THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE

APOSTOLIC FATHERS
W. HAROLD MARE
Professor of New Testament Language and Literature
Covenant Theological Seminary

The writings from the sub-Apostolic Church in the period just

subsequent to the time of the New Testament, are important in enabling
us to compare doctrines continued by the tradition of the church in the
light of the Biblical teaching of the canonical Old and New Testaments.
An important subject for comparison is the Holy Spirit as He is pre-
sented in the Apostolic Fathers. One recent author has commented in
connection with one of the earliest Apostolic Fathers, Clement of Rome,
in the First Epistle to the Corinthians that there are just passing ref-
erences to the Holy Spirit and that "the doctrine of the Spirit is only
inchoate" in this epistle just mentioned. I
Such a statement raises for us several questions regarding the
doctrine of the Spirit not only as they might relate to I Clement but also
to all of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers. Is it true that references
in I Clement to the Holy Spirit are referred to only in "pass ing," and
are the references actually few and far between in the Apostolic Fathers
as a whole? Is the terminology in reference to the Holy Spirit in the
Apostolic Fathers Similar to that of the Old and New Testaments, or
both? Is the teaching about the Spirit in I Clement and elsewhere in
the Fathers 2 only inchoate and actually inconsequential, or do the doc-
trinal concepts suggested correspond to many of those set forth in both
of the Testaments? What divergences, if any, from the Biblical doctrine
of the Holy Spirit can be detected in the Fathers?

In this study of the Holy Spirit in the Apostolic Fathers the fol-
lowing works have been examined: 3 The First Epistle of Clement to the
Corinthians (dated between 75 and 110 A. D.); 2 Clement to the Corin-
thians 4 (+ 150 A. D.); The Epistles of Ignatius (98-117 A. D.); The
Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians (c. 110-115 A. D.); The Didache
(2nd century A. D., possibly early 2nd century); The Epistle of Barnabas
(the end of the 1st century or beginning of the second, A. U); The Shep-
herd of Hermas (c. 120-150 A. D.); The Martyrdom of Polycarp (c. 156
A. D. ); and The Epistle to Diognetus (of uncertain date, but pOSSibly 2nd
or 3rd century, A. D.).

3
4 GRACE JOURNAL

Evaluation of the Number of References to the

Holy Spirit in the Apostolic Fathers

In comparison with over 200 references to the Spirit in the New

TestamentS the Fathers have in excess of 70 6 which is comparable to
the number of times to which reference is made to the Spirit in the Old
Testament. 7 Such references can be found in almost all of the Fathers
and are distributed in the following way:

1 CI'ement 11
2 Clement 6
Ignatius 6
Polycarp to the Philippians 1
The Didache 3
The Epistle of Barnabas 4
The Shepherd of Hermas 41
The Martyrdom of Polycarp 3
Total 75

Some of these references are grouped in one section or sections of a

particular work due to the nature of the author's thought, such being the
case in 2 Clement 14:3-5 (6 references), Hermas, Mand. 10:3 (7 uses),
Mand, 11 (13 uses), and Hermas, Sim. 5:6, 5-7 (8 uses).

The Epistle to Diognetus is the only work in the Apostolic Fathers

which does not make reference to the Spirit, which may reflect a later
date of authorship for the work (possibly 3rd century A. D. ), 8 when the
teaching on the Holy Spirit does not seem to be prominent. 9 Although
the Didache refers to the Spirit only three tiimes, two of the three uses
occur quite appropriately in that section of instructions for Christians
given in the last half of the work (sections 7-16) when the sacrament of
baptism is discussed with the baptismal formula "into the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" being given twice (Didache 7:1 and 3).

That the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians refers to the Spirit

only once (5 :3) may be attributed to the subject matter of the epistle
which consists of a warning concerning church disorders and apostasy
and of the letters of Ignatius to the Philippians. But when bringing in
the practical aspects of living a virtuous Christian life, Polycarp does
refer to the Spirit in a statement about "lust warring against the Spirit
• • ." which seems to be a composite thought from Gal. 5 :17 and
I Peter 2 :11.

