March 24th, 2024
In the Nicene Creed we confess: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father.” The Western, Latin text of the Nicene Creed has an extra word after “from the Father”: filioque which translated means “and the Son.” In the text of the creed we recite on Sundays, I’ve put “and the Son” in square brackets, to mark the addition.
In my last note, I gave a brief overview of the history of this addition: “and the Son.” In this note, I want to briefly consider the theological argument of Western theologians and the typical response from Eastern theologians.
The Western position is well articulated by Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas. Here is my very cursory (and partial) presentation of what they say:
The Son has his being from the Father. He is the Son because he is begotten from the Father. The Father is the Father because he begets the Son.
We cannot say that the Son has his being from the Father and the Spirit, because that would make the Spirit the Father of the Son, which is absurd.
We can say, however, that the Spirit proceeds from the Son, without contradicting the unique identity of the Son and the Spirit.
Augustine argues that the Father and the Son are a single source of the Spirit, who proceeds from the unity of the Father and the Son. The Son himself has his being from the Father and the Spirit has his being from the Father and the Son.
That the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son is suggested by Paul’s declaration in Galatians 4:6: “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” The Spirit is the Spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15) because he proceeds from the Father and the Son and by virtue of the Father sending the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Finally, it is often argued in the West that because we read that the Son sends the Spirit (John 15:26) and breathes the Spirit (John 20:22), we may also infer that the Spirit proceeds from the Son.
Theologians from the East have typically responded to the above presentation by noting the distinction between the being or essence of the triune God and the activity or operation of the triune God. Put simply, we need to recognize the difference between who God is and what God does.
The question of the Spirit’s procession is a question about who God is. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because the Son is begotten from the Father and the Spirit proceeds from the Father. The sending of the Spirit is not a question of who God is but what God does. The Father sends the Son, who then sends the Spirit. The Spirit glorifies the Son, just as the Son glorifies the Father. Sending and glorifying refer to the activity of the triune God, not the being of the triune God.
In my view, I think it’s important to consider the distinction between the being of God and the activity of God. The East is right to distinguish procession and sending.
Eastern theologians also question Augustine’s view that the Father and the Son are a single source of the Spirit, because it implies the Father and the Son are one person, which is a heresy known as Sabellianism or modalism.
In the end, I’m left pondering Galatians 4:6: “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father!’” Whatever our views on how to understand the procession of the Holy Spirit, I can only marvel and praise God for such grace: the Father has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” Whoa! Hallelujah!
And this is where the Creed leads us, for the very next phrase is, “who is worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son.” Yes! Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!