IX. The Holy Ghost, then, always existed,
and exists, and always will exist. He neither had a beginning,
nor will He have an end; but He was everlastingly ranged with and
numbered with the Father and the Son. For it was not ever fitting
that either the Son should be wanting to the Father, or the Spirit to
the Son. For then Deity would be shorn of Its Glory in its
greatest respect, for It would seem to have arrived at the consummation
of perfection as if by an afterthought. Therefore He was ever
being partaken, but not partaking; perfecting, not being perfected;
sanctifying, not being sanctified; deifying, not being deified; Himself
ever the same with Himself, and with Those with Whom He is ranged;
invisible, eternal, incomprehensible, unchangeable, without quality,
without quantity, without form, impalpable, self-moving, eternally
moving, with free-will, self-powerful, All-powerful (even though all
that is of the Spirit is referable to the First Cause, just as is all
that is of the Only-begotten); Life and Lifegiver; Light and
Lightgiver; absolute Good, and Spring of Goodness; the Right, the
Princely Spirit; the Lord, the Sender, the Separator; Builder of His
own Temple; leading, working as He wills; distributing His own Gifts;
the Spirit of Adoption, of Truth, of Wisdom, of Understanding, of
Knowledge, of Godliness, of Counsel, of Fear (which are ascribed to
Him i.e., by Isaiah.) by Whom the Father is known and the Son is
glorified; and by Whom alone He is known; one class, one
service, worship, power, perfection, sanctification. Why make a
long discourse of it? All that the Father hath the Son hath also,
except the being Unbegotten; and all that the Son hath the Spirit hath
also, except the Generation. And these two matters do not divide
the Substance, as I understand it, but rather are divisions within the
Substance. Job xxxviii. 4, Ps. v. 10,
xxxvi., cxxxix. 7–15, cxlii., Isa. xi. 1–3, xlviii. 16,
Mal. iii. 6, Wisd. i. 2, John i. 14, iii. 24, xv. 26, xvi. 14, 15, Acts
xiii. 2, Rom. iv. 17, xv. 16, 19, 1 Cor. ii. 10, vi. 19, viii. 2, 2
Cor. iii. 1, 6, xiii. 4, 2 Thess. iii. 5, 1 Tim. vi. 10, Heb. ix.
14.