Can you clarify the Orthodox position that the Holy Spirit preceeds from the father but not the son.
Certainly! Did you know that the original text of the Nicene Creed says that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and did not say that He proceeds from the Father
and the Son?
When we discuss the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father, the actual Greek verb refers to coming from the place from which you originate. So when we Orthodox say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, we say that the Holy Spirit has His origin solely in the Father. This is because the Father is the source (Greek:
arche) of the Trinity. The Son is begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from Him. If the Holy Spirit were to proceed from both the Father
and the Son as the Latins say, then that would make the Holy Spirit lesser than the other two Persons of the Trinity. Rather, the Father is unique in His role as being the Source of the other two Persons, and the Son is unique in being begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is unique in proceeding from the Father. So the Orthodox view emphasizes the balance between the three Persons of the Trinity.
That being said, while the Holy Spirit does not proceed from (i.e. originate in) the Son, Jesus can and does send the Holy Spirit; remember in John 20:22-23 when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, and promised that He Himself would send the Holy Spirit in John 14:16-26? So therefore, the Holy Spirit is
sent by Jesus, and Jesus is in turn sent by the Holy Spirit. Do you remember the Annunciation in Luke 1:30-35, when Gabriel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and she would conceive Jesus in her womb? Also, at every Orthodox Divine Liturgy, we pray that the Holy Spirit change the bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ.
Does Christ still intercede for us humans?
Absolutely! He prays for us to His Father, just as He did in John 17. And He also bestows grace from the Father upon us.
If so, How does Christ intercede for us, if not from the Holy Spirit?
When Jesus gives us grace, He often does so through the Holy Spirit. In baptism, for example, we baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We baptize with the authority that Jesus gave us. When we receive the Eucharist, which is the true Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, Jesus gives us Himself to sanctify and purify us. Jesus' entire life was an intercession for us--uniting our humanity to His Divinity, dying to destroy death's power over us, rising from the dead to give us new life, entering Paradise so that it might be reopened for us, and overcoming all temptation and sin to free our human nature from slavery to sin.
Overall, when it comes to grace, one could say all three Persons of the Trinity are involved; grace flows from the Father, through the Son, and is given to us in the Holy Spirit.
This is a question that I struggle with. when I read that the Holy Spirit does not precede from the father and son and I immediately believed that Jesus Christ was not the son of God anymore.I want the truth and I want to believe he is the Son of God. I know that Satan LIED to me. Please pray that God will help me through this.
Let not your heart be troubled! Just because the Holy Spirit doesn't originate in the Son doesn't mean that Jesus isn't the Son of God. Jesus is the Son of God because He is begotten of the Father, not because the Holy Spirit originates in Him.
Remember, Jesus is still the Creator of all creation (John 1:3). Jesus was in the beginning with the Father (John 1:2). Jesus is Himself God, just as the Father is God (John 1:1). He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). We see confessions of Jesus being the Son of God all over the New Testament--from two Roman centurions, from St. Peter, from St. Paul, from the Ethiopian eunuch, and countless other people throughout history.