Theological Term of the Week
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 10:22PM
rebecca in theological terms

filioque
“Latin for “and from the Son, ” a term  referring to a clause inserted into the Nicence Creed to indicate that the Holy Spirit proceeds not from the Father only but also from the Son. The controversy that arose over this doctrinal point contributed to the split between the Eastern and Western churches in A. D. 1054.”1

  • From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem:
  • In the light of John 15:26 and 16:7, where Jesus said that he would send the Holy Spirit into the world, it seems there could be no objection to such a statement if it referred to the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son at a point in time (particularly at Pentecost). But this was a statement about the nature of the Trinity, and the phrase was understood to speak of the eternal relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Son, something Scripture never explicitly discusses.

    …Is there a correct position on this question? The weight of evidence (slim though it is) seems clearly to favor the western church. In spite of the fact that John 15:26 says that the Spirit of truth “proceeds from the Father,” this does not deny that he proceeds also from the Son (just as John 14:26 says that the Fahter will send the Holy Spirit, but John 16:7 says that the Son will send the Holy Spirit). In fact, in the same sentence in John 15:26 Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as one “whom I shall send to you from the Father.” And if the Son together with the Father sends the Spirit into the world, by analogy it would seem appropriate to say that this reflects eternal ordering of their relationships. This is not something that we can clearly insist on based on any specific verse, but much of our understanding of the eternal relationships among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit comes by analogy from what Scripture tells us about the way they relate to the creation in time.

Learn more:
  1. GotQuestions.org: What is the filioque clause / controversy?
  2. BELIEVE Religious Information Source: Filioque Controversy
  3. James E. Kiefer: The Filioque Clause
  4. John Starke: A Pastoral Case for the Filioque Clause
  5. John S. Romanides: The Filioque
Related terms:

Filed under Creeds and Confessions.

1From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem.

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Article originally appeared on Rebecca Writes (http://rebecca-writes.com/).
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