But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me.

“(Didym. De Spir. Sanct.) The Holy Spirit He calls the Comforter, a name taken from His office, which is not only to relieve the sorrows of the faithful, but to fill them with unspeakable joy. Everlasting gladness is in those hearts, in which the Spirit dwells. The Spirit, the Comforter, is sent by the Son, not as Angels, or Prophets, or Apostles, are sent, but as the Spirit must be sent which is of one nature with the Divine wisdom and power that sends Him. The Son when sent by the Father, is not separated from Him, but abides in the Father, and the Father in Him. In the same way the Holy Spirit is not sent by the Son, and proceedeth from the Father, in the sense of change of place. For as the Father’s nature, being incorporeal, is not local, so neither hath the Spirit of truth, Who is incorporeal also, and superior to all created things, a local nature.”

“(Hom. lxxvii. 2) The disciples might say, If they have heard words from Thee, such as none other hath spoken, if they have seen works of Him, such as none other hath done, and yet have not been convinced, but have hated Thy Father, and Thee with Him, why dost Thou send us to preach? How shall we be believed? Such thoughts as these He now answers: But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of Me.”

“(Tr. xcix. 6, et sq.) If it be asked here whether the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son also, we may answer thus: The Son is the Son of the Father alone, and the Father is the Father of the Son only; but the Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of one, but of both; since Christ Himself saith, The Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. (Matt. 10:20) And the Apostle says, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts. (Gal. 4:6) This indeed, I think, is the reason why He is called peculiarly the Spirit. For both of the Father and the Son separately we may pronounce, that each is a Spirit. But what each is separately in a general sense, He who is not either one separately, but the union of both, is spiritually. But if the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son, why should we not believe that He proceeds from the Son? Indeed if He did not proceed from the Son, Christ would not after the resurrection have breathed on His disciples, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. (John 20:29) This too is what is meant by the virtue which went out of Him, and healed all. (Luke 6.) If the Holy Ghost then proceeds both from the Father and the Son, why does Christ say, Who proceedeth from the Father? He says it in accordance with His general way of referring all that He has to Him from whom He is; as where He says, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If the doctrine was His, which He says was not His own, but the Father’s, much more does the Holy Spirit proceed from Him, consistently with His proceeding from the Father. From whom the Son hath His Godhead, from Him He hath it that the Holy Ghost proceedeth from Him. And this explains why the Holy Ghost is not said to be born, but to proceed. For if He were born, He would be the Son of both Father and Son, an absurd supposition; for if two together have a Son, those two must be father and mother. But to imagine any such relation as this between God the Father, and God the Son, is monstrous. Even the human offspring does not proceed from father or mother at the same time; when it proceeds from the father, it does not proceed from the mother. Whereas the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father into the Son, and from the Son into the creature to be sanctified; but proceeds from Father and Son at once. And if the Father is life, and the Son is life, so the Holy Ghost is life also. Just then as the Father when He had life in Himself, gave also to the Son to have life in Himself; so He gave to the Son also that life should proceed from Him, even as it proceeded from Himself.”

“Elsewhere He says that the Father sends the Spirit; now He says He does: Whom I will send unto you; thus declaring the equality of the Father and the Son. That He might not be thought however to be opposed to the Father, and to be another and rival source, as it were, of the Spirit, He adds, From the Father; i. e. the Father agreeing, and taking an equal part in sending Him. When it is said that He proceedeth, do not understand His procession to be an external mission, such as is given to ministering spirits, but a certain peculiar, and distinct procession, such as is true of the Holy Spirit alone. To proceed is not the same as being sent, but is the essential nature of the Holy Ghost, as coming from the Father.”

“Above, the Lord, treating of the persecution which was to come upon the disciples from the Jews, assigned the reason: because they do not know him who sent him. But because ignorance is wont to excuse, therefore here he shows them to be inexcusable; and this in two ways. First, through the things which he himself personally did and taught concerning them; second, through the things which were to come in his absence, at the place "But when the Paraclete shall come," etc. Concerning the first he does two things. First he shows them to be inexcusable on account of the teaching of the truth; second, on account of the evidence of signs, at the place "If I had not done the works." Concerning the first he does three things. First he shows what could avail them for excuse; second he shows that they lack this support, at the place "but now they have no excuse for their sin"; third he shows from what root their persecution proceeds, at the place "he who hates me, hates my Father also." He says therefore that "they will do all these things to you on account of my name"; and indeed they could be excused of these things if he had not come and had not spoken to them; that is, if he had not shown himself personally, and had not personally taught them, "they would not have sin." But against this: Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and need the grace of God." But it must be said that the Lord is not speaking here of just any sin, but of the sin of unbelief, namely that they do not believe in Christ: which is called "sin" by antonomasia, because while this sin exists, no other sin can be remitted, since no sin is remitted except through faith in Jesus Christ, through whom is justice, as is said in Romans 5:1. And therefore it is the same as what he says, "they would not have sin," as if he were saying: it would not be imputed to them that they do not believe in me. And this, first, because "faith is from hearing," Romans 10:17. Hence if he had not come and had not spoken to them, they could not have believed. But it is not imputed to anyone as sin if he does not do what he is in no way able to do. And if it be said that they were bound, and could believe, even if Christ had not come, since it had been announced to them through the prophets — Romans 1:2, "which he had promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures concerning his Son," etc. — it must be answered that the Jews could not, of themselves, believe and understand even the very words of the prophets, unless they were shown to them by divine help; Daniel 12:9, "the words are closed up and sealed until the time." Hence in Acts 8:31 the eunuch said: "How can I understand, unless someone