Evidence · Case 04 · The Trinity
The Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent in the Son’s name, John 15:26 and John 14:26
One exhibit from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Jesus says the Spirit “proceeds from the Father,” using a different verb than the ordinary language of dispatching a messenger. He also says the Father will send the Spirit in Jesus’s own name. The Spirit’s origin is described as coming out of the Father himself, not sent in from outside.
Sources
NASB
NASB
Objections & responses
- Isn’t “sent” exactly the language of subordination, not divinity? Angels are sent, prophets are sent, messengers are sent. If the Father sends the Spirit the way he sends anyone else, that looks like an argument against the Spirit’s equality with God, not for it.
Being sent by itself would prove nothing either way, which is why this evidence doesn’t rest there. The stronger word is “proceeds,” describing where the Spirit comes from rather than where the Spirit is dispatched to. Being sent is compatible with a shared divine life, the way the Son is repeatedly described as sent by the Father elsewhere in John without that costing him equality with God.