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Eternal procession of the Holy Spirit

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A woodcut by Albrecht Dürer depicting the descent of the Holy Spirit

The Eternal procession of the Holy Spirit is a theological concept in trinitarianism that describes the relationship of the Holy Spirit within the Holy Trinity. The doctrine of the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit is related to the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son; however, in Christian theology procession (or spiration) is viewed as being mysteriously different from generation in order to distinguish the Holy Spirit from the Son.

In Western Christianity, the Holy Spirit is viewed to proceed from the Father and the Son. This is in contrast to the Eastern churches, which argue that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. This issue has led to the filioque controversy and was a large question in the East-West schism. However, despite being affirmed within the Nicene creed, the doctrine of the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit (alongside the eternal generation of the Son) is today denied by some social trinitarians, such as William Lane Craig.

Scripture

The doctrine of the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit is a corollarry doctrine which flows from the eternal generation of the Son (which is based on texts such as Proverbs 8:25, Psalm 2:7, Hebrews 1:3-5, and John 1:18). However, other texts such as John 15:26 have been argued to explicitly refer to the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit, as it states that the Holy Spirit "proceeds" from the Father. Thus, unbegottenness is viewed as the unique personal property of the Father, begottenness as the unique personal property of the Son and spiration as the unique personal property of the Holy Spirit. However, the Western Church also contended that passages like Galatians 4:6 and Romans 8:9, which describe the Holy Spirit as the "Spirit of his Son" or the "Spirit of Christ," imply that the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Son. In contrast, Eastern Orthodox theologians will dispute that these texts should be understood as referring to the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit.

Eternal procession (alongside generation) has however been critiqued by some modern theologians as being based upon weak texts, instead arguing that John 15:26 should be understood as the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and not an eternal procession. Although those who hold to the Nicene view of procession often argue that because John 15:26 uses the present tense instead of the future tense, it is unlikely a reference to Pentecost.

References

  1. Waldron, Sam (2011-12-07). "Who's Tampering with the Trinity? (Part 17) The Eternal Procession of the Holy Spirit Proved". Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  2. "The Personality and the Procession of the Holy Spirit | Monergism". www.monergism.com. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  3. "Question & Answer: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church". opc.org. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  4. Emery, Gilles (2007-02-15). The Trinitarian Theology of St Thomas Aquinas. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-920682-7.
  5. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Filioque". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  6. ^ Parkison, Samuel. "Doctrinally Dressed Up but No Way to Get There - Credo Magazine". credomag.com/. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  7. "Responding to Craig's Proposals". www.reformation21.org. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  8. ^ Waldron, Sam (2011-12-07). "Who's Tampering with the Trinity? (Part 17) The Eternal Procession of the Holy Spirit Proved". Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  9. ^ Giles, Kevin (2012-05-07). The Eternal Generation of the Son: Maintaining Orthodoxy in Trinitarian Theology. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-3965-0.
  10. "Divine Begottenness and Procession | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org". Ligonier Ministries. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  11. Walvoord, John F. (2010-12-21). The Holy Spirit: A Comprehensive Study of the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 978-0-310-87717-2.
  12. Siecienski, A. Edward (2010-06-03). The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-537204-5.
  13. Ryrie, Charles C. (1999-01-11). Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57567-498-8.
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