show me?" Thus, then, if Christ had not come, they would not have this sin, namely of unbelief, although they would have had other actual sins on account of which they would have been punished. And the same reasoning holds for all those to whom the preaching of the word of God could not reach. Hence the sin of unbelief is not imputed to them unto condemnation; but, deprived of the benefit of God on account of their other actual and original sins, they will be damned. But it must be known that for many the coming and teaching of Christ turned to good, namely for those who received him and kept his word; and for many to evil, namely for those who would neither hear him nor believe him; Isaiah 8:14, "he shall be for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to the two houses of Israel; for a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem"; Luke 2:34, "this child is set for the ruin and for the resurrection of many." Thus, then, he has set forth by what means they could be excused of unbelief. But they lack this support of excuse, because Christ both showed himself to them personally and taught them. Hence he says "but now" — that is, since I have come and have spoken — "they have no excuse," namely by reason of ignorance, "for their sin"; Romans 1:20, "so that they are inexcusable: because, when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God." But that they themselves knew Christ is clear from Matthew 12:7: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him." But they knew him to be the Christ promised in the law, but not to be God: for if they had known this, "they would never have crucified the Lord of glory." Therefore ignorance does not avail them for excuse: because they did not do this out of ignorance, but from another root, namely from hatred and deliberate malice. Hence he adds "he who hates me, hates my Father also," as if to say: not ignorance, but the hatred which they had toward me, is unto sin for them, and this, because it overflows into hatred of the Father. For since the Son and the Father are one in essence, truth, and goodness, and all knowledge of anyone is through the truth which is in him, whoever loves the Son, loves the Father also; and whoever knows the one, knows the other also; and he who hates the Son hates the Father also. But here there is a twofold question. The first, whether anyone can hold God in hatred. To which it must be said that no one can hold God in hatred insofar as he is God. Since God is the pure essence of goodness, which, since it is lovable in itself, it is impossible that it be hated by anyone in itself. Hence this is the reason why it is impossible for an evil man to see God. For it is impossible for God to be seen by anyone without being loved; but he who loves God is good; hence these are incompatible, namely that someone should see God and be evil. Yet someone can hold God in hatred with respect to something else — for instance, he who loves pleasure hates God as forbidding the enjoyment of pleasures, and he who seeks impunity hates the justice of God as punishing. The second question is this: because no one can hate what he does not know; but the Jews were ignorant of the Father — above, in the same place, "they do not know him who sent me" — therefore what he says, "and hates my Father also," does not seem to be true. But it must be said, according to Augustine, that someone can love or hate a thing which he has never seen, nor knows according to the truth, but through rumor speaking well or ill of it. But this can happen in two ways. In one way, that it be hated or loved according to its very person, or according to what is told about it; as if I hear that someone is a thief, I hate him, not because I know or hate his very person, but because I commonly hate every thief: hence if he were a thief, and I did not know him to be a thief, I would hold him in hatred, and yet I would not know that I hated him. But the Jews held in hatred Christ, and the truth which he preached. Hence, since the very truth which Christ preached was in the will of God the Father, as were the works which Christ did, in like manner as they hated Christ, they held the Father in hatred, although they themselves did not know that those things were in the will of the Father. Here he shows them to be inexcusable through the evidence of signs. For they could say that they are not convicted by the words which he speaks against them; and therefore he confirms his words with marvelous deeds, saying: "If I had not done among them the works which no other man has done, they would not have sin." First he shows that they could be excusable to some extent; second he shows the root of their sin; third he adduces an authority. He does the second at the place "but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father"; the third, at the place "that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law." Concerning the first, a twofold question is raised. One, which concerns the truth of the antecedent, namely "if I had not done the works which no other man has done," etc.: and it is asked whether Christ did among them any good works which no one else had done. And it seems that not: for if it be said that Christ raised the dead, this both Elijah and Elisha also did. If Christ walked upon the sea, Moses divided the sea. But Joshua did what is greater, namely, made the sun stand still. Unfittingly, therefore, Christ seems to reprove them, nor does the consequence seem to hold true. I respond. It must be said, according to Augustine, that the Lord is not speaking here of any miracles whatsoever done "among them," that is, in their sight, but of works done "in them," that is, in their persons. For in the curing of the sick no one did as much in them as Christ did — although also in other respects likewise, since no other man was made God, and no one was born of a virgin except Christ. He did, then, in them works which no one else did in the curing of the sick; and this in three respects. First, indeed, in magnitude: because he raised a man dead four days, he gave sight to one born blind, "which has not been heard of from all ages," as is said above, John 9:32. Second, in multitude: because he healed all, however many, who were sick, as is said in Matthew 14:35 and following, which no one else did. Third, in manner: because others acted by invoking, showing that they did not act by their own power; but Christ acted by commanding, because by his own power; Mark 1:27, "What is this new doctrine? For with authority and power he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." Thus, then, although others raised the dead and did other miraculous things which Christ did, yet not in that manner, nor by their own power, as Christ did. Likewise, what is said of the standing still of the sun is less than the fact that Christ, in dying, made the moon go backward, and changed the whole course of the firmament, as Dionysius says. The second question concerns the truth of the conditional, namely whether, if Christ had not done in them the works which no one else did, they would be immune from the sin of unbelief. Response. It must be said: if we speak of any miracles whatsoever, they would have an excuse, if these had not been done in them by Christ. For no one can come to Christ through faith unless drawn; above, John 6:44, "No one can come to me, unless the Father, who sent