ACC ~ John 15 v26 - 27

OVERVIEW:

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “Comforter,” giving him a name taken from his office, which is not only to relieve sorrow (CYRIL OF JERUSALEM) but to fill with joy (DIDYMUS). The Son is our Paraclete as intercessor while the Spirit is our Paraclete in bestowing consolation (ORIGEN). As the life-giving water from heaven, the Spirit binds us who are the many dry particles of wheat flour into the one loaf of bread (IRENAEUS).

The Spirit proceeds from the Father (COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE) and rests in the Son (JOHN OF DAMASCUS). It is not generated from the Father like the Son was (DIDYMUS, GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS) but rather is distinguished in the Trinity by his procession (GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS)—albeit not from a place (AMBROSE). The Spirit proceeds from the Word, who himself is from the Father (ATHANASIUS) and so in this way may also be said to proceed from the Father and the Son (AUGUSTINE) as the Son sends the Spirit from the Father (HILARY, AUGUSTINE). This demonstrates that the Spirit is not inferior in any way in the Godhead, having been sent both by the Father and the Son (AMBROSE, CHRYSOSTOM). But Christ refers to the Spirit as proceeding from the Father alone because he always refers all that he has to the Father from whom he has received everything (AUGUSTINE).

The Spirit floods our souls with holiness (AMBROSE), bearing witness to the Father and the Son, having the same knowledge of the Father as the Son has (AMBROSE). This knowledge in turn was bestowed on the faithful at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given (THEODORE). The Spirit empowers the witness of the apostles (THEODORE), whose later eyewitness testimony was important for the life of the church (CHRYSOSTOM).

15:26a | The Coming of the Comforter

THE COMFORTER IS WITH US IN OUR TROUBLES

CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: He is called the Comforter because he comforts and encourages us and helps our infirmities. We do not know what we should pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us, with groanings that cannot be uttered, [1] that is, he makes intercession to God. Very often, someone has been outraged and dishonored unjustly for the sake of Christ. Martyrdom is at hand; tortures on every side, and fire, and sword, and savage beasts and the pit. But the Holy Spirit softly whispers to him, “Wait on the Lord.” [2] What is now happening to you is a small matter; the reward will be great. Suffer a little while, and you will be with angels forever. “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that shall be revealed in us.” [3] He portrays to the person the kingdom of heaven. He gives him a glimpse of the paradise of delight. CATECHETICAL LECTURES 16.20. [4]

[1] Rom 8:26.

[2] Ps 27:14 (26:14 LXX).

[3] Rom 8:18.

[4] NPNF 2 7:120**.

THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS “COMFORTER

” DIDYMUS THE BLIND: He calls the Holy Spirit the Comforter, a name taken from his office, which is not only to relieve the sadness of the faithful but also to fill them with unspeakable joy. Everlasting gladness is in those hearts in which the Spirit dwells. The Spirit, the Comforter, is sent by the Son, not as angels, or prophets or apostles are sent, but as the Spirit must be sent, which is of one nature with the divine wisdom and power that sends him. The Son, when sent by the Father, is not separated from him but abides in the Father and the Father in him. In the same way the Holy Spirit is not sent by the Son and proceeds from the Father, in the sense of change of place. For as the Father’s nature, being incorporeal, is not local, so neither does the Spirit of truth, who is incorporeal also, and superior to all created things, have a local nature. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 25. [1]

[1] PL 23:125-26.

SON IS INTERCESSOR, SPIRIT IS COMFORTER

ORIGEN: The name Paraclete seems to be understood in the case of our Savior as meaning intercessor. For he is said to intercede with the Father because of our sins. [1] In the case of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete must be understood in the sense of comforter because he bestows consolation on the souls to whom he openly reveals the apprehension of spiritual knowledge. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 2.7.4. [2]

[1] 1 Jn 2:1-2.

[2] ANF 4:286*; GCS 22(5):152.

