The Son and The Spirit

The Final, Essential, Prologue to Representationalism

A Heavenly Archetype

Sorry for the delay! As I wrestled for the past few weeks with the best way to lay things out, I realized I couldn’t skip this one.

Before we can fully dive into Representationalism, we have to do one more fly-over and take a look at how our Triune God has accomplished his purposes in heaven and on earth, particularly in the persons and work of the Son and the Spirit, which has major implications for understanding ourselves as imago Dei.

Let’s look at the actions of our triune God, and at some key moments where see both the Son and the Spirit uniquely at work.

The Inseparable, Yet Distinct, Works of God

As we begin looking at the actions of our triune God, we need to remember that it is a mistake to think about God in overly human categories. The three Persons of the Godhead do not act as three individuals “collaborating” with dynamics of authority and submission¹ when they take action in the world. Instead they act in what theologians call “inseparable operations”,² meaning that all three Persons are present in every external work in complete unity, so that every action undertaken is done by the Triune God, and yet the actions take place in accordance with their identities.

So, how does the Trinity act with a singular will and yet with distinct persons? The pattern of their work fits the pattern of their persons and eternal processions, so that we see God act in the consistent pattern of “from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit”. This means that the triune God is fully present in every act! The Father is not aloof or far off, because he is fully present when his Son and Spirit are at work.

Consider as an example the baptism of Jesus.

• The Father is active in the speech from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

• The Son is the one being baptized.

• The Spirit descends like a dove on Jesus.

All three Persons of the Trinity are working in harmony towards a single action, with distinct roles but a singular will.

The Son and the Spirit at Work

We see this pattern of “from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit” throughout Scripture: in creation, in redemptive history, in the life of Christ, in our salvation, and finally, in the redemption of all things.

This post will highlight that God works uniquely by the Son and the Spirit in the “Divine Mission” (as Aquinas puts it³) of God’s redemptive plan, but inseparably and with complete unity.

Ok, hopefully that’s not too confusing and sets a stage a bit as we turn to the work of the Son and the Spirit. We are not “cutting out the Father” because all the works of God are Trinitarian, yet we are noticing the fact that the Son and the Spirit have unique and ordered roles in the Mission of God in Scripture, and that they are the agents involved in accomplishing the acts of God on Earth.

Perhaps this could have some relevance as we consider who we are as God’s images.

Let’s consider a few examples.

The Son and the Spirit In Creation: Word and Breath

The Logos and Sophia at Creation

From the very beginning, we see God at work in creation by his Word and Spirit.

In Genesis 1:2, we find the Spirit hovering, brooding over the waters of chaos like a bird, awaiting the Word of the Lord that would begin the song of creation, fitting the pattern of creation being a Trinitarian act from the Father, Through the Son, by the Spirit.

As creation unfolds, all commentators note the basic pattern where what is formed on the first three days is filled on the final three days. The sky, water, and land organized by the Word of the Lord receive the “breath” of God and teem with life and wisdom, finding their purpose:

Psalm 33:6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Psalm 104: 29-30

When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.

The pattern in the creative works of God of forming and breathing finds its highest expression in the creation of Adam, crafted as God’s very image, and filled with God’s very breath.

The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. -Genesis 2:7

Logos and Sophia, The Two Hands of God

Accordingly, the church father Irenaeus famously compared the work of the Son and the Spirit in creation to the “two hands of God”; the Logos (meaning Word), and Sophia (meaning Wisdom). He writes:

“For God did not stand in need of these [angelic beings], in order to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined within Himself beforehand should be done, as if He did not possess His own hands.

For with Him were always present the Logos and the Sophia, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also he speaks: ‘Let us make man after our image and likeness.’ -Irenaeus, 180AD⁴

For Irenaeus, the work of the Son and the Spirit, Logos and Sophia, become the ordered pattern of how God works in the world, with the Father sending, the Son beginning, forming, and founding, and the Spirit completing, perfecting, and beautifying the works of God.⁵

So in summary, as we look the work of the Son and the Spirit in creation, we see that it is:

1. Trinitarian, with the “hands of God” at work; from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit.

2. Ordered, with the Son and Spirit working in harmony, and

3. Life-bringing, with the breath of God bringing life to the ordering of God’s Word.

Let’s continue in the Old Testament to manifestations of God on earth, often termed “theophanies”.

The Son and the Spirit In The Old Testament: God’s Presence and Glory

The glory cloud covering the tabernacle (Ex. 40)

This pattern of the Son and the Spirit at work continues throughout the Old Testament in the precursors and foreshadowing to the advent of Christ on earth. We can’t look at all of them in one post⁶, but just to pick one, let’s consider how God’s unveiled presence⁷, a subset of what are called “theophanies”, is accompanied by his glory⁸.

