God the Holy Spirit: we believe in the Holy Spirit

Harshit Singh's plenary session focuses on the line of the Creed that says we believe in the Holy Spirit. It looks at what the church confesses about the third person of the Trinity.

Harshit Singh, “God the Holy Spirit: we believe in the Holy Spirit,” plenary session, Nicea Conference 2025, Istanbul.

We believe

Well, this evening we have gathered here to spend some time just to reflect think about the third major section of the Nicene Creed. You know if you have noticed your noticed the creed from 325 AD which you’ll see in your bulletins I think when you received it and where it talks about the Holy Spirit it just says and we believe in the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Holy Spirit. This confession right off the bat is very bare, very curt, short, to the point, but I think succinct.

And when the bishops back then said, “We believe,” they didn’t just mean that we acknowledge or we understand or know. But what they meant, what they wanted to communicate that they trust. They put their faith in, they put their hope in the Father, in the Son, and then finally in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And if you notice if you have that creed before you, and we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets, that is the last few lines added later on in 381. But when they talk about the Spirit, they could have said, “We believe in the Spirit of the Lord or Yahweh or the spirit of truth or anything else.” But they said, “We believe in the Holy Spirit.” And it is right that they said because the name the Holy Spirit is thoroughly biblical.

The Spirit in Scripture

In the Old Testament, we find the mention of the Holy Spirit in passages like Psalm 51:1. Do not take thy Holy Spirit from me. And then Isaiah 63:10, but they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. And then in verse 11, where is he who puts in the midst of them his Holy Spirit?

And in the New Testament, we obviously find the mention of the Holy Spirit numerous times. Far too many for me to mention here. Well, what I’m trying to say is that this name is very rooted in Scriptures. I do think when they said the Holy Spirit, this name the Holy Spirit clearly distinguishes the Spirit of Yahweh, the Spirit of God who is the Spirit of Christ from all other false spirits. This Holy Spirit is not like the many spirits as understood by many spiritual folks, spiritualists or the believers in some kind of spiritual world.

You know this Holy Spirit, he is not some territorial or regional spirit that specializes in either terrorizing people or blessing people. You cannot control him to make him do things for you to you or for you to other people. He’s not that kind of spirit.

Instead, he is the Holy Spirit. There is no other spirit like him. He is spirit because he is God. And God has no form. He has no shape, no body. Is not just an emanation, not just some power, some emotion, some electromagnetic wave, some experience or some extension of some supreme being.

He is not just an expression of God. But he is God himself. He is, as we’ve heard this again and again, homoousios of the same substance, of the same nature with God, consubstantial with God. He is not homoiousios like God, similar to God, kind of God, very close to being God. No. He is God.

Everything that can be said of the Father and the Son regarding their divinity can be said about the Son concerning his divinity. While keeping in mind the eternal relations of origin not causing confusion with the personal properties that is appropriate to each person. The God of the Bible and the God of Christians is a triune God. We’ve been hearing this again and again. This is one of the major tenets of Christianity that distinguishes us from all the world’s religions and philosophies. If you lose the triune God, then you’re not a Christian anymore. You have some other God who is a man-made God and he’s not the God that we know from the Bible for sure.

So every time when we think of the true God, we should train our minds to automatically intuitively instinctly think of the triune God as outlined in the Nicene Creed that is drawn from Scriptures. By the way, just a side trivia. The majority religion in my country has also a form of Trinity in its pantheons of God.

The almighty power, the almighty God, Brahman reveals himself as the Trinity which is Brahma the creator, Vishnu the sustainer, Mahesh the destroyer. Now, you don’t have to be a theologian to figure it out that the God of the Bible as outlined in the Nicene Creed is so far removed from the God that I’ve just mentioned.

Brief in 325

And when the Nicene Creed was affirmed in AD 325 by about 318 bishops representing the then known Christian world, unfortunately there was no one from my country. It was a clear confession of Christian faith in the triune God of the Bible.