Thus we observe that in almost all of the Apostolic Fathers there

is considerable reference to, and discussion of, the Holy Spirit which is
sufficient to indicate that the doctrine of the Spirit was important in the
 THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS 5

life of the sub-Apostolic Church.

The Terminology Used in the Apostolic

Fathers for the Holy Spirit

In the Old Testament the names used to express the concept of

the Divine Spirit vary, with the terms "the Spirit" and "the Spirit of the
Lord" occurring most frequently (about 25 times each), while the phrase
"Spirit of God" is used 11 times, and the term "Holy Spirit" is only ex-
pressed in three places.

In contrast the New Testament in its more frequent reference to

the Spirit only uses "Spirit of the Lord" in three passages, and refers
to the Spirit of God" 17 times, but very frequently the two expressions,
"the Spirit" and "the Holy Spirit," are employed (over 90 times each).
Almost half of the uses of "Holy Spirit" (41 times) occur in the Acts of
the Apostles, with the Gospels having 26 occurrences and Paul's epistles
17. It is Paul who employs most frequently the term "Spirit of God,"
with 12 of the 17 uses. The expression "the Spirit of the Lord" occurs
only once each, in the Gospels (Luke 4 :18 in a quotation from the Old
Testament), in Acts (5:9) and in Paul (2 Cor. 3:18).

The terminology of the Fathers in reference to the Spirit is gen-

erally that employed in the two Testaments, but the pattern of frequency
more nearly follows the New Testament in not often using the terms,
"Spirit of the Lord" (only 3 times) and "Spirit of God" (only once) and
in using more often the words, "Holy Spirit" (38 times), and "Spirit"
(22 times). In addition to New Testament usage the Apostolic Fathers
introduce three new terms: "the Divine Spirit" (used 7 times in Hermas),
"the delicate Spirit" (Hermas Mand. 5:2,6; compared Hermas Mand. 5:1,
3); and "the Spirit of the Godhead" (twice in Hermas, both of which,
however, are used in the same context with the expressions, "Holy Spirit"
and "Spirit," Hermas 11).

It is obvious, therefore, that the Apostolic Fathers show famili-

arity with the New Testament usage of terms for Holy Spirit and gen-
erally follow this pattern of expression. In the case of the occasional
use by the Fathers of expressions found more frequently for Spirit in
the Old Testament it is to be observed that of the three uses of the
name "Spirit of the Lord" by the Fathers, tlVO are a part of quotations
from the Old Testament. One occurs in the Epistle of Barnabas 14: 9,
and quotes Isa. 61:1,2 where both in the Hebrew and the LXX the term,
"Spirit of the Lord," occurs. The other appears in I Clement 21:2,
being a quotation of Proverbs 20:27 where there is a textual problem
(I Clement having lTVEuya KUr l OU , whereas the Hebrew and LXX of Pro-
verbs 20:27 have 01 ~ 01 ~ '.~ and ¢w s KUp l OU , respectively).l0 The third
6 GRACE JOURNAL

instance of this expression in the Fathers is also in the framework of

reference to the teaching of the Old Testament, where in the Ep. Barn.
9:2 in quoting a passage from the Old Testament he introduces it with
the words, "the Spirit of the Lord prophes ies. "

So only in Old Testament quotations where the term, "Spirit of

the Lord," occurs or as an introduction to an Old Testament quotation
is the phrase to be found in the Apostolic Fathers, and that basically
only in one document, the Epistle of Barnabas.

The only reference in the Fathers to the phrase, "Spirit of God, "
a designation frequently used in both the Old and New Testaments, is
found in Hermas, Mand. 10:2 where it is used interchangeably with two
other terms, "Spirit," and "Holy Spirit, " both of which, as we have ob-
served, are common expressions in the New Testament.

In overall pattern, therefore, the terminology for Spirit in the

Fathers generally follows the usage of the New Testament, only em-
ploying the more distinctive Old Testