Milton

¶1p. 110 A Patre et Filio proximum est ut de Sancto Spiritu dicamus; quando et Patris et Filii Spiritus appellatur. Quod autem ad naturam ejus attinet, quomodo existat, quove extiterit, scriptura tacet: unde nos temerarii ne simus, admonemur. Nam etsi Spiritus est, sicuti et Pater et Filius recte dicitur, etsi Christus Joan. xx. 22. flando dedisse Spiritum Sanctum vel ejus quoddam symbolum potius aut pignus discipulis suis memoratur, spirari idcirco a Patre et Filio spiritum, si de natura Spiritus Sancti loquamur, quis hinc ausit statuere? Neque vero id naturam Sancti Spiritus attingit, quod emanare aut procedere theologi vocant ex Joan. xv. 26. ubi dicitur, Spiritus veritatis, ὁ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, qui a Patre procedit, seu egreditur; quod solum verbum ad plenam tanti mysterii fidem exile admodum argumentum est; et missionem Spiritus, non naturam, significat: quo sensu etiam Filius ἐξελθεῖν, sive egredi, sive procedere a Patre id malit quisquam interpretari, quod, quantum nobis liquet, idem valet, sæpius dicitur: immo omni verbo ἐκπορευομένῳ, id est, procedente vel exeunte per os Dei dicimur vivere, Matt. iv. 4. Cum itaque Spiritus nec generari dicatur, neque creari, neque quo alio existat modo ex scriptura constet, in tanto sacrorum auctorum silentio dehiscat methodus necesse est.

¶2Nomen Spiritus et Deo et angelis et hominum quoque mentibus tribui solet. Spiritus autem Dei vel Spiritus Sanctus quoties dicitur, sciendum est in veteri testamento nunc ipsum Deum Patrem, ut Gen. vi. 3. non disceptabit Spiritus meus, nunc Patris potentiam atque virtutem, illum p. 111 imprimis afflatum divinum omnia creantem ac foventem significari: quomodo locum illum Gen. i. 2. Spiritus Dei incubabat, multi intelligunt et antiqui et recentiores. Quamquam illic Filius intelligendus videtur potius, per quem Pater omnia creasse toties dicitur. Job. xxvi. 13. Spiritu suo cœlos ornavit. et xxvii. 3. Spiritus Dei in naribus meis. et xxxiii. 4. Spiritus Dei fortis, et efflatus Omnipotentis. Psal. civ. 30. emittente Spiritum tuum, recreantur. et cxxxix. 7. quo irem a Spiritu tuo? Ezech. xxxvii. 14. indam Spiritum meum vobis, ut reviviscatis. et multis aliis in locis.

¶3Vel angelum aliquem. Isa. xlviii. 16. Dominus Jehova mittit me, et Spiritus ejus. Ezech. iii. 12. tum sustulit me Spiritus—. Sic v. 14. et 24. et passim.

¶4Vel Christum, quem misit Pater, ut plerique volunt, qui Israelitas duceret in terram Cananæam. Isa. lxiii. 10, 11. dolore afficientibus Spiritum sanctitatis ejus. qui posuit in medio istius Spiritum sanctitatis suæ: nempe angelum illum, in quo nomen suum posuit, id est, Christum, quem tentaverunt, Num. xxi. 5, &c. cum 1 Cor. x. 9.

¶5Nunc illam sive vim sive vocem Dei, quæ quoquomodo prophetis inspiratur. Nehem. ix. 30. cum contestatus esses eos Spiritu tuo per prophetas tuos.

¶6Nunc lucem veritatis, sive ordinariam sive extraordinariam, qua suos illuminat Deus atque deducit. Num. xiv. 24. at servum meum Calebum, quia fuit Spiritus alius cum eo—. Nehem. ix. 20. Spiritum etiam tuum optimum dedisti ad intelligentiam—. Psal. li. 13, 14. Spiritum sanctitatis tuæ ne recipias a me; Spiritu ingenuitatis tuæ sustenta me. et cxliii. 10. tuo Spiritu bono deduc me. Certe nec David nec quisquam alius sub vetusto fœdere Hebræus, Spiritum illum sanctum et bonum personam aliquam, nisi forte angelum, crediderunt.

¶7Etiam qua ipsum Christum. Isa. xi. 2. super quo quiescet Spiritus Jehovæ, Spiritus sapientiæ et intelligentiæ, Spiritus consilii et potentiæ, p. 112 Spiritus scientiæ et reverentiæ Jehovæ. et xlii. 1. indam Spiritum meam ipsi. cum Act. x. 38. ut Jesum illum unxerit Deus Spiritu Sancto et potentia.

¶8In alios etiam dona Dei spiritualia, ipsamque donationem. Gen. xli. 38. virum in quo Spiritus Dei sit. Num. xi. 17, 25, 26, 29. seponam de Spiritu qui est super te, ponamque in iis—. 2 Reg. ii. 9. sit ergo, quæso, portio dupla de tuo Spiritu penes me. et v. 15. quievit spiritus Eliæ super Elisæum.

¶9Hæc omnia et hujusmodi multa alia de virtute et potentia Dei Patris fuisse in vetere testamento intellecta, certissimum est; cum Spiritus Sanctus neque datus adhuc esset, neque creditus, ne ab iis quidem qui ultimis temporibus effusum iri cecinerunt.

¶10Sub evangelio itidem nomen Spiritus Dei vel Sancti significat nunc ipsum Patrem. Matt. i. 18, 20. quod in ea genitum est, ex Spiritu Sancto est. Luc. i. 35. Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi inumbrabit te; propterea id etiam quod gignetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei.

¶11Nunc Patris virtutem et potentiam. Matt. xii. 28. cum Luc. xi. 20. per Spiritum Dei. per digitum Dei. Rom. i. 4. definito Filio Dei potenter, secundum Spiritum sanctificationis, ex resurrectione mortuorum. Sic enim scriptura passim docet Patris virtute suscitatum, indeque Filium Dei definitum, et præsertim Act. xiii. 32, 33. ut capitis initio superioris: secundum autem Spiritum videtur idem valere quod Eph. iv. 24. secundum Deum conditus. et 1 Pet. iv. 6. ut viverent secundum Deum, Spiritu. Isa. xlii. 1. cum Heb. ix. 14. indam Spiritum meum ipsi. qui per Spiritum æternum seipsum obtulit inculpatum Deo. Luc. iv. 1. Jesus plenus Spiritu sancto. et v. 18. cum Isa. lxi. 1. Spiritus Domini Jehovæ super me, eo quod unxit me, admisit me ad—, cum Act. x. 38. ut Jesum illum a Nazaretha unxerit Deus Spiritu Sancto et potentia. i. 2. cum præcepta dedisset apostolis, quos per Spiritum Sanctum elegerat. hæc probabilius est de Patris virtute, quam de ipso Spiritu Sancto intelligi oportere: quid p. 113 enim opus erat ipso Spiritu Sancto Christum impleri, de quo ipse Christus, de meo, inquit, accipiet, Joan. xvi. 15. Hinc etiam in Christi baptismo, Matt. iii. descendisse in Christum crediderim Spiritum, non tam suo nomine, quam a Patre missum, virtutis divinæ symbolum ac ministrum. Quid enim ipse conferre potuit Christo, a quo et mittendus erat, et omnia accepturus? an testimonium perhibere? at nondum ipse notus: an ecclesiæ tum primum erat patefaciendus? at neque de eo neque de ejus munere tum cum appareret, quicquam est dictum: et vox illa de cœlo nihil de Spiritu, sed tantum de Filio testificata est. Descensio igitur, et columbina species illa Spiritus Sancti, aliud nihil videtur fuisse, quam repræsentatio quædam summi amoris ac dilectionis paternæ erga Filium a Spiritu Sancto sub columbæ mansuetissima specie administrata, voce illa interprete cœlitus testata.