We believe in God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. So when these bishops articulated what they believed in, they thought it was sufficient to just say we believe in the Holy Spirit. You know you and I modern believers when we look at the first version of the creed we are taken aback only a brief statement on the Holy Spirit just one line and many opponents of Christianity even today use this to attack the doctrine of Christian the Trinity. You know how because they interpret this brief statement as an evidence of the early church father’s lack of belief in the full divinity of the Holy Spirit. And therefore they try to use it as an opportunity to undermine the doctrine of the Trinity.

But we know this is absolutely false. It is far from the truth. Biblical scholars, historians, they’ve always they mentioned that one of the reasons for the brief statement regarding the Holy Spirit in 325 is that they were preoccupied with the battles regarding the divinity of the Son. And we’ve heard about it over and over again in the last two days. And therefore, understandably, they were more focused on dealing with that specifically the Arian controversy. And anyway, it was because of the controversy that plagued the Roman Empire that this council was convened by the emperor in the first place.

But truth be told, even though the first creed was brief regarding the Holy Spirit, it was nonetheless packed and loaded with a lot of theological truth. You see having declared announced the and acknowledged the divinity of the Father and the Son using the introductory formula we believe in. I think it is axiomatically given that even the Holy Spirit is divine. It follows logically.

The confession we believe in was a strong indicator in the continuity of the affirmations for the divinity of the Father, the Son, and now the Spirit. So any speculation that fuels doubt about the faith of the early church fathers that they lack faith in the divinity of the Spirit is unfounded and is nothing but sheer speculation, conjecture, fabrication and nothing else.

After Nicea

But just as today people attack the shorter Nicene Creed from 325 to attack the Trinity back then also after this creed had been affirmed the enemies of the Christian faith they raised their heads and they start attacking the divinity of the Spirit. This led to another heresy in the 4th century which denied the divinity of the Spirit.

It is said that this movement was influenced by a semi-Arian bishop of Const Constantinople whose name was Macedonius and therefore this heresy is also known as Macedonianism and his followers and the followers of his teaching were known as numato marian a difficult word for me That is the Spirit fighters or spirit killers by the early church fathers.

You know what? Because they were trying to in a sense they were fighting the Spirit or killing the Spirit so to speak while they accepted the Nicene declaration about Christ being of one essence with the Father. They denied that the Holy Spirit was fully divine. And they said that he was not of the same substance or same essence that is homoousios with the Father and the Son.

But instead he was a created being some force of power that was subordinate to the Father and to the Son. This heresy was not very different from Arianism. It was kind of an extension of semi-Arianism. Back there in Arianism they denied the Son’s full deity. Here they denied the spirits full deity. They both believed and propagated some kind of subordination subordinationism. They both denied consubstantiality of the Son and the Spirit with the Father. It is in response to this growing heresy. The second ecumenical council was called in Constantinople in 381 AD where the doctrine of the Trinity was further expounded upon and expanded and more statements regarding the Holy Spirit were added to strongly clarify, affirm and defend the divinity of the Spirit. The third person of the Trinity thereby solidifying the biblical understanding of the triune God. This expanded version of 381 AD was known as the Nicene Constantinopolitan Creed and now more commonly known as the Nicene Creed.

Constantinople, 381

In that council it was further clarified that the Holy Spirit is indeed consubstantial that is of the same essence same substance as with the Father and the Son. So what I want to do for the rest of the time is very quickly look at the four statements from 381 which will be kind of a four sub points under the main point. What do we believe in or we believe in the Holy Spirit? What do we believe about the Holy Spirit? Four things. Number one, he is the Lord and the giver of life. Number two, he proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Number three, he with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified. Number four, he spoke by the prophets. So, let’s dive in. Number one, he is the Lord and the giver of life. It was right for the second council to add this phrase.

