WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:05.200 Good morning, everyone. I can't get this to go 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:10.339 on mute. It is good to be back up here for this 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:15.539 series. I am very excited about it. We are in 00:00:15.539 --> 00:00:19.440 another week on our series for the Nicene Creed. 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:24.399 This week is about belief in the Holy Spirit. 00:00:29.949 --> 00:00:31.489 Well, obviously, we're dealing with history. 00:00:31.570 --> 00:00:34.229 This is like the happiest place I can be in. 00:00:34.450 --> 00:00:38.070 But we have spent time really digging into the 00:00:38.070 --> 00:00:41.369 meat of what it is that this thing that we've 00:00:41.369 --> 00:00:45.429 been a part of, that we have joined a very small 00:00:45.429 --> 00:00:48.170 part of it, very small percentage of this large 00:00:48.170 --> 00:00:53.450 thing that's been around for 2 ,000 years as 00:00:53.450 --> 00:00:57.299 we know it right now. And in our very present 00:00:57.299 --> 00:00:59.619 and localized world, it can be very easy to forget 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:02.380 that we're a part of something so big and so 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:05.420 grand and so diverse and so deep that in a world 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:08.000 that is more connected than ever because of social 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.439 media, we are also feeling incredibly siloed 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.900 and isolated. So it's very easy to forget what 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:18.019 things you're a part of on a grand scale. So 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:20.439 this has been a good review, not only of our 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:23.379 shared history as a global church, but even recognizing 00:01:23.379 --> 00:01:26.870 that in the early church, There existed diversity 00:01:26.870 --> 00:01:30.469 of thought and experience and ethnicity and nationality. 00:01:31.109 --> 00:01:34.510 Those things were quickly knit into the fiber 00:01:34.510 --> 00:01:40.400 of... this new way and Christianity spread so 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:42.260 quickly in the first few centuries that it existed 00:01:42.260 --> 00:01:44.799 it moved into far corners of the interconnected 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:47.439 world that existed at that time so it's not surprising 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:49.980 that in that amount of time also disagreement 00:01:49.980 --> 00:01:52.480 and cultural biases and regional influences affected 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.060 the church but like I said development of thought 00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:56.859 and theology and experience and points of view 00:01:56.859 --> 00:01:59.700 were also a part of it so how the church quickly 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:04.189 became all of us It became something that represented 00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:08.409 not just the group in Jerusalem or in the group 00:02:08.409 --> 00:02:12.050 in Palestine, but it quickly became the church 00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:15.550 that represented every tribe, every tongue, every 00:02:15.550 --> 00:02:19.330 nation. And that is an incredible thing to think 00:02:19.330 --> 00:02:22.389 about, that that was, like I said, knit into 00:02:22.389 --> 00:02:27.110 the fiber of the church right away because of 00:02:27.110 --> 00:02:29.639 how fast it spread. What that meant, though, 00:02:29.740 --> 00:02:33.960 was we needed a way of common understanding. 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:36.840 We don't all need to think the exact same way, 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:39.419 but we need some common understanding about what 00:02:39.419 --> 00:02:42.939 the core of what this thing is that we adhere 00:02:42.939 --> 00:02:45.000 to. And so the creeds were designed as a way 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:47.520 of recognizing what the irreducible minimums 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:49.800 were while being explicit on the most important 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:53.439 matters. How do we understand divinity and what 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:56.379 does it mean for our salvation? And at their 00:02:56.379 --> 00:02:59.430 core, creeds are... connected with salvation. 00:02:59.770 --> 00:03:02.750 As stated in the Nicene Creed, the line, one 00:03:02.750 --> 00:03:05.509 of the lines is for us and for our salvation, 00:03:05.830 --> 00:03:10.150 Jesus came down from heaven. And so even though 00:03:10.150 --> 00:03:11.870 it can feel like we're getting into the reeds 00:03:11.870 --> 00:03:15.229 of theology and history and the grammar even, 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:18.689 it was for clarity to get us to the core point, 00:03:18.729 --> 00:03:21.289 which is our salvation through Jesus. In brief. 00:03:21.740 --> 00:03:24.020 All of its clarifications were at the service 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:27.900 of guarding and amplifying the saving work of 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:31.219 God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:40.819 So we've spent the last two weeks on two parts 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:42.400 of the Trinity. Now we're going to get to the 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.340 third part. That's what I'm trying to say. So 00:03:45.340 --> 00:03:48.020 we are at the part of the creed that says, the 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:50.780 Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life, who 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:54.659 proceeds from the Father and the Son and is worshiped 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:57.699 and glorified with the Father and the Son. So 00:03:57.699 --> 00:04:00.159 we're going to take a moment to pray here and 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:03.080 then we'll move forward. So Lord, today, will 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:07.159 you reveal yourself to us in new and fresh ways 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:10.219 or in familiar ways that perhaps we have forgotten? 