{"id":21665,"date":"2025-07-11T04:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/?p=21665"},"modified":"2025-07-17T17:27:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T21:27:59","slug":"on-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/article\/concise\/on-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Holy Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the original Nicene Creed, after expressing magnificent truths of the Father and the Son, we find this curiously short statement regarding belief in the Holy Spirit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd in the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jw.org\/en\/bible-teachings\/questions\/what-is-the-holy-spirit\/\">According to Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses<\/a>, the brevity of this original statement is evidence that the Holy Spirit was not considered a divine person by Christ or the apostles. But is this true?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Far from it<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What I hope to do in this essay is, first, give you a brief glimpse of how this simple Nicene statement on the Holy Spirit developed over time. Then, I want to show you how the creedal statement on the Holy Spirit <em>emerges from <\/em>biblical truth and properly befits the God we adore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">We Believe in the Holy Spirit <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For the Western Church, the development of Nicene teaching on the Holy Spirit progresses in three stages. The first two stages are clearly demarcated by the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and the Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.). The third stage was more extended, rife with controversy, and surrounded the addition of the <em>filiqoue<\/em> (\u201cand the Son\u201d) clause in the West. Here is a summary of the changes in each stage (new additions <em>italicized<\/em>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><br><p><strong>Stage 1:<br>Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.)<\/strong><\/p><br><\/td><td><br><p><strong>Stage 2:<\/strong><\/p><br><p><strong>Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.)<\/strong><\/p><br><\/td><td>\n<p><strong>Stage 3:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Third Council of Toledo<sup><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-1\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> (589 A.D.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\n<p>And in the Holy Spirit<\/p>\n<\/td><td>\n<p>And in the Holy Spirit,<\/p>\n<p><em>the Lord and Giver of life, <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>who proceeds from the Father, <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>who spoke by the prophets.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td><td>\n<p>And in the Holy Spirit,<\/p>\n<p>the Lord and Giver of life,<\/p>\n<p>who proceeds from the Father <em>and the Son<\/em>,<\/p>\n<p>who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,<\/p>\n<p>who spoke by the prophets.<\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>1. For the sake of simplicity, I have chosen the Third Council of Toledo as the marker to indicate the emergence of the filioque clause\u2019s formal approval in the West. This council was regional and did not amount to the kind of ecumenical approval that was forged in Nicaea and Constantinople. From this point on, the filioque\u2019s formal acceptance in the churches of the West would continue to increase. Ultimately, of course, the Eastern Orthodox have contended that no ecumenical agreement with the churches of the East was ever achieved. For those interested in a deep dive on this controversy, see Gerald Bray, \u201cThe Filioque Clause in History and Theology,\u201d <em>Tyndale Bulletin 34<\/em>, no. 1 (1983): 91\u2013144.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Given that we are celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (i.e., the first version of the creed), our first task will be to answer the question: \u201cWhy is this five-worded phrase about the Holy Spirit all that those original bishops could muster?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why So Short? The First Nicene Creed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First, keep in mind that this simple statement affirms that <em>the Holy Spirit must be included in our confession<\/em>. The same \u201cWe believe in\u201d (<em>pisteuomen eis<\/em>), is directed first to the \u201cone God, Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,\u201d is then applied equally and without qualification to both the Son (\u201cand in,\u201d <em>kai eis<\/em>) and the Holy Spirit (\u201cand in,\u201d <em>kai eis<\/em>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>We believe <\/em>(<em>pisteuomen eis<\/em>) in one God, the Father\u2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>And in<\/em> (<em>kai eis<\/em>) one Lord Jesus Christ\u2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>And in<\/em> (<em>kai eis<\/em>) the Holy Spirit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The fuller statement from the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. lies