No. 37 I have to admit I�m still thinking about the heresies David alluded to a few questions back. In responding to David, you mentioned the third century heretic, Arius. I think I�m correct when I say that Arius challenged the Church with the false teaching that Jesus was not fully divine in the sense that the Father was, rather a man whom the Father adopted as a �son�? How does one avoid this danger when speaking about the place of the Holy Spirit in the life and mission of Jesus Christ? In other words, how is Christ distinct from and superior to other bearers of the Spirit such as prophets or saints? >>DR. LEOPALDO SANCHEZ M.: Thank you, Nick. That is very -- that is a very important question. It is such an important question historically that sometimes I call it the hot potato question because no one wants to touch it. One of the main historical and theological reasons for what may be called the partial eclipse of the place of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christ was precisely the rise of heresies that used the Holy Spirit or misused or abused the Holy Spirit in Jesus' life to deny him something. Specifically to deny his pre-existence and his divinity. Adoptionism is a heresy that sort of spreads through various systems of thought in the early heterodox thought. Arius, for example, did have an adoptionist principle in his view of Christ. Because Christ for him is a son. Because the Spirit dwells in him in a special way. He is sort of a Son of God by grace. Like you and I are sons except he's at a higher degree or a much more special one than us. So he's a greater son simply by degree in relationship to us. So there is an adoptionist principle in him. Now, what is adoptionism in general? Adoptionism is basically the idea that Jesus is only a man. That at some point, usually at his birth or at his baptism, was adopted or elected or chosen by God as a son for a special mission. We actually hear similar statements today when people say things like: Jesus is a special man who is a great and moral example to the rest of us. Or Jesus is a holy man close to God, chosen to bring his message to us. Jesus is something like a Gandhi on steroids or something like that. The problem with this view is that Jesus is really in the end only a man. He does happen to bear the Spirit. But he is not God, as such. He is not God incarnate. Now, how do we get out of this adoptionist prop? One solution is sort of the Trinitarian solution. That is to say that we should not think of Christ as a mere man who has the Spirit. Instead, we should think of Christ's relationship with the Spirit in Trinitarian terms. And what I mean by that is that we should think in terms of a joint mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit in God's history of salvation. If the Son and the Spirit are with the Father saving us, they are all God. Neither one is less than God. Neither one is less than the other. In history the incarnate Son and the Holy Spirit always worked together as inseparable companions in fellowship with one another to bring about the Father's plan of salvation. So we should think of the Son as a pre-existence and who assumes a human nature and lives a human history. And see the Spirit as inseparably united to him throughout that life and mission. We are not to think of Jesus as simply a mere man who has the Spirit. So that's sort of the Trinitarian broader view of this. But also another solution may be to see how Jesus is distinct from other bearers of the Spirit such as prophets and saints. Here, we may say that only Jesus bears the Holy Spirit from conception. And more specifically, only Jesus may be said to be holy from the time of conception. Now, this is unique to Jesus. The rest of us do not bear the Spirit from conception. And more important, the rest of us are not born holy. But conceived in sin. So the holiness and the sinlessness of Christ is tied often to the presence of the Spirit in him. So Jesus is distinct from other saints on this count. What about Jesus' distinction from the prophets? Jesus proclaims the words of God like the prophets. But here there is an important distinction to be made. The prophets in the Old Testament were led by the Spirit to testify in advance concerning the salvation that was yet to come in Christ. As Jesus told his disciples: Most of the Psalms and the prophets spoke about his sufferings and glory. So when the prophets speak the words of God, they point to Christ. But when Jesus speaks the Word of God, these words point to himself as the revelation of the Father for life and salvation. When Jesus says to his disciples in John 6, "My words are Spirit and life," he means that his words are Spirit breathed and have the power to bring people to him, to Christ in whom there is life. So the words of the prophets and of the apostles point to Christ. The words of Christ point to himself as a way to the Father. So that is an important distinction between the presence of the Holy Spirit in Christ and in the prophets and apostles.