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:14.759 We are asking. for you to enlighten our minds 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:19.439 and open our minds in regards to the Holy Spirit 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:22.879 and what our relationship with the Holy Spirit 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:25.600 looks like in terms of our relationship with 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:29.689 you. How do we relate to that component of the 00:04:29.689 --> 00:04:32.110 Trinity and understand it within the history 00:04:32.110 --> 00:04:36.790 and scriptural context that we can look at it 00:04:36.790 --> 00:04:40.509 in? And so we're asking for your wisdom, your 00:04:40.509 --> 00:04:45.550 spirit to speak to us and to guide us in all 00:04:45.550 --> 00:04:48.930 truth. We pray this in your name. Amen. Okay, 00:04:49.009 --> 00:04:52.050 so I'm going to give a brief overview on the 00:04:52.050 --> 00:04:54.629 historical context of all this because it matters. 00:04:56.139 --> 00:05:01.519 Jump in. We find ourselves back in the 4th century. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.839 So early 4th century, 306, Constantine becomes 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:08.220 emperor of the Roman Empire. He lived in Rome, 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:10.639 home of the empire. That makes sense. But while 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:12.519 on holiday for his sister's wedding, he thought 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:15.899 he would just do some business with some other 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:19.279 folks and decided, oh, guys, Christianity is 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.680 now legal. The era of persecuting all of them 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:26.379 is over. We're moving forward. This is 313. Edict 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.240 of Milan. And he's also a believer at this point 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:33.819 now. So Constantine, living in Rome, I should 00:05:33.819 --> 00:05:35.939 probably do this. This is the west and this is 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:38.360 the east to you guys. So Constantine, living 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:43.399 in Rome, starts also renovating Byzantium. which 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:45.240 is gonna become the future home of the empire. 00:05:45.540 --> 00:05:47.319 So he's doing all these renovations. He's like, 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:50.079 you know what? The empire's kind of in chaos 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:54.180 because of this religious disunity, these arguments 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:56.360 that these folks are having. This seems like 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.600 a good place to get everybody together to figure 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:03.199 it out because the empire is kind of in a fragile 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:05.779 state and we gotta figure it out. So this is 00:06:05.779 --> 00:06:10.540 325. So as I said, He's now a professed believer. 00:06:10.740 --> 00:06:13.040 He's kind of in the culture of this all. He reaches 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:15.079 out to all the bishops. They know it's okay to 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:16.860 come out of the woodwork. It's safe for them. 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:20.360 They all come to Nicaea. They talk about big 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:22.860 things that were happening, like the biggest 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:27.470 one being, is Jesus actually? God? That's kind 00:06:27.470 --> 00:06:31.269 of a big question. It hadn't really found a landing 00:06:31.269 --> 00:06:34.470 point for everybody yet. We're 300 years past 00:06:34.470 --> 00:06:36.910 Jesus's death at this point. And they're like, 00:06:36.970 --> 00:06:40.649 do we agree on this? We don't. So they needed 00:06:40.649 --> 00:06:44.389 to come to some conclusions. That's really hard 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:46.430 to say. They needed to come to some conclusions. 00:06:47.750 --> 00:06:50.589 There existed these statements of faith in the 00:06:50.589 --> 00:06:52.670 different regions of the empire. They kind of 00:06:52.670 --> 00:06:55.430 were like a little like localized, like the Antioch 00:06:55.430 --> 00:06:59.269 church and the Alexandrian diocese and the Jerusalem 00:06:59.269 --> 00:07:01.290 one. They all kind of had their like, when you 00:07:01.290 --> 00:07:03.189 would get baptized, you would make the statement 00:07:03.189 --> 00:07:06.519 of faith. They were basically like, hey, let's 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:09.639 pull together what we are saying. And what do 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:12.459 we, again, what are our irreducible minimums? 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:16.980 What do we agree on? So jump over to 330. Constantine 00:07:16.980 --> 00:07:19.339 is like, you know what, Byzantium, you're cool. 00:07:19.459 --> 00:07:21.560 I'm going to slap my name on you and call you 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:26.350 Constantinople. We are now here. That is a big 00:07:26.350 --> 00:07:29.230 deal because it now becomes the home of the empire. 00:07:29.569 --> 00:07:32.889 So, you know, Rome was the it girl. Now it's 00:07:32.889 --> 00:07:35.410 Constantinople. Like, how would you feel if you 00:07:35.410 --> 00:07:38.069 got your empire taken away from you? So this 00:07:38.069 --> 00:07:41.610 is kind of the situation that's going on. Lots 00:07:41.610 --> 00:07:45.160 of disagreements, lots of agitation. The church 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:47.160 is kind of figuring itself out. And even though 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:50.759 they did agree in the first council in 325, you 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.579 know what? We do say Jesus is in fact the son 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:56.360 of God. We believe that scripture confirms that. 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:00.540 Even though that got agreed on and they exiled 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:03.199 the people who were really divisive, it doesn't 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:05.439 mean that that stuff went away. In fact, it kind 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:09.740 of sprouted new shoots and like grew new branches 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:13.790 in the areas of like. But now the Holy Spirit, 00:08:13.930 --> 00:08:17.269 what do we think about that? So the next council 00:08:17.269 --> 00:08:20.670 was held in 381 to discuss this point. This was, 00:08:20.670 --> 00:08:22.709 even though they had said in the first creed, 00:08:22.730 --> 00:08:24.589 yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, there wasn't 00:08:24.589 --> 00:08:27.529 really definition on it. They didn't, they weren't 00:08:27.529 --> 00:08:30.110 explicit. They weren't super, super clear. But 00:08:30.110 --> 00:08:32.889 listen, 56 years is between those two councils. 