me, draw him." And therefore in Song of Songs 1:3 the bride says: "Draw me after you: we will run in the odor of your ointments." Hence if there were no one who had drawn them to faith, they would be excusable of unbelief. But it must be noted that Christ drew them by word, by visible and invisible signs, namely by moving and instigating hearts within; Proverbs 21:1, "the heart of kings is in the hand of God." The interior instinct to act well is therefore a work of God, and those who resist it sin: otherwise Stephen would have said in vain, Acts 7:5, "You have always resisted the Holy Spirit." And Isaiah 50:5, "The Lord has opened my ear" — that is, of the heart — "and I do not contradict." This, therefore, which the Lord says, "if I had not done among them the works which no other man has done," is to be understood not only of visible works, but also of the interior instinct and the drawing of teaching: which indeed, if he had not done in them, they would not have sin. Thus, then, it is clear how they could be excused, namely by this: if he had not done miraculous works in them. Here he shows from what root they would incur the sin of unbelief: namely from hatred, on account of which, though the works were seen, they did not believe. Hence he says "but now they have seen" — namely the works which he did in them — "and have hated both me and my Father"; Proverbs 1:29, "because they held discipline hateful, and did not receive the fear of the Lord." And, as Gregory says, there are not a few in the Church who not only do not do good things, but even persecute them, and detest in others even the things which they themselves neglect to do: hence the sin of such people is perpetrated not from weakness or ignorance, but from deliberate intent alone. Because they could say: if it is so that the Jews hated you and your Father, why do you work miracles among them? Therefore, responding, he says that he does this "that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law." But here a difficulty is raised on this point: that although it is written in the Psalms, he says that it is written in their law. To which it must be said that "law" is taken in Scripture in three ways. For sometimes commonly for the whole Old Testament; and thus it is taken here, because the whole teaching of the Old Testament is ordered to the observance of the law; Luke 23:42, "Remember me," etc. Sometimes it is taken as it is divided over against the Hagiographa and the Prophets; Luke, last chapter, 44, "it is necessary that all things be fulfilled which are written in the prophets, and the law" — namely, of Moses — "and the Psalms"; under which the Hagiographa are also numbered. But sometimes "law" is taken as it is divided only over against the Prophets; and then the Hagiographa are numbered with the Prophets. He says, then, "that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their law" (that is, in Psalm 34:19), "that they hated me without cause"; that is, not for the sake of obtaining some advantage, or avoiding some disadvantage — for it is on account of these that a man hates certain things, which were not the case in Christ; rather he gave them occasion for love, healing and teaching them; Acts 10:38, "he went about doing good"; Jeremiah 18:20, "Shall evil be rendered for good, that they have dug a pit for my soul?" The same, Jeremiah 2:5, "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me?" Here he shows that they are not excusable on account of the things that were to come after him, because they were to have other testimonies, namely of the Holy Spirit, and also of the apostles; and first he sets forth what was to come on the part of the Holy Spirit; second, what was to come on the part of the apostles, at the place "and you also shall bear witness," etc. As regards the Holy Spirit he touches on four things. First, indeed, freedom; second, sweetness; third, procession; fourth, operation. Freedom, indeed, or power, when he says "when the Paraclete shall come," etc. For he is properly said to "come" who goes of his own accord and by his own authority; and this befits the Holy Spirit, who "breathes where he wills," above, John 3:8. Wisdom 7:7, "I called upon him, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me." This, then, which he says, "I will send," does not designate coercion, but origin. He touches on sweetness when he says "Paraclete," that is, comforter. For since he is the love of God, he makes us despise earthly things, and cleave to God; hence he excludes sorrow and sadness from us, and ministers joy concerning things divine; Galatians 5:22, "the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace," etc.; Acts 9:31, "the Church was filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit," etc. Third, he sets forth a twofold procession of the Holy Spirit. First, indeed, the temporal, when he says "whom I will send you from the Father," etc. Where it must be known that the Holy Spirit is said to be sent, not as though changing place, since he himself fills the whole world, as is said in Wisdom 1:7, but because in a new way, through grace, he begins to dwell in those whom he makes the temple of God; 1 Corinthians 3:15, "you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God will dwell in you." Nor is it contrary that the Holy Spirit is said to be both sent and to come: for in this, that he is said to come, the majesty of his own divinity manifestly appears, "who works as he wills," 1 Corinthians 12:6. But he is said to be "sent" in order that his procession from another be shown: for that he sanctifies the rational creature by indwelling it, he has from another, from whom he has that he is, just as the Son has from another whatever he operates. It must also be noted that the mission of the Holy Spirit is commonly from the Father and the Son: which is signified in Revelation, last chapter, 1, "he showed me a river of water of life" — that is, the Holy Spirit — "proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb" — that is, of Christ. Therefore, concerning the mission of the Holy Spirit, he makes mention of the Father and the Son, by whom he is sent with equal and the same power. And therefore sometimes he introduces the Father as sending, yet not without the Son; as above, John 14:26, "But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name." But sometimes he introduces himself as sending, not without the Father, as here when he says "whom I will send you from the Father," because, namely, the Son has from the Father whatever he does; above, John 5:19, "the Son cannot do anything of himself." Second, he sets forth the eternal procession, where likewise he shows the Holy Spirit to pertain to the Son, when he says "the Spirit of truth" — for he himself is the truth; above, John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" — and to pertain to the Father, when he says "who proceeds from the Father." Thus, then, what he says, "the Spirit of truth," is the same as if he said "the Spirit of the Son"; Galatians 4:6, "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts." And because this name "spirit" imports a certain impulsion, and every motion has an effect suited to its principle, just as heating produces something hot, it follows that the Holy Spirit makes those into whom he is sent similar to him whose spirit he is; and therefore, since he is the Spirit of truth, "he teaches all