Filioque on Trinity Sunday

Pentecost was a week ago, and in that previous post, I explored who the person of the Holy Spirit is. Three days ago was the commemoration of the council of Nicaea, and in that last post, I looked into early church history up to it. Today is Trinity Sunday, and with those two posts fresh in my mind, it made sense to looking into the Filioque.

Options

• the Spirit proceeds from the Father
• Clearly taught in Scripture (John 15:26) and everyone agrees. This was the wording of the original Nicene Creed from the first council of Constantinople in 381, but is incomplete and leaves as ambiguous the role of the son.
• the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son
• Used in most Western Churches since at least the 6th century, officially accepted by the Pope in 1014, contributing to the East-West Schism of 1054, both on doctrinal grounds and on the power of the Pope to make official changes.
• During the council of Florence in 1439, it was clarified that the Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son together
• That the Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son separately was rejected by all
• the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone
• Argued from some in the East, but not everyone agreed and it did not address the the role the Son plays, which he obviously does, but is still used by some "rigorists."
• Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son
• Clearly taught in Scripture (Titus 3:4-6) and both the East and West agreed on the wording. The "liberal" view on both sides claims the difference was a miscomunication and a difference in terminology, or difference in theological perspective (theologoumena) with no real difference in doctrine, but others claimed a real difference in meaning.
• The "rigorous" view of the East claimed that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone as they originally stated, but that the Father sends the Spirit at the intercession of the Son. The Son is therefore an agent only in the procession of the Spirit.
• The West claimed that this meant the Spirit was sent from the Father first and then the Son and since the Spirit goes through the Son, it comes from Him too.

Scripture

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 was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said... -Genesis 1:1-3a

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. -John 1:1-4

• The Father is the Speaker, the Son is the Word, and the Spirit is the Breath.  The Word and the Breath both proceed from the Speaker, so do the Son and the Spirit both proceed from the Father?

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. -John 14:26

• The Father sends the Spirit in the name of the Son.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. -John 14:16-17

• The Son will ask the Father to send the Spirit.

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. -Acts 2:33

• The Father promises to send the Spirit.

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” -Luke 24:49

•  The Son sends the Spirit, but the Spirit is the promise of the Father.

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. -John 15:26

•  The Son sends the Spirit, but the Spirit is the proceeds from the Father.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. -John 16:7

• The Son sends the Spirit.

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. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. -John 16:13-15

• The Spirit can only take or receive anything from the one he proceeds from. Also, everything the Father has is the Son’s as well, they are consubstantial (of the same substance), so as the Spirit proceeds from the Father, must he also proceed from the Son?

-or-

• The Spirit proceeds from the Father, through the Son.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. -Titus 3:4-6

• The Spirit is given from the Father through the Son

 As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit." -John 20:21b-22

• The Father sent the Son.  The Son sent the Spirit, who was Jesus’ breath. The Spirit can only be sent, or given by the one he proceeds from, the Son. Jesus' breath proceeds from him, so does the Spirit proceeds from the Son?

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” -Galatians 4:6

…for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance… -Philippians 1:19

• The Spirit is Jesus’ Spirit. Is it then, his to give?

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. -Romans 8:9

• The Spirit is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son