On the Holy Spirit by Basil the Great
Basil the Great wrote “On the Holy Spirit” around 374 AD. His purpose was to “prove” the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
Note. This is a significant study. We expect to add content in installments over the course of time.
CONTENTS
RESOURCES: Basil the Great, Introduction
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
Basil the Great
Basil of Caesarea (330–379), also called Saint Basil the Great, served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379.
Basil was educated in the schools of Athens, being schooled in the classical disciplines of rhetoric and logic. Then he used those skills in the service of the Church.
Basil was an influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian church.
For his contributions, Basil was given the title of Doctor of the Church. As a Doctor of the Church, he is sometimes referred to as “One of the four Great Greek Fathers.”
The main theological writing of Basil is called On the Holy Spirit. It is an appeal to Scripture and to early Christian tradition to prove the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
Introduction
Basil wrote this work to Bishop Amphilochios of Iconium, who was like a spiritual son to Basil.
In those days, there was a great divide called the Arian controversy. It was a series of Christian disputes about the nature of Jesus Christ.
It spanned from before the First Council of Nicaea in 325 until after the First Council of Constantinople in 381.
The most important of these controversies concerned the relationship between the substance of God the Father and the substance of God the Son.
The position advanced initially by Arius argued that the Son of God came after God the Father in both time and substance.
This conflicted with the Trinitarian faction which argued that the Jesus Christ was coeternal and consubstantial with God the Father.
In those days, the nature of the Holy Spirit had not been answered. The followers of Arius argued against the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
Basil countered the Arians by writing in defense of the divinity of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is divine, then all three Persons of the Holy Trinity are divine. They are three persons sharing the same divine nature.
In On the Holy Spirit, Basil does not forthrightly state that the Holy Spirit is God. But neither does Holy Scripture.
Rather, Basil examines Scripture and Tradition, and concludes that the Holy Spirit is indeed divine. Much of Basil’s argument consists of showing that we can tell who the Holy Spirit is by examining what he does.
Chapter 1
Introductory comment concerning the necessity of examining even the smallest theological questions
Paragraph 1. Basil applauds his spiritual son Bishop Amphilochios of Iconium for his love of learning and for his diligent study. Amphilochios is motivated by a sincere desire to discover the truth.
Paragraph 2. People who are lukewarm consider theological terminology to be of secondary importance. But other people realize that knowing God requires study.
Paragraph 3. Basil distinguishes two forms of the doxology:
Glory to the Father with the Son, together with the Holy Spirit.
Glory to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 2
The origin of the way heretics closely observe the use of prepositions
Paragraph 4. Christians use different terms for each of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Some people claim those different terms means the entities are different. They also point out the different prepositions in the following:
one God and Father, from whom are all things
one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things
Chapter 3
How technical discussion of prepositions originated in pagan philosophy
Paragraph 5. Basil says people have been misled by pagan writers who apply the expressions “from whom” and “through whom” to different things:
- “From Whom” or “By Whom” refers to the maker. For example, the chair is always made BY the carpenter.
- “Through Whom” or “By Means Of” refers to the instrument which assists in making. For example, the chair is made “through” the saw and the drill.
Chapter 4
How such a use of prepositions cannot be observed in Scripture
Paragraph 6. The Bible uses these words. But it is not limited to the usage as described above.
For instance, “from whom” or “from which” does not always refer to matter. Instead, Scripture is more likely to us these phrases:
one God, from whom are all things
all things are from God
Chapter 5
How “through whom” is also said concerning the Father, and “from whom” for the Son and the Spirit
Paragraph 7. Basil rejects the linguistic delineations that from whom and through whom indicate a division of natures. Instead, Basil says Paul uses them merely to distinguish between the God the Father and God the Son:
1 Corinthians 8:6. yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
Romans 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
Paragraph 8. The argument of Basil’s opponents crumbles, because the Scriptures apply both “from whom” and “through whom” to God the Father. In those instances, it does not denote subservience.
Paragraph 9. The words “from him” appear in many Scripture verses.
Paragraph 10. The Bible uses the words “through whom” or “by whom” to refer to both Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alike.
Paragraph 11. Similarly, the Bible uses the preposition “in” to refer to both Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alike.
Paragraph 12. The Bible uses the phrases “from whom” and “through whom” to refer to both Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alike.
Chapter 6
He disputes with those who assert that the Son not with, but after the Father
Also concerning the equal glory of the Father and the Son
Paragraph 13. Basil’s opponents say the Son is not equal with the Father, but comes after the Father.
Paragraph 14. The notion of “coming later” is applied in error, as both the Father and Son are timeless.