The Lord and giver of life

Why? We know that God the Father by the by virtue of being the creator of the ye the heavens and the earth as in revelation 4 verse 11 he’s the Lord of everything he’s created everything in the same manner the Son also by virtue of being the creator of the heavens and the earth as you see in Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 he is the Lord of everything even the Spirit by virtue of being the creator of the heavens and the is the Lord of everything. We see him in action right in the beginning of his Scriptures in Genesis 1 verse 1 to2. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep and the Spirit of God aka the Holy Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters.

And then in Genesis 2:7, when the when God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into him, into his nostrils the breath of life, breathe. Breath. We see the creation. We see the Spirit in creation in giving life to man. And in doing so, he is sovereign over everything. His rule, his kingship, his dominion, his power is over everything. And it is right and appropriate that he’s addressed along with the Father and the Son as the Lord.

The Spirit is no less in his lordship than the Father and the Son. Not only does the does God the Spirit give physical life and therefore he is the lifegiver but he more directly and intimately is involved in giving spiritual life. If you look with me in John chapter 6 verse 63 Jesus said there he says it is the Spirit who gives life. And in John chapter 3:5, Jesus said to Nicodemus in this very familiar passage, “Truly I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” So there it is pretty clear. It is the Spirit who gives the gift of regeneration, giving new birth, giving new spiritual life so that we can know the triune God. To be in communion with the triune God, to be indwelt by the Spirit, to be guided by him, to be in an intimate fellowship with him and to live for the one and only true triune God and this life will be life everlasting. This life that starts on this earth. But the eternal life, the true life that we receive as the result of the regenerating work of the Spirit, this life will go on for eternity. We’ll be in the presence of the triune God forever and ever. When he gives life, he truly gives life.

No one can give life the way he gives life. Remember when Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and life eternal, a life of abundance.” Jesus said that he would give us a life of abundance in the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son in the Spirit because it is the Spirit who will quicken us to a new life. I mean, I just keep thinking about this thing. A life that will never end.

A life that we can keep on living forever and ever. A life that keeps on going. You know that you and I were dead in our sins and our trespasses when we followed the prince of this world when we lived for our own desires.

It is then it is this the Holy Spirit who made us alive. He made us alive. He gave us a new life in Christ Jesus. Who can do this for us? Of course. Of course. Only God can give us a life like this. That is why the Holy Spirit is divine.

He is God eternal consubstantial with the Father and the Son. He is the Lord and the giver of life. The Nicene Creed of 381 also reminds us not only about this but it also reminds us about the origin the source of the Spirit. So let’s look at the next clause who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Just as the Son is eternally generated from the Father and we’ve heard about this again and again. So the Spirit is also eternally he also eternally proceeds from the Father.

Who proceeds from the Father

We’ve talked about thought about the term eternal generation. It kind of sounds like an oxymoron. How can something be eternal and yet be generated? Well, it may appear to be an oxymoron and to some to the worldly fleshly mind sound contradictory. Minds that not have been quickened. The heart, the Spirit that not have been quickened by the Spirit. But what the early church fathers were trying to say is this. Listen carefully.

We’ve heard this many times now. The Father has always been the Father and the Son has always been the Son. And there was never a time when the Father was not the Father and son was not the Son.

This truth is very important for us to hold on to. We cannot compromise on this otherwise we will fall into one or the other kind of heresy. So in order to explain this extraordinary mysterious unique phenomenon the fathers came up with this language of eternal generation which guards and protects the Father son relationship perfectly.

Now similarly, not exactly similarly but not exactly in the same way the Spirit eternally proceeds eternally spirates spirated is breathed out or comes forth from the Father. That is why in John chapter 15 and verse 26 Jesus says when the helper comes whom I’ll send you from the Father the spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father he will bear witness about me there is some fromess his coming from the Father his source his origin which shows a deep intimate relationship with the Father. But this fromness, this belongingness, there’s offness, this proceeding, this spiration, this breathing out has never had a beginning and will never have an end.