Scripture connects these displays of God’s glory with the Holy Spirit quite consistently. Here’s a summary quote from Meredith Kline:

There is indeed a considerable amount of biblical data that identify the Glory-cloud as particularly a manifestation of the Spirit God. Here we will cite only a few passages where the functions performed by the Glory-cloud are attributed to the Spirit—Nehemiah 9:19, 20; Isaiah 63:11-14; and Haggai 2:5—and mention the correspondence of the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to the function of the Glory-cloud at the exodus and at the erection of the tabernacle.⁹

And Jude 1:5 connects the presence of God in the Exodus to the work of Jesus himself!

^“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.”

This twofold pattern of presence and glory is consistent throughout the Old Testament; for example, consider:

• The Angel of the Lord (presence) and the fire (glory) of the burning bush (Ex. 3)

• God’s presence on Mt. Sinai, with the mountain covered in smoke (glory) (Ex. 19,24)

• The pillar of cloud and glory of the Lord over the tent of meeting and the tabernacle (presence) (Exodus 33,40)

• The presence and cloud leading Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 14)

• The presence and glory of the Lord at Solomon’s temple dedication (1 Kings 8:10–11)

• The throne (presence) and glory robe of the Lord in Isaiah’s temple vision (Isaiah 6:1–4)

• The shining glory of the face of Moses after he had been in the presence of the Lord (Exodus 34:29-35)

• The glory cloud of God’s presence leaving the temple in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezek. 10)

• The glory radiating from Christ (presence) at the Transfiguration (Matt. 17)

What are we to take from this? What does the presence and glory of God in the Old Testament point towards?

God’s presence in the Son implies “God with us”. As God localizes himself on Earth, it means that he has a heart for is covenant people and will deliver them from their plight. He wants to dwell among them.

God’s glory by the Spirit is associated with heaven. God’s glory surrounds the throne and the divine council, and the Spirit fills up the heavenly realm with the glory of God.¹⁰ God’s glory beckons and reminds us of the perfections, majesty, and beauty of God, and how he wants to transform us.

These patterns continue until the New Testament, where we see the final reality behind the foreshadowing. The Son takes on humanity, and the Spirit fills up his Bride. As Anna Anderson puts it:

“The manifestations of the Son on earth, the Christophanies of the Old Testament, culminate in the gospels with the Son permanently enfleshed as a male human being.

Together with the Son, the manifestations of the Spirit on earth, the Pneumophanies of the Scriptures, are also many, but they culminate in the book of Acts with an enduring “embodiment,” the endoxate (glory-filled) church…”¹¹

So in summary, as we look the work of the Son and the Spirit in the Old Testament theophanies, we see that it:

1. Is Trinitarian, but with God representing himself on Earth by the Son and Spirit in his presence and glory.

2. Contains “heaven and earth” symbolism, and

3. Culminates in the final realities of the incarnation of the Son and the indwelling of the Spirit of glory in the people of God.

The post is already too long to talk about this pattern in the life of Christ,¹² so we’ll skip ahead to work of redemption and salvation.

The Son and the Spirit In Salvation: Redemption Accomplished and Applied

The Spirit-filled church at Pentecost

Maintaining the pattern of “From the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit”, we see the work of salvation accomplished by the ordered works of the Son and the Spirit from the Father as well.

• Christ’s Spirit-empowered work comes first in his atoning death and resurrection.

• Then the Spirit of Christ indwells his people and completes the work of sanctification and glorification.

Here’s a helpful chart from Fred Sanders:

By Fred Sanders, “The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything”

So in summary, we see that the work of the Son and the Spirit in salvation is:

1. Trinitarian, with the Father sending the Son for the work of redemption, and the Father and Son sending the Spirit for the ongoing work of transformation.

2. Ordered, with the Spirit completing the work of the Son.

3. Life-bringing, with the new birth of the Spirit coming on those who have trusted in the Son.

4. Uniting heaven and earth, and

5. Embodied in Christ and the Spirit filled church.

The Son and the Spirit In the End: The Throne and The Beckoning Spirit-Bride

The Throne, City, and River of Life

At the end of the story of Scripture, the Spirit-City-Bride descends from heaven and is united with Jesus.

Listen to Meredith Kline’s description of the city:

New Jerusalem is portrayed in Rev. 21 and 22 as the ultimate likeness of the Spirit of Glory because it is a city transfigured in light, and it’s light is the glory of God.¹³

Kline rightly points out that the Spirt of Glory indwells the city/bride of God’s people to such an extent that she becomes the likeness of the Spirit, and then is united permanently and finally with the Son of Man, the Second Adam, at the consummation of all things, the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9).

And, while the Bible doesn’t give us many details about this, the union of the Christ and the Spirit-City-Bride leads to the river of life flowing from them (Rev. 22:1).

So in summary, as we look the work of the Son and the Spirit in the end of the story of Scripture, we see that it is:

1. Trinitarian, with our Triune God having come to to dwell with us.

2. Represents heaven and earth united at last.

3. Is embodied in Christ and the Spirit-filled Church, and

4. Is life-bringing, with a river of life flowing from the consummation.

Principles of the Work of the Son and the Spirit

So, piecing it all together, what patterns did we see? Let’s summarize and wrap this up!