00:08:33.309 --> 00:08:36.529 That's a long time for that question just to 00:08:36.529 --> 00:08:40.450 sort of be hanging out there. In the big picture, 00:08:41.070 --> 00:08:43.950 It was unresolved, but in the smaller spaces, 00:08:44.190 --> 00:08:48.690 it was getting talked about. So we had these 00:08:48.690 --> 00:08:53.149 bishops in these big places, like Alexandria, 00:08:53.429 --> 00:08:55.750 a huge center of learning, and they're starting 00:08:55.750 --> 00:08:58.889 to really, really deal with this at the local 00:08:58.889 --> 00:09:01.809 level. So they start writing letters to each 00:09:01.809 --> 00:09:04.830 other, fleshing out this stuff about what do 00:09:04.830 --> 00:09:11.139 we feel about the Holy Spirit. So they really 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:13.799 start digging into it with letters and like their 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:18.059 own sort of local writings. Because the divinity 00:09:18.059 --> 00:09:21.879 of the Holy Spirit was not broadly clear. So 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:25.720 I'm going to introduce you to some early church 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:28.279 fathers. Let me be clear, there were church mothers 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.539 too. Are they written down in everybody's history 00:09:31.539 --> 00:09:34.220 books? We know they're not. But they existed 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:35.919 and they were amazing. But I'm going to introduce 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:40.759 you to some key players. So Athanasia. Athanasius 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:45.320 was down in Alexandria in northern Egypt. Like 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:47.539 I said, huge center of learning. He had his pen 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:50.659 pal Serapion down in the south in lower Egypt. 00:09:51.620 --> 00:09:54.909 Basil the Great, which is a great name. Basil 00:09:54.909 --> 00:09:58.309 the Great, and then his brother, Gregory of Nyssa. 00:09:58.429 --> 00:10:00.490 These guys were over in Cappadocia, which is 00:10:00.490 --> 00:10:05.169 like central Turkey. And then Gregory of Nazianzus, 00:10:05.250 --> 00:10:07.549 which I never say well, and I have to slow down. 00:10:08.269 --> 00:10:10.990 But these guys were the ones that were writing 00:10:10.990 --> 00:10:14.570 some of the bulk of what we actually have primary 00:10:14.570 --> 00:10:18.590 sources still of, that you can go and see what 00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:20.889 they were fleshing out in regards to the Holy 00:10:20.889 --> 00:10:24.480 Spirit. I think that is super cool. So they were 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.179 writing extensively about this and they stood 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:29.539 firmly against the teachings of Arius and took 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:32.879 this topic deeply to heart. Their study of scriptures 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.059 and their writings were in direct response to 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:40.580 what is now and was agreed upon in 325, heretical 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:43.860 teaching that stated that the Holy Spirit was, 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:47.480 this was the thinking that Arius had. The Holy 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:51.860 Spirit is a creature, a made being, a created 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:56.120 being. versus existing eternally with God the 00:10:56.120 --> 00:11:00.240 Father and Jesus the Son. So the idea that the 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:07.139 Holy Spirit was created and not came forth as 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:12.039 a part of the Trinity, that was the thing that 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:16.299 was really, really causing the biggest problems. 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:23.389 So if the idea is that... The Holy Spirit is 00:11:23.389 --> 00:11:26.649 a creature. It is there to do the bidding of 00:11:26.649 --> 00:11:29.909 God and Jesus. Does that make sense how that 00:11:29.909 --> 00:11:32.509 would make sense to the people who thought that? 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:36.070 That was the idea. And so through this message, 00:11:36.110 --> 00:11:38.990 we're going to lean really heavily on the actual 00:11:38.990 --> 00:11:43.769 work that these church fathers did as they combed 00:11:43.769 --> 00:11:47.129 like thoroughly through the scriptures to see 00:11:47.129 --> 00:11:50.509 what, in fact, the scripture said about the Holy 00:11:50.509 --> 00:11:55.019 Spirit. And these writings and these people were 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:57.980 incredibly instrumental in what would be discussed 00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:01.860 and developed and decided at the council in 381. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.440 Not all of them actually made it there. Some 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:07.399 of them died before that time, but their writings 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.559 were so important. The question of the Holy Spirit's 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:13.000 divinity became the key issue of the council. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:17.700 So the Nicene Councils, 325 and later 381, were... 00:12:18.009 --> 00:12:21.169 really important. As we saw, Constantine was 00:12:21.169 --> 00:12:23.470 literally worried about the empire having a crisis 00:12:23.470 --> 00:12:26.309 of unity, potentially breaking apart. The creed 00:12:26.309 --> 00:12:29.169 itself was not actually broadly known across 00:12:29.169 --> 00:12:31.429 the empire until the Council of Chalcedon in 00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:35.929 451. Guys, that's 125 years after the first council. 