Gary Pollard
[Editor’s Note: Gary is translating the Ante-Nicene Fathers works, beginning with Origin’s work. It is meant to update the British English of Roberts and Donaldson. What follows is part of that translation]
It’s clear that both the Father and the Son are at work not only in saints but also in sinners. This is evident because all rational beings share in the Word—that is, in reason—and through this share, they carry within themselves certain seeds of wisdom and justice, which is Christ. Everything that exists participates in Him who truly is—the one who said through Moses, “I am who I am.” This participation in God the Father extends to both the righteous and the unrighteous, to rational and irrational beings, in fact, to all things that exist.
The apostle Paul affirms that everyone has a share in Christ when he writes, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does the Scripture say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.’” With this, Paul is saying that Christ, as the Word or Reason, is present in everyone—this is what makes them rational beings.
Christ’s statement in the Gospel also makes this clear: “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.” This shows that people become accountable for sin from the moment they gain rational understanding—when the Word, which is planted within, begins to reveal to them the difference between good and evil. From that point on, if they choose evil knowingly, they are guilty of sin. This is what it means to say they “have no excuse for their sin”: once divine reason has begun to internally show them what is good and what is evil, they are responsible to avoid wrongdoing. As Scripture says, “Anyone who knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it—sins.”
Furthermore, the idea that all people have some form of connection with God is taught by Jesus in the Gospel: “The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed. People won’t say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” This may reflect the same truth we find in Genesis: “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” If this breath applies to all humanity, then it follows that all people have a share in God.
If we understand this as referring to the Spirit of God, then—even though Adam is recorded to have prophesied—it doesn’t necessarily mean the Spirit is given to everyone in general. Rather, it seems to apply specifically to the saints. This is confirmed at the time of the flood, when God said of sinful humanity, “My Spirit won’t live with these people forever, they’re just human.” This clearly shows that God takes his Spirit from those who are unworthy.
The Psalms also say: “You take away their spirit (breath)—they die and return to the dust. You send out Your Spirit—they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.” This refers to the Holy Spirit, who, after removing those who are sinful or unworthy, brings about a new creation—forming a new people and renewing the earth. This renewal happens when people, by the Spirit’s grace, leave behind the “old self” with its deeds and begin to walk in a new life. So it makes sense to say the Holy Spirit dwells not in everyone, nor in those still living “in the flesh,” but only in those whose hearts—“their land”—have been renewed.
This is also why, after baptism, the grace and revelation of the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands. And after His resurrection—when the old had passed away and everything had become new—Jesus Himself, now the “new man” and the firstborn from the dead, said to His renewed apostles, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This fits with Jesus’s teaching that “new wine can’t be put into old wineskins.” The wineskins must first be made new—that is, people must begin walking in newness of life—in order to receive the “new wine,” which is the fresh grace of the Holy Spirit.
In this way, the power of God the Father and the Son is extended to all creation, without distinction. But the Holy Spirit is shared only by the saints. That’s why it says, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Even the apostles themselves were not immediately worthy to hear the words, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”
This is why I think the sin against the Son of Man is forgivable—because someone who shares in the Word (or Reason, Logic) of God but stops living rationally is seen as falling into ignorance or foolishness, and so may be forgiven. But the one who has been deemed worthy to receive the Holy Spirit and then turns back is guilty of a far more serious offense—blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Now, just because we say that only the saints receive the Holy Spirit, while the Father’s and the Son’s work extends to all people—both good and bad—we must not think this means the Holy Spirit is somehow greater than the Father or the Son. That would be a false and illogical conclusion. Rather, we’re simply describing the unique grace and role of the Spirit. With God there is no greater or lesser—no inequality. God alone, the source of divinity, contains all things in Himself, strengthens all things by His Word and Reason, and sanctifies all that is worthy through the Spirit of His mouth, as the Psalm says: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth.”
Each person of the trinity has a particular role. God the Father gives the gift of natural life to all creation. Jesus Christ, the Son, gives the gift of reason, enabling us to live the way we should. The Holy Spirit gives a special kind of grace to those who are worthy to receive it, through the work of Christ and the will of the Father.
Paul makes this very clear when he says, “There are different gifts, but the same Spirit; different kinds of service, but the same Lord; different workings, but the same God who works all in all. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good.” So, we can see that there is unity with God. What is called “the gift of the Spirit” is revealed through the Son and accomplished by the Father: “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one exactly the way he wants.”
Having spoken about the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let’s now return to the main argument. God the Father gives existence to all things. Christ, as the Word or divine Reason, enables them to be rational beings. Because of this rational capacity, they can choose between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing—this will lead to either praise or blame, depending on which thing they choose.
This is why we have the grace of the Holy Spirit: so that beings who are not holy by nature can become holy through participation in the Spirit. So there are three foundational stages:
- Existence comes from the Father.
- Rationality comes through the Word (Christ).
- Holiness comes through the Holy Spirit.
Those who are sanctified by the Holy Spirit are made ready to receive Christ more fully—especially in His role as the righteousness of God. And those who reach this stage of sanctification can then receive the gift of wisdom, which is granted by the power and working of the Spirit. This is what I think Paul means when he says: “One person is given a word of wisdom, another a word of knowledge, but both by the same Spirit.” Though he speaks of different spiritual gifts, Paul traces them all back to the one source of everything, saying, “There are different workings, but one God who does it all through everyone.”
From this we see that the work of the Father—giving existence to all things—is supremely glorious. But through participation in Christ (who is wisdom, knowledge, and sanctification), people grow and progress toward deeper perfection. And through the Spirit, anyone who becomes worthy is made purer and holier, so that they may then receive divine wisdom and knowledge. This cleansing—removing sin and ignorance—makes it possible for human nature to become truly worthy of the One who created it. In this way, the soul is purified and perfected, becoming what God intended it to be. And such a person will then be granted by God the power to exist forever, living forever in the One who Exists.
It is wisdom’s role to teach and train us, to help us grow in holiness through the Spirit’s constant sanctification. This ongoing renewal by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit allows us—perhaps eventually, though not without difficulty—to see and experience the holy and blessed life. And once we do reach it, we have to stay with it, never letting its joy become unexciting. On the contrary, the more deeply we experience its goodness, the more intensely we should long for it, ever more eager to cling to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
But if someone who has reached the highest level of spiritual maturity should grow spiritually dull or tired, I don’t believe they would fall from grace all at once. Instead, any decline would likely be gradual, step by step. And if a person should briefly stumble but quickly repent and return to their senses, they wouldn’t be entirely lost. Rather, they could retrace their steps and recover what was lost through their negligence.
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