Trinity Class: Holy Spirit

The breath of God

“The Hebrew term by which He is designated is ruach, and the Greek pneuma, both of which are, like the Latin spiritus, derived from roots which mean “to breathe.”[1]

The Person

“The personality of the Spirit was denied in the early Church by the Monarchians and the Pneumatomachians. In this denial p 96 they were followed by the Socinians in the days of the Reformation. Still later Schleiermacher, Ritschl, the Unitarians, present-day Modernists, and all modern Sabellians reject the personality of the Holy Spirit.” [2]

Romans 8:26–27.

In Relation to the Father and the Son

Rom. 8:9; Gal. 4:6.

“defined as that eternal and necessary act of the first and second persons in the Trinity whereby they, within the divine Being, become the ground of the personal subsistence of the Holy Spirit, and put the third person in possession of the whole divine essence, without any division, alienation or change.” [3]

Proceeds from the Father and the Son

John 15:26, John 16:4–15, .

The Filioque controversy centers on the addition of the phrase "and the Son" (Filioque in Latin) to the Nicene Creed by the Western Church, which claimed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. This caused a significant theological dispute between the Eastern and Western Churches, contributing to the Great Schism of 1054, as the Eastern Church maintained that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. Pre-Filioque Creed (Eastern Church Current version): "And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father." Post-Filioque Creed (Western Church Current version): "And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son (Filioque)."

The deity of the Holy Spirit.

Divine name: 1 Cor. 3:16 2 Tim. 3:16.

Divine Attributes:

Omnipotence: 1 Cor. 12:11.

Eternity: Heb. 9:14.

Honor Giving: Matt. 28:19

“ (1) Divine names are given to Him, Ex. 17:7 p 98 (comp. Heb. 3:7–9); Acts 5:3, 4; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 3:16 (comp. 2 Pet. 1:21). (2) Divine perfections are ascribed to Him, such as omnipresence, Ps. 139:7–10, omniscience, Isa. 40:13, 14 (comp. Rom. 11:34); 1 Cor. 2:10, 11, omnipotence, 1 Cor. 12:11; Rom. 15:19, and eternity, Heb. 9:14 (?). (3) Divine works are performed by Him, such as creation, Gen. 1:2; Job. 26:13; 33:4, providential renovation, Ps. 104:30, regeneration, John 3:5, 6; Tit. 3:5, and the resurrection of the dead, Rom. 8:11. (4) Divine honour is also paid to Him, Matt. 28:19; Rom. 9:1; 2 Cor. 13:13 [4]

The work of the Holy Spirit

“He prepared Christ a body and thus enabled Him to become a sacrifice for sin. Luke 1:35; Heb. 10:5–7.” [5]

“The Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, and thus brought to men the special revelation of God, 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:21 [6]

“The Holy Spirit forms and increases the Church, the mystical body of Jesus Christ, by regeneration and sanctification, and dwells in it as the principle of the new life, Eph. 1:22, 23; 2:22; 1 Cor. 3:16; 12:4” [7]

“The Holy Spirit testifies to Christ and leads the Church in all the truth. John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13” [8]

Convict the World of Sin “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment Jn 16:8.

[1] L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 95.

[2]L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 95–96.

[3] L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 97.

[4] L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 97–98.

[5] L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 98.

[6] L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 98.

[7] L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 98.

[8] L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938), 98.