¶12Significat tertio Spiritus instinctum, et lucem, et vocem, aut verbum divinum, sive per Christum qui Dei sermo est, sive modo quovis alio divinitus missum. Marc. xii. 36. David dixit per Spiritum Sanctum. Act. i. 16. prædixit Spiritus Sanctus per os Davidis. et xxviii. 25. recte Spiritus Sanctus locutus est per Isaiam prophetam. Heb. iii. 7. dixit Spiritus Sanctus, hodie—. et ix. 8. hoc declarante Spiritu Sancto, nondum factam fuisse manifestam ad sacrarium viam—. et x. 15. testificatur nobis Spiritus Sanctus. 2 Pet. i. 21. acti a Spiritu Sancto, locuti sunt sancti Dei homines. Luc. ii. 25, 26. et Spiritus Sanctus erat super eum: fueratque ipsi divinitus nuntiatum a Spiritu Sancto. Hæc et similia loca præcise de Sancti Spiritus persona intelligi, puto non posse; cum quia is nondum erat datus, tum quia solus Christus, ut modo dixi, sermo Dei est, et propheta ecclesiæ, primario videlicet ac proprie; tametsi multifariam multisque modis olim Deus locutus est patribus in prophetis. Heb. i. 1. non ergo solum per Spiritum Sanctum, nisi latiore omnino, quam postea, atque ea maxime quam attulimus, Spiritus Sancti significatione. Hinc 1 Pet. i. 11. qui in iis (nempe prophetis) erat Spiritus Christi, aut intelligendus est ipse Christus, ut infra cap. iii. 18, 19. vivificatus Spiritu, in quo, vel per quem, Spiritibus in carcere profectus—, aut intelligendus est Spiritus Christi sermonis et summi prophetæ vicarius. p. 114

¶13Significat tandem Spiritus ipsam Spiritus Sancti personam, aut symbolum ejus. Matt. iii. 16. vidit Spiritum Dei descendentem quasi columbam, et manentem super eum. Marc. i. 10. idem. Luc. iii. 22. corporea specie, tanquam columba. Joan. i. 32, 33. quasi columbam. Nec dixerit mihi hic quispiam, columbam non esse personam; substantia enim intelligens, quavis sub specie, persona est; quemadmodum visa illa ab Ezechiele quatuor animalia, Ezech. i. Joan. xiv. 16, 17. alium advocatum. et v. 26. idem. et cap. xv. 26. et xvi. 7, 13. idem. et xx. 22. inhalavit iis, ac dixit, accipite Spiritum Sanctum. Nempe hoc symbolum erat et quasi certissimum pignus illius promissi, quod impletum est Act. ii. 2, 3, 4, 33. et promissione Spiritus Sancti accepta a Patre, effudit hoc—. Matt. xxviii. 19. in nomine—, et Spiritus Sancti. Act. xv. 28. visum est Spiritui Sancto. Rom. viii. 16. testatur. v. 26. sublevat, intercedit. Eph. i. 13, 14. τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἀγίῳ· ὅς ἐστιν ἀῤῥαβών. Et iv. 30. ne tristitia afficite Spiritum illum.

¶14Donationem denique et dona ejus. Joan. vii. 39. hoc autem dixit de Spiritu illo quem accepturi erant—. nondum enim erat Spiritus Sanctus—. Matt. iii. 11. ipse vos baptizabit Spiritu Sancto et igne. Act. i. 5. et xi. 16. idem. 1 Thess. v. 19. Spiritum ne extinguite.

¶15Quis autem sit Sanctus ille Spiritus, unde sit, quæque ejus officia, expressius nemo docet quam ipse Dei Filius. Matt. x. 20. Spiritus Patris vestri is est qui loquitur in vobis. Luc. xi. 13. quanto magis Pater cœlestis dabit Spiritum Sanctum petentibus ab ipso. et xxiv. 49. ecce, ego mittam promissum Patris mei in vos: vos autem residete Hierosolymis usque quo induamini virtute ex alto. Joan. xiv. 16, 17. rogabo Patrem, et alium advocatum dabit vobis, Spiritum veritatis. et v. 26. advocatus ille Spiritus Sanctus quem mittet Pater in nomine meo. et cap. xv. 26. advocatus ille quem ego vobis mittam a Patre—; qui a Patre egreditur, ille testabitur de me. et xvi. 7. mittam eum ad vos. v. 8. cum venerit, arguet mundum—. et v. 13. non loquitur a semetipso; sed quæcunque audierit, loquitur. et v. 14. ille me glorificabit quia de meo accipiet. v. 15. omnia quæ habet Pater, mea sunt: propterea dixi illum de meo accepturum. cap. xx. 22. cum hoc dixisset, inhalavit iis, ac dixit, Accipite Spiritum Sanctum. Act. ii. 2, 3, 4, 33. et p. 115 promissione Spiritus Sancti accepta a Patre, effudit hoc—. et v. 32. nos sumus ei testes horum quæ dicimus; atque etiam Spiritus Sanctus, quem dedit Deus iis qui dicto sunt audientes ipsi. Rom. xv. 13. utinam vero Deus spei impleat vos omni gaudio et pace credendo, ut spe abundetis per virtutem Spiritus Sancti. 1 Cor. xii. 3. et neminem posse dicere Jesum Dominum, nisi per Spiritum Sanctum. Heb. ii. 4. testimonium illis præbente Deo et signis et prodigiis variisque virtutibus, et Spiritus Sancti distributionibus, pro sua voluntate. Hinc Spiritus Patris, Spiritus Dei, etiam Spiritus Christi vocatur. Matt. x. 20. Spiritus Patris vestri is est. Rom. viii. 9. vos autem non estis in carne, sed in Spiritu; siquidem Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis: quod si quis Spiritum Christi non habet, is non est ejus. et v. 15, 16. Spiritum adoptionis, per quem clamamus, Abba, Pater: et ipse Spiritus testatur una cum Spiritu nostro, nos esse filios Dei. 1 Cor. vi. 11. per Spiritum Dei nostri. 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. qui nos confirmat vobiscum in Christum, et qui unxit nos, Deus est; qui etiam obsignavit nos, et dedit arrhabonem Spiritus. Gal. iv. 6. misit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in corda vestra, clamantem Abba, Pater. Eph. i. 13, 14. Spiritu promissionis illo Sancto, qui est arrhabo, hæreditatis nostræ. et iv. 30. ne tristitia afficite Spiritum Sanctum Dei, per quem obsignati estis. et ii. 18. quoniam utrique per ipsum habemus aditum in uno Spiritu ad Patrem. 1 Pet. i. 12. per emissum e cœlo Spiritum Sanctum. Ex his omnibus existit illud, Matt. xxviii. 19. baptizantes eos in nomen Patris, Filii et Spiritus Sancti. 1 Joan. v. 7. tres sunt qui testificantur in cœlo, Pater, Sermo, et Spiritus Sanctus, et hi tres unum sunt. Sed de hoc loco egimus capite superiore; de illo altero, deque hoc rursus infra hoc capite agemus.

¶1p. 153 Having concluded what relates to the Father and the Son, the next subject to be discussed is that of the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as this latter is called the Spirit of the Father and the Son. With regard to the nature of the Spirit, in what manner it exists, or whence it arose, Scripture is silent; which is a caution to us not to be too hasty in our conclusions on the subject. For though it be a Spirit, in the same sense in which the Father and Son are properly called Spirits; though we read that Christ by breathing on his disciples gave to them the Holy Ghost, or rather perhaps some symbol or pledge of the Holy Ghost, John xx. 22.—yet in treating of the nature of the Holy Spirit, we are not authorized to infer from such expressions, that the Spirit was breathed from the Father and the Son.⁷ The terms emanation and procession, employed by theologians on the authority of John xv. 26. do not relate to the nature of the Holy Spirit; the Spirit of truth, ὁ παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, who proceedeth or goeth forth from the Father; which single expression is too slender a foundation for the full establishment of so great a mystery, especially as these words relate rather to the mission than to the nature of the Spirit; in which sense the Son also is often said ἐξελθεῖν, which in my opinion may be translated either to go forth or to proceed from the Father, without making any difference in the meaning. Nay, we are even said to live by every word (ἐκπορευομένῳ) p. 154 that proceedeth, or goeth forth from the mouth of God, Matt. iv. 4. Since therefore the Spirit is neither said to be generated nor created, nor is any other mode of existence specifically attributed to it in Scripture, we must be content to leave undetermined a point on which the sacred writers have preserved so uniform a silence.