here in nascent form, placing the Holy Spirit without reservation in <a href=\"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/article\/concise\/the-trinitarian-framework-of-the-nicene-creed\/\">the triune framework of the creed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, remember <em>the heretical context<\/em>. The preeminent concern for the bishops gathered at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. was Arianism (and related heresies) that attacked the true nature of the Son by denying his deity and declaring him to be a creature. The purpose was <em>not<\/em> to address errors regarding the Holy Spirit, for these had not yet been fully articulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>2. Some important primary sources countering these errors, between stages one and two of creedal development, are Athanasius\u2019s<em> Letters to Serapion<\/em>, Basil of Caesarea\u2019s <em>On the Holy Spirit<\/em>, and Gregory of Nazianzus\u2019s <em>Oration 31.<\/em> In many instances, you find strong resonances between their work and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 A.D.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Third, it was only <em>after<\/em> the Council of Nicaea that fresh heresies emerged explicitly denying the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit.<sup><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-2\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-2\">[2]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> According to Gregory of Nazianzus, when men became \u201cweary in their disputations concerning the Son,\u201d they struggled \u201cwith greater heat against the Spirit.\u201d<sup><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-3\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-3\">[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> The early church fathers fought valiantly against these heretics, who were called, among other things, the <em>Pneumatomachians<\/em> or \u201cSpirit-fighters.\u201d The Spirit-fighters, while often affirming the Son\u2019s consubstantiality with the Father, were eager to maintain that the Holy Spirit was a creature, like an angel, or, even less\u2014a mere activity. What we find post-Nicaea, then, alongside a resurgence in Arianism, is a new slate of questions regarding the Holy Spirit. These received an answer in 381 A.D. at the Council of Constantinople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>3. Gregory of Nazianzus, <em>Oration 31<\/em>, ii.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Biblical Foundation of the Longer Creed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So let\u2019s take a look at this expanded version of the original creed in 381, which included the church\u2019s responses at Constantinople to the \u201cSpirit-fighters.\u201d This Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed\u2014which is usually the version that people today refer to when they speak of the Nicene Creed\u2014proclaims four central truths about the Holy Spirit. Each has deep biblical roots, and each is essential for the worship of our Triune God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. The Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of Life. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First, it should go without saying that, given the Bible\u2019s own categories, the Lord alone is the \u201cgiver of life.\u201d Thus, it is not surprising that the fathers of the creed identified the Spirit as \u2018the Lord\u2019 in the same breath that they called him the \u2018giver of life.\u2019 But is this biblical? If we attend closely to the storyline of Scripture, will we see the Holy Spirit presented as this \u201clife giver\u201d and therefore the very Lord God himself? Yes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the beginning, we see the Holy Spirit participating in the divine work of creation and providence (Gen. 1:1, Ps. 104:30). He also empowered his people for certain tasks requiring great skill (Exod. 31:1\u20135), might (Judg. 14:6), and prophetic inspiration (Num. 11:25, 2 Sam. 23:2). And it was he, as the confession also declares, who came upon Mary with \u201cthe power of the Most High\u201d (Luke 1:35) and created the incarnate life of our Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that\u2019s not all. When the Holy Spirit is poured out on God\u2019s people, he gives their cold and dead hearts new spiritual life (Ezek. 36:27, 37:14) by his \u201cwashing of regeneration and renewal\u201d (Titus 3:5\u20136), just as Jesus declared he would: \u201cIt is <em>the Spirit who gives life<\/em>, the flesh is no help at all\u201d (John 6:63, emphasis mine). Even the new creation will evidence the Holy Spirit\u2019s powerful life-giving work. When he is poured out at that time, even the parched wilderness will become a fruitful field (Isa. 32:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if even this brief survey of the Holy Spirit\u2019s person and work is not enough to convince you of the fittingness of these names, what if Paul gave them both to us in one fell swoop? This he does in 2 Corinthians 3. Here, Paul introduces to us the glory of the new covenant, inaugurated in Christ, as the <em>life-giving<\/em> covenant administered by the Holy Spirit, \u201cthe Spirit <em>who<\/em> <em>gives life<\/em>\u201d (2 Cor. 3:6, emphasis mine). Paul then calls the Holy Spirit <em>the Lord <\/em>(2 Cor. 3:16\u201318), the God of Mt. Sinai (Exodus 34), evoking the tetragrammaton of Exodus 3:14.