Essential Latin for Reformed Christians: Filioque

The history is interesting, but the more important question is whether the Filioque is biblical. I believe it is. Let me just mention two places where I see this truth revealed in Scripture. In Acts 2, we read about Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the church. In Acts 2:33, Peter says that Christ “has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” The Holy Spirit was poured out by Christ. No, it does not say “proceeds,” but the thought is the same. The Holy Spirit has come from Christ to be poured out on the church. There is also John 15:26 where Jesus says, “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.” In this instance, there is a clear reference to the Spirit’s procession from the Father. Yet it should not be overlooked that Christ also speaks of his own sending of the Holy Spirit.

But what does it mean exactly to confess that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son? What exactly is “procession”? There is mystery here. We can safely say what it is not. It is not the same as the begetting that we confess of the Son in relation to the Father. But beyond that, I find myself sympathizing with Donald Macleod in Behold Your God: “What this ontological procession actually is or what is meant by the Father and the Son spirating or breathing the Spirit, we simply do not know” (p.198).

Finally, does it really matter? For the sake of recovering unity with the East, could we not shelve the Filioque? In response, the East has far more problems than this that would stand in the way of rapprochement with biblical Christians. And it does matter, because despite the procedural issues which led to its acceptance in the West, the Filioque is biblical. Theologically speaking, it matters because it’s a matter of honour for our Lord Christ. As Donald Macleod notes, “To deny that the Son participates in the procession of the Holy Spirit is to reduce His status” (p.202). Read More