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QUESTION: Most Christians believe that they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, resulting in a transition from being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive. But there are also But there are also verses such as Galatians 2:20, where Paul says, “Christ liveth in me.” In what sense does Christ and/or the Father indwell Christians? Is it correct to say that Christians are indwelt by the entire Triune God?
THEODORE BEZA (1519–1605). Theodore Beza was a French theologian who was a close student of John Calvin. He spent most of his life in Geneva and was the successor of Calvin as its Protestant leader. He and Calvin founded the Geneva Academy in 1559, which developed and taught Reformed doctrine. Beza also served as the chief pastor of the Geneva church until his death in 1605. Beza wrote extensively on Reformed theology and, for the most part, followed Calvin’s position in the Institutes. But some distinguish Calvin’s more pastoral presentation of doctrine with Beza’s academic and systematic approach, including Beza’s strong emphasis on predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God. These were also the positions taken in Calvin’s writings but with a much lower prominence. Reformed theology today is better thought of as the theology of Beza rather than Calvin. This is why it can be confusing to refer to Reformed theology as Calvinism.
BEZA READING: We hold that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three truly distinct persons, and nevertheless one and the same God according to essence. […] Of this threefold subsistence in the one God the order begins from the Father and ends in the Holy Spirit. […] But in the divine essence that is most simple in every respect, and most infinite in act, there can be no place for either division or composition, but for distinction only. This is something that neither flesh nor blood has revealed to us but the Son himself. Moreover, the same logic that applies to a subject’s nature also holds with respect to those things that are predicated of that nature absolutely. And so likewise, the individual Persons are the one and same eternal, immeasurable, infinite, and omnipotent God. […] By the term “Trinity” we understand not one shared God separately, but three persons subsisting in one essence. This is because, as Gregory Nazianzus has correctly written, we cannot in the mind conceive the one essence apart from the three persons, nor the three persons apart from that whole same and singular essence. […] our heavenly Father will use the same disasters he once employed to avenge the terrifying blasphemies of first Arius, then Nestorius, Eutychus, and others like them, to catch these men who sin in a way not that different. Relying on God’s grace, I freely devote not only my effort but also my life to disentangle us from these threatening evils. [The Unity of the Divine Essence and the Three Persons Subsisting in It, Against the Arians’ Homoiousios]
PHILIP MENANCHTHON (1497–1560). Philip Melanchthon was a professor and theologian and a close collaborator with Martin Luther in developing Lutheran theology. He recorded Lutheran doctrine in his systematic theology treatise Loci Communes (or Loci Communes Rerum Theologicarum Seu Hypotyposes Theologicae), of which Luther said that there is no better book than the Holy Bible. Luther’s high opinion of Loci Communes is most likely why he did not write his own theological treatise. Melanchthon was also the main author of the Augsburg Confession, which is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation. Key articles of the Augsburg Confession include salvation by faith alone, that baptism is necessary, that Christ’s real presence is in the Eucharistic elements, that people do not have free choice when it comes to salvation, that there is only one holy Christian church, and that this church is found wherever the gospel is preached in its truth and purity and the sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.
MENANCHTHON READING 1: Now the first article of faith is that there is one unified eternal omnipotent Being, and nevertheless that there are three divine eternal omnipotent persons, eternal Father, eternal Son, and eternal Holy Spirit. […] The first person in the divine Being is called the eternal omnipotent Father, the fullness of wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, neither begotten of another person nor proceeding from another; […] The second person in the divine Being is called the eternal omnipotent Son, the fullness of wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, begotten from eternity in the essential and whole Image of the eternal Father. […] The third person in the divine Being is called the Holy Spirit, the fullness of wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, and essentially is the love and joy, like a flame, in the Father for the Son and in the Son for the Father. [Loci Communes (1555), Ch. 2]
MENANCHTHON READING 2: We noted in the introduction that there is a twofold distinction of the persons. The first distinction concerns the essential nature of the persons when compared with one another. Th Father is the procreator; the Son is begotten of the Father and out of the Father’s being, and throughout eternity the Son is the essential and full Image of the Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son and is the love and joy in the Father and Son. The second distinction concerns their activities and functions toward us; but here this old rule should be remembered, that every activity, be it creation or anything else, is an activity of all three divine persons. Nevertheless, in accordance with the order of the persons, each person has his own distinctive work. [Loci Communes (1555), Ch. 2]
MENANCHTHON READING 3: The believing heart, therefore, is a temple of God, in which God truly dwells and effects blessedness, and the three persons are there together. Through the outward word the Son of God is there and manifests the mercy of the Father, and the Father through the Son gives the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says to the Galatians, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” Through the word comes knowledge; through the Holy Spirit, joy and love to God, and new obedience. Christians should diligently ponder all this. [Loci Communes (1555), Ch. 2]
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