of people: I will dwell in them and I will walk among them [2 Cor 6.16; cf. Lev 26.12 and Ezek 37.27]. In addition, someone directed his voice to him: You dwell in a holy place, O praise of Israel! [Ps 21.4]. For the exalted Creator of all creation dwells in exalted places [Ps 112.4–5].
107. The only-begotten Son also dwells in the pure minds and hearts of believers. For the Apostle said that Christ dwells through faith in the inner person in the Spirit when he wrote: In the Spirit in the inner person Christ dwells through faith in your hearts [Eph 3.16–17]. He also spoke of himself: Christ lives in me [Gal 2.20]. And again: It is Christ who speaks in me [2 Cor 13.3]. And our Savior said: I and my Father will come—no doubt to the one who keeps his commands [Jn 14.21]—and we will make our dwelling-place with him [Jn 14.23]. Then the following text is added: If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and I will love him, and to him we will come and make our dwelling-place with him [Jn 14.23].
108. In another passage, it is said that the entire nature of the rational creatures is the house of the Savior and that Christ is over his house, whose house we are [Heb 3.6]. This house of Christ is the temple of God in whom the Spirit of the same God dwells, for when he wrote to the Corinthians, Paul said: Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? [1 Cor 3.16]. Now if the Holy Spirit is also found in the very house and temple where the Savior and Father dwells, this demonstrates that the substance of the Trinity is indivisible. Just a little further on in the same epistle, Paul writes: Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit whom you have from God? [1 Cor 6.19].
109. Therefore, since we have learned that the Holy Spirit dwells in the mind and the inner person in the same way as the Father and the Son, I will not say that it is silly but that it is impious to claim that he is a creature. After all, it is possible for that which we have learned (I mean the virtues and arts), and for the disturbances, ignorance and passions contrary to these, to dwell in souls, yet not as substances but as accidents. But it is impossible for a created nature to dwell in the mind. Now if it is true that the Holy Spirit unambiguously indwells the soul and heart, surely we ought to believe that, together with the Father and the Son, he is uncreated. 110. Therefore, everything discussed in the preceding paragraphs has demonstrated that, in accordance with the nature of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is incorruptible and everlasting.