00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:40.389 This is a long time to not land on a theological 00:12:40.389 --> 00:12:45.029 issue, isn't it? But let me tell you, the laboring 00:12:45.029 --> 00:12:50.129 was like, That's a real thing. You don't want 00:12:50.129 --> 00:12:52.769 to just be quick to land on something important 00:12:52.769 --> 00:12:55.950 like this. Bear with me for a moment if I might 00:12:55.950 --> 00:13:00.909 offer an illustration. Guys, remember in Lord 00:13:00.909 --> 00:13:03.350 of the Rings that the return of the king. Listen, 00:13:03.450 --> 00:13:06.049 when Mary and Pippin are taken by Treebeard to 00:13:06.049 --> 00:13:09.009 the council of the Ents, the Entmoot. This is 00:13:09.009 --> 00:13:11.570 important. After the Ents were like, this is 00:13:11.570 --> 00:13:13.730 not our war. And Merry and Pippin were like, 00:13:13.850 --> 00:13:15.710 great. But they're going to talk and decide that 00:13:15.710 --> 00:13:16.990 it is their war. And then they're going to fight 00:13:16.990 --> 00:13:18.929 Sauron and join the fight against Sauron. Do 00:13:18.929 --> 00:13:20.690 you guys remember that? This is it. They were 00:13:20.690 --> 00:13:22.990 all so excited. And then the Ents, they sway. 00:13:23.029 --> 00:13:24.809 You remember the scene? They sway and they hum. 00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:27.049 And they sway and they hum for hours. And then 00:13:27.049 --> 00:13:30.129 Treebeard, the giant tree, says, I know he's 00:13:30.129 --> 00:13:31.929 not a tree for people who are really like Lord 00:13:31.929 --> 00:13:35.149 of the Rings people. He is an Ent. They're like. 00:13:36.069 --> 00:13:38.990 we have decided. And Mary and Pippin are like, 00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:42.789 are we going? And he's like, you're not orcs. 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:45.830 And they're like, oh my gosh. So that's what 00:13:45.830 --> 00:13:49.049 all that time was spent on. So listen, 125 years, 00:13:49.169 --> 00:13:51.830 you're like, we're not there yet. Like in 56 00:13:51.830 --> 00:13:54.669 years, we didn't get it. We're like, it took 00:13:54.669 --> 00:14:00.019 forever. So anyway. By 451, they locked in. They 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:03.179 finally locked in. The Holy Spirit is of the 00:14:03.179 --> 00:14:05.379 Father and the Son. They did it. They got there, 00:14:05.419 --> 00:14:07.980 which may seem silly to us now, but of course, 00:14:08.059 --> 00:14:11.139 right, we assume now. Like, isn't that so clear 00:14:11.139 --> 00:14:14.159 that the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:19.460 and one with the Son? We assume it is, but listen, 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:24.759 it took a long time because it actually isn't 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:28.919 very clear. Very little, in truth, is actually 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:33.179 said about the origin of the Holy Spirit in the 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:36.159 scriptures. And there were arguments to be made, 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:39.320 and they were worth the time it took to figure 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:43.330 that out. The challenge lay in that the scriptures, 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:46.350 notably the New Testament, where we see much 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:49.230 of the Holy Spirit at work, has much to say about 00:14:49.230 --> 00:14:52.269 the mission of the Spirit and the work of the 00:14:52.269 --> 00:14:55.070 Spirit, but most of these testimonies apply to 00:14:55.070 --> 00:14:57.429 the activity of the Spirit in the world and not 00:14:57.429 --> 00:15:00.330 directly addressing the question of the Spirit's 00:15:00.330 --> 00:15:03.009 ultimate origin. Do you see why this could be 00:15:03.009 --> 00:15:07.809 an issue? And so it certainly wasn't, for example, 00:15:07.809 --> 00:15:11.460 as clear as... The origin of Jesus, which is 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:15.399 laid out so nicely in John. In the beginning 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:17.460 was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:19.700 the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:22.440 Through him all things were made. Without him 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:24.700 nothing was made that has been made. That's a 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:28.740 very concise origin story. If you needed just 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:33.179 like a pitch, a pitch origin story, that would 00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:35.360 be it. Tell me this in less than one minute. 00:15:35.940 --> 00:15:38.240 Done. We don't have that with the Holy Spirit. 00:15:39.210 --> 00:15:41.250 Holy Spirit does not have a clear origin story. 00:15:41.370 --> 00:15:43.690 And so simply stating belief in the Holy Spirit, 00:15:43.870 --> 00:15:46.830 which the first creed did, we believe in the 00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:50.250 Holy Spirit. But that wasn't quite enough because 00:15:50.250 --> 00:15:55.639 it still left too much room for heresy. So the 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:57.919 question was, what are we professing to believe? 00:15:58.120 --> 00:15:59.940 Because here are some of the implications. If 00:15:59.940 --> 00:16:02.940 the spirit is, as we said, a creature, if it 00:16:02.940 --> 00:16:07.039 is created, then it is subordinate to its creator. 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:11.460 And then you don't have a trinity, you have two. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:17.440 You have a binatarian God. And the trinity then, 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:20.580 or excuse me, the Holy Spirit is then an errand 00:16:20.580 --> 00:16:24.720 runner. out to do the work of those that made 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:28.320 it. But scripture says that the spirit lives 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:32.879 in us. But if it's a created being that isn't 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:35.559 co -equal with God, then it sets up a weird structure 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:37.879 in which the Holy Spirit is sort of the software 00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:41.659 we run on, but it isn't actually transforming 00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:46.179 us. It's just the program. However, if the spirit 00:16:46.179 --> 00:16:51.220 is co -equal with God, one with the Trinity, 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.360 then the Spirit requires our full attention and 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.980 our full worship and our full adoration. If the 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:01.240 Spirit is co -equal in the Trinity, fully divine 