truth," as is said below, John 16:13; and Job 32:8, "the inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding." And likewise, because he is the Spirit of the Son, he makes sons; Romans 8:15, "you have received the spirit of adoption of sons." But he says "the Spirit of truth" to distinguish it from the spirit of lying; Isaiah 19:14, "the Lord has mingled in the midst of Egypt the spirit of error"; 3 Kings, last chapter, 22, "I will go out, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets." But because he says "who proceeds from the Father" and does not add "from the Father and the Son," the Greeks say that the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Son, but only from the Father; which cannot be the case at all. For the Holy Spirit could not be distinguished from the Son unless either he himself proceeds from the Son, or conversely the Son from him; which no one says. For it cannot be said that in the divine persons, which are altogether immaterial and simple, there is a material distinction, which is according to a division of quantity, under which matter underlies. Hence it is necessary that the distinction of the divine persons be after the manner of a formal distinction, which must be according to some opposition. For whatever forms are not opposed are compatible with one another in the same subject, and do not diversify the supposit, as white and large. Hence in the divine persons, because "innascibility" and paternity are not opposed, they pertain to one person. If, therefore, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons proceeding from the Father, it is necessary that they be distinguished by certain opposed properties: not, however, opposed according to affirmation and negation, or according to privation and possession, because in that case the Son and the Holy Spirit would stand to one another as being and non-being, and as the perfect and the deprived, which is repugnant to their equality; nor even according to the opposition of contraries, of which one is more perfect than the other. Hence it remains that the Holy Spirit is distinguished from the Son only by relative opposition. But this opposition can only exist from the fact that one of them is referred to the other. For diverse relations of two things to some third thing are not directly opposed to one another, except perhaps consequently, by accident. Hence it remains that, in order for the Holy Spirit to be distinguished from the Son, opposed relations must be attributed to them, by which they are opposed to one another. Nor can any others be found except relations of origin, according as one is from the other. Therefore, granted the Trinity of persons, it is impossible that the Holy Spirit not be from the Son. But some say that the Holy Spirit and the Son are distinguished according to a difference of processions, inasmuch as the Son is from the Father by being born, and the Holy Spirit by proceeding. But the same question still returns, which arises from the aforesaid opinion, as to how these two processions differ. For it cannot be said that they are distinguished through different things received through generation, as the generation of a man and of a horse differ according to the different natures communicated. For the Son receives the same divine nature from the Father by being born, and the Holy Spirit by proceeding. Hence it remains that they are distinguished only according to the order of origin, inasmuch, namely, as the nativity of the Son is the principle of the procession of the Holy Spirit. Hence if the Holy Spirit were not from the Son, he would not be distinguished from the Son, nor would procession be distinguished from nativity. Hence even the Greeks confess a certain order of the Son and the Holy Spirit. For they say that the Holy Spirit is of the Son, and that the Son works through the Holy Spirit; but not the reverse. And some even grant that the Holy Spirit is from the Son, yet they are unwilling to grant that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. But in this they are manifestly obstinate. For we use the word "procession" for all things which are in any way from another. And therefore this word, by reason of its commonality, is fitted to signify the existence of the Holy Spirit from the Son, which has no example among creatures from which some proper name of its own could be assumed, as the name "generation" is taken for the Son. For among creatures there is not found any person proceeding after the manner of will, as love, in the way that there is found some person proceeding after the manner of nature, as a son. And therefore, in whatever way the Holy Spirit has an order to the Son, it can be concluded that he proceeds from him. Yet some of the Greeks say that it must not be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son, because this preposition "from" or "ab," among them, designates a principle not from a principle, which befits the Father alone. But this is not compelling: because the Son together with the Father is one principle of the Holy Spirit, just as also of creatures. But although the Son has from the Father that he is a principle of creatures, nevertheless creatures are said to be from the Son; hence by the same reasoning it can be said that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. Nor does it stand in the way that it is said here "who proceeds from the Father," but not "from the Father and the Son": because likewise it is said "whom I will send," and yet the Father is understood to send, through the fact that "from the Father" is added; so too, through the fact that "the Spirit of truth" — that is, of the Son — is added, it is understood that he proceeds from the Son. For always, as has been said, the Son is joined to the Father, and conversely, with regard to the procession of the Holy Spirit; and thus in a different manner of speaking, for the purpose of designating the distinction of the persons. Fourth, he sets forth the operations of the Holy Spirit when he says "he shall bear witness": and this in three ways. First, indeed, by instructing the disciples, and affording them confidence to bear witness; Matthew 10:20, "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." Second, by communicating his teaching to those believing in Christ; Hebrews 2:4, "God bearing witness with signs and wonders, and various distributions of the Holy Spirit." Third, by softening the hearts of those who hear; Psalm 103:30, "Send forth your spirit, and they shall be created." Lastly, he sets forth what was to come on the part of the disciples, when he says "and you also shall bear witness," inspired by the Holy Spirit; Acts 1:8, "you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth." And concerning this twofold testimony it is said, Acts 5:32, "we are witnesses of this thing, and the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord has given to all who obey him." And he adds the fitness of their testimony, when he says "because you have been with me from the beginning" — namely, of the preaching and the working of miracles — so that they could testify from sight and hearing, according to that word of 1 John 1:1, "what we have seen and heard we announce to you." From which it can also be gathered that Christ did not work miracles in his boyhood, as is held in certain apocryphal writings, but only from the time when he gathered the disciples.”