¶2The name of Spirit is also frequently applied to God and angels, and to the human mind.⁸ When the phrase, the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit, occurs in the Old Testament, it is to be variously interpreted; sometimes it signifies God the Father himself,—as Gen. vi. 3. my Spirit shall not alway strive with man; sometimes the power and virtue of the Father, and particularly that divine breath or influence by which every thing is created and nourished. In this sense many both of the ancient and modern interpreters understand the passage in Gen. i. 2. the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.⁹ Here, however, it appears to be used with reference to the Son, through whom the Father is so often said to have created all things. Job xxvi. 13. by his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens. xxvii. 3. the Spirit of God is in my nostrils. xxxiii. 4. the Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Psal. civ. 30. thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created. cxxxix. 7. whither shall I go then from thy Spirit? Ezek. xxxvii. 14. I shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live. See also many other similar passages. p. 155

¶3Sometimes it means an angel. Isai. xlviii. 16. the Lord Jehovah and his Spirit hath sent me. Ezek. iii. 12. then the Spirit took me up.¹ See also v. 14, 24, &c.

¶4Sometimes it means Christ, who according to the common opinion was sent by the Father to lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan. Isai. lxiii. 10, 11. they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit... where is he that put his Holy Spirit within them?—that is, the angel to whom he transferred his own name, namely, Christ whom they tempted, Numb. xxi. 5, &c. compared with 1 Cor. x. 9.

¶5Sometimes it means that impulse or voice of God by which the prophets were inspired. Nehem. ix. 30. thou testifiedst against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets.

¶6Sometimes it means that light of truth, whether ordinary or extraordinary, wherewith God enlightens and leads his people. Numb. xiv. 24. my servant Caleb, because he had another Spirit within him—. Nehem. ix. 20. thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them. Psal. li. 11, 12. take not thy Holy Spirit from me.....renew a right Spirit within me. cxliii. 10. thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Undoubtedly neither David, nor any other Hebrew, under the old covenant, believed in the personality of that good and Holy Spirit, unless perhaps as an angel.²

¶7More particularly, it implies that light which was shed on Christ himself. Isai. xi. 2. the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. xlii. 1. I have put my Spirit p. 156 upon him, compared with Acts x. 38. how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.

¶8It is also used to signify the spiritual gifts conferred by God on individuals, and the act of gift itself. Gen. xli. 38. a man in whom the Spirit of God is. Numb. xi. 17, 25, 26, 29. I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them. 2 Kings ii. 9. I pray thee, let a double portion of thy Spirit be upon me. v. 15. the Spirit of Elijah doth rest upon Elisha.

¶9Nothing can be more certain, than that all these passages, and many others of a similar kind in the Old Testament, were understood of the virtue and power of God the Father, inasmuch as the Holy Spirit was not yet given, nor believed in, even by those who prophesied that it should be poured forth in the latter times.

¶10So likewise under the Gospel, what is called the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God, sometimes means the Father himself. Matt. i. 18, 20. that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Luke i. 35. the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.

¶11Again, it sometimes means the virtue and power of the Father. Matt. xii. 28. compared with Luke xi. 20. I cast out devils by the Spirit or finger of God. Rom. i. 4. declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. For thus the Scripture teaches throughout, that Christ was raised by the power of the Father, and thereby declared to be the Son of God. See particularly Acts xiii. 32, 33. quoted in the beginning of the last chapter. But the phrase, according to the Spirit (secundum Spiritum) seems to have the same signification as Eph. iv. 24. which after God (secundum Deum) is created in righteousness and true holiness; and 1 Pet. iv. 6. that they might live according to God (secundum Deum) in the Spirit. p. 157 Isai. xlii. 1. compared with Heb. ix. 14. I have put my Spirit upon him .........who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God. Luke iv. 1. Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, and v. 18. compared with Isai. lxi. 1. the Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me, &c. Acts x. 38. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. i. 2. after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen. It is more probable that these phrases are to be understood of the power of the Father, than of the Holy Spirit itself; for how could it be necessary that Christ should be filled with the Holy Spirit, of whom he had himself said, John xvi. 15. he shall take of mine? For the same reason I am inclined to believe that the Spirit descended upon Christ at his baptism, not so much in his own name, as in virtue of a mission from the Father, and as a symbol and minister of the divine power. For what could the Spirit confer on Christ, from whom he was himself to be sent, and to receive all things? Was his purpose to bear witness to Christ? But as yet he was himself not so much as known. Was it meant that the Spirit should be then manifested for the first time to the church? But at the time of his appearance nothing was said of him or of his office; nor did that voice from heaven bear any testimony to the Spirit, but only to the Son. The descent therefore and appearance of the Holy Spirit in the likeness of a dove, seems to have been nothing more than a representation of the ineffable affection of the Father for the Son, communicated by the Holy Spirit under the appropriate image of a dove, and accompanied by a voice from heaven declaratory of that affection.³ p. 158

¶12Thirdly, the Spirit signifies a divine impulse, or light, or voice, or word, transmitted from above either through Christ, who is the Word of God, or by some other channel. Mark xii. 36. David himself said by the Holy Ghost. Acts i. 16. the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas. xxviii. 25. well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet. Heb. iii. 7. wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice, &c. ix. 8. the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. x. 15. whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. 2 Pet. i. 21. holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Luke ii. 25, 26. the Holy Ghost was upon him: and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost—. It appears to me, that these and similar passages cannot be considered as referring to the express person of the Spirit, both because the Spirit was not yet given, and because Christ alone, as has been said before, is, properly speaking, and in a primary sense, the Word of God, and the Prophet of the Church; though God at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Heb. i. 1. whence it appears that he did not speak by the Holy Spirit alone, unless the term be understood in the signification which I have proposed, and in a much wider sense than was subsequently attributed to it. Hence, 1 Pet. i. 11. searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them—that is, in the prophets—did signify, must either be understood of Christ himself,—as iii. 18, 19. quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison,—or it must be understood of the Spirit which supplied the place of Christ the Word and the Chief Prophet.

¶13Lastly, the Spirit signifies the person itself of the Holy Spirit, or its symbol. Matt. iii. 16. Mark i. 10. he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. Luke iii. 22. in a bodily shape like a dove. John i. 32, 33. like a dove. Nor let it be objected, that a dove is not a person; for an intelligent substance, under any form whatever, is a person; as for instance, the four living creatures seen in Ezekiel's vision, ch. i. John xiv. 16, 17. another Comforter. p. 159 See also v. 26. xv. 26. xvi. 7, 13. xx. 22. he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,—which was a kind of symbol, and sure pledge of that promise, the fulfilment of which is recorded Acts ii. 2—4, 33. having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this. Matt. xxviii. 19. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Acts xv. 28. it seemed good to the Holy Ghost. Rom. viii. 16. the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit. v. 26. it helpeth our infirmities......it maketh intercession for us. Eph. i. 13, 14. τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἀγίῳ, ὅς ἐστιν ἀῤῥαβών· ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise which (who, Whitby, Macknight) is the earnest of our inheritance. iv. 30. grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.

¶14Lastly, it signifies the donation of the Spirit itself, and of its attendant gifts. John vii. 39. but this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given. Matt. iii. 11. he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. See also Acts i. 5. and xi. 16. 1 Thess. v. 19. quench not the Spirit.