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:05.279 in its nature, then the Spirit living in us is 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:09.660 able and capable to be at work in us, transforming 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:12.960 us into the likeness of Christ. And so it is 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:14.500 certainly broader than that, but I think you 00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:17.299 can see that the nature of the Holy Spirit and 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:23.230 the origin of it, matters, right? So it was not 00:17:23.230 --> 00:17:26.829 enough, they discovered, to simply say, we believe 00:17:26.829 --> 00:17:31.450 in the Holy Spirit. We had to understand what 00:17:31.450 --> 00:17:34.829 the source was. So those that wrestled with all 00:17:34.829 --> 00:17:37.670 of this, while seeking the kind of clarification 00:17:37.670 --> 00:17:42.269 that left no room for unorthodox teaching, they 00:17:42.269 --> 00:17:47.119 also didn't want to eliminate the very real and 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.380 beautiful mystery that is a part of the reality 00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:54.940 of knowing the divine. They did not want to reduce 00:17:54.940 --> 00:17:59.059 everything down to being knowable and fully understandable 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:03.640 and graspable to a finite human mind. They wanted 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:07.299 to be true but with care. Facts matter, but we 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:11.119 also don't want to have over -factualizing. We 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:14.079 don't want to try to factualize everything that 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:17.900 the mystery actually is important for. Meaning 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:21.720 that they did not have to scrub the scriptures 00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:25.359 clean of wonder and awe that comes with communion 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:29.119 with the divine. So it was a very careful thing 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:33.039 at hand. And so while they sought clarity, they 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:36.519 did not attempt to explain everything. Instead, 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:40.160 understanding that scripture was allowed to hold 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:44.019 mystery. and that it revealed its truth in ways 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:48.460 that weren't always explicit, they saw in the 00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:51.519 scriptural revelation a clear link between the 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.940 Spirit and the Son and the Father in unique characteristics 00:18:55.940 --> 00:19:00.980 that were true to all of them. And that identified 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:03.220 its oneness with God, the Father, and the Son. 00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:07.210 So in the letters and the writings of the earlier 00:19:07.210 --> 00:19:09.490 mentioned church fathers, three complementary 00:19:09.490 --> 00:19:13.150 characteristics or categories emerge that help 00:19:13.150 --> 00:19:15.750 give clarity to the position of the Holy Spirit. 00:19:16.210 --> 00:19:21.329 So first, what are the titles given? The titles, 00:19:21.329 --> 00:19:23.329 according to the Spirit in the New Testament, 00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:26.890 align with the titles used for the Father and 00:19:26.890 --> 00:19:30.849 the Son, showing the Spirit. to be God, because 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:33.690 the titles are shared. I'm going to use Basil 00:19:33.690 --> 00:19:37.829 the Great's own words, and he gives us aids from 00:19:37.829 --> 00:19:41.670 his writing. The Spirit shares titles that are 00:19:41.670 --> 00:19:45.130 held in common by the Father and the Son. He 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:47.910 receives those titles due to his natural and 00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:50.329 intimate relationship with the Father and the 00:19:50.329 --> 00:19:53.369 Son. Where else would they come from? So he goes 00:19:53.369 --> 00:19:56.339 through the list and then gives references. The 00:19:56.339 --> 00:20:00.059 Holy Spirit is called spirit as God is spirit. 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:03.900 John 4, 24, God is spirit and his worshipers 00:20:03.900 --> 00:20:07.839 must worship in the spirit and in truth. He goes 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.619 on to say, he is called holy as the father is 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:13.440 holy and the son is holy. That's a shared title. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:17.740 The spirit is holy. For creatures, holiness comes 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:21.940 from outside. For the spirit, if you are one 00:20:21.940 --> 00:20:24.460 with the father and the son, holiness fills the 00:20:24.460 --> 00:20:29.079 very nature. He is not sanctified, but is sanctifying. 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:35.259 John 14, 26 says, but the advocate, the helper, 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:38.299 the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:40.960 my name, will teach you all things and will remind 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:44.420 you of everything I have said to you. The title 00:20:44.420 --> 00:20:49.299 is holy. He is called good as the Father is good. 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:52.440 The essence of the Spirit embraces the goodness 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.319 of the Father. Psalm 143 .10, teach me to do 00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:00.599 your will for you are my God. May your good Spirit 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:05.170 lead me on level ground. The title is good. And 00:21:05.170 --> 00:21:07.690 he is called upright. The Lord my God is upright 00:21:07.690 --> 00:21:11.210 because he is truth and righteousness personified. 00:21:11.369 --> 00:21:16.049 Psalm 5110. Create in me a clean heart, O God, 00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:19.930 and renew an upright spirit within my inmost 00:21:19.930 --> 00:21:24.170 being. Psalm 9215. So that they may announce 00:21:24.170 --> 00:21:26.869 that the Lord our God is righteous and that there 00:21:26.869 --> 00:21:30.930 is no iniquity in him. What has been named. Upright 00:21:30.930 --> 00:21:34.809 in God and Jesus has also been given to the Spirit. 