“27. — But when the Paraclete is come , whom I will send unto you from the Father , &c. He means, although I have abundantly demonstrated My divinity to the Jews, so that they are without excuse, yet will I still more demonstrate it by the coming of the Holy Ghost, who shall testify concerning Me, coming from heaven to you alone who have believed in Me, and to those who shall believe through your preaching, so that His advent shall be made known to ail when they see you speaking with tongues, and expounding the Scriptures, and working miracles. For ye by preaching the Gospel bear testimony ui>to all men concerning Me, My doctrine and My works, since ye have been with Me from the time that I began to teach and converse with men. Whom 1 will send unto you from the Father . From this verse the later Greeks maintain that the Holy Ghost proceeds from, and is breathed by the Father only, not the Son : and therefore they made an open schism from the Latin Church, a .d. 1054, when Michael the patriarch of Constantinople dared for this cause to excommunicate the Roman Pontiff and the Latins. And for this reason, in a.d. 1453, on the very Feast of the Holy Ghost, or during the octave of Whitsunday, Constantinople was taken by the Turks, the Emperor slain, and th^ empire of the Greeks brought to an end. This therefore is the error of the Greeks ; for, as S. Hilary rightly observes, (lib. 8, de Trin.^) and S. Augustine (lib. 4, de Trin. c. 20), this passage rather signifies the contrary, namely, that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. For this is the meaning of whom I will send. For in the Holy Trinity no Person is sent by any othei unless He proceeds from Him who sends Him. Wherefore the Father is never said to be sent because He proceedeth from none. The Son is said to be sent by the Father, but not by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is said to be sent by the Father and the Son, because He proceedeth from Both as from one Principle of Spiration. So the ancient Greek, as well as the Latin, Fathers undervol. v. K Digitized by v^iOOQLe 146 stood this passage. They are cited by the Council of Florence ( sess . 1 8 and 25), where a union was effected between the Latins and the Greeks, and the Greeks admitted that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. (See Cardinal Bessarion's speech on behalf of union, c. 7.) Wherefore when it is only said in the creed of the Council of Nice, “ I believe in the Holy Ghost,” the Council ot Constantinople added, Who proceedeth from the Father And when a contention arose about the Son, the Church added, and from the Son , as the Council of Florence teaches (sess. 7). The same thing is clearly apparent from the words of Christ (chap, xvi.), All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine : wherefore I said. He shall take of Mine , and shall show it unto you. For if all things which the Father hath are the Son’s, then He also breathes the Holy Ghost. In this manner all the Fathers of the same Council understood the passage. Therefore in the Letters of Union the whole Synod declared, " And since all things which the Father hath, the Father Himself has given to His Only Begotten Son except to be the Father, this very thing that the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Son, the Son Himself hath eternally from the Father, of Whom also He is eternally begotten.” (See Bellarm. lib. 2, de Christo , c. 20 et seq.) Moreover one Divine Person is said to be sent by another, when by the will of Him from whom He proceeds He begins to be anywhere in a fresh manner from that in which He was there before. Thus the Son was sent by the Father in the flesh that He might become man. The Holy Ghost was sent by the Father and the Son to the Apostles, interiorly by the abundant grace with which He illuminated their minds, and inflamed their will that they should constantly bear witness to Christ and His doctrine : but He did the same exteriorly by means of the fiery tongues, by which He gave efficacy to their words, and also by means of the miracles which He wrought by them, I will send from the Father . Christ said this — 1 st. Plainly : as it were thus, When I shall have ascended to the Father in heaven, then I with the Father will send unto you the Holy Ghost. 2d. Theophylact says ,from the Father means, the Father approving and together Digitized by v^iOOQLe THE PROCESSION FROM THE SON. 147 sending. 3d. From the Father may mean that the Son hath from the Father the Divine Essence, and consequently the power of breathing and sending the Holy Ghost, so that verily with the Father, by the same action and breathing He breathes, and by the same Mission sends, the Holy Spirit So S. Hilary (lib. de Synod.) and the Council of Sirmium. 4th. From the Father , Le. I will send you the Holy Ghost, who is with the Father, forasmuch as He is coetemal and consubstantial with Him. 5th. The words from the Father crush the heresy of Eunomius, who taught that the Holy Ghost proceeds not from the Father, but from the Son, so that the Holy Ghost is, as it were, the Son of the Son, and the Grandchild of God the Father. This heresy S. Basil refutes (lib. 2, cotitr. eund.), showing that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. So also S. Cyril (lib. 10, c. 33) teaches that the Holy Spirit is of the Father and the Son, and proceeded from the Father, but through the Son. Which means nothing else but that which we say, that the Son produces the Holy Spirit from the Father, i.e. He hath from the Father to produce the Holy Ghost, as God by the Word created all things. For all things were made by Him. S. Thomas (1 par. q. 36. art. 2), Suarez, and others give the reason d priori. Because if the Holy Ghost did not proceed from the Son, He would not be distinguished from the Son. For in the Godhead there is no distinction save in the procession of One from Another, and the distinction of relationship. Who proceedeth from the Father. Thus Christ speaks, and 19 silent concerning Himself: 1st. Because the Father is the First Principle of the Spiration of the Holy Ghost, as I have said. 2d. Because Christ, for the sake of humility and reverence, to give us an example, is wont to refer all things concerning His authority to the Father. 