¶15Who this Holy Spirit is, and whence he comes, and what are his offices, no one has taught us more explicitly than the Son of God himself, Matt. x. 20. it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. Luke xi. 13. how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. xxiv. 49. behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. John xiv. 16, 17. I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth. v. 26. the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. xv. 26. the Comforter, whom I will send unto you from the Father,......which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. xvi. 7. I will send him unto you. v. 8. when he is come, he will reprove the world—. v. 13. he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he p. 160 shall hear, that shall he speak. v. 14. he shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine. v. 15. all things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I that he shall take of mine. xx. 22. when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Acts ii. 2—4, 33. having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this—. v. 32. we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him. Rom. xv. 13. now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. xii. 3. no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Heb. ii. 4. God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will. Hence he is called the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of God, and even the Spirit of Christ. Matt. x. 20. it is the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. Rom. viii. 9. but ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you: now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. v. 15, 16. ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father; the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the sons of God. 1 Cor. vi. 11. by the Spirit of our God. 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Gal. iv. 6. God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Eph. i. 13, 14. that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance. iv. 30. grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed. ii. 18. through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 1 Pet. i. 12. the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. From all which results the command in Matthew xxviii. 19. baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 1 John v. 7. there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. The latter passage has been considered in the preceding chapter; but both will undergo a further examination in a subsequent part of the present.

¶1p. 115 Et sane si Deus quam doctrinam cum primis intelligi a nobis atque inde credi vult, eam non obscure aut perplexe, sed explicate atque perspicue totidem disertis verbis, ut par est, docet, si hoc potissimum in religione cavendum est, ne quis nobis merito objiciat quod Samaritanis Christus, Joan. iv. 22. vos adoratis quod nescitis, ratumque in fide hoc dictum Christi esse debet, nos adoramus quod scimus^la6, quæ de p. 116 Sancto Spiritu expressissima traduntur, quæque adeo de ipso scire possumus ac debemus, hæc fere sunt: sunt autem ejusmodi, ut, etiamsi Spiritus Sanctus nusquam subjecisse se, quod de Christo dicitur, ad mediatorium aliquod munus, dicatur, nec Filii nomine ad obedientiam Patri obstringeretur, tamen et Patre et Filio plane minorem, utpote per omnia obsequentem et obtemperantem, promissum, missum, datum, nihil a seipso loquentem, arrhabonem etiam datum, describant atque constituant. Nullum hic ad humanam naturam subterfugium; hæc omnia de Sancto Spiritu dicuntur, eorum quidem sententia, summo Deo: ex quo plane evincitur, quoties horum consimilia passim de Filio Dei leguntur, quibus is Patre minor manifesto declaratur, ea non ad humanam solum ejus naturam, sed ad divinam etiam referri oportere. Quod enim Spiritu Sancto, Patris, ut volunt, æquali indignum non est, id Filio quantumvis Deo indignum censeri non debet. Quibus etiam in locis cum officium quidem ejus totum explicetur, divinitas nusquam in sacris literis nominatim doceatur, neque ubi de uno Deo disertissime, ut Joan. xvii. 3. 1 Cor. viii. 4. &c. docetur, neque ubi Deus vel describitur, vel solio sedens inducitur, immo cum Spiritus Dei passim, et Spiritus Sanctus Dei nominetur, Eph. iv. 30. Spiritus autem Dei a Deo distinctus re et numero, esse Deus essentia unus cum eo cujus est Spiritus non possit, nisi miris quibusdam et absurdis hypothesibus, non ex scriptura sacra, sed ex humano cerebro ad hanc solam doctrinam fulciendam conquisitis duci velimus; si ubicunque Patris et Spiritus Sancti simul fit mentio, solus Pater Deus nominatur, solus Pater etiam præterito Spiritu unus verus Deus ab ipso Christo agnoscitur, ut superiore capite quamplurimis testimoniis ostendimus; si is qui confirmat nos in Christum, qui unxit, qui obsignavit nos, deditque arrhabonem Spiritus, ut supra, 2 Cor. i. 22. Deus est, isque unus, isque Pater; si Deus misit Spiritum Filii sui in corda nostra clamantem Abba, Pater, Gal. iv. 6. unde is qui et Spiritum Filii misit et ipsum Filium, is quem et nos invocare docemur, et ipse Spiritus invocat, et Deus unus est et solus Pater; qua tandem ratione, quibus argumentis credendum sit, Spiritum Sanctum esse Deum, reliquum est ut videamus. Quamquam in re tam ardua imponi id oneris credentibus, ut quod in fide primum atque firmissip. 117mum censetur, id non claris divini verbi testimoniis discendum, sed humanæ rationi cum sit contrarium, humana tamen ratione, vel incerta potius disputatione investigandum cuique sit, durum admodum atque lubricum est.

¶2Itaque Spiritum Sanctum esse Deum defendi solet, primo, quod Dei nomen Spiritui Sancto attribui videtur Act. v. 3. cum 4. ut mentireris Spiritui Sancto. non mentitus es hominibus, sed Deo. At vero si superius quæ de Spiritu Sancto ex ore Filii accepimus, attendantur satis, infirmus admodum hic locus est ad asserendam tanti mysterii doctrinam. Cum enim Spiritus a Patre mitti, nomine etiam Filii, disertissime dicatur, sane qui mentitur Spiritui, mentitur Deo; ut qui recipit apostolum, recipit Deum qui misit, Matt. x. 40. Joan. xiii. 20. Atque ab hoc loco removet omnem controversiam ipse Paulus, eumque appositissime interpretatur, dum eundem plane sensum uberius expromit; 1 Thess. iv. 8. qui hæc spernit, non hominem spernit, sed Deum, qui etiam dedit Spiritum suum Sanctum in nobis. Quicquid incertum est^la7 annon hoc loco Spiritus Sanctus Deum Patrem significat: idem enim Petrus v. 9. cur—, ut tentaretis Spiritum Domini; id est, ipsum Deum Patrem divinamque ejus mentem, quam latere aut fallere nemo mortalium potest. Et sane v. 32. Spiritus Sanctus non Deus dicitur, sed testis Christi cum Apostolis, quem dedit Deus obedientibus ipsi. et Act. ii. 38. accipietis donum Spiritus Sancti, a Deo nempe datum: donum autem Dei quemadmodum Deus, præsertim summus.

¶3Secundus locus est Act. xxviii. 25. cum Isa. vi. 8, 9. Dominus dixit. Spiritus Sanctus locutus est. et Jer. xxxi. 31. cum Heb. x. 15. idem. Atqui hoc supra compertum est, nomen Domini et Jehovæ etiam angelis quibusque divinitus missis in veteri testamento passim tribui: in novo autem ipse Filius de Spiritu Sancto palam testatur, Joan. xvi. 13. non loqui eum a semetipso, sed quæ audierit loqui. Deum igitur esse neque ex hoc loco demonstrari potest. p. 118

¶4Tertius locus est 1 Cor. iii. 16. cum vi. 19. et 2 Cor. vi. 16. templum Dei. templum Spiritus. Sed neque hic dicitur neque ullo modo hinc sequitur Spiritum Sanctum esse Deum: non enim est quod solus Spiritus, sed quod Pater etiam et Filius, Joan. xiv. 23. habitat in nobis, cur templum Dei dicamur. Itaque 1 Cor. vi. 19. ubi templum Spiritus dicimur, quasi sedulo cavisset Paulus ne quid de Sancto Spiritu ob illud dictum erraremus, addidit, quem habetis a Deo. Hinc deduci quo pacto potest, quem habemus a Deo, eum esse Deum? Quo autem sensu templum Spiritus dicamur, explanatius docet Eph. ii. 22. in quo et vos una ædificamini, ut sitis domicilium Dei per Spiritum.