1. Trinitarian- The Divine Mission involves the sending of the Son and the Spirit from the Father.

2. Ordered- While the Son and Spirit are completely equal in glory and power, there is an order to their work. The Spirit completes or extends what the Son begins.

3. Representing Heaven and Earth-

   1. The Son, and the typology and theophanies connected to him, represents the presence of God on Earth with his people.

      1. The Son becomes the “2nd Adam” in Christ, and leads his people up the holy hill (Psalm 24), back to the mountain of God, back to Eden.

   2. The Spirit, and the typology and theophanies connected to him, represents the glory of God in heaven unveiled to us. The Spirit brings the divine life of rebirth into God’s people, while simultaneously beckoning them home (The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” -Rev. 22:17)

      1. The Spirit indwells the church which continues this very same mission.

4. Producing Life- The hallmark of the work of the Son and the Spirit is the vivifying effect of it. Just like how the Son forms Adam from the dust, and then the Spirit breathes life into him, the combined work of the Son and the Spirit brings about the life of the world. The Spirit, however, is consistently the one tasked with bringing the final spark of life.

5. Indwelling Creation- As mentioned earlier, the Spirit at the very beginning of creation fills up the heavens with the glory of God (termed “endoxation” by Meredith Kline), while the Son in the incarnation joins himself to humanity. The union of the Son with his Spirit-bride unites heaven and earth forever, and is a display of the eternal love between the Son and the Spirit.

Patterns of Evidence

It turns out that these five principles are the very same principles that we see throughout Scripture in the typologies, motifs, associations, metaphors, progressions, directives, and embodied realities of humanity as male and female.

In other words, these are the core principles of Representationalism.

A bold claim, I know, yet here we are!

In the next post (I actually wrote it first; behold it is coming soon!) we will begin to unpack this thesis.

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1. Which would imply competing wills instead of a singular will. This was a massive error in early Complementarianism, as we looked at in a previous post.

2. Early Complementarians (Like Wayne Grudem), in their quest to find authority and submission dynamics in the Godhead, actually attacked this doctrine as well! Read more here. And even more here. And this video is a good summary of the doctrine of inseparable operations.

3. Aquinas’ amazing language! Here’s a sample quote:

“I answer that, The very idea of mission means procession from another, and in God it means procession according to origin, as above expounded. Hence, as the Father is not from another, in no way is it fitting for Him to be sent; but this can only belong to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, to Whom it belongs to be from another.”- ST, Question 43, Article 4

4. Irenaeus, Haer. 4.20.1

5. Here is a very helpful dissertation on the subject! It’s also interesting to note that Irenaeus clearly connects Wisdom, and Sophia from Proverbs, to the person of the Holy Spirit.

6. Just read all of Anna Anderson’s posts!

7. In some theophanies, God seemingly hides his glory for various reasons.

8. See this longer essay by Meredith Kline on connecting the glory cloud and the Holy Spirit, as well as, of course, 2 Corinthians Chapter 3.

9. Kline, Images of the Spirit, pg.15

10. If you want a quick primer of this, this lecture by Alistair Roberts, interacting with Meredith Kline’s work entitled “Images of the Spirit”, is a great place to start.

It is shocking how close these scholars get to the thesis of Son and Spirit represented by male and female! They are all over and around the idea, and yet (because of a priori commitments I suspect) can’t quite get there. It feels like watching a game of Wheel of Fortune where there’s one letter left and everyone keeps guessing wrong!

11. The Sons of Korah Speak to Twisted Conceptions of Male and Female

12. Which is why God made footnotes! For example:

• In the Incarnation, the Son is conceived in the womb of Mary by the Spirit.

  -“For never at any time did Adam escape the hands of God, to whom the Father speaking said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.’ And for this reason in the last times, not by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but by the good pleasure of the Father, His hands formed a living man, in order that Adam might be created [again] after the image and likeness of God” -Irenaeus, Haer. 5.1.3

• At Jesus’ baptism which begins his ministry, the Spirit descends like a dove to empower his work. A great Trinitarian moment:

  -For in the name of Christ is implied, He that anoints, He that is anointed, and the unction itself with which He is anointed. And it is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the unction.” -Irenaeus, Haer. 3.18.3

• In Jesus’ first public act of ministry in Luke 4, he reads from the scroll of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”. Jesus accomplished his ministry “empowered by the Holy Spirit” (Acts 10:38) throughout.

• Christ both receives and gives the Spirit of wisdom “without measure” (John 3:34), making his actions the revelation of God’s wisdom on earth.

• The shining glory of Christ at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17) is a manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. Father, speaks, Son is transfigured, Holy Spirit manifests the glory.

• Before his ascension, Jesus breathes out the Spirit on his disciples (John 20:22), showing that the continuation of the Mission of God will continue through his Spirit indwelling his people.

13. Kline, Images of the Spirit, lost pg. #