This eternal spiration in some ways similar to eternal generation as both of them have the Father as the primary source of origin but they both are very different from one another. Why? Because the Spirit is not eternally generated otherwise the Father would have two sons and the Son would not be the only begotten Son and that would be heretical. Whereas the Spirit is not begotten because spirit is not the Son but the Spirit is pirated breathed out proceeds from the Father and this has happened since eternity for eternity.

And when we talk about the proceeding of the Spirit from the Father, it reminds us that he is of the same divine essence and of the same divine nature as of the Father because of this fromness breathing out from the Father.

Not only does the Spirit proceed from the Father, but we also see that the that he sent by the Son and therefore he also proceeds from the Son. He is from the Father and he’s also from or through the Son.

That is why in John 14:16 Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever.” And then he goes on to say in verse 26, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. And then in chapter 16:7 Jesus says, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

The Father son sends and the Son also sends. That is why in acts 2 29-33 we see Peter talking about Jesus pouring out the Spirit. So it is right and biblical to talk about the sending of the Spirit both from the Father and the Son. Why also because the Father has given all things to the Son and that includes the procession of the Spirit.

By the way, the creed in 381 had only this phrase proceeds from the Father. But the western church later on added and from the Son which is known as filioque that eventually led to a massive split between the western and the eastern church in 1054 AD. But when we talk about the spiration proceeding or being breathed out, please remember we are not talking about creation. We’re not talking about being made. We are not talking about being produced in the past or sometime.

So then what does it actually mean? To answer this profound question, Gregory of Nazianzus in his oration 31 8 chapter 31 number eight says, “What then is procession? Do you tell me what is the unbegottenness of the Father and I will explain to you the physiology of the generation of the Son and the procession of the Spirit?”

And we shall both of us be frenzy-stricken or in other words be mad for prying into the mystery of God. And who are we to do these things? We who cannot even see what lies at our feet or number the sand of the sea or the drops of rain or the days of eternity, much less enter into the depths of God and supply an account of that nature which is so unspeakable and transcending all words.

So what then is procession? I think we should pay heed to this great man Gregory of Nazianzus and not spend too much time on this point of eternal procession but quickly move on to a third suboint which is he is with the Father and the Son together worshipped and glorified.

Worshiped and glorified

The Son is to be worshiped and glorified and praised and honored and adored together the Father and the Son in one undivided indivisible act of worship. Why? Because the Father is God. Because the Son is God. Because the Spirit is God. And after all there is only one God who cannot be divided into three different gods. He is one in being in essence in substance. But he exists in three distinct subsistences or persons.

They are distinct, distinguishable, not separated against or competing with one another for our loyalty, for our affection or for our worship. This is not tritheism. This is not a pantheon of gods that have three different gods in them. But this is one God. So they must be worshiped together. Obviously it is right for the Spirit to receive all honor and glory and all worship.

But think about this. Think about this. If they are one in a sense when one is worshipped then all three are worshiped and all three receive glory and honor whether we realize it or not. We all are familiar with the great commission in Matthew 28 18-20. Jesus said to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Now go therefore to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name singular name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

And when you do this, you teach them all that I have commanded you. I am with you to the end of the age. You know, so even our act of evangelism, our work of missions, church planting, discipling, bringing people into the communion of saints is to be done in the one name of the Father and the Son and the Spirit.

The Spirit cannot be ignored but has to be included from the beginning in everything from the beginning to the end. And as we engage in evangelism and in discipling and church planting, we in a sense are worshiping the triune God. Why? Because we do it in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Spirit. And as and when we do that, the Son, God the Son of God will be with us till the end of the age. And obviously we do that work of discipling, evangelism, church planting, missions in his spirit. In his spirit by being empowered by his spirit who dwell indwells the believers in this present age who will keep us safe till we cross that river.

This togetherness in worship is very clearly expressed also in 2 Corinthians chapter 13:14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Apostle Paul clearly shows us the oneness and yet the distinctness of the triune God. Even in his benediction, this prayer of grace, the final greeting which Christians for the past two millennia have been pronouncing in the churches around the world in different languages, different traditions, different settings.

