10 Weeks on the Trinity: Breath, Gift, and Love – The Eternal Procession of the Spirit.

Anselm of Canterbury once said, “If the Spirit’s spiration is not true, then the Christian faith is destroyed.” Was Anselm overstating the importance of this doctrine? Matthew Barrett doesn’t think so.

According to the Nicene Creed, the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. This means that the Spirit is not subordinate to the Father or the Son, but he is distinguished from them both due to his eternal relation of origin. The Spirit shares the one divine essence, power, authority and glory, but he is not unbegotten as the Father or generated as if he were the Son’s “twin brother.” Rather, he is “breathed out,” spirated, from the Father and the Son.

In this video, Matthew Barrett introduces his listeners to three different biblical images applied to the Spirit – breath, gift, and love. Through these images – or “waves” as Barrett calls them – Scripture conveys not only the Spirit’s divinity but also his necessity in regard to man’s salvation. Without the Spirit – gift, breath, and love – how can sinners be brought into communion with the one who is Simply Trinity?

Join Dr. Barrett to learn key trinitarian concepts, which can safeguard us from future Trinity drift and help us find our way home to a biblical and orthodox understanding of the Trinity. Sign up for the full course through the For the Church Institute. And if you enjoy this first lecture then read chapter 9 of his book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021).

Unit 9: Introduction and Lecture