After hundreds of years and numerous church councils the doctrine of the trinity was finally formulated with the final statements made on the person of the Holy Spirit. The Nicene Creed of AD 325 stated simply: “We believe in…the Holy Spirit.” But even with this emendation the Spirit was said to proceed only “from the Father.” But in 589 at the Council of Toledo, in Spain, the church added the clause “and from the Son.” This was the famous filioque (from the Latin; “and from the Son”) Why is the filioque clause so important? This clause is important for our understanding of the application of redemption. The ministry of the Holy Spirit took on a distinctly different role after Christ had accomplished redemption (John 14:22), silenced the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:12) and appeared at the right hand of God on high. Only then could the Spirit proceed from the Son who was victorious and exalted and He continues Christ’s work. He was then referred to as the “Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:19). The emphasis of His ministry now is on the experience of individuals in the body of Christ.
The Spirit of God is so associated with Christ in this dispensation that He is called “the Spirit of Christ.” This was a term born out of experience, not theory or speculation. They experienced Christ through the Spirit. They recognized Christ in the Spirit’s work and instinctively associated Him with Christ. The Holy Spirit does not just instruct the intellect about Christ, He ministers the work of Christ in the heart and brings the grace of Christ into the life of the person in such a way that the experience of the Spirit is the experience of Christ.
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Aaron Dunlop, who is originally from Northern Ireland, graduated from the Geneva Reformed Seminary, SC. He pastored for ten years in Victoria, British Columbia and is currently preparing to move to Kenya with his family to work with the FAME Reformed Theological College.
