Program / Course 9: Christology and Pneumatology / Lesson 6.3
What you will learn
- Describe the fourth-century dispute over whether the Holy Spirit is a creature or God.
- Summarize the arguments of Athanasius and Basil for the deity of the Spirit.
- State exactly what the Creed of Constantinople in 381 says about the Spirit and what it leaves unsaid.
- Explain why Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus differed on how openly to name the Spirit as God.
The big idea
After Nicaea settled that the Son is of one being with the Father, the question moved to the Spirit. Some Christians, called Pneumatomachi, said that the Spirit is a creature or a servant spirit. Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa replied that the Spirit shares in the worship, the names and the saving works that belong to God alone, and so is divine. The Council of Constantinople in 381 confessed the Spirit as Lord and giver of life, worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son. Its wording is careful and indirect.
Key terms
- Pneumatomachi
- From Greek for fighters against the Spirit. A name used by opponents for those who denied the Spirit’s divinity. Some were called Macedonians after a bishop of Constantinople.
- Tropici
- The name Athanasius used for Egyptians who explained away Scripture texts about the Spirit by treating them as figures of speech (tropoi).
- Doxology
- A short form of praise to God, such as Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- Cappadocian Fathers
- Basil of Caesarea, his brother Gregory of Nyssa and their friend Gregory of Nazianzus, from Cappadocia in Asia Minor. Leading theologians of the Nicene faith in the later fourth century.
- Homoousios
- Of the same being. Nicaea used it for the Son and the Father. The question was whether it could be applied to the Spirit.
- Giver of life
- A title for the Spirit in the Creed of 381, drawn from John 6:63 and 2 Corinthians 3:6, which argues that giving life is a divine act.
- Economy of silence
- A modern phrase for the caution with which Basil sometimes avoided saying outright that the Spirit is God, so as not to lose allies. Gregory of Nazianzus criticized this caution.
Background
The Arian controversy forced the church to define the Son. The Spirit was not first at issue, but the logic carried over. If the Son is God, and the church baptizes in the name of Father, Son and Spirit, what is the Spirit? Around 360 Athanasius heard that some in Egypt agreed that the Son is God but called the Spirit a creature, and he wrote four letters to Serapion, bishop of Thmuis, in reply.
A little later Basil of Caesarea wrote a treatise On the Holy Spirit (about 375), and Gregory of Nazianzus preached five orations on theology at Constantinople in 380, the last on the Spirit. These works prepared the ground for the council that met in Constantinople in 381 under the emperor Theodosius I.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The position of the Pneumatomachi
The opponents were not all alike. Some taught that the Spirit is a creature made through the Son. Others held that the Spirit is a ministering spirit like an angel. Some were willing to say only that Scripture does not call the Spirit God. They noted that no biblical text states plainly that the Spirit is God, and that Scripture speaks of the Spirit as given, sent and poured out, which seemed to suggest dependence.
Their concern was partly that of Scripture alone: it is wrong to add what the Bible does not say. This is a fair point of method, and the Cappadocians took it seriously. They replied that the conclusion comes from putting together many texts and from the practice of worship and baptism.
Step 2: Athanasius, Letters to Serapion
Athanasius argued from salvation. If the Spirit sanctifies, gives life and unites believers to God, then the Spirit must be God, since a creature cannot unite creatures to God. He argued from the Trinity: if the Spirit is a creature, then the Trinity would be made of a Creator and two creatures, which is no Trinity. Anything added to the Trinity would change it.
He also argued from Scripture. The Spirit is called the Spirit of God and of Christ, is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7), searches the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-11) and dwells in believers as in a temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). A temple is for God alone. The Spirit, he concluded, is of the same being as the Father and the Son.
Step 3: Basil, On the Holy Spirit
Basil argued from worship. Churches had used two forms of praise: glory to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, and glory to the Father with the Son together with the Holy Spirit. His opponents said only the first was correct, which made the Spirit a lesser instrument. Basil replied that both forms are traditional and that the second shows that the Spirit is honored together with the Father and the Son.
Basil also appealed to baptism, since believers are baptized into the name of the Spirit as into the name of the Father and Son, and baptism belongs to God. He pointed to the unwritten customs of the church as evidence of apostolic tradition. His argument drew on Scripture and on worship. He called the Spirit worthy of equal honor, though in his lifetime he usually avoided the plain statement that the Spirit is God.
Step 4: Gregory of Nazianzus and the plain statement
Gregory of Nazianzus was more direct. In his fifth theological oration he takes up the objection that Scripture does not say the Spirit is God, and gives a reply about the progress of revelation: the Old Testament made the Father clear and the Son dimly, the New made the Son clear and the Spirit dimly, and now the Spirit dwells in the church and is clearly shown. He reasoned that a revelation given by stages explains why the Spirit’s divinity was stated later.
Gregory is reported to have criticized the caution of others, and Basil’s reserve has been defended as pastoral wisdom, since the church could not afford to lose bishops who agreed on the substance. Historians debate whether Basil’s caution was prudence or hesitation.
Step 5: Constantinople, 381
The council added to the Nicene Creed a third article: “And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.” In its text the Spirit is not called God and is not said to be homoousios with the Father. Scholars see here a deliberate restraint, or a compromise with those who disliked non-biblical words, or both.
The claims are nonetheless strong. Lord is the title of God, giver of life is a divine work, and worshiped together with the Father and the Son means equal honor. Within a few years, Latin and Greek theologians spoke plainly of the Spirit as God, and later councils confirmed it. The creed of 381 is the one most churches recite, sometimes called the Nicene or the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.
