Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 29:1 (Spring 2025)
Article: On The Holy Spirit
Author: Robert Lyon

On The Holy Spirit1

Robert Lyon

Robert Lyon is a PhD student in Systematic Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He earned his MDiv from Southern Seminary, as well as his undergraduate degree in Engineering from Indiana University. Robert is married with three children and a member of Hunsinger Lane Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky.

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: “And in the Holy Spirit.” According to Jehovah’s Witnesses,2 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? Absolutely not. 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 emerges from biblical truth and properly befits the God we adore.

We Believe In The Holy Spirit

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) and the Council of Constantinople (381). The third stage was more extended, rife with controversy, and surrounded the addition of the filiqoue (“and the Son”) clause in the West. Here is a summary of the changes in each stage (new additions italicized).

First, stage 1 is at the Council of Nicaea (325). The statement on the Holy Spirit reads: “And in the Holy Spirit.” Second, stage 2 is at the Council of Constantinople (381). The statement on the Holy Spirit reads: “And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.” Third, stage 3 is at the Council of Toledo (589 AD).3 The

SBJT 29:1 (Spring 2025) 48

statement on the Holy Spirit reads: “And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.” 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: “Why is this five-worded phrase about the Holy Spirit all that those original bishops could muster?”

Why So Short? The First Nicene Creed

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