The Holy Spirit, Giver of Life and The Trinity, Co-Equal, Co-Eternal
So y'all will get two posts this week because somebody forgot to post this last week...
Also, sorry this is a long one.
The Holy Spirit
When Jesus left, floating up into the sky and waving his hands goodbye to his friends and family, he made a promise: He would not leave them, or us, alone. Most translations quote Jesus calling this abiding presence that Jesus will leave with humanity “the advocate” or “the Comforter,” depending on your translation. There are several other names often used for the Holy Spirit, such as Sustainer and Sophia (the personification of wisdom). We had a sermon series on the Holy Spirit last Pentecost, where we looked at a few of the different names and roles the Spirit plays throughout scripture. The simplest way to describe the Holy Spirit is God’s abiding presence with humanity since the beginning of all things, which puts air in our lungs, dreams, compassion, and love in our hearts, wisdom and clarity in our minds, and comfort in times of need.
Naturally, what Jesus says does not make much sense to disciples, as they are more concerned with where Jesus went and when He would come back than with facing their present reality and the calling Jesus left them with: to be Jesus’ hands and feet in a world of need. When the Spirit ‘makes its presence known’ at Pentecost, that is when it finally begins to click with the disciples what their next steps ought to be. Pentecost is when the disciples finally understand their purpose and Jesus’ purpose on earth. It is a moment of transformation and understanding
If I am being honest, I tend to view Pentecost less as a miraculous birth of the church, which, do not get me wrong, certainly is. This is the moment when Christians began to fully share the Good News. But for me, Pentecost is less of a celebration and more of a divine slap on the back of the head. My mother calls this the “Gibbs Slap.” I have been the recipient of said slap more times than I can count. I am 30 years old, turn 31 next week, and still, every time I see her, she slaps me up the backside of my head. Do I deserve it? Most of the time, yes, but still, I am a full-grown adult, and sometimes it's for no reason at all. When I see her on Wednesday, what will she do? She will give me a “Gibbs Slap” just because I brought it up.
The Holy Spirit had been there the whole time; the disciples were too dense to notice the abiding presence. Now I am not trying to pick on the disciples alone here; this is not a problem for just them. How many times in the Bible has God been required to perform a major sign so people would understand or see what was right in front of them? Still, it doesn’t always work because humans are dense and not great at seeing God at work around us. How good are we at seeing it now? Do we look for God at work, for how we can be God at work, or do we focus on what is right in front of us, or wait for some grand divine sign?
There is the classic old preacher's story of the main and the flood. I have shared this with you before, and I am sure you may have heard another pastor use it. I mean, it was on the show West Wing. The story goes: A man is watching TV and his phone goes crazy, mine did last night, the show was interrupted by the weather team, forecasting a dangerous flood. Man says, “God will save me.” A short while later, an announcement comes across the TV and his phone to evacuate the area. Man says, “God will save me. " A couple of hours later, water is starting to rise, and a military truck drives by with a loudspeaker saying, 'Evacuate your homes, we are transporting people to a safe place.” Man says, “God will save me.” The water rises, and the man is stuck on the second floor. Looking out the window, he sees a boat. They offer to rescue him. What does the man say? “My God will save me.” Not too much later, the man is stuck on the roof, and a helicopter overhead says, "Grab on, we will save you." The man proudly proclaims, “NO! My God will save me!” Well, the man drowns and dies. Who saw that coming? The man came face to face with God, and he is angry and says, “God, why did you not save me?” God answers, “I sent alerts, warnings, a truck, a boat, and a helicopter, what more did you want?
When we confess belief in the Holy Spirit, we promise to keep ourselves open to it. We promise to keep our eyes open, to have faith that we are not alone, that God has not abandoned us, and that there is always room for hope. That God still acts, just maybe not with a flame on our head or parting waters. That’s easy to say… It's much harder to live out, especially when we face challenges. But this exactly what faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in general means, to have hope when everything seems hopeless.