<sup><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-4\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-4\">[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> With such power, holiness, and life-giving authority, who else could the Spirit be but the one Lord himself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>4. Two things are critical to see here regarding the Holy Spirit\u2019s Lordship, aside from its connection to God\u2019s covenant name, namely (1) Paul calls this Lord \u201cthe Spirit,\u201d not just \u201cspirit\u201d (without the article) (ho de kurios to pneuma estin) and (2) Paul links the new covenant\u2019s sanctifying work to the Lord, the Holy Spirit. This is what we should expect, as sanctification is appropriated to the Holy Spirit by the biblical authors (1 Pet. 1:2). To be transformed from one degree of glory to another is the work of the Holy Spirit, which Paul says \u201ccomes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.\u201d<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. The Holy Spirit Proceeds from the Father and the Son.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let&#8217;s focus on the next clause: that the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Life-giver, <em>proceeds <\/em>from the Father and the Son. This statement is grounded in a few central truths regarding the nature of our God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, the three persons (<em>hypostases<\/em>) of the Trinity are one in essence\/nature (<em>ousia<\/em>). Therefore, each person equally and fully possesses the glorious attributes of the divine nature (e.g., omniscience, omnipresence, simplicity, goodness, holiness, love, etc.), as well as one mind, will, and power (which are capacities of rational natures, not of persons).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>5. Among other things, divine simplicity means that God is \u201cnot composed of parts.\u201d So, in this context, the three divine persons are not pieces or parts of the Trinity. Instead, each person fully subsists in (that is, exists in and fully possesses) the one undivided divine nature in a particular way.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, the three persons of the Trinity are distinguished by their \u201cpersonal properties\u201d or \u201cmodes of subsistence.\u201d These terms help us answer the question (bear with me here): If the three persons subsist in the one, simple<sup><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-5\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-5\">[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> divine essence, what uniquely distinguishes the Father as <em>the Father <\/em>(and not the Son or the Spirit), the Son as <em>the Son<\/em> (and not the Father or the Spirit), and the Holy Spirit as <em>the Holy Spirit<\/em> (and not the Father or the Son)? Traditionally, classical Trinitarian theology has affirmed that: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>6. \u201cSpiration\u201d can be defined as \u201cbreathing out,\u201d which theologians have found to be a fitting judgment considering the Holy Spirit\u2019s name as Spirit, as well as the biblical testimony regarding the Christ\u2019s breathing the Spirit on his disciples (John 20:22). Generally, we can also recognize \u201cspiration\u201d as \u201cthe act by which the Father (and the Son if the filioque is affirmed) is the eternal source of the Holy Spirit, who proceeds without division, change, or imperfection.\u201d D. Glenn Butner Jr., <em>Trinitarian Dogmatics: Exploring the Grammar of the Christian Doctrine of God <\/em>(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2022), 229. Strictly speaking, since spiration is common between the Father and the Son, it is not a distinguishing property.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>T<em>he Father is distinguished from the Son and the Spirit by <\/em>paternity (i.e., <em>fatherhood<\/em>). He is <em>unbegotten<\/em>, yet he eternally <em>begets<\/em> the Son, and, with the Son, <em>spirates<\/em> the Holy Spirit.<sup><a href=\"#post-21665-footnote-6\" id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-6\">[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>The Son is distinguished from the Father and the Spirit by<\/em> filiation (i.e., sonship). He is begotten (by <em>eternal generation<\/em>) from the Father and, with the Father, <em>spirates<\/em> the Holy Spirit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>The Holy Spirit is distinguished from the Father and the Son by<\/em> procession. He is neither unbegotten nor begotten but <em>proceeds<\/em> from the Father and the Son, who spirate Him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Each of these personal properties indicates the way, or \u201cmode\u201d that each of the three persons eternally subsists in the one divine <em>ousia<\/em>. While other articles this month will demonstrate the biblical warrant and fittingness of Father and Son\u2019s personal properties, my mission here is to simply give a sense of how the Holy Spirit\u2019s personal property emerges from Scripture. This leads me to my next point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>7. It is worth pointing out that in John 15:26, Jesus says that the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father. He does not include the Son. But this is no cause for concern, as Francis Turretin notes: \u201cAlthough the Spirit may be said to proceed from the Father (Jn. 15:26), it is not denied of the Son. Indeed it is implied because the mission of the Spirit is ascribed to him and whatever the Father has, the Son is said to have equally (Jn. 16:15).