00:21:35.670 --> 00:21:39.589 And he shares the name paraclete or helper with 00:21:39.589 --> 00:21:43.250 the only begotten advocate who said, I will ask 00:21:43.250 --> 00:21:46.250 the Father and he will send you another helper, 00:21:46.410 --> 00:21:50.890 another advocate. John 14, 16, and I will ask 00:21:50.890 --> 00:21:53.910 the Father, this is Jesus speaking, I will ask 00:21:53.910 --> 00:21:56.430 the Father and he will give you another advocate 00:21:56.430 --> 00:22:01.460 who will never leave you. And so names are given 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:05.460 to the Spirit that are in common with the Father 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:10.980 and the Son. Secondly, activities of the Spirit 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:13.819 are shared with the Father and the Son. What 00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:17.859 the Spirit does show that the Spirit is God because 00:22:17.859 --> 00:22:22.660 only one who is God could do what the Spirit 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.900 does. So Athanasius gives us highlights in the 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:28.819 spirit's role in transforming us as conclusive 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:30.900 evidence that the spirit is fully God. Because 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:35.319 only God can create and make new. A created being 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:40.319 cannot create out of nothing. Only the creator 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:45.339 can. So Athanasius' letter to Serapion, if the 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:50.480 Holy Spirit were a made creature, we would have 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:56.119 no participation. God through him. If indeed 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.960 we were joined to a creature, we would be strangers 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:03.880 to the divine nature because neither of us can 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:07.839 partake in it. But the fact that we're called 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:13.680 partakers of Christ and partakers of God shows 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:16.720 that the anointing and the seal that is in us 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:21.140 belongs not to the something created, but to 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:24.869 the nature of the Son. through the spirit who 00:23:24.869 --> 00:23:28.089 is in him and that joins us to the father because 00:23:28.089 --> 00:23:32.670 their natures are all one john said first john 00:23:32.670 --> 00:23:35.769 4 13 and god has given us his spirit as proof 00:23:35.769 --> 00:23:41.069 that we live in him and he in us so if by participation 00:23:41.069 --> 00:23:45.170 in the spirit we are made sharers by participating 00:23:45.170 --> 00:23:48.289 in the spirit we are made sharers of the divine 00:23:48.289 --> 00:23:51.440 nature I love how he says, we would be insane 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:55.380 to say that the Spirit has a created nature and 00:23:55.380 --> 00:24:01.500 not the nature of God. Finally, in the doxologies 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:04.500 we find in the New Testament, to the Father, 00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:08.599 to the Son, and to the Spirit together. They 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:11.519 show that the Spirit is truly God. For the Fathers, 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:14.319 the biblical passages that most clearly show 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:18.190 the Spirit's full divinity. are the brief doxologies 00:24:18.190 --> 00:24:21.210 that show up in these letters, where the Spirit 00:24:21.210 --> 00:24:24.269 is aligned with the Father and the Son. The passage 00:24:24.269 --> 00:24:27.089 that stands out comes from the end of Matthew's 00:24:27.089 --> 00:24:31.390 Gospel, where Jesus says, you likely all know 00:24:31.390 --> 00:24:34.549 this, Go therefore and make disciples of all 00:24:34.549 --> 00:24:39.049 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father 00:24:39.049 --> 00:24:43.029 and the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we have 00:24:43.029 --> 00:24:45.910 our baptisms, we continue on with this tradition. 00:24:46.890 --> 00:24:49.890 The sacramental act of baptism is accomplished 00:24:49.890 --> 00:24:56.950 in the name, singular, not plural, of the Father 00:24:56.950 --> 00:25:01.029 and the Son and of the Spirit. That's important, 00:25:01.190 --> 00:25:06.329 that it is one singular name that includes Father, 00:25:06.569 --> 00:25:12.519 Son, and Spirit. More than any other biblical 00:25:12.519 --> 00:25:15.480 passage, this reference to the single name demonstrates 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:19.220 the equality of the three Trinitarian persons 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:23.059 and shows their co -divinity. We are baptized 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:27.000 not into a created being that is subordinate 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:33.240 to creators, but we are baptized into one God, 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:38.900 the Father, one Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. 00:25:39.470 --> 00:25:44.369 One baptism, one God. So Paul's prayer at the 00:25:44.369 --> 00:25:46.009 close of his second letter to the Corinthians 00:25:46.009 --> 00:25:48.569 also witnesses to the equality of the Father, 00:25:48.630 --> 00:25:51.769 Son, and the Spirit as worthy of one common adoration. 00:25:52.410 --> 00:25:56.390 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love 00:25:56.390 --> 00:25:59.690 of God and the fellowship of the Spirit be with 00:25:59.690 --> 00:26:04.559 you all. 2 Corinthians 13, 14. Grace is referred 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:07.259 to in the Son, love is referred to in the Father, 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:09.740 and fellowship is referred to in the Spirit. 