The greatest debate about the Holy Spirit is about whom the Spirit proceeds. This was one of the major reasons why the Eastern and Western churches split. (There were several reasons they split.) This question is also an issue regarding the Trinity as well. Does the Spirit proceed from the Father and the Son or just the Father? The Eastern Orthodox Church asserts just the Father. Western Trinitarian Christians, including us, say the Spirit proceeds from both. They do not necessarily view the Spirit as less important, but that it comes from God alone. It is a very different picture of the Trinity than we are used to. We see how the Spirit is sent by the Father, by the Son and just shows up on its own, that is why we are, or at least I am, Trinitarian. I could go on for pages here so let usjust say: Happy to talk about that in further depth another time…
The Trinity
The Trinity is a inherently a mystery. A mystery that cannot be fully explained or understood. Virtually every single metaphor for the Trinity is heretical. Apple, Ice, Clover, they are all heresy. Don’t worry, I'll put a good word in for you if you use these when I report you to the Spanish Inquisition. Didn’t expect me to bring them up, did you? No one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition. But this is one of those things that we cannot explain in simple terms. I am not saying you are a bad Christian for using those either, we are all doing the best we can to explain something that is by it’s very nature unexplainable, so of course our words will fail.
The Athanasian Creed has a complicated history but is likely dated in the early 5th Century. Tradition asserts it was written by Athanasius of Alexandria, but modern scholars find that unlikely given the Creed was written in Latin, no a language Athanasius was familiar with. This is my 3rd favorite Creed. (Yes I have a ranking, 1. Philippians 2:1-11. 2. Nicene. 3. Chalcedonian Definition, not really a creed but whatever. 4. Athanasian Creed. 5. Canadian Creed. 6. Apostles’ Creed. I could go on and the order changes from time to time. The Athanasian Creed is named for the first great defender of Jesus’ divinity, Athanasius of Alexandria. I prefer the great boxer of heretics St. Nicholas, but it’s fine. (Look it up.) The Athanasian creed serves two purposes. 1. Protect the dual nature of Jesus, Athanasius soap box if you will, which I personally do not find necessary, given Paul’s creed in Philippians 2. 2. Protect the nature of the Trinity, which is obviously our focus for today. It inspired the Shield of Trinity which is one of the best examples of what the Trinity is. The Athanasian Creed remains, at least in my view, the only proper way to describe the nature of the Trinity. This is a lengthy creed, so I will just quote the relevant section, which is also really long:
“That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.
What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal.
And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being.
So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;
there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.
Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty.
Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being.
Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God.
Yet there are not three gods, there is but one God.
Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord.
Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord.
Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord,
so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.
The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.
The Son was neither made nor created;
he was begotten from the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;
there is one Son, not three sons;
there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
Nothing in this trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller;
in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other.
So in everything, as was said earlier, we must worship their trinity in their unity and their unity in their trinity.
Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the trinity."
This makes perfect sense, right? I talked last week about how resistant we are to accept mystery, but how our faith requires us to embrace it. The Trinity is perhaps the greatest example of embracing that mystery.
The Trinity is a term and a concept that is drawn from scripture but never explicitly described in scripture. In fact, Luke 3:21-22 is one of the few moments in scripture in which we see all three persons present at the same time. What is special for me about Luke 3, the Baptism of Jesus, is that the purposes of the person of the Trinity are made clear as well. The Father is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer, the Spirit is the Sustainer and Equipper. The Transfiguration is another time when we see all three. Creation is another. Paul will talk about each person, but never really explain their relationship, at least not to the depths of the Athanasian Creed. I just want to be clear that while the Scriptures do not explicitly name the Trinity, or specifically describe the inner workings of the Trinity. However, we clearly see and read about the Father the Son and Spirit. So while the Trinity is not named in Scripture, it is based on what we find in Scripture. This doctrine is how most Christians have come to understand the mystery of how God works in the world.
There is a Greek word, Perichoresis, that means the “Divine Dance.” It describes the Trinity not as an insolvable puzzle, but as God seeking a relationship. The three persons of the Trinity dwell perfectly inside, though, and with one another. It is an endless flow of mutual affection and honor where there is no hierarchy, only perfect unity and equality. The Celtic Trinity Knot is a good illustration of that. God calls us to participate in that Divine relationship of love and grace.