\u201d Francis Turretin,<em> Institutes of Elenctic Theology<\/em>, ed. James T. Dennison Jr., trans. George Musgrave Giger (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&amp;R Publishing, 1992), 309\u2013310 (I, Third Topic, Q.XXXI, V). In other words, in the same verse that Jesus says the Spirit proceeds from the Father, he affirms that he too (with the Father) sends the Spirit. As I show briefly in the next paragraph, this suggests that the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Son. For a more rigorous account, I highly recommend Anselm of Canterbury\u2019s defense of the filioque clause in his work <em>On the Procession of the Holy Spirit.<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Third, the idea that the Holy Spirit \u201cproceeds\u201d is a concept that originates, not from idle speculation, but from Jesus himself in John 15:26, \u201cBut when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-7\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup> Gregory of Nazianzus enjoyed pointing this out to the Spirit-fighters, stating the rather obvious: Jesus was \u201ca better Theologian than you.\u201d<sup><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-8\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-8\">[8]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> <em>Indeed<\/em>. It sure is helpful when Jesus says it plainly, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our Savior instructs us even further regarding the nature of the Spirit\u2019s procession, comparing it to his own personal property and relation to the Father. For just as the Son does nothing <em>of himself <\/em>but does only what he sees and hears the Father doing (John 5:19, 30), so too the Holy Spirit does not speak <em>of himself<\/em>, but only declares that which he hears from the Son (John 16:13\u201315). And just as the sending of the Son into the world by the Father <em>alone<\/em> exhibits the Son\u2019s personal property (filiation), the sending of the Holy Spirit by the Father <em>and the Son<\/em> exhibits the Spirit\u2019s personal, incommunicable property of procession, as Jesus called it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, the language of Scripture leads us to affirm the personal properties of triune persons in similar ways. Each is irreducibly grounded in biblical teaching. No doubt, much more could be said about the Holy Spirit\u2019s personal property of procession. But for now, as you consider the creedal formula\u2014<em>we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son<\/em><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-9\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-9\">[9]<\/a><\/sup><em>\u2014<\/em>remember that the Holy Spirit is the third, distinct person of the Trinity, sharing fully in the one divine essence according to his distinct personal property, or mode of subsistence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>8. Gregory of Nazianzus, <em>Oration 31<\/em>, viii.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. The Holy Spirit Should Be Worshiped and Glorified. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br><p>9. For a fuller treatment on why Western theologians correctly insist that the Spirit proceeds from the Father <em>and the Son <\/em>rather than the Father only, see Keith Goad\u2019s article with <em>Christ Over All<\/em>, to be published later this month. <\/p><br><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>The creed\u2019s third affirmation regarding the Spirit is arguably its most important implication\u2014the Holy Spirit should be worshiped and glorified. In the words of the early church father Basil, \u201cShould we not exalt him who is divine in nature, unbounded in greatness, powerful in his energies, and good in his deeds? Should we not glorify him?\u201d<sup><sup><a href=\"#post-21665-footnote-10\" id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-10\">[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup> Those who diminish the ontological status of the Holy Spirit by calling him a <em>creature <\/em>or <em>impersonal force<\/em> seek to undermine the worship and glory he is due. Today, both the Mormons and Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses are contemporary Spirit-fighters. The former calls the Holy Spirit a divine \u201cpersonage,\u201d rejecting his omnipresence and eternality. The latter, with even greater boldness, denies the Spirit\u2019s existence altogether, calling the \u201choly spirit\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jw.org\/en\/bible-teachings\/questions\/what-is-the-holy-spirit\/\">God\u2019s \u201cpower in action, his active force.