"Who Proceeds from the Father"

We confess that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. With this statement we are confessing a truth about the identity of God.

I’ve referred to the writing of Gregory of Nazianzus in previous notes because he helps us think rightly about the Trinity. Gregory was a pastor and theologian in the late fourth century, who insisted we look to Scripture alone for the doctrine of the Trinity. We cannot say more or less about God than Scripture reveals. 

Looking to Scripture, Gregory notes that the names Father, Son, and Spirit are tied to their relationship with one another and the manner in which the Son and the Spirit have their being from the Father.

The Son and Spirit are what the Father is, because they are from the Father. The unity and oneness of God has its source in the Father’s being, which he shares with the Son and the Spirit. Scripture reveals that the Son is “the only-begotten from the Father” (John 1:14) and the Spirit “proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26). The Spirit is the Spirit because he proceeds from the Father. The Son is the Son because he is begotten from the Father. The Father is the Father because he has begotten the Son. 

The Father is “unbegotten,” the Son is “begotten,” and the Spirit “proceeds.” The terms “unbegotten,” “begotten,” and “procession” are not definitive of God’s divine being; rather, they signify three properties, which distinguish the three persons and their relationship to one another as Father, Son, and Spirit.

When we’re thinking about the triune God, we must remember that God is eternal. To say that the Son and Spirit have their being from the Father does not mean they have their being after the Father. The Father has always been the Father; the Son has always been the Son; and the Spirit has always been the Spirit. 

For this reason, Gregory warns against analogies for the Trinity: “There is one God, one supreme nature, where can I find analogy to show you? Are you looking for one from your environment here in this world?” (Oration 31.10) Analogies for the Trinity will only reduce and obscure our understanding. We cannot look to the world around us to understand the Son’s generation and the Spirit’s procession. 

We may wonder how the Son is begotten from the Father and how the Spirit proceeds from the Father? Gregory writes that such a question “ought to have the tribute of silence” (Oration 29.9). Scripture reveals that the Son is begotten from the Father and the Spirit proceeds from the Father. Scripture does not explain how the Son is begotten and the Spirit proceeds. Such knowledge belongs to God and we dare not pry into such a divine mystery (Oration 31.8). Reverential silence is the fitting response.

The Western text of the creed confesses that we believe in the Holy Spirit, “who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].” In my next note, I will consider the addition of “and the Son” to the creed.