THE SPIRIT AS LIFE-GIVING WATER FROM HEAVEN

IRENAEUS: The Lord promised to send the Comforter who would join us to God. For as a compacted lump of dough cannot be formed of dry wheat without liquid, nor can a loaf possess unity, so, in the same way, neither could we, being many, be made one in Christ Jesus without the water from heaven. And as dry earth does not produce fruit unless it receives moisture, in the same way we also, being originally a dry tree, could never have produced life-bearing fruit without the voluntary rain from above. AGAINST HERESIES 3.17.2. [1]

[1] ANF 1:444-45; SC 34:304.

15:26b | The Spirit of Truth Proceeds from the Father

CREEDAL STATEMENT

COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE 381:

And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit,

the Lord and giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father,

who with the Father and Son

together is worshiped and glorified;

who spoke by the prophets.

NICENE-CONSTANTINOPOLITAN CREED, THIRD ARTICLE (GREEK TEXT).

PROCEEDS FROM THE FATHER, RESTS IN THE SON

JOHN OF DAMASCUS: We believe also in one Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son, the object of equal adoration and glorification with the Father and Son, since he is co-essential and co-eternal; [1] the Spirit of God, direct, authoritative, the fountain of wisdom, and life and holiness; God existing and addressed along with Father and Son; uncreated, full, creative, all-ruling, all-effecting, all-powerful, of infinite power, Lord of all creation and not under any lord; deifying, not deified; filling, not filled; shared in, not sharing in; sanctifying, not sanctified; the intercessor, receiving the supplications of all; in all things like to the Father and Son: proceeding from the Father and communicated through the Son, participated in by all creation, through himself creating and investing with essence and sanctifying and maintaining the universe: having subsistence, existing in its own proper and peculiar subsistence, inseparable and indivisible from Father and Son, possessing all the qualities that the Father and Son possess, except that of not being begotten or born. For the Father is without cause and unborn; since he is derived from nothing but derives from himself his being, nor does he derive a single quality from another. Rather, he is himself the beginning and cause of the existence of all things in a definite and natural manner. But the Son is derived from the Father after the manner of generation, and the Holy Spirit likewise is derived from the Father, yet not after the manner of generation but after that of procession. And we have learned that there is a difference [2] between generation and procession, but the nature of that difference we in no wise understand. Further, the generation of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Holy Spirit are simultaneous. ORTHODOX FAITH 1.8. [3]

[1] See Gregory of Nazianzus Oration 37.

[2] See Gregory of Nazianzus Oration 29.35.

[3] NPNF 2 9:9*.

THE SPIRIT PROCEEDS FROM THE FATHER

DIDYMUS THE BLIND: He does not say, “from God” or “from the Almighty” but “from the Father,” because though the Father and God Almighty are the same, yet the Spirit of truth properly proceeds from God as the Father, the Begetter. … The Father and the Son together send the Spirit of truth: He comes by the will both of the Father and the Son. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 26. [1]

[1] PL 23:126-27.

THE SPIRIT PROCEEDS

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: The Holy Spirit is truly Spirit, coming forth from the Father indeed, but not after the manner of the Son, for it is not by generation but by procession. … There is then one God in three, and these three are one. ON THE HOLY LIGHTS, ORATION 39.12. [1]

PROCESSION BELONGS TO THE SPIRIT

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS:

The Holy Spirit always existed, and exists and always will exist,

who neither had a beginning nor will have an end …

ever being partaken but not partaking;

perfecting, not being perfected;

sanctifying, not being sanctified;

deifying, not being deified …

Life and Lifegiver;

Light and Lightgiver;

Absolute Good and Spring of Goodness …

By whom the Father is known and the Son is glorified. …

Why make a long discourse of it? All that the Father has the Son has also; except the being unbegotten. And all that the Son has the Spirit has also, except the generation. ON PENTECOST, ORATION 41.9. [2]

[1] NPNF 2 7:356*.

