Holy Spirit and the Creed

More notes:

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the prophets

Acts 2
• Sound from heaven filled the whole house and divided tongues as of fire sat upon each of them.
• This happened on Pentecost
• Church says this was at least the 11. When they spill out into the streets, it is the Jewish feast of Pentecost. This was a reversal of the confusing of the languages at Babel.
• Now all the world can hear the proclamation of salvation.

God has revealed Himself as a communion of three persons sharing the essence of God.

The word “spirit”
• In Hebrew the word is “breath or air”
• Holy Spirit is the third person of God
• The Triune nature of God is foreshadowed throughout the OT.
o Genesis 1:26; Genesis 18 (2 angels and the Word); Psalm 33:6; Isaiah 6 (who will go for us); etc.

The person of the Son and the Person of the HS are each unique and have their source in the Father. I love you !!!!!!

Activity of the Holy Spirit
• Prior to descent on Christ, the Spirit would come upon particular people at particular times for particular tasks.
• However, there was a prophecy of a general outpouring. Joel 2:28; Ezekial 36:26
• Paraclete – Advocate, Helper, Counselor, Comforter

Christ’s dialogue with Nicodemus
• Water and the Spirit
• He is speaking of how the Spirit is the Giver of Life

The Holy Spirit is confessed as Lord just like Christ

Who proceeds from the Father
• John 15:26

Filioque clause (Which adds “and the Son” )is rejected by the Orthodox Church. This makes the Holy Spirit subordinate to the Father and Son
Rejected for Theological reasons
• St. Augustine was a great teacher and influential writer, but the Orthodox see some major errors in his theology: He described the Trinity as mutual love between the Father and the Son. He says this love is the Holy Spirit. This is rejected by the Orthodox Church
• This leads to depersonalization. God is three persons, not two persons and an emotion or feeling!

Rejected for historical reasons too
• Arianism (Christ is a created being) hung around longer in the West
• The West was beginning to be taken over by Barbaric tribes. These tribes which were converting held onto Arianism. This was another reason why it held in the West for so long.
• Filioque was inserted to prove that Christ is equal to the Father. However, this is added without the concensus of the universal church. It was rejected by the East because it makes the Holy Spirit less than the two others in the Godhead. The Bishop of Rome initially rejected the clause, but by the 9th century, it is accepted in Rome. This is a HUGE first issue for the Great Schism.
• This originated in Toledo, Spain circa 500 AD