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:13.559 But the three are linked in one closing prayer, 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:17.799 a doxology. And doxologies are not offered to 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:20.460 created beings, are they? We're not looking to 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:24.519 get here when we could get here, right? We want 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:29.619 to be one with the Trinitarian God. And so by 00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:31.480 offering this prayer that requests the blessing 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:33.019 of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, Paul 00:26:33.019 --> 00:26:36.599 shows that he considers them equally God, though 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:39.420 also clearly distinct in character from one another, 00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:46.440 but still one. Gregory of Nazianzus nearly uses 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:50.559 this passage above that I just read as a model 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:52.720 for consideration for how God revealed himself, 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:58.180 then Jesus, then Jesus revealed the Spirit. So 00:26:58.180 --> 00:27:01.859 from his orations, he says here, perfection is 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:05.240 actually reached by additions, not by subtractions. 00:27:05.319 --> 00:27:09.440 For the matter is this. The Old Testament proclaimed 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:13.539 the Father openly, but the Son more obscurely. 00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:19.380 The New Testament manifested the Son fully and 00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:23.940 suggested the deity of the Spirit. And now... 00:27:24.670 --> 00:27:28.309 The Spirit himself dwells among us and supplies 00:27:28.309 --> 00:27:32.029 us with clear demonstration of himself. For it 00:27:32.029 --> 00:27:36.390 was not safe when the Godhead of the Father was 00:27:36.390 --> 00:27:41.390 not yet acknowledged. Plainly to proclaim the 00:27:41.390 --> 00:27:43.809 Son. You can't proclaim the Son until the Godhead 00:27:43.809 --> 00:27:48.930 is fully realized. Nor when that of the Son was 00:27:48.930 --> 00:27:52.349 not yet received, it made no sense to burden 00:27:52.349 --> 00:27:57.779 the listeners further. with the full truth of 00:27:57.779 --> 00:28:04.980 the Holy Spirit. And he says, like men loaded 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:07.880 with food beyond their strength or presenting 00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:10.480 eyes as yet too weak to bear into the sun's light. 00:28:10.539 --> 00:28:11.839 You know when you walk outside and you hit the 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:13.980 sun and you're like, or in the morning you turn 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:15.680 on the light. I love that he uses those illustrations 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:20.380 to say, don't add the Holy Spirit yet to Jesus 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:23.700 until Jesus is fully realized. But then at the 00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:28.299 right time, now by greater additions, now we 00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:30.859 have the fullness of the spirit. And God revealed 00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:35.259 each of those in all the right time. He says 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:38.039 it advances and progresses from glory to glory. 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:41.039 So for this reason, it was, I think that he gradually 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:44.079 came to dwell in the disciples. He says, measuring 00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:47.059 himself out to them according to their capacity 00:28:47.059 --> 00:28:50.140 to receive them. I love that measuring. I think 00:28:50.140 --> 00:28:52.549 about like. Actually, like, scooping out, you 00:28:52.549 --> 00:28:55.630 know, measurements. At the beginning of the gospel, 00:28:55.750 --> 00:28:57.630 after the passion, after the ascension, making 00:28:57.630 --> 00:29:00.450 perfect their powers, being breathed upon and 00:29:00.450 --> 00:29:03.410 appearing in fiery tongues. And indeed, it is 00:29:03.410 --> 00:29:06.089 little by little that he is declared by Jesus, 00:29:06.150 --> 00:29:08.390 as you will learn for yourselves if you will 00:29:08.390 --> 00:29:10.490 read more carefully. I love the way he says this. 00:29:11.410 --> 00:29:14.849 He says that Jesus offers, I will ask the Father, 00:29:15.009 --> 00:29:17.670 he says. He will send you another comforter, 00:29:17.750 --> 00:29:24.220 even the spirit of truth. Then he says, and he 00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:26.259 says it in order that they might not think that 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:29.240 this is a rival to God or to make comparisons. 00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:35.799 But then the next step is he goes on to say he 00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:39.140 shall send him, but now he's adding it's in my 00:29:39.140 --> 00:29:43.599 name. He's adding a little bit more. And he leaves 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:46.559 out the I will ask, but he keeps the shall send. 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:50.359 You see? He keeps adding a little bit more, introducing 00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:53.099 it a little bit more. And then he goes on to 00:29:53.099 --> 00:29:58.079 say that with his own dignity on the line, then 00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:01.059 shall come the authority of the Spirit. Jesus 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:03.099 himself is acknowledging the authority of the 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:05.720 Spirit finally. And so in these little doses, 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:10.380 the Spirit was offered. And so the council updated 00:30:10.380 --> 00:30:14.359 the creeds. After all this combing and combing 00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:16.839 and figuring and writing and praying and scripture 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:19.940 study, the council updated the creed. So I want 00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:23.599 to show on the first slide a comparison of the 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:32.599 creed from 325 to 381, I think. Is it in there, 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:38.240 Liam? There we are. So look, the first creed 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:42.119 said we believe in the Holy Ghost. The second 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:45.279 one needed to be real explicit. And in the Holy 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:50.140 Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, not a created 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:54.079 being, but a creator himself, who proceeds from 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:58.240 the Father, comes directly from the Father, from 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:01.099 the same being, who with the Father and the Son 00:31:01.099 --> 00:31:04.119 together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:07.299 by the prophets. The second time, go to the next 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:10.400 slide. The second time it shows up in the creed. 