¶5Tum proprietates divinæ attributæ Spiritui afferuntur. Primo Omniscientia; quasi ex eadem penitus essentia. 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. Spiritus omnia scrutatur, etiam profunditates Dei. Quis enim hominum novit ea quæ sunt hominis, nisi Spiritus hominis qui est in eo? ita etiam ea quæ sunt Dei nemo novit, nisi Spiritus Dei. Respondeo ad v. 10. ex sententia theologorum non hic agi de omniscientia divina, sed de illa duntaxat profunda quam nobis Deus revelavit per Spiritum suum; quæ ipsa verba proxime præcedunt. Deinde illud omnia restringendum esse ad ea quæ nobis expedit scire. Quid, quod Deum scrutari Deum cum quo unus essentia sit, absurde diceretur? Tum ad v. 11. non hic agi de essentia Spiritus: nam si ut Spiritus hominis est ad hominem, ita intelligetur Spiritus Dei esse ad Deum, quid non absurdi sequatur? alluditur itaque solum ad intimam propinquitatem et communionem Spiritus cum Deo, a quo est egressus. Quod quin ita sit tollere omnem dubitationem versus sequens non differt: accepimus Spiritum, qui ex Deo est. Esse autem ex Deo, non est esse Deum, qui unus est. Quanto planius ipse Filius omniscientiam Spiritui non concedit! Matt. xi. 27. nemo novit Filium, nisi Pater: neque Patrem quisquam novit, nisi Filius, et cuicunque voluerit Filius eum retegere. Quid ergo Spiritus Sanctus? nam tertius hic nemo qui vel Patrem vel Filium noverit, nisi per Patrem vel Filium. Marc. xiii. 32. de die illo ac hora nemo scit; ne angeli quidem qui in cœlo sunt, nec ipse Filius, sed p. 119Pater. Si nec ipse Filius, qui itidem in cœlo est, certe nec ipse Filii Spiritus, qui a Filio accipit omnia, Joan. xvi. 14.

¶6Secundo, Omnipræsentiam; quod Spiritus Dei habitat in nobis. Verum ne universum quidem terrarum orbem cum toto cœlo, id est, totam hanc mundi machinam si impleret, omnipræsens continuo esse probaretur: quod enim sol suo lumine, quidni Spiritus sua virtute facile compleat, nec idcirco infinitus necessario credendus sit? Certe si Spiritus ille mendax quadringentos simul prophetas potuit implere, 1 Reg. xxii. 22. quot millia Spiritus Sanctus merito credatur posse; nec tamen infinitus aut immensus esse?

¶7Tertio, Opera divina. Act. ii. 4. donum linguarum. et cap. xiii. 2. dixit Spiritus Sanctus separate mihi—. et xx. 28. Spiritus Sanctus constituit vos episcopos. 2 Pet. i. 21. acti a Spiritu Sancto locuti sunt. Hæc uno responso facillime solvuntur, si meminerimus modo quæ Christus de Sancto illo Spiritu paracleto ipse nos docuit, missum a Patre^la8 Filium, non suo nomine, a semetipso non loqui, ergo neque agere, ergo neque aliis dare ut loquantur, quæ dedit accepisse. At 1 Cor. xii. 11. dicitur distribuere singulis sicut vult: et ipse, inquam, distribui singulis pro voluntate Dei Patris, Heb. ii. 4. et ventus quoque Joan. iii. 8. ubi vult spirat. Quod autem Mariæ et Josepho annuntiatum est conceptionis illius sanctæ auctorem esse Spiritum Sanctum, Matt. i. 18, 20. Luc. i. 35. id de sola illius persona intelligendum non est. Nam in vetere testamento Spiritus Dei et Spiritus Sancti nomine, vel ipsum Deum Patrem, vel divinam vim ejus intelligi satis constat; de alio Spiritu Sancto et Maria et Josephus nihil dum audierant: cum Judæis in hodiernum usque diem Sancti Spiritus persona et divinitas ignota sit: itaque et in locis citatis πνεῦμα ἅγιον utrobique sine solito articulo est; vel si hoc est parum, explanate apud Lucam angelus loquitur. Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi inumbrabit te: propterea—vocabitur Filius Dei; Patris nempe; p. 120nisi duos Patres, unum Filii Dei, alterum Filii hominis existimari velimus.

¶8Quarto, Honores divini. Matt. xxviii. 19. baptizantes eos in nomen Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Hic numerantur quidem tres; trium autem horum vel divinitatem vel unitatem vel æqualitatem denique quod statuat, verbum hic nullum. Nam et prophetam in nomen prophetæ, et justum in nomen justi recipere, et potum cuiquam in nomen discipuli dare Matt. x. 41. Joan. xiii. 20. legitur: id aliud nihil esse, nisi eo quod sit propheta, quod sit justus, quod sit discipulus, luce clarius est. Deinde baptizabatur in Mosen 1 Cor. x. 2. id est, in legem vel doctrinam Mosis, et in baptismum Joannis Act. xix. 3, eodem sensu, et in nomen Jesu Christi in remissionem peccatorum Act. ii. 38. et in Christum Jesum et in mortem ejus Rom. vi. 3. et in unum corpus 1 Cor. xii. 13. baptizamur igitur in nomen, id est, in ea beneficia ac dona quæ per Filium et Spiritum accepimus. Hinc lætatus est Paulus, neminem potuisse dicere se in nomen Pauli esse baptizatum 1 Cor. i. 13, 14, 15. non quo pertimesceret ne quis eum divinitatis, sed majoris auctoritatis affectatæ argueret, quam Paulo conveniret. Ex his omnibus palam est, baptizari nos in nomen Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, non ut hinc trium illorum in se aut inter se natura quæ sit, sed quid in baptismo in iis qui credunt efficiant admoneamur: Pater nempe salutem æternam, Filius redemptionem, Spiritus sanctificationem. Pater quidem a seipso, Filius et Spiritus a Patre potestate accepta: Patris enim nomine Filium, Patris et Filii Spiritum omnia agere, jam sæpe ex ore Filii demonstratum est; etiam ex verbis proxime præcedentibus v. 18. data est mihi omnis auctoritas—; profecti ergo—, baptizantes in nomen—. id quod ex 1 Cor. vi. 11. planissimum sit; sed abluti estis, sed sanctificati estis, sed justificati estis, in nomine Domini Jesu et per Spiritum Dei nostri. hic trium itidem fit mentio in baptismo, Filii, Spiritus, et Dei nostri: reliquum est igitur, ut Deus ille noster solus Pater sit, cujus et Filius et Spiritus est.

¶9Sed invocatur Spiritus. 2 Cor. xiii. 13. gratia Domini Jesu, charitas Dei, et communicatio Spiritus Sancti sit cum omnibus vobis. At vero hæc p. 121non est invocatio, sed benedictio; ubi Spiritus non ut persona invocatur, sed ut donum petitur ab eo qui solus ilic Deus nominatur: nempe Pater, a quo et Spiritum communicandum Christus ipse jubet nos petere Luc. xi. 13. Si unquam Spiritus esset invocandus, tunc certe potissimum, cum a nobis petitur; jubemur tamen non se a seipso, sed a Patre tantum petere. Cur ipsum Spiritum, si Deus est, non invocamus ut se nobis daret? Qui a Patre, non a seipso, et petitur et datur, nec Deus esse potest, nec invocandus. Eadem forma benedictionis extat Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. Deus ille ante cujus conspectum—, angelus ille—, benedicat—; ut supra. et Apoc. i. 4. gratia vobis et pax ab eo qui est—, et a septem Spiritibus; hic septem illi Spiritus certe non invocantur; de quibus etiam statim amplius dicemus. Atque in hac benedictione rerum potius quam personarum ordo vel dignitas spectanda est: per Filium enim accedimus ad Patrem, a quo demum Spiritus Sanctus mittitur. Sic 1 Cor. xii. 4, 5, 6. distinctiones donorum sunt, sed idem Spiritus; et distinctiones mysteriorum sunt, sed idem Dominus; et distinctiones actionum sunt, sed idem Deus, qui intus agit omnia in omnibus; hic tres ordine inverso nominantur; unus autem Deus qui agit omnia in omnibus, etiam in Filio et Spiritu, ut passim docemur.

