Parva Naturalia and Ambigua

...and that which is without beginning, and eternal existence, and being the cause of existence for all things that are, and the holding together of all things and providing for them, as something proper? to Himself, and not sharing His divinity with another.

7

Concerning the Holy Spirit; a logical proof.

It is necessary that a spirit The Greek word pneuma means both "spirit" and "breath." John of Damascus uses this dual meaning to explain how God's "Word" must also have "Breath." be joined with the Word; for even our own word is not without breath. However, in our case, the breath is something foreign to our own essence; for it is the inhalation and exhalation of air, drawn in and sent out for the sustenance of the body. At the moment of speaking, this becomes the sound of the word, revealing the power of the word within itself. But in the case of the divine nature—which is simple and uncompounded—it is an act of piety to confess that there is a Spirit of God, since the Word of God is not irrational original: alogos; literally "without a word" or "without reason." The argument is that if God has a Logos (Word/Reason), that Word must possess a Pneuma (Spirit/Breath).. Yet, the Spirit of God is not something foreign to Him, like our own breath which is brought in from the outside; for the Divine would not be well-informed if it were not also "inspired" This is a play on words: to be "breathless" or "un-inspired" would imply God lacks life or intelligence.. Nor is it viewed as an "unsubstantiated" spirit like ours (for the simplicity of the divine nature does not admit of composition). Instead, just as we have come to know His Word as subsisting original: hyphestota; refers to having a real, individual existence rather than being a mere quality or thought., not being without a person, nor produced by learning, nor uttered by a voice, nor dispersed into the air, but subsisting substantially, possessing free will, energy, and omnipotence—so also we consider the Spirit of God, which accompanies the Word and manifests His energy, to be a substantial power. We view the Spirit as existing in its own right in a distinct hypostasis original: hypostasis; in a theological context, this refers to a "Person" of the Trinity—a distinct individual reality within the one divine essence.. It is not separated from the Word, but exists in God and is joined to the Word, not dispersed into non-existence, but existing as a person according to the likeness of the Word: living, possessing free will, self-moving, active, always willing the good, and having its power keep pace with its every purpose, having neither beginning nor end. For the Father was never without the Word, nor the Word without the Spirit.

Therefore, the Spirit is of the same essence original: homoousion; the same substance or nature. as the Word according to nature, proceeding from the Father and resting in the Word, and being a manifestation of Him. It cannot be separated from the God in whom it exists, nor from the Word whom it accompanies, nor is it dissolved into non-existence. Rather, just as the Word is perfect in its person, so also the Spirit is viewed as perfect in its person. For this reason, we worship three persons of the one unconfused and undivided Godhead. We hold a belief contrary to the Jews because of our confession of the Word and the Spirit, and a belief contrary to the Greeks The "Greeks" here refers to pagans/polytheists. because of our faith in unity and the monarchy original: monarchia; the principle that there is only one "Source" or "Beginning" in the Godhead (the Father), ensuring God is one and not three separate gods. of God. In this way, we escape both the "shrunkenness" of the Jews and the "fragmentation" of the Greeks, gathering what is useful from both sides: the oneness of nature from the Jewish view, and the distinction of persons from the Greek view. And thus, the Holy Spirit is not only understood as personal, but is also worshipped? as God, as proceeding from the Father and being a manifestation of the hidden divinity of the Father through the Word; proceeding from the Father through the Son, yet not by way of generation The Son is "begotten," but the Spirit "proceeds"—a traditional distinction used to describe their different relationships to the Father..

8

Concerning those things said of God in a bodily way.

Since many things are said symbolically in the Divine Scripture concerning God in a bodily way, it is necessary to know that, because we are humans clothed in this thick flesh, it is impossible to understand or speak of the divine, high, and immaterial energies of the Godhead unless we use images, types, and symbols familiar to us. Therefore, whatever is said of God in a bodily way is said symbolically, but it contains a higher meaning; for the Divine is simple and without form. Thus, the "eyes" of God, His "eyelids," and His "sight" refer to His all-seeing power and His inexhaustible knowledge of all things, because we ourselves possess a more perfect and certain knowledge through this sense organ.