[2] NPNF 2 7:382.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE TRINITY

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: Tell me, what position will you assign to that which proceeds, which has started up between the two terms of your distinctions [i.e., the terms begotten and unbegotten] and is introduced by a better theologian than you, namely, our Savior himself? Or perhaps you have taken that word out of your Gospels for the sake of your third testament: “The Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father.” Because he proceeds from that source, he is no creature. And because he is not begotten, he is no son. And because he is between the unbegotten and the begotten, he is God. And so, escaping the labors of your syllogisms, he [i.e., the Spirit] has manifested himself as God, stronger than your distinctions. What then is procession? Tell me what the unbegottenness of the Father is, and I will explain to you the physiology of the generation of the Son and the procession of the Spirit, and we shall both of us be frenzy-stricken for prying into the mystery of God! [1] And who are we to do these things, we who cannot even see what lies at our feet or number the sand of the sea, or the drops of rain, or the days of eternity, much less enter into the depths of God and supply an account of that nature that is so unspeakable and transcending all words?

What then, they say, is there lacking to the Spirit that prevents him from being a Son, for if there were not something lacking he would be a Son? We assert that there is nothing lacking—for God has no deficiency. But the difference of manifestation, if I may so express myself, or rather of their mutual relations one to another, has caused the difference of their names. For indeed, there is no deficiency in the Son that prevents his being Father (for sonship is not a deficiency), and yet he is not Father. According to this line of argument there must be some deficiency in the Father, in respect of his not being Son. For the Father is not Son, and yet this is not due to either deficiency or subjection of essence. But the very fact of being unbegotten or begotten or proceeding has given the name of Father to the first, of the Son to the second, and of the third, him of whom we are speaking, of the Holy Spirit that the distinction of the three persons may be preserved in the one nature and dignity of the Godhead. For neither is the Son Father, for the Father is one, but he is what the Father is. Nor is the Spirit Son because he is of God, for the Only Begotten is one, but he is what the Son is. The three are one in Godhead, and the one three in properties, so that neither is the unity a Sabellian one, [2] nor does the Trinity countenance the present evil distinction. What then? Is the Spirit God? Most certainly. Well then, is he consubstantial? Yes, if he is God. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 5(31).8-10. [3]

[1] Sir 1:2.

[2] That is, they are not three manifestations, or modes, of the Godhead.

[3] NPNF 2 7:320-21**.

THE SPIRIT’S PROCESSION IS NOT FROM A PLACE

AMBROSE: If the Spirit proceeds from a place and passes to a place, the Father also will be found in a place, and so will the Son. If he goes out of a place, whom the Fathers sends, or the Son, surely the Spirit passing and proceeding from a place seems to leave both the Father and the Son as a body, according to impious interpretations. I declare this with reference to those who say that the Spirit has motion by descending. But neither is the Father circumscribed in any place, who is over all things not only of a corporeal nature but also of invisible creation, nor is the Son enclosed by the places and times of his works, who as the worker of all creation is over every creature. Nor is the Spirit of truth, namely, the Spirit of God, circumscribed by any corporeal boundaries, [1] who, since he is incorporeal, is over all rational creation by the ineffable fullness of the Godhead, having the power of breathing where he wishes and of inspiring as he wishes over all things. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.11.117-18. [2]

[1] See Wis 7:23.

[2] FC 44:77-78*; CSEL 79:65-66.

THE SPIRIT PROCEEDS FROM THE WORD, WHO IS FROM THE FATHER

ATHANASIUS:

As the Son is an only-begotten offspring, so also the Spirit, being given and sent from the Son, is himself one and not many, nor one from among many, but Only Spirit. As the Son, the living Word, is one, so must the vital activity and gift by which he sanctifies and enlightens be one, perfect and complete. This [activity and gift] is said to proceed from the Father because it is from the Word, who is confessed to be from the Father, that it shines forth, is sent and is given. The Son is sent from the Father. For he says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” [1] The Son sends the Spirit. “If I go away,” he says, “I will send the Paraclete.” [2] The Son glorifies the Father, saying, “Father, I have glorified you.” [3] The Spirit glorifies the Son, for he says, “He shall glorify me.” [4] The Son says, “The things I heard from the Father I speak unto the world.” [5] The Spirit takes of the Son. “He shall take of mine,” he says, “and shall declare it unto you.” [6] The Son came in the name of the Father. “The Holy Spirit,” says the Son, “whom the Father will send in my name.” [7] LETTER TO SERAPION 1.20. [8]

[1] Jn 3:16.