00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:14.220 The original from 325 says, Who for us men and 00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:16.759 for our salvation came down. It's talking about 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:19.180 Jesus and was incarnate and was made man. The 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:22.039 second version is, Who for us men and our salvation 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:27.019 came down from heaven and was incarnate. Incarnate 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:29.960 by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and 00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:32.740 was made man. Putting the Holy Spirit in the 00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:35.240 same language as Jesus so that there would be 00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:42.259 no confusion. about the nature of the Spirit. 00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:46.160 And so the changes in the parts referring to 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:47.759 the Holy Spirit are some of the most critical 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:50.940 and drastic updates to the Creed. They were in 00:31:50.940 --> 00:31:53.559 direct response to the conversations that had 00:31:53.559 --> 00:31:57.059 been happening. And that was a pretty big deal. 00:31:58.619 --> 00:32:02.980 And so now, if the Holy Spirit is God, then what 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:06.500 must also be true? That the Holy Spirit shares 00:32:06.500 --> 00:32:10.880 in the full. lordship of the trinity and is to 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:14.400 be honored and glorified receiving equal worship 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:18.640 as the son and the father the worship of the 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:23.099 one true god alone as in fact the core meaning 00:32:23.099 --> 00:32:26.180 of the commandment you shall have no other gods 00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:30.390 before me exodus 23 In the long history of Israel, 00:32:30.470 --> 00:32:33.190 the plunge into idolatry was a constant temptation, 00:32:33.390 --> 00:32:35.690 and the prophets constantly called Israel back 00:32:35.690 --> 00:32:38.130 to follow and worship only the Lord, the one 00:32:38.130 --> 00:32:41.849 true God. And so, according to the creed, true 00:32:41.849 --> 00:32:46.069 worship of the one God means honoring the Father, 00:32:46.309 --> 00:32:51.349 the Son, and the Spirit as one Lord, with one 00:32:51.349 --> 00:32:55.839 common adoration. And in the context, in the 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:58.980 historical context of forging the Nicene Creed, 00:32:59.099 --> 00:33:01.460 of forging, excuse me, the Nicene Creed, where 00:33:01.460 --> 00:33:04.180 a group of bishops were teaching that the Spirit 00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:07.519 was merely a creature, a created entity at work 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:10.960 for the Father and the Son, this updated statement 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:15.599 expressed in clear, plain, and unambiguous language 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:19.440 that the Spirit was fully God and was equally 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:22.880 worthy to be worshipped in one adoration with 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:26.099 the Father and the Son. That was significant. 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:30.559 It is how we understand Christendom to be true 00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:34.519 now, right? This is like the given, but this 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:40.720 was fraught discussion. I'm so grateful for these 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:45.019 early church parents of ours who fought this 00:33:45.019 --> 00:33:47.940 fight, as it were, to say that truth is important, 00:33:48.180 --> 00:33:52.980 that God, in fact, is one, and it matters. how 00:33:52.980 --> 00:33:55.880 we understand it. It matters how we declare it. 00:33:55.980 --> 00:34:00.299 It matters how we confess it. And so in closing 00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:03.000 today, I want to offer just simply what does 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:06.720 that mean for us? Here we are, a lot of years 00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:12.679 later, 1 ,700 years later from this. I want to 00:34:12.679 --> 00:34:14.460 encourage you to use the communion time that 00:34:14.460 --> 00:34:18.199 we're about to have to ask the Spirit what this 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:23.179 means for you. And to remind yourself, too, that 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:26.039 what is true of Jesus, what is true of God, is 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:29.820 true of the Spirit as well. That the Spirit can 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:32.679 be trusted to speak truth to you and not to lead 00:34:32.679 --> 00:34:36.579 you astray. That the Spirit will act in accordance 00:34:36.579 --> 00:34:39.059 to what you know to be true about the goodness 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:40.900 of the Father and the goodness of the Son. They 00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:45.219 cannot act in opposition to each other. What 00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:48.849 is true of the Spirit? that you need to be reminded 00:34:48.849 --> 00:34:51.130 of, that you know to be true about God the Father 00:34:51.130 --> 00:34:54.630 and God the Son, but have not held close about 00:34:54.630 --> 00:34:58.250 the Spirit. So Alex, I'm going to invite you 00:34:58.250 --> 00:35:00.730 up. I think you're on communion today. And I 00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:06.010 want to invite you all to take some time to consider 00:35:06.010 --> 00:35:09.469 the presence of the Holy Spirit as a co -equal 00:35:09.469 --> 00:35:14.250 part of the divinity, equally worthy of our recognition 00:35:14.250 --> 00:35:19.760 as lordship. As Lord and worthy of full worship.