The Trinity means that if God exists as a relationship of mutual love and respect, then that is how God interacts with us, and calls us to interact with others.
Also, sorry this is a long one.
The Holy Spirit
When Jesus left, floating up into the sky and waving his hands goodbye to his friends and family, he made a promise: He would not leave them, or us, alone. Most translations quote Jesus calling this abiding presence that Jesus will leave with humanity “the advocate” or “the Comforter,” depending on your translation. There are several other names often used for the Holy Spirit, such as Sustainer and Sophia (the personification of wisdom). We had a sermon series on the Holy Spirit last Pentecost, where we looked at a few of the different names and roles the Spirit plays throughout scripture. The simplest way to describe the Holy Spirit is God’s abiding presence with humanity since the beginning of all things, which puts air in our lungs, dreams, compassion, and love in our hearts, wisdom and clarity in our minds, and comfort in times of need.
Naturally, what Jesus says does not make much sense to disciples, as they are more concerned with where Jesus went and when He would come back than with facing their present reality and the calling Jesus left them with: to be Jesus’ hands and feet in a world of need. When the Spirit ‘makes its presence known’ at Pentecost, that is when it finally begins to click with the disciples what their next steps ought to be. Pentecost is when the disciples finally understand their purpose and Jesus’ purpose on earth. It is a moment of transformation and understanding
If I am being honest, I tend to view Pentecost less as a miraculous birth of the church, which, do not get me wrong, certainly is. This is the moment when Christians began to fully share the Good News. But for me, Pentecost is less of a celebration and more of a divine slap on the back of the head. My mother calls this the “Gibbs Slap.” I have been the recipient of said slap more times than I can count. I am 30 years old, turn 31 next week, and still, every time I see her, she slaps me up the backside of my head. Do I deserve it? Most of the time, yes, but still, I am a full-grown adult, and sometimes it's for no reason at all. When I see her on Wednesday, what will she do? She will give me a “Gibbs Slap” just because I brought it up.
The Holy Spirit had been there the whole time; the disciples were too dense to notice the abiding presence. Now I am not trying to pick on the disciples alone here; this is not a problem for just them. How many times in the Bible has God been required to perform a major sign so people would understand or see what was right in front of them? Still, it doesn’t always work because humans are dense and not great at seeing God at work around us. How good are we at seeing it now? Do we look for God at work, for how we can be God at work, or do we focus on what is right in front of us, or wait for some grand divine sign?
There is the classic old preacher's story of the main and the flood. I have shared this with you before, and I am sure you may have heard another pastor use it. I mean, it was on the show West Wing. The story goes: A man is watching TV and his phone goes crazy, mine did last night, the show was interrupted by the weather team, forecasting a dangerous flood. Man says, “God will save me.” A short while later, an announcement comes across the TV and his phone to evacuate the area. Man says, “God will save me. " A couple of hours later, water is starting to rise, and a military truck drives by with a loudspeaker saying, 'Evacuate your homes, we are transporting people to a safe place.” Man says, “God will save me.” The water rises, and the man is stuck on the second floor. Looking out the window, he sees a boat. They offer to rescue him. What does the man say? “My God will save me.” Not too much later, the man is stuck on the roof, and a helicopter overhead says, "Grab on, we will save you." The man proudly proclaims, “NO! My God will save me!” Well, the man drowns and dies. Who saw that coming? The man came face to face with God, and he is angry and says, “God, why did you not save me?” God answers, “I sent alerts, warnings, a truck, a boat, and a helicopter, what more did you want?
When we confess belief in the Holy Spirit, we promise to keep ourselves open to it. We promise to keep our eyes open, to have faith that we are not alone, that God has not abandoned us, and that there is always room for hope. That God still acts, just maybe not with a flame on our head or parting waters. That’s easy to say… It's much harder to live out, especially when we face challenges. But this exactly what faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in general means, to have hope when everything seems hopeless.