3d. Because if He had said, Who proceedeth from Me, He could not appositely have subjoined, He shall testify of Me. For the witness who proceeds from any one, if he gives testimony concerning him among men, is apt to be suspected. Digitized by v^iOOQLe 148 Moreover, Jansen says that these words are to be understood, not concerning the Divine and eternal procession, but concerning that temporal and human procession by which the Holy Ghost is sent to the Apostles and other believers. But that the Divine procession is here spoken of is clear — 1st. Because such is the evident meaning of the words when He saith, Who proceedeth from the Father. For when Christ speaks of temporal missions, something is added to show what is meant, as when He saith {chap, xvl), I came forth from the Father , and am come into the world. 2d. Because He had just before spoken of the temporal mission, saying, Whom I will send unto you from the Father. 3d. Because the Fathers in the Council of Florence so understood it (sess. 18 and 23). 4th. Because the temporal mission or procession presupposes the eternal. For as I have previously said, in the Godhead One Person is not said to be be sent by Another, except the Person who proceeds from Another. He shall testify of Me, that I am the Son of God, the Messias, the Saviour of the world. And this He shall do both by interior illumination and inspiration, and by external miracles. Now in a witness three things are needful. 1st Wisdom that he should know the truth. 2d. Honesty, that he should relate it sincerely, and neither deceive, nor be deceived. 3d. Power and authority, that he should be allowed by all to be a true witness, and above all suspicion. These three qualifications most perfectly unite in the Holy Spirit He therefore is the most perfect witness of Christ. And ye shall bear witness, &c. The Greek is /uagru{«7r«, which is both of the indicative mood, meaning ye bear witness, and the imperative, bear ye witness. St Cyril reads the indicative, as does the Syriac version. The Vulgate, ye shall bear witness has the same meaning as bear witness {imperative). He bids them testify by their preaching that Christ is the Son of God. For the future is often put for the imperative. From this passage learn who, what, and how great is the Holy Ghost 1 st. That He is the Third Person in the Holy Trinity, distinct from the Father and the Son, For in that He proceedeth from, and Digitized by Google BY SBtRATlOtf. 149 is sent by Both, He that proceedeth and is sent is distinct from Those who send. 2d. That the Holy Ghost is true God, of one substance with God the Father, because He proceedeth from Him as God from God. 3d. That He proceedeth — not from the Father alone, not from the Son alone, but — unitedly from Both as from one Principle of Spiration. 4th. That He proceedeth not from the Father by Generation, as doth the Son, but by Spiration, so that He is the Holy Spirit Wherefore SS. Athanasius, Basil, Nazianzen, Chrysostom, Augustine, and others throughout their writings refute the heretic Macedonius, who said, that since the Holy Ghost proceedeth not from the Father by the way of Generation, as the Son doth, He is therefore not Consubstantial with the Father, neither is He God. 5th. That He is the Paraclete, t.e. the Comforter and the Exhorter to all goodness. 6th. That He is the very Spirit of Truth, because He teaches all truth, and the true faith, doctrine, and prudence. 7th. That He is the witness of Christ and of His doctrine ; the witness, I say, infinitely above all other witnesses, because He is Himself very God. Digitized by v^iOOQLe ( ijo ) CHAPTER XVI. I Christ foretells the persecution which would come on the Apostles , and promises them the Holy Spirit ', to convince the world of sin , of righteousness , and of judgment , and to glorify Him. 1 6 Explains the words , A little while and ye shall not see me. 23 The meaning of whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you, and in the world ye shall have tribulation% but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. THESE things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues ; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I go my way to him that sent me ; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou ? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth ; It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment : 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me 5 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more ; 1 1 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself ; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will show you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me : for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine : therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 16 A little while, and ye shall not see me : and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me : and again, a little while, and ye shall see me t and, Because I go to the Father ? Digitized by v^ooQLe CHRIST FORETELLS PERSECUTION OF THE APOSTLES. I Si 1 8 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while ? we cannot tell what he saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me : and again, a little while, and ye shall see me ? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice : and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is bom into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow : but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs : but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name : and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you : 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world : again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee : by this we believe that thou earnest forth from God. 31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe ? 