What a beautiful picture of the Spirit being worshiped with the Father and the Son all around the world. You see, it was the love of God the Father that planned a redemption before ages. The Son bestowed his grace upon us by accomplishing our redemption on the cross. And the Holy Spirit applies our redemption in the life of the believers now so that we can enjoy fellowship with one another and with the triune God in and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Today.

Well, moving on, we see that the bishops at Nicea gave us one more reason as to why we believe in the Holy Spirit. And we see this in the final subpoint of a confession. He spoke by the prophets.

Who spoke by the prophets

Finally, when the bishops affirmed the Holy Spirit spoke by the prophets, they effectively wanted to put extreme premium in the revelations of God for man by the prophets. That is the men of God throughout the biblical history whose words have been preserved for us in Scriptures.

I think without saying much they have presented to us a very strong case for the doctrine of inspiration and also the authority of Scriptures the sufficiency of Scriptures. My speculation is that they had second Peter 1 20-21 in mind that says knowing this first of all that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit. [2 Peter 1:21]

I think they were happy to affirm all the prophets of the Old Testaments that have proclaimed the truth concerning the coming Messiah and along with that the prophets and the apostles of the New Testament who further teach about the Messiah who has already come.

I think prophet is a shortened a shorthand way of denoting all the Scriptures both old and the new because speak about the greater revelation of the triune God especially in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ because of the work of the Holy Spirit. By adding this line, they also wanted us to tell the believers that once the Spirit has inspired the prophets to communicate the deep truth about God himself, we do not need anything more beyond that and after that because all the prophecies of the Scripture are after all ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit even though they have been brought about by men And because it is the work of the Holy Spirit, therefore there is no need to add anything more to what has already been given to us.

They effectively and succinctly articulated what Jude said in verse three to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Once for all. This affirmation acts as a safeguard and as a warning to not be tempted, to not be led away, to not be led astray by anything and anyone that does not align with Scriptures that has already been inspired by the Spirit.

It does not matter what authority they claim. He has already spoken by the prophets. It has already been revealed. The revelation is complete. We do not need any new revelations. The Holy Spirit has spoken. We have his words in Scripture. Now pay attention to it and live by it. Remember the words of Hebrews 1 verse 1-2. Long ago, at many times, in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son. The Holy Spirit has spoken to us by the greatest prophet ever. The greatest prophet ever, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And whatever he has spoken to us has been preserved for us in the Scriptures. What more do we need?

Well, we believe in the Holy Spirit. Why? Because he’s the Lord and the giver of life. And he proceeds from the Father and the Son. And he with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified and he spoke by the prophets.

The forgotten person?

We’ve seen these four statements that tell us about the Spirit and as we conclude we need to ask ourselves this question. So what implications does this section on the Holy Spirit in this creed have on us and our churches today? And what relevance does it have? As I have pondered upon this, I’ve realized that we certainly need to work on having a better understanding of pneumatology. That is the theology of the Spirit in our churches. By the way, you remember that the Spirit killers in the beginning, the new mau machans, the Macedonians who denied the Spirit, the divinity of the Spirit.

Well, I don’t think that there are many who today actively and openly deny the divinity of the Spirit in the Christian church, but there are certainly many who make the Spirit to be less than a divine person.

how they often treat him more like a force, a power, a feeling, some kind of electromagnetic waves and they often do that unintentionally and many times in the desire to honor the Spirit. Actually notice how the creed while defending and pushing back on the Spirit killers does not overcompensate and overcorrect by saying now we need to have Holy Spirit weekends or come receive the Holy Spirit evening services or worship specially dedicated to the Holy Spirit as though he was a separate God.

and he has been feeling ignored because we have talked too much about Jesus and therefore he’s feeling bit envious and left out and now we need to make up for all that loss and make up to him by invoking his name more than the other two in order to balance it out.