\u201d<\/a> Beware of those fighting the Spirit. For they fight not only against him, but against the triune God himself, and they seek to slay true worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>10. Basil the Great, <em>On the Holy Spirit<\/em>, trans. Stephen Hildebrand (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladmir\u2019s Seminary Press, 2011), 93.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. The Holy Spirit Spoke by the Prophets. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>11. See John Owen, The Works of John Owen, vol. 3, Pneumatologia: Or, A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit, ed. William H. Goold (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2000), 29.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, we gladly affirm with Peter that \u201cno prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit\u201d (2 Pet. 1:21). This affirmation warns us against many who have <em>and will <\/em>come \u201cunder the pretense of the name and work of the Spirit\u201d to deceive and abuse the members of Christ\u2019s church.<sup><sup><a id=\"post-21665-footnote-ref-11\" href=\"#post-21665-footnote-11\">[11]<\/a><\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We gladly affirm that the Holy Spirit <em>has<\/em> <em>spoken<\/em>. And what he said was an all-sufficient word through the apostles and prophets. For God \u201cspoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son\u201d (Heb. 1:1\u20132). And in these last days, because the Spirit searches the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10\u201313), he has taken what is the Son\u2019s and declared it to us (John 16:14\u201315). It is by him that the Scriptures were written. And it is by him that the eyes of our hearts are enlightened (Eph. 1:18), that we may have spiritual discernment (1 Cor. 2:14) and come to behold the glory of our triune God and the exceedingly precious gift of the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In summary, we have seen how the creedal statement on the Holy Spirit matured in light of heretical challenges and how its truths are derived chiefly from Scripture. Let us join together then to confidently give our triune God the glory he is due and be prepared to defend the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Holy Spirit seems like an afterthought in the first version of the Nicene Creed. Discover the glories hidden in the creed&#8217;s short statement, and why they were expanded in the Creed we have today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"On The Holy Spirit","_seopress_titles_desc":"The Holy Spirit seems like an afterthought in the first version of the Nicene Creed. Discover the glories hidden in the creed's short statement, and why they were expanded in the Creed we have today.","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[]","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[32,12,1973,38],"tags":[823,123,1613,1671,1592,706,260,102,1589,1701,185,1870,1669,1618,1595,122,205],"scripture-reference":[],"post_folder":[],"ppma_author":[574],"class_list":["post-21665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-concise","category-july-2025","category-theme","tag-christ","tag-christology","tag-confessions","tag-council-of-nicaea","tag-creeds","tag-doctrine-of-god","tag-god-the-son","tag-gospel","tag-holy-spirit","tag-jesus","tag-jesus-christ","tag-nature","tag-nicene-creed","tag-orthodoxy","tag-protestant","tag-theology","tag-trinity"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pexels-sergey-platonov-114873806-12098620-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-01-13 11:28:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"authors":[{"term_id":574,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"robert-lyon","display_name":"Robert Lyon","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/RGL-headshot.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/RGL-headshot.jpeg"},"author_category":"","job_title":"","church_city_state":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","church_site":"","user_url":"","description":"<b>Robert Lyon<\/b> is a PhD student in Systematic Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky. For the past decade he has worked as an engineer in the manufacturing industry. He holds a Master of Divinity from SBTS, as well as undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from Indiana University. Robert is married with three children and a member of Hunsinger Lane Baptist Church."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21665"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21897,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21665\/revisions\/21897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21665"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-reference","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-reference?post=21665"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=21665"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=21665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}