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone : and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer ; I have overcome the world. Ver. i. — These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. (1.) Some think that this refers to Matt, xxvi. 31, All ye shall be offended because of Me this night. And that the meaning is, I have foretold you, that ye would flee away, when ye shall see Me taken : and I did so, in order that your shock and trouble of mind might be less, when it came to pass ; and that thus ye might regain your courage and come back to Me. (2.) S. Cyril (x. 34), Maldonatus, and others, refer these words to the persecutions which Digitized by i$2 t. Christ just before said were impending on the Apostles. And He did so that they might strengthen themselves against them. For evils which come unexpectedly, greatly stagger even brave men, while those which are foreseen take less effect. (3.) Bede, Euthymius, and others refer the words to the Holy Spirit Who had just been spoken of, thus explaining them, I have spoken these things of the Holy Spirit Who will come to you, in order that ye may not be offended when ye see yourselves assailed by persecutions, but may boldly withstand them with the thought that the Holy Spirit will render you His aid. S. Augustine says {in loc.) much the same: — “Having promised the Holy Spirit, by whose operation they would become His witnesses, He rightly added, These things have I spoken unto you ; for when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given us, great peace is theirs who love the Law of God (Ps. cxix. 165), so that they are not offended.” (4.) Toletus, Ribera, and others, by the last two explanations, give the best meaning : — “ I have said all these things about persecution and the hatred of the world, and also of the coming of the Holy Spirit to strengthen you, that ye may not stumble in the way of eternal life in which ye are walking, and fall away from Me, as though I did not foresee, or were unwilling to warn you, or as if your sufferings were intolerable, and had befallen you unexpectedly. He removes therefore from the Apostles a stumbling-block, and ground of offence, both by forewarning them of the danger, and by promising the aid of the Holy Spirit to withstand it.” The Syriac and the Arabic connect this verse with what follows by the word “for,” meaning thereby that persecutions would be aground of offence”

“Christ having spoken of the great opposition which his gospel was likely to meet with in the world, and the hardships that would be put upon the preachers of it, lest any should fear that they and it would be run down by that violent torrent, he here intimates to all those that were well-wishers to his cause and interest what effectual provision was made for supporting it, both by the principal testimony of the Spirit (Joh 15:26), and the subordinate testimony of the apostles (Joh 15:27), and testimonies are the proper supports of truth. I. It is here promised that the blessed Spirit shall maintain the cause of Christ in the world, notwithstanding the opposition it should meet with. Christ, when he was reviled, committed his injured cause to his Father, and did not lose by his silence, for the Comforter came, pleaded it powerfully, and carried it triumphantly. "When the Comforter or Advocate is come, who proceedeth from the Father, and whom I will send to supply the want of my bodily presence, he shall testify of me against those that hate me without cause." We have more in this verse concerning the Holy Ghost than in any one verse besides in the Bible; and, being baptized into his name, we are concerned to acquaint ourselves with him as far as he is revealed. 1. Here is an account of him in his essence, or subsistence rather. He is the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father. Here, (1.) He is spoken of as a distinct person; not a quality or property, but a person under the proper name of a Spirit, and proper title of the Spirit of truth, a title fitly given him where he is brought in testifying. (2.) As a divine person, that proceedeth from the Father, by out-goings that were of old, from everlasting. The spirit or breath of man, called the breath of life, proceeds from the man, and by it modified he delivers his mind, by it invigorated he sometimes exerts his strength to blow out what he would extinguish, and blow up what he would excite. Thus the blessed Spirit is the emanation of divine light, and the energy of divine power. The rays of the sun, by which it dispenses and diffuses its light, heat, and influence, proceed from the sun, and yet are one with it. The Nicene Creed says, The Spirit proceedeth from the Father and the Son, for he is called the Spirit of the Son, Gal 4:6. And the Son is here said to send him. The Greek church chose rather to say, from the Father by the Son. 2. In his mission. (1.) He will come in a more plentiful effusion of his gifts, graces, and powers, than had ever yet been. Christ had been long the ho erchomenos - he that should come; now the blessed Spirit is so. (2.) I will send him to you from the Father. He had said (Joh 14:16), I will pray the Father, and he shall send you the Comforter, which bespeaks the Spirit to be the fruit of the intercession Christ makes within the veil: here he says, I will send him, which bespeaks him to be the fruit of his dominion within the veil. The Spirit was sent, [1.] By Christ as Mediator, now ascended on high to give gifts unto men, and all power being given to him. [2.] From the Father: "Not only from heaven, my Father's house" (the Spirit was given in a sound from heaven, Act 2:2), "but according to my Father's will and appointment, and with his concurring power and authority." [3.] To the apostles to instruct them in their preaching, enable them for working, and carry them through their sufferings. He was given to them and their successors, both in Christianity and in the ministry; to them and their seed, and their seed's seed, according to that promise, Isa 59:21. 3. In his office and operations, which are two: - (1.) One implied in the title given to him; he is the Comforter, or Advocate. An advocate for Christ, to maintain his cause against the world's infidelity, a comforter to the saints against the world's hatred. (2.) Another expressed: He shall testify of me. He is not only an advocate, but a witness for Jesus Christ; he is one of the three that bear record in heaven, and the first of the three that bear witness on earth. Jo1 5:7, Jo1 5:8. He instructed the apostles, and enabled them to work miracles; he indited the scriptures, which are the standing witnesses that testify of Christ, Joh 5:39. The power of the ministry is derived from the Spirit, for he qualifies ministers; and the power of Christianity too, for he sanctifies Christians, and in both testifies of Christ. II. It is here promised that the apostles also, by the Spirit's assistance, should have the honour of being Christ's witnesses (Joh 15:27): And you also shall bear witness of me, being competent witnesses, for you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry. Observe here, 1. That the apostles were appointed to be witnesses for Christ in the world. When he had said, The Spirit