¶10Ex quo perspicitur Matt. xii. 31, 32. de persona Spiritus Sancti nihil dici: si enim in Spiritum Sanctum gravius quam in Patrem et Filium, si in Spiritum solum sine venia peccaretur, major profecto Spiritus Patre et Filio esset: de illa itaque summa et ordine quidem postrema illuminatione qua Pater per Spiritum nos illuminat, et cui si quis repugnat, nihil ei restat unde salvus esse possit, verba illa fieri. Sed crediderim potius Spiritum Sanctum hic dici ipsum Patrem, cujus per Spiritum v. 28. vel digitum Luc. xi. 20. Christus ejicere se dæmonia profitebatur; quem Pharisæi cum Beelzebulem esse calumniarentur, sine spe veniæ peccasse dicuntur, cum dicerent, Spiritum impurum habet, Marc. iii. 30. qui Patris Spiritum habebat. Quid, quod ad Pharisæos hæc est locutus, qui alium Spiritum quam ipsum Patrem nullum agnoverunt? Hoc si verum est, quod sane locum integrum p. 122a v. 24. ad 32. perpendenti obscurum esse nequit, formidolosum illud peccatum in Spiritum Sanctum erit re vera peccatum in Patrem qui Spiritus Sanctitatis est; si quis nempe dixerit, Spiritum illum Patris qui agebat in Christo, esse principem dæmoniorum seu Spiritum impurum; ut dilucide ostendit Marcus loco supra citato.

¶11At Spiritus cum Patre et Filio gratiam et benedictionem in ecclesias confert. Apoc. i. 4, 5. gratia sit vobis et pax ab illo qui est—, et a septem spiritibus, qui in conspectu throni ejus sunt, et a Jesu Christo. Verum et hic quoque ne Sancti Spiritus mentio fiat, repugnat et numerus et stantium locus quasi angelorum in conspectu throni, et iv. 5. et v. 6. ubi septem illi Spiritus septem lampades igneæ ardentes ante thronum, et agni cornua et oculi dicuntur. Hos Spiritus qui ad unum redigunt Spiritum Sanctum ejusque gratiam septiformem, quos Beza merito refellit, viderint ne personarum proprietates virtutibus attribuendo, eorum rem agant, qui Spiritum Sanctum nihil aliud nisi virtutem ac potentiam Patris interpretantur. Hæc sane abunde erudire nos possint, ne in hujusmodi ternæ enumeratione trium personarum doctrinam subesse, vel æqualitatem vel ordinem spectari arbitremur: ne in illo quidem loco de quo supradictum est, et quo plerique tantopere nituntur, 1 Joan. v. 7. tres sunt qui testificantur in cœlo; Pater, Sermo, et Spiritus Sanctus; et hi tres unum sunt. ubi quod vel deitatem, vel essentiæ saltem unitatem affirmet, nihil prorsus est: nam neque solus Deus testificari dicitur in cœlo; 1 Tim. v. 21. obtestor etiam atque etiam in conspectu Dei, et Domini Jesu Christi, et electorum angelorum; ubi Spiritum Sanctum expectasset quis tertio loco nominandum, si in hujusmodi ternariis id ageretur: et unitas cujusmodi intelligenda sit, tria illa sequente versiculo nominata, Spiritus, aqua et sanguis, quæ ad unum, sive ad id unum nempe testificandum sunt, satis propemodum declarant. Ipse Beza trinitatis alioqui acerrimus assertor per unum sunt intelligit in unum consentiunt. Quid autem testificentur, versus 5. et 6. ostendunt; id nimirum, quod qui credit mundum vincit, Jesum scilicet esse Filium Dei; Jesum etiam Christum, id est, unctum; non ergo unum neque parem p. 123ei qui unxit: testimonium hoc ipsum avertit plane essentialem, quam hinc statuunt, testium unitatem. Nam Sermo et Filius est et Christus, id est, inquam, unctus; utque^la9 ut imago est qua Deus fit conspicuus, ita sermo est, quo Deus est audibilis; talis cum sit, non potest cum invisibili et inaudibili Deo unus essentia esse. Idem de Spiritu aliis rationibus supra demonstratum est; hi tres ergo non sunt essentia unum; ut nihil amplius de suspicione hujus loci commemoremus, in quo non fides, sed opinio duntaxat legentium versetur necesse est. De Spiritu insuper quæro, sitne alius qui in cœlo, alius qui in terra testificatur, an idem? Si idem, quid is in cœlo testificetur, nusquam alias legimus; cum in terra, id est, in cordibus nostris testificatio ejus clarissima semper fuit: certe Christus Joan. viii. 16, 18. se et Patrem solos testes de se adhibet: deinde præter alteros duos testes sane locupletissimos cur idem Spiritus bis testificatur? Si alius, novum hoc et inauditum. Sunt et alia quæ multorum suspicionem de hoc loco adaugeant; et tamen hoc loco pene solo fundata TRIADIS doctrina tota, atque arrepta hinc esse potissimum videtur.

¶12Quis autem vel quid sit Spiritus Sanctus, ne prorsus nesciamus, etsi scripturæ verbis disertis non docent, ex scripturis tamen supra citatis intelligere est, Spiritum Sanctum, cum sit Deo minister, ac proinde non increatus, ex substantia Dei, non necessitate naturæ, sed libera voluntate agentis creatum, id est, productum fuisse ante jacta, ut credibile est, mundi fundamenta, post Filium, Filioque longe inferiorem. Dices hæc Spiritum Sanctum a Filio non distinguere. Dico itidem illud egredi et prodire a Patre et procedere, quod Græce idem est, Filium non distinguere a Spiritu Sancto; cum hæc et de utroque dicantur, et missionem non naturam utriusque significent. Satis est in divinis ad nomen, atque etiam naturam Filii præ Spiritu Sancto accipiendam, quod effulgentia gloriæ et character subsistentiæ divinæ Filio, non Spiritui Sancto impressus dicatur.

¶1p. 161 If it be the divine will that a doctrine which is to be understood and believed as one of the primary articles of our faith, should be delivered without obscurity or confusion, and explained, as is fitting, in clear and precise terms,—if it be certain that particular care ought to be taken in every thing connected with religion, lest the objection urged by Christ against the Samaritans should be applicable to us—ye worship ye know not what, John iv. 22.—if our Lord's saying should be held sacred wherever points of faith are in question—we know what we worship—the particulars which have been stated seem to contain all that we are capable of knowing, or are required to know respecting the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as revelation has declared nothing else expressly on the subject. The nature of these particulars is such, that although the Holy Spirit be nowhere said to have taken upon himself any mediatorial functions, as is said of Christ, nor to be engaged by the obligations of a filial relation to pay obedience to the Father, yet he must evidently be considered as inferior to both Father and Son, inasmuch as he is represented and declared to be subservient and obedient in all things; to have been promised, and sent, and given; to speak nothing of himself; and even to have been given as an earnest. There is no room here for any sophistical distinction founded on a twofold nature; all these expressions refer to the Holy Spirit, who is maintained to be the supreme God; whence it follows, that wherever similar phrases are applied to the Son of God, in which he is distinctly declared to be inferior to the Father, they ought to be understood in reference to his divine as well as to his human character. For what those, who believe in the Holy Spirit's co-equality with the Father, deem to be not unworthy of him, cannot be considered unworthy of the Son, however exalted may be the dignity of his Godhead. Wherefore it remains now to be seen on what grounds, and by what arguments, we are constrained to believe that the Holy Spirit is God, if Scripture nowhere expressly teach the doctrine of his divinity, not even in the passages where his office is explained at large, nor in those where the unity of God is explicitly asserted, as in John xvii. 3. 1 Cor. viii. 4, &c. nor where God is either described, or introduced as sitting upon his throne,—if, further, p. 162the Spirit be frequently named the Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit of God, Eph. iv. 30. so that the Spirit of God being actually and numerically distinct from God himself, cannot possibly be essentially one God with him whose Spirit he is, (except on certain strange and absurd hypotheses, which have no foundation in Holy Scripture, but were devised by human ingenuity for the sole purpose of supporting this particular doctrine)—if, wherever the Father and the Holy Spirit are mentioned together, the Father alone be called God, and the Father alone, omitting all notice of the Spirit, be acknowledged by Christ himself to be the one true God, as has been proved in the former chapter by abundant testimony;—if he be God who stablisheth us in Christ, who hath anointed us, who hath sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit, 2 Cor. i. 22. if that God be one God, and that one God the Father;—if, finally, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father, Gal. iv. 6. whence it follows that he who sent both the Spirit of his Son and the Son himself, he on whom we are taught to call, and on whom the Spirit himself calls, is the one God and the only Father. It seems exceedingly unreasonable, not to say dangerous, that in a matter of so much difficulty, believers should be required to receive a doctrine, represented by its advocates as of primary importance and of undoubted certainty, on anything less than the clearest testimony of Scripture; and that a point which is confessedly contrary to human reason, should nevertheless be considered as susceptible of proof from human reason only, or rather from doubtful and obscure disputations.