The bishops were very carefully backed in to place the three persons of the Trinity in the proper order taxis. The Father, the Son, the Spirit. They do not drive a wedge between them as they preserve their distinctiveness while tackling the Macedonians. The bishops helpfully remind that the Spirit is worshiped and glorified together with the Father and the Son, not alone by himself, but together.

Remember the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. Not third class, not third rate, third degree, but in order, in taxis, in the proper eternal relations of origin. He’s placed with the Father and the Son. And it’s often said that the Holy Spirit is the shy person of the Trinity.

He’s not too keen to take the limelight but to turn the flood light so to speak on the Son so that as the result of that as the Spirit turns the light on the Son the Father is glorified.

I’ve often heard people say I would feel the Spirit and many of many a times people say well you cannot see the Spirit but you can feel him just like you cannot see the winds but you can feel the wind I want to say to folks you need to stop wanting to feel the Spirit this is bit strange there’s no textual warrant for that what you need to do is believe in the Holy Spirit and you should worship him as the Lord and therefore submit to him as he’s the giver of life, the true life eternal, life after life. He is the Holy Spirit. You should long to be holy to grow in holiness in sanctification because that’s what he will help us primarily with. He has given us new life. He has brought us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son. And therefore now we should worship him together. The Father and the Son. We should pay attention to the words, his words that have been preserved in the Scriptures. And then we should live our life, our lives according to his words, listen to his words, devour his words, be committed to his words because it is through his Scriptures he still speaks to us. This is more important. This is more orthodox. This is more biblical. This is historic Christianity. This is Nicene Christianity.

Not trying to feel him. But anyway, you cannot feel the Spirit. You see the work of the Spirit. As people really submit to his lordship, as we grow in holiness, as we see people converted, as we see pe churches grow, as we see churches strengthened and become healthier, as we see Christians deny themselves, as we see Christians take up their cross and follow Jesus, as we see that Christians are willing to pay a price to follow Christ, and as we say no to the world, the flesh and the devil, and as people do not love this world and do not love the sins of this world, and they love Jesus more and they become more like Jesus, That is when we see the work of the Spirit. We see the work of the Spirit more than we just feel it by ourselves in our own being.

The Holy Spirit is not like some ghost, some power, some rogue spirit. He is God, not to be trifled with. Worship him, honor him, live for him. And the best way to do is to honor the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember the words of Jesus in John 15 verse 26.

When the helper comes whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of the truth who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. Then in chapter 16 13 and 15, when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come, he will glorify me. For he will take what is mine and declare it to you. [John 15:26; 16:13–15]

All that the Father has is mine. Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Too many times when we do our study on the Holy Spirit, we feel guilty that we’ve not paid attention to the Spirit and then we say we need to start paying attention to the Spirit.

I don’t want you to do this after this session. We don’t mean that you need to now have a special dedicated time to the Spirit in your service. Actually, many of times that can be a form of paganism.

You know how in pagan religions what they do they have special times for different deities on different days and different slots and different times of the day. That is not biblical Christianity. We wor we worship the Spirit. How? Together with the Father and the Son. When we sing praises to the Father through the Son in the Spirit we are truly worshiping the triune God.

When we pray to the Father through the Son in the Spirit we are truly worshiping the triune God. When we pray when how do we do that from the Father through the Son in the Spirit? That’s the language we need to use pervasively in our services if we truly want to honor the Spirit and worship him and glorify him. That is what we need to recover. That is what we need to do on and on till we die or Jesus comes back. Let’s pray.

Prayer

God the Father, we thank you that you are a loving Father and that you have given us your son and thank you for sending your spirit who regenerates us, indwells us and shows us more of Jesus and he sanctifies us and helps us to become like Jesus and will enable us to reach a home ultimately.

We are grateful to you for this amazing provision, for your wisdom, for your love and your care. We pray that we would continue to grow in the likeness of your son, in the power of your spirit for your glory. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.