Paragraph 15. They think the Son sits below the Father, in a lesser place. However, as incorporeal beings, they fill all places. John the Evangelist wrote that “we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God (see Acts 7:55).
Chapter 7
Against those who say that it is not suitable for “with whom” to be used in the Doxology concerning the Son, but that the proper phrase is “through whom”
Paragraph 16. Christians ascribe glory to the Son with the Father. The doxology is to the Father with the Son. Thus it is fine to use the phrase “with him”.
Chapter 8
The many ways “through whom” is used, and the occasions when “with whom” is more suitable.
Explanation of how the Son receives a commandment, and how He is sent
Paragraph 17. The Bible does not limit itself to one word when referring to the Son. Rather, the Bible uses a variety of words in reference the Son. That reflects the manifold energies of the Son.
Paragraph 18. Every type of help comes to us through the Son, and each type of care from the Son has an appropriate title.
Paragraph 19. A treasury of blessedness comes to us from God the Father through the Son. The Son guides us to the knowledge of the Father. The Son is not different in essence from the Father, nor is he different in power.
Paragraph 20. The Son sometimes speaks as though his is subordinated to the Father. However, he is making it clear that his will is indissolubly united to the Father.
Paragraph 21. The will of the Father and the will of the Son are united.
Chapter 9
Distinctive ideas concerning the Spirit which follow the teachings of Scripture
Paragraph 22. The titles of the Holy Spirit are uplifting: Spirit of God, Spirit of truth, right Spirit, willing Spirit. The name Holy Spirit implies an incorporeal being.
Paragraph 23. The Paraclete comes to us when we withdraw ourselves from evil passions.
Chapter 10
Against those who say that it is not right to rank the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son
Paragraph 24. The Lord Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus himself has fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
Paragraph 25. Basil’s opponents are attacking the faith itself. They aim to level the apostolic tradition to the ground. But the Lord says the Holy Spirit is to be ranked with God the Father.
Paragraph 26. What makes us Christians? Basil says our faith. How are we saved? Basil says through the regenerating grace of baptism. Salvation comes through Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through our Profession of Faith, we are made children of God.
Chapter 11
Those who deny the Spirit are transgressors
Paragraph 27. People who deny the faith are transgressors. More specifically, people who forsake their Profession of Faith. More specifically, their faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. More specifically, people who deny the Holy Spirit. He who rejects the Spirit rejects the Son, and he who rejects the Son rejects the Father.
Chapter 12
Against those who maintain that baptism in the Lord’s name alone is sufficient
Paragraph 28. When he speaks of baptism, Paul sometimes omits the names of the Father and the Holy Spirit. But that was just an abbreviated way of speaking. Paul did not reject the Father nor the Holy Spirit. A proper Christian baptism is done in the name of all three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
Chapter 13
Why St. Paul associates the angels with the Father and the Son
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter 14
An answer to the objection that some were baptized into Moses, and believed in him
Also, some remarks concerning typology
Chapter 15
Reply to the objection that we are baptized into water. Concerning baptism in general
Chapter 16
The Holy Spirit cannot be separated from the Father and the Son in any way, whether it be in the creation of perceptible objects, the ordering of human affairs, or the coming judgment
Chapter 17
Against those who say that the Holy Spirit must not be numbered with the Father and the Son, but under them
A summary of the correct way of numbering them together.
Chapter 18
How belief in three persons upholds the true doctrine of divine unity
Against those who subordinate Spirit.
Chapter 19
Against those who say that the Spirit should be glorified
Chapter 20
Against those who claim that the Spirit should not be ranked as a master or a slave, but as a freeman
Chapter 21
Scriptural testimony that the Spirit is called Lord
Chapter 22
Like the Father and the Son, the Spirit is incomprehensible, since He partakes of the same nature
Chapter 23
The Spirit is glorified through the recounting His unique wonders
Chapter 24
Considering that many created things are glorified proves the absurdity of refusing to glorify the Spirit
Chapter 25
The preposition in or by is used the same way with; and also has the same force as with
Chapter 26
There are many ways in may be suitably used reference to the Spirit
Chapter 27
How did the word with begin to be used? What is its strength? Also concerning the unwritten laws of Church.
Chapter 28
Although Scripture describes men as reigning together with Christ, our opponents will not allow word to be used concerning the Spirit
Chapter 29
Enumeration of well-known men in the Church who have used the word with in their writings
Chapter 30
Description of the present conditions of the Churches
CONTENTS
RESOURCES: Basil the Great, Introduction
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.
We suggest using the translation of On the Holy Spirit published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press in 1980. You can read it for free online at Internet Archive. Per Internet Archive, we understand this translation to be in the Public Domain with a Creative Commons designation of Public Domain Mark 1.0.