[2] Jn 16:7.

[3] Jn 17:4.

[4] Jn 16:14.

[5] Jn 8:26.

[6] Jn 16:14.

[7] Jn 14:26.

[8] LAHS 116-18; PG 26:577-80.

THE SON SENDS THE SPIRIT FROM THE FATHER

HILARY OF POITIERS: The Advocate shall come, and the Son shall send him from the Father, and he is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father. … He will send from the Father the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father. [The Son] therefore cannot be the recipient, since he is revealed as the sender. It only remains to make sure of our conviction on the point, whether we are to believe an egress of a co-existent being or a procession of a being begotten. … If one believes that there is a difference between receiving from the Son and proceeding from the Father, surely to receive from the Son and to receive from the Father will be regarded as one and the same thing. … For when he says that all things whatever the Father has are his and that for this cause he declared that it must be received from his own, he teaches also that what is received from the Father is yet received from himself, because all things that the Father has are his. ON THE TRINITY 8.19-20. [1]

[1] NPNF 2 9:142-43*; CCL 62A:330-32.

THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER AND THE SON

AUGUSTINE: That he is the Spirit of the Father is what the Son himself says: “He proceeds from the Father,” and in another place, “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” [1] That he is also the Spirit of the Son is what the apostle tells us: “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba, Father,” [2] that is, “making us cry.” It is, after all, we who cry out but in him, that is to say, through his pouring out charity in our hearts, without which anyone who cries out, cries out in vain. That is why he also says, “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ is not one of his.” [3] So to which person of the Trinity would communion in this companionship properly belong, if not to that Spirit who is common to Father and Son? SERMON 71.29. [4]

[1] Mt 10:20.

[2] ESUS IS INFORMED THAT LAZARUS IS SICK | JOHN 11:1-5

[3] Rom 8:9.

[4] WSA 3 3:264; RB 75:97.

THE SPIRIT SENT BY FATHER AND SON

AMBROSE: When you hear that the Son sends the Spirit, you might believe that the Spirit is of inferior power. So both the Father and the Spirit sent the Son. Also, the Father and the Son sent the Spirit. The Father sent him because it is written, “But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name.” The Son sent him, because he said, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth.” If, then, the Son and the Spirit send each other, as the Father sends, there is no affront of subjection but a community of power. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 3.1.7-8. [1]

[1] FC 44:156; CSEL 79:152-53.

BOTH FATHER AND SON SEND THE SPIRIT

CHRYSOSTOM: [The Spirit] shall be worthy of belief because he is the Spirit of truth. This is why he called it not the Holy Spirit but the “Spirit of truth.” But when he says it “proceeds from the Father,” he shows that [the Spirit] knows all things precisely, just as Christ also says of himself, “I know from where I come and where I am going.” [1] He also was speaking in that place about truth. “Whom I will send” indicates that it is no longer the Father alone but the Son also who sends. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 77.3. [2]

[1] Jn 8:14.

[2] NPNF 1 14:284**.

NOT THE SPIRIT OF ONE, BUT OF BOTH FATHER AND SON

AUGUSTINE: If it is asked here whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son also, we may answer in this way: The Son is the Son of the Father alone, and the Father is the Father of the Son only. But the Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of one but of both, since Christ himself said, “The Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.” [1] And the apostle says, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts.” [2] … This indeed, I think, is the reason why he is called peculiarly the Spirit. For both of the Father and the Son separately we may say that each is a Spirit. For God is a Spirit, [3] that is, God is not carnal but spiritual. But what each is separately in a general sense, he who is not either one separately, but the union of both, is spiritually. But if the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son, why shouldn’t we believe that he proceeds from the Son seeing that he is also the Spirit of the Son? Indeed, if he did not proceed from the Son, Christ would not after the resurrection have breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” [4] … This too is what is meant by the virtue that went out of him and healed all. If the Holy Spirit then proceeds both from the Father and the Son, why does the Son say, “Who proceeds from the Father”? He says this because it agrees with his general way of referring all that he has to him from whom he is. TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 99.6-8. [5]

[1] Mt 10:20.