The greatest debate about the Holy Spirit is about whom the Spirit proceeds. This was one of the major reasons why the Eastern and Western churches split. (There were several reasons they split.) This question is also an issue regarding the Trinity as well. Does the Spirit proceed from the Father and the Son or just the Father? The Eastern Orthodox Church asserts just the Father. Western Trinitarian Christians, including us, say the Spirit proceeds from both. They do not necessarily view the Spirit as less important, but that it comes from God alone. It is a very different picture of the Trinity than we are used to. We see how the Spirit is sent by the Father, by the Son and just shows up on its own, that is why we are, or at least I am, Trinitarian. I could go on for pages here so let usjust say: Happy to talk about that in further depth another time…
The Trinity
The Trinity is a inherently a mystery. A mystery that cannot be fully explained or understood. Virtually every single metaphor for the Trinity is heretical. Apple, Ice, Clover, they are all heresy. Don’t worry, I'll put a good word in for you if you use these when I report you to the Spanish Inquisition. Didn’t expect me to bring them up, did you? No one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition. But this is one of those things that we cannot explain in simple terms. I am not saying you are a bad Christian for using those either, we are all doing the best we can to explain something that is by it’s very nature unexplainable, so of course our words will fail.
The Athanasian Creed has a complicated history but is likely dated in the early 5th Century. Tradition asserts it was written by Athanasius of Alexandria, but modern scholars find that unlikely given the Creed was written in Latin, no a language Athanasius was familiar with. This is my 3rd favorite Creed. (Yes I have a ranking, 1. Philippians 2:1-11. 2. Nicene. 3. Chalcedonian Definition, not really a creed but whatever. 4. Athanasian Creed. 5. Canadian Creed. 6. Apostles’ Creed. I could go on and the order changes from time to time. The Athanasian Creed is named for the first great defender of Jesus’ divinity, Athanasius of Alexandria. I prefer the great boxer of heretics St. Nicholas, but it’s fine. (Look it up.) The Athanasian creed serves two purposes. 1. Protect the dual nature of Jesus, Athanasius soap box if you will, which I personally do not find necessary, given Paul’s creed in Philippians 2. 2. Protect the nature of the Trinity, which is obviously our focus for today. It inspired the Shield of Trinity which is one of the best examples of what the Trinity is. The Athanasian Creed remains, at least in my view, the only proper way to describe the nature of the Trinity. This is a lengthy creed, so I will just quote the relevant section, which is also really long:
“That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.
What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal.
And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being.
So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;
there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.
Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty.
Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being.
Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God.
Yet there are not three gods, there is but one God.
Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord.
Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord.
Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord,
so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.
The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.
The Son was neither made nor created;
he was begotten from the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;
there is one Son, not three sons;
there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
Nothing in this trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller;
in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other.
So in everything, as was said earlier, we must worship their trinity in their unity and their unity in their trinity.
Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the trinity."
This makes perfect sense, right? I talked last week about how resistant we are to accept mystery, but how our faith requires us to embrace it. The Trinity is perhaps the greatest example of embracing that mystery.
The Trinity is a term and a concept that is drawn from scripture but never explicitly described in scripture. In fact, Luke 3:21-22 is one of the few moments in scripture in which we see all three persons present at the same time. What is special for me about Luke 3, the Baptism of Jesus, is that the purposes of the person of the Trinity are made clear as well. The Father is the Creator, the Son is the Redeemer, the Spirit is the Sustainer and Equipper. The Transfiguration is another time when we see all three. Creation is another. Paul will talk about each person, but never really explain their relationship, at least not to the depths of the Athanasian Creed. I just want to be clear that while the Scriptures do not explicitly name the Trinity, or specifically describe the inner workings of the Trinity. However, we clearly see and read about the Father the Son and Spirit. So while the Trinity is not named in Scripture, it is based on what we find in Scripture. This doctrine is how most Christians have come to understand the mystery of how God works in the world.
There is a Greek word, Perichoresis, that means the “Divine Dance.” It describes the Trinity not as an insolvable puzzle, but as God seeking a relationship. The three persons of the Trinity dwell perfectly inside, though, and with one another. It is an endless flow of mutual affection and honor where there is no hierarchy, only perfect unity and equality. The Celtic Trinity Knot is a good illustration of that. God calls us to participate in that Divine relationship of love and grace.
The Trinity means that if God exists as a relationship of mutual love and respect, then that is how God interacts with us, and calls us to interact with others.