The Lord Is the Spirit. John A. Studebaker

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The Lord Is the Spirit - John A. Studebaker


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and glorified together with the Father and Son, who spoke by the prophets.”41

      The “Divine Authority” of the Spirit—Definition and Storyline

      Is there a provisional definition of the Holy Spirit’s authority that we are able to infer from these defenses of the Spirit’s divinity? If so, how might this definition: (1) correlate with our principle and pattern of divine authority? (2) provide a beginning or basis for the “storyline” of the Spirit’s authority in theological history?

      Basil’s inductive reasoning (from the Spirit’s activity as the breath of God and sanctifier to the Spirit’s infinite power, eternality, and moral supremacy) employs similar logic. Basil’s insistence on the Spirit’s equality (with the Father and the Son), dignity, and demonstration of divine goodness also confirms the Spirit’s authority as a divine Person. Here Basil does expose his platonic leanings, pointing to his preference for transcendence in theology. Nevertheless, Basil’s thought did serve to pave the way for the popular notion of divine ousia and accounted for the “oneness” of the three “hypostases.” The implication of a shared divinity is the sharing of divine authority amongst the three hypostases.

      Gregory of Nyssa’s theological anthropology demonstrates the Spirit’s divine Personhood as well. Gregory’s understanding of the Spirit’s sanctification is described as an internal process within us arising from an external source that descends upon us. Forsythe clarifies this key distinction:

      In speaking of the Father and Son as being “consubstantial,” Gregory of Nazianzen recognizes that the light of the Spirit must also be “true God in itself” in order to save us. While Athanasius argues for the Spirit’s divinity from the Spirit’s participation in the divine act of creation, Gregory argues from soteriology. Forsythe tightens this crucial link between divine authority and soteriology:


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