[2] Gal 4:6.

[3] Jn 4:24.

[4] Jn 20:22.

[5] NPNF 1 7:383-84**; CCL 36:585-87.

15:26c | The Spirit Testifies on the Son’s Behalf

COME HOLY SPIRIT

AMBROSE:

Come, Holy Spirit, who ever One

Are with the Father and the Son,

It is the hour, our souls possess

With your full flood of holiness.

Let flesh, and heart, and lips and mind,

Sound forth our witness to humankind;

And love light up our mortal frame,

Till others catch the living flame.

Grant this, O Father, ever One

With Christ, your sole begotten Son

And Holy Spirit we adore,

Reigning and blest forevermore. Amen.

LITURGY OF HOURS, TERCE.

THE SPIRIT KNOWS WHAT THE SON KNOWS

AMBROSE: So the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and bears witness of the Son. A witness, both faithful and true, bears witness also of the Father. There is no more complete expression of the divine majesty, nothing more clear regarding the unity of divine power than this, since the Spirit knows the same as the Son, who is the witness and the inseparable sharer of the Father’s secrets. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.1.25. [1]

[1] FC 44:45*; CSEL 79:26-27.

SIGNS OF PENTECOST WILL VINDICATE JESUS

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Through the descent of the Spirit, he says, there will be a confirmation of what I said, that is, that they committed a serious offense against me and my Father. When in my name signs happen through the power of the Spirit, then the truth of my words will appear. It will be evident that the Father was despised with me because of the iniquity of my enemies. And then Jesus, wanting to emphasize their fault on the basis of the person who will testify, says, “who comes from the Father,” that is, the one whose essence is from the nature of the Father. In fact, if the natural procession [of the Spirit] were not understood from the word comes but, for instance, a certain external sending, there would be uncertainty about the spirit he is talking about, because many spirits are sent on missions, as also the apostle Paul said, “Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve?” [1] Here also the fact that he mentions it by itself is sufficient to signify the one who proceeds from the Father and appropriately is called by the name of Spirit in the Holy Scripture. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.15.26. [2]

[1] Heb 1:14.

[2] CSCO 4 3:287-88.

15:27 | You Also Are Witnesses

THE SPIRIT EMPOWERS THE WITNESS OF THE APOSTLES

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: When you speak, the Spirit, through its testimony, will confirm your words with evident signs, as also the apostle said, “My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” [1] The signs that happened through the power of the Spirit in the name of the Lord showed the greatness of him who underwent passion and, at the same time, the foolishness of those who dared crucify him. COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.15.27. [2]

[1] 1 Cor 2:4.

[2] CSCO 4 3:288.

THE APOSTLES’ EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY IS IMPORTANT

CHRYSOSTOM: In matters of belief, the very thing that gives one a right to be believed is the fact of having learned what you believe from eyewitnesses. … Therefore John also says, “I saw and bore record that this is the Son of God.” [1] … Accordingly, Jesus gave them permission to rest many details of their testimony on the fact of their having seen them when he said, “And you also are witnesses because you have been with me from the beginning.” The apostles themselves also often speak in a similar way. [2] … For they more readily received the testimony of people who had been his companions because the notion of the Spirit was as yet very much beyond them. Therefore John also at that time, in his Gospel, speaking of the blood and water, said, he himself saw it, making the fact of his having seen it equivalent to the highest testimony for them, although the witness of the Spirit is more certain than the evidence of sight, but not so with unbelievers. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1. [3]

[1] Jn 1:34.

[2] Acts 2:32; 10:41.

[3] NPNF 1 11:3**.