¶2First, then, it is usual to defend the divinity of the Holy Spirit on the ground, that the name of God seems to be attributed to the Spirit: Acts v. 3, 4. why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?......thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. But if attention be paid to what has been stated before respecting the Holy Ghost on the authority of the Son, this passage will appear too weak for the support of so great a doctrinal mystery. For since the Spirit is expressly said to be sent by the Father, and in the name of the Son, he who lies to the Spirit must lie to God, in the same sense as he p. 163 who receives an apostle, receives God who sent him, Matt. x. 40. John xiii. 20.⁴ St. Paul himself removes all ground of controversy from this passage, and explains it most appositely by implication, 1 Thess. iv. 8. where his intention is evidently to express the same truth more at large: he therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit. Besides, it may be doubted whether the Holy Spirit in this passage does not signify God the Father;⁵ for Peter afterwards says, v. 9. how is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? that is, God the Father himself, and his divine intelligence, which no one can elude or deceive. And in v. 32. the Holy Spirit is not called God, but a witness of Christ with the apostles, whom God hath given to them that obey him. So also Acts ii. 38. ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, given, that is, by God. But how can the gift of God be himself God, much more the supreme God?

¶3The second passage is Acts xxviii. 25. compared with Isai. vi. 8, 9. I heard the voice of the Lord, saying— &c. ......well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet, &c. See also Jer. xxxi. 31. compared with Heb. x. 15. But it has been shewn above, that the names Lord and Jehovah are throughout the Old Testament attributed to whatever angel God may entrust with the execution of his commands; and in the New Testament the Son himself openly testifies of the Holy Spirit, John xvi. 13. that he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he p. 164 speak. It cannot therefore be inferred from this passage, any more than from the preceding, that the Holy Ghost is God.

¶4The third place is 1 Cor. iii. 16. compared with vi. 19. and 2 Cor. vi. 16. the temple of God...... the temple of the Holy Ghost. But neither is it here said, nor does it in any way follow from hence, that the Holy Spirit is God; for it is not because the Spirit alone, but because the Father also and the Son make their abode with us, that we are called the temple of God. Therefore in 1 Cor. vi. 19. where we are called the temple of the Holy Ghost, Paul has added, which ye have of God, as if with the purpose of guarding against any error which might arise respecting the Holy Spirit in consequence of his expression. How then can it be deduced from this passage, that he whom we have of God, is God himself? In what sense we are called the temple of the Holy Ghost, the same apostle has explained more fully Eph. ii. 22. in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

¶5The next evidence which is produced for this purpose, is the ascription of the divine attributes to the Spirit. And first, Omniscience; as if the Spirit were altogether of the same essence with God. 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11. the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God: for what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. With regard to the tenth verse, I reply, that in the opinion of divines,⁶ the question here is not respecting the divine omniscience, but only respecting those deep things which God hath revealed unto us by his Spirit—the words immediately preceding. Besides, the phrase all things must be restricted to mean whatever it is expedient for us to know: not to mention that it would be absurd to speak of God searching God, with whom he was one in essence. Next, with regard to the eleventh verse, the essence of the Spirit is not the subject in question; for the consequences would be full of absurdity, if it were to be underp. 165 stood that the Spirit of God was with regard to God, as the spirit of a man is with regard to man. Allusion therefore is made only to the intimate relationship and communion of the Spirit with God, from whom he originally proceeded. That no doubt may remain as to the truth of this interpretation, the following verse is of the same import: we have received......the Spirit which is of God. That which is of God, cannot be actually God, who is unity. The Son himself disallows the omniscience of the Spirit still more plainly. Matt. xi. 27. no man knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. What then becomes of the Holy Spirit? for according to this passage, no third person whatever knoweth either the Father or the Son, except through their medium. Mark xiii. 32. of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. If not even the Son himself, who is also in heaven, then certainly not the Spirit of the Son, who receiveth all things from the Son himself; John xvi. 14.

¶6Secondly, Omnipresence, on the ground that the Spirit of God dwelleth in us. But even if it filled with its presence the whole circle of the earth, with all the heavens, that is, the entire fabrick of this world, it would not follow that the Spirit is omnipresent. For why should not the Spirit easily fill with the influence of its power, what the Sun fills with its light; though it does not necessarily follow that we are to believe it infinite? If that lying spirit, 1 Kings xxii. 22. were able to fill four hundred prophets at once, how many thousands ought we not to think the Holy Spirit capable of pervading, even without the attributes of infinity or immensity?

¶7Thirdly, divine works. Acts ii. 4. the Spirit gave them utterance. xiii. 2. the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work. Acts xx. 28. the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God. 2 Pet. i. 21. holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. A single remark will suffice for the solution of all these passages, if it be only remembered what was the language of Christ p. 166 respecting the Holy Spirit, the Comforter; namely, that he was sent by the Son from the Father, that he spake not of himself, nor in his own name, and consequently that he did not act in his own name; therefore that he did not even move others to speak of his own power, but that what he gave he had himself received. Again, 1 Cor. xii. 11. the Spirit is said to divide to every man severally as he will. In answer to this it may be observed, that the Spirit himself is also said to be divided to each according to the will of God the Father, Heb. ii. 4. and that even the wind bloweth where it listeth, John iii. 8. With regard to the annunciation made to Joseph and Mary, that the Holy Spirit was the author of the miraculous conception, Matt. i. 18, 20. Luke i. 35. it is not to be understood with reference to his own person alone. For it is certain that, in the Old Testament, under the name of the Spirit of God, or of the Holy Spirit, either God the Father himself, or his divine power was signified; nor had Joseph and Mary at that time heard anything of any other Holy Spirit, inasmuch as the personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit are not acknowledged by the Jews even to the present day. Accordingly, in both the passages quoted, πνεῦμα ἅγιον is without the customary article; or if this be not considered as sufficiently decisive, the angel speaks in a more circumstantial manner in St. Luke: the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God,—that is, of the Father: unless we suppose that there are two Fathers,—one Father of the Son of God, another Father of the Son of man.

¶8Fourthly, divine honours. Matt. xxviii. 19. baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Here mention is undoubtedly made of three persons; but there is not a word that determines the divinity, or unity, or equality of these three. For we read, Matt. x. 41. John xiii. 20. of receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet, and a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, and of giving a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple; which evidently means nothing more, than because he is a prophet, or a righteous man, or a disciple. Thus too the Israelites were baptized unto Moses, 1 Cor. x. 2. that is, unto the law p. 167 or doctrine of Moses; and unto the baptism of John occurs in the same sense, Acts xix. 3. and in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, Acts ii. 38. and into Jesus Christ and into his death, Rom. vi. 3. and into one body, 1 Cor. xii. 13. To be baptized therefore in their name, is to be admitted to those benefits and gifts which we have received through the Son and the Holy Spirit. Hence Paul rejoiced that no one could say he had been baptized in his name, 1 Cor. i. 13–15. It was not the imputation of making himself God that he feared, but that of affecting greater authority than was suitable to his character. From all which it is clear that when we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, this is not done to impress upon our minds the inherent or relative natures of these three persons, but the benefits conferred by them in baptism on those who believe,—namely, that our eternal salvation is owing to the Father, our redemption to the Son, and our sanctification to the Spirit. The power of the Father is inherent in himself, that of the Son and the Spirit is received from the Father; for it has been already proved on the authority of the Son, that the Son does every thing in the name of the Father, and the Spirit every thing in the name of the Father and the Son; and a confirmation of the same truth may be derived from the words immediately preceding the verse under discussion; v. 18. all power is given unto me......go ye therefore......baptizing in the name, &c. and still more plainly by 1 Cor. vi. 11. but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Here the same three are mentioned as in baptism, the Son, the Spirit, and our God; it follows therefore that the Father alone is our God, of whom are both the Son and the Spirit.

¶9But invocation is made to the Spirit. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. This, however, is not so much an invocation as a benediction, in which the Spirit is not addressed as a person, but sought as a gift from him who alone is there called God, namely, the Father, from whom Christ himself directs us to seek the communication p. 168 of the Spirit, Luke xi. 13. If the Spirit were ever to be invoked personally, it would be then especially, when we pray for him; yet we are commanded not to ask him of himself, but only of the Father. Why do we not call upon the Spirit himself, if he be God, to give himself to us? He who is sought from the Father, and given by him, not by himself, can neither be God, nor an object of invocation. The same form of benediction occurs Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. the God before whom my fathers did walk...... the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads: and Rev. i. 4. grace be unto you and peace from him which is......and from the seven spirits. It is clear that in this passage the seven spirits, of whom more will be said hereafter, are not meant to be invoked. Besides that in this benediction the order or dignity of the things signified should be considered, rather than that of the persons; for it is by the Son that we come to the Father, from whom finally the Holy Spirit is sent. So 1 Cor. xii. 4–6. there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit: and there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord: and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. Here the three are again mentioned in an inverse order; but it is one God which worketh all in all, even in the Son and the Spirit, as we are taught throughout the whole of Scripture.

¶10Hence it appears that what is said Matt. xii. 31, 32. has no reference to the personality of the Holy Spirit. For if to sin against the Holy Spirit were worse than to sin against the Father and Son, and if that alone were an unpardonable sin, the Spirit truly would be greater than the Father and the Son. The words must therefore apply to that illumination, which, as it is highest in degree, so it is last in order of time, whereby the Father enlightens us through the Spirit, and which if any one resist, no method of salvation remains open to him. I am inclined to believe, however, that it is the Father himself who is here called the Holy Spirit, by whose Spirit, v. 28. or finger, Luke xi. 20. Christ professed to cast out devils; when therefore the Pharisees accused him falsely of acting in concert with Beelzebub, they are declared to sin unpardonably, because they said of him who had the Spirit of his Father, he hath an p. 169 unclean spirit, Mark iii. 30. Besides, it was to the Pharisees that he spoke thus, who acknowledged no other Spirit than the Father himself. If this be the true interpretation of the passage, which will not be doubted by any one who examines the whole context from v. 24 to v. 32. that dreaded sin against the Holy Spirit will be in reality a sin against the Father, who is the Spirit of holiness; of which he would be guilty, who should affirm that the Spirit of the Father which was working in Christ was the prince of the devils, or an unclean spirit;—as Mark clearly shows in the passage quoted above.

¶11But the Spirit bestows grace and blessing upon the churches in conjunction with the Father and the Son; Rev. i. 4, 5. grace be unto you and peace from him which is......and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ. It is clear, however, that the Holy Spirit is not here meant to be implied; the number of the spirits is inconsistent with such a supposition, as well as the place which they are said to occupy, standing like angels before the throne. See also iv. 5. and v. 6. where the same spirits are called seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, and the seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb. Those who reduce these spirits to one Holy Spirit, and consider them as synonymous with his sevenfold grace, (an opinion which is deservedly refuted by Beza⁷) ought to beware, lest, by attributing to mere virtues the properties of persons, they furnish arguments to those commentators who interpret the p. 170 Holy Spirit as nothing more than the virtue and power of the Father.⁸ This may suffice to convince us, that in this kind of threefold enumerations the sacred writers have no view whatever to the doctrine of three divine persons, or to the equality or order of those persons;—not even in that verse which has been mentioned above, and on which commentators in general lay so much stress, 1 John v. 7. there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one, where there is in reality nothing which implies either divinity or unity of essence. As to divinity, God is not the only one who is said to bear record in heaven; 1 Tim. v. 21. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels,—where it might have been expected that the Holy Spirit would have been named in the third place, if such ternary forms of expression really contained the meaning which is commonly ascribed to them. What kind of unity is intended, is sufficiently plain from the next verse, in which the spirit, the water, and the blood are mentioned, which are to bear record to one, or to that one thing. Beza himself, who is generally a staunch defender of the Trinity, understands the phrase unum sunt to mean, agree in one.⁹ What it is that they testify, appears in the fifth and sixth verses—namely, that he that overcometh the world is he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God, even Jesus Christ, that is, the anointed; therefore he is not one with, nor equal to, him that anointed him. Thus the very record that they bear is inconsistent with the essential unity of the witnesses, which is attempted to be deduced from the passage. For the Word is both the Son and Christ, that is, as has been said, the anointed; and as he is the image, as it were, by which we see God, so is he the word by which we hear him. But if such be his nature, he cannot be essentially one with God, whom no one can see or hear. The same has been already proved, by other p. 171 arguments, with regard to the Spirit; it follows, therefore, that these three are not one in essence. I say nothing of the suspicion of spuriousness attached to the passage, which is a matter of criticism rather than of doctrine. Further, I would ask whether there is one Spirit that bears record in heaven, and another which bears record in earth, or whether both are the same Spirit. If the same, it is extraordinary that we nowhere else read of his bearing witness in heaven, although his witness has been always most conspicuously manifested in earth, that is, in our hearts. Christ certainly brings forward himself and his Father as the only witnesses of himself, John viii. 16, 19. Why then, in addition to two other perfectly competent witnesses, should the Spirit twice bear witness to the same thing? On the other hand, if it be another Spirit, we have here a new and unheard-of doctrine. There are besides other circumstances, which in the opinion of many render the passage suspicious; and yet it is on the authority of this text, almost exclusively, that the whole doctrine of the Trinity has been hastily adopted.

¶12Lest however we should be altogether ignorant who or what the Holy Spirit is, although Scripture nowhere teaches us in express terms, it may be collected from the passages quoted above, that the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as he is a minister of God, and therefore a creature, was created or produced of the substance of God, not by a natural necessity, but by the free will of the agent, probably before the foundations of the world were laid, but later than the Son, and far inferior to him. It will be objected, that thus the Holy Spirit is not sufficiently distinguished from the Son. I reply, that the Scriptural expressions themselves, to come forth, to go out from the Father, to proceed from the Father, which mean the same in the Greek, do not distinguish the Son from the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as these terms are used indiscriminately with reference to both persons, and signify their mission, not their nature. There is however sufficient reason for placing the name as well as the nature of the Son above that of the Holy Spirit in the discussion of topics relative to the Deity; inasmuch as the brightness of the glory of God, and the express image of his person, are said to have been impressed on the one, and not on the other.