Spirit of promise
In Luke 24:49, Jesus says that the disciples should expect the coming of the promise of the Father. This is clearly a reference to the Holy Spirit, but the terminology is interesting. Augustine said that the Spirit is both “Gift” and “Love,” and Luke 24 adds “Promise.” And since it’s the Spirit as Gift and Love that binds the Father and Son, so it is the Spirit of promise who maintains the Father and Son in covenant loyalty.
And since the Father-Son relation is the model of the relation of God to man, we can say that God is bound to man by the Spirit, who comes to us as Gift, Love, Promise.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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