The Holy Spirit is such a minimized character within the triadic unfolding of God, partly because this is His mission—to bear witness and magnify Jesus—and partly because if He has received any attention, often times it is in an abused way (i.e. pentecostalism). The Holy Spirit, historically, has been thought of as the linch-pen who subjectifies, for us, the objective work of Christ. He is the One who, eternally functions as the communal personage that completes the interpenetrating (i.e. perichoretic) stasis of Father and Son. He subjectively brings us into this communion, by uniting us with Christ through His humanity, and into His divinity. This is why Paul can say:
. . . But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. ~ I Corinthians 6:17
So much beyond the minimalist and abusive notions that accompany thinking about the Holy Spirit today, there is a richness about Him, that can only be fully appreciated within the context of Jesus’ incarnation, which He bears witness to, and the subsequent fullness of Joy He brings us into as our union with Christ becomes the occasion for knowing the Father. Once again Torrance has this insightful plus for our consideration:
Like Christ the Holy Spirit is one in being and of the same being as the Father, but unlike Christ the Holy Spirit is not one in being and of the same being as we are, for he incarnated the Son but does not incarnate himself, he utters the Word but does not utter himself. He directs us through himself to the one Word and Face of God in Jesus Christ in accordance with whom all our knowledge of God is formed in our minds, knowledge of the Spirit as well as of the Father and of the Son. This is the diaphanous self-effacing nature of the Holy Spirit who hides himself, as it were, behind the Father in the Son and behind the Son in the Father, but also the enlightening transparence of the Spirit who by throwing his eternal Light upon the Father through the Son and upon the Son in the Father, brings the radiance of God’s Glory to bear upon us. We do not know the Holy Spirit directly in his own personal Reality or Glory. We know him only in his unique spiritual mode of activity and transparent presence in virtue of which God’s self-revelation shines through to us in Christ, and we are made through the Spirit to see the Father in the Son and the Son in the Father. While the Holy Spirit thereby guards the transcendence of God who infinitely exceeds what finite minds can grasp, nevertheless through his personal presence to us he brings the ineffable Being and Reality of God out of his unapproachable Light to bear upon us, and brings us out of our distance and darkness to have communion with himself and through himself with the Father and the Son. Because through him the Word of God continues to sound forth and is heard and believed, because in his light we see light and by his creative operation we come to know the unknowable and eternal God, we know the Holy Spirit, although personally distinct from the Father and the Son, to be no less Lord God than the Father and the Son, both as he is toward us and as he is antecedently in the undivided oneness of God’s eternal being. (Thomas F. Torrance, “The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being Three Persons,” 66-7)
Thanks for the great post. This resonates with what I have read in scripture. It also helps to keep me grounded as I seek to find the Biblical balance of the Trinity. It seems that much of the church is either running to the extreme of cessation (despite very poor Biblical support for and strong commands against) or the extreme of pentecostalism (as you said).
Well said! I agree with Matthew on the propensity of the modern church to embrace the extreme, not only with trinitarian views or miraculous, “apostolic” works, but also with many, MANY other areas of theology and doctrine. I believe the key is to stay as closely as possible to the consistent, larger text of scripture, rather than to pick and choose smaller portions of text.
Glad this was edifying.
Mike, welcome; and I agree, we need to read things contextually (analogia scriptura – allowing scripture to interpret scripture). I think the context of scripture, certainly and ultimately is Christ; who holds all the pages and theo-logic of Scripture together π .
thanks for the quote.
btw, this is the first time i commented on your site, even though (via google alert on Thomas Torrance) i’ve visited this site numerous times. just wanted to say that i appreciate your site, and share your love with the Torrances’ (A. Torrance, J., Torrance, and TF Torrance, in particular…not as familiar with I. Torrance except the books he edited) theology; it is sad that you have encounters with Dr. Clark, because i somewhat also like the westminster folks. i’m one of those that like both Van Til and Barth; still trying to see if they are truly ultimately incompatible. i feel as though Van Til is just as misread as Barth, by the opposing groups.
anyway. keep up the good work!
forgot to say: it’s sad because they seem so closed-minded. i think it’s his FAIL for this one.
He he, I was about to post a comment about the 1st part of the blog, when I read your lengthy quote of Tom. He took the words right out of my mouth ; )
Pwc,
Thanks, I’m glad you appreciate the site; comment any time.
Duane,
π