shall testify, he adds, And you also shall bear witness. Note, The Spirit's working is not to supersede, but to engage and encourage ours. Though the Spirit testify, ministers also must bear their testimony, and people attend to it; for the Spirit of grace witnesses and works by the means of grace. The apostles were the first witnesses that were called in the famous trial between Christ and the prince of this world, which issued in the ejectment of the intruder. This intimates, (1.) The work cut out for them; they were to attest the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, concerning Christ, for the recovering of his just right, and the maintaining of his crown and dignity. Though Christ's disciples fled when they should have been witnesses for him upon his trial before the high priest and Pilate, yet after the Spirit was poured out upon them they appeared courageous in vindication of the cause of Christ against the accusations it was loaded with. The truth of the Christian religion was to be proved very much by the evidence of matter of fact, especially Christ's resurrection, of which the apostles were in a particular manner chosen witnesses (Act 10:41), and they bore their testimony accordingly, Act 3:15; Act 5:32. Christ's ministers are his witnesses. (2.) The honour put upon them hereby - that they should be workers together with God. "The Spirit shall testify of me, and you also, under the conduct of the Spirit, and in concurrence with the Spirit (who will preserve you from mistaking in that which you relate on your own knowledge, and will inform you of that which you cannot know but by revelation), shall bear witness." This might encourage them against the hatred and contempt of the world, that Christ had honoured them, and would own them. 2. That they were qualified to be so: You have been with me from the beginning. They not only heard his public sermons, but had constant private converse with him. He went about doing good, and, while others saw the wonderful and merciful works that he did in their own town and country only, those that went about with him were witnesses of them all. They had likewise opportunity of observing the unspotted purity of his conversation, and could witness for him that they never saw in him, nor heard from him, any thing that had the least tincture of human frailty. Note. (1.) We have great reason to receive the record which the apostles gave of Christ, for they did not speak by hearsay, but what they had the greatest assurance of imaginable, Pe2 1:16; Jo1 1:1, Jo1 1:3. (2.) Those are best able to bear witness for Christ that have themselves been with him, by faith, hope, and love, and by living a life of communion with God in him. Ministers must first learn Christ, and then preach him. Those speak best of the things of God that speak experimentally. It is particularly a great advantage to have been acquainted with Christ from the beginning, to understand all things from the very first, Luk 1:3. To have been with him from the beginning of our days. An early acquaintance and constant converse with the gospel of Christ will make a man like a good householder.”

“But when the Comforter is come - See on Joh 14:16 (note). He shall testify and ye also shall bear witness - He shall bear his testimony in your souls, and ye shall bear this testimony to the world. And so they did, by their miracles, their preaching, their writings, their lives, and by their deaths. Our Lord appears to reason thus: In every respect the unbelief of the Jews is inexcusable. They believe not my doctrine, notwithstanding its purity and holiness. They believe not in the Father who sent me, notwithstanding I have confirmed my mission by the most astonishing miracles. One thing only remains now to be done, i.e. to send them the Holy Spirit, to convince them of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and this he shall do, not only by his influence upon their hearts, but also by your words: and when they shall have resisted this Spirit, then the cup of their iniquity shall be filled up, and wrath shall come upon them to the uttermost. But in what sense can it be said that Christ wrought more miracles than any other had done, Joh 15:24? - for Elijah and Elisha raised the dead; cured diseases; and made fire to come down from heaven. Did Christ do greater miracles than Moses did in Egypt - at the Red Sea - at the rock of Horeb, and at the rock of Kadesh? Did Christ do greater miracles than Joshua did, in the destruction of Jericho - in the passage of Jordan - in causing the sun and moon to stand still? To all this it may be answered, Christ's miracles were greater: 1. As to their number. 2. As to their utility - they were wrought to comfort the distressed, and to save the lost. 3. Christ wrought all his miracles by his own power alone; and they wrought theirs through his power only. 4. Christ wrought his numerous miracles in the space of three or four years, and in the presence of the same people; and the others mere wrought from time to time in different centuries. Some critics have confined the whole of this chapter to the apostles of our Lord, and the work of propagating Christianity to which they had been called. The whole comment of Rosenmuller on this chapter proceeds on this plan; and at once shows how nugatory it is. What learned labor has there been in the world, to banish the spirit of Christianity from the earth, while the letter was professed to be scrupulously regarded! 1. The spiritual union spoken of by Christ is not merely necessary for his primitive disciples, but also for all who would be Christians on earth, and beatified spirits in heaven. 2. The brotherly love here inculcated is the duty and interest of every Christian soul on the face of the earth. 3. The necessity of adorning the Christian profession, by bringing forth corresponding fruits, is the duty of all who name the name of the Lord Jesus. 4. The appointment to, and preparation for, the work of the sacred ministry, must ever be primarily with Christ: for those who have no higher authority than that which they derive from man are never likely to be useful in Christianizing the world. 5. The persecution to which the apostles were exposed has been the common lot of Christians from the foundation of Christianity. 6. The consolations and influences of Christ's Spirit have not been the exclusive privileges of the apostles; they are the birthright of all the sons and daughters of God.”