- How would you answer the objection that Scripture never plainly says the Spirit is God?
- Why does Athanasius say a creature cannot unite creatures to God?
- What does Basil’s argument from the two doxologies show?
- How does Gregory of Nazianzus explain the slow disclosure of the Spirit?
- What does the creed of 381 say, and what does it leave unsaid?
- Was Basil’s caution wise or a failure of nerve? What evidence bears on this?
Examples
The temple argument
Paul asks, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Athanasius noticed that a temple belongs to God and not to a creature. The argument takes a short phrase of Paul and draws out its consequence.
The doxology
Many churches still say Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. The form that gives the three equal glory is the one Basil defended. A student who prays it is using a result of this dispute.
A constructed puzzle
A student notes that the creed does not say the Spirit is God. The teacher asks whether anyone reading worshiped together with the Father and the Son could think the Spirit is a creature. The student replies that the creed’s authors seem to have thought not. (A constructed example.)
Different perspectives
Catholic
The Catholic Church confesses the Spirit as the third person of the Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and accepts Constantinople I as the second ecumenical council. It regards the creed as the shared text of the church.
Orthodox
The Orthodox Church honors Athanasius, Basil and the Gregories as pillars of the faith and recites the creed of 381 in its liturgy. It reads the creed’s statement that the Spirit proceeds from the Father as a statement of the Father’s role as the source.
Protestant
The Protestant churches of the Reformation accept the creed of 381. Reformed, Lutheran and Anglican confessions affirm the deity of the Spirit and often cite Acts 5 and 2 Corinthians 3:17 along with the Fathers.
Non-Trinitarian Christians
Groups such as Unitarians and Jehovah’s Witnesses hold that the Spirit is God’s active force or power and not a person. They note that the Bible rarely calls the Spirit God by name, and they reject later councils as adding to Scripture.
Historians
Historians note that the settlement of 381 was reached in a particular political climate, and that the council’s records are incomplete. They disagree about how much of the creed in its present form was drafted at the council. They agree that the Spirit’s divinity was accepted widely soon after.
Why it matters
This is the point at which the church completed its statement of the Trinity. Understanding the arguments shows that the doctrine of the Spirit was reasoned from worship, baptism, salvation and Scripture, and not simply declared. It also shows the care with which the creed was worded.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: The Council of Constantinople declared the Spirit to be God.
Correction: The creed of 381 uses indirect wording: Lord, giver of life, worshiped with the Father and the Son. It does not use the word God or homoousios of the Spirit. The church understood it to mean the Spirit is God.
Misunderstanding: The deity of the Spirit has no support in Scripture.
Correction: Defenders cite Acts 5:3-4, 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 3:17, and the baptismal formula. Critics find these indirect. The Fathers argued the case from many texts together.
Misunderstanding: Basil was afraid of the truth.
Correction: Some contemporaries thought so. Others, then and now, defend his caution as a way to keep a coalition together. His arguments clearly support the Spirit’s divinity.
Knowledge check
Who were the Pneumatomachi and what did they say?
They were fourth-century Christians who accepted the Nicene view of the Son but denied that the Spirit is God, calling the Spirit a creature or a ministering spirit. They noted that Scripture does not plainly call the Spirit God. The Cappadocians and Athanasius replied with arguments from salvation, worship and many texts.
State one argument each from Athanasius and Basil.
Athanasius argued that if the Spirit sanctifies and unites believers to God, the Spirit must be divine, since a creature cannot do this, and that a Trinity with a creature in it would not be a Trinity. Basil argued from worship, defending the doxology that gives glory to the Father with the Son together with the Holy Spirit.
What does the creed of 381 say about the Spirit?
It calls the Spirit the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, and who spoke through the prophets. It does not directly say the Spirit is God, though the church understood its titles and the worship to imply it.
How did Gregory of Nazianzus explain the slow revelation of the Spirit?
He said that revelation came by stages: the Father was made clear in the Old Testament, the Son in the New, and the Spirit after that, as the community was ready to bear it. This answered the objection that earlier Scripture does not plainly state the Spirit’s divinity.
Think it through
- Is it fair to ask for a plain scriptural statement before accepting a doctrine? What are the limits of that demand?
- How does worship serve as evidence in theology?
- When is caution about words wise and when is it a failure?
- What does this episode show about how doctrine develops?
Independent assignment
A case for the Spirit
In your own notebook, write 500 to 700 words. Set out the case for the deity of the Spirit using the arguments of Athanasius and Basil, citing at least four biblical texts. Then state the strongest objection of the Pneumatomachi in their own terms and judge whether the reply meets it. Do not send this to anyone.
Further study
- Basil of Caesarea, On the Holy Spirit (De Spiritu Sancto) Read chapters 1 to 4 and 25 to 27 for the argument from worship and tradition.
- Council of Nicaea (325) and Council of Constantinople (381), The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed Read the third article, and compare the creed of 325 with that of 381.
- Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds., The Seven Ecumenical Councils (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, vol. 14) Read the documents of Constantinople I, where included.
- Gregory of Nyssa, Dogmatic Treatises, etc. (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, vol. 5) Read for the Cappadocian account of the three persons.
- J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines Read the section on the Holy Spirit in the fourth century.
- Acts 5:3 Lying to the Holy Ghost.
- 1 Corinthians 3:16 The Spirit of God dwelleth in you.
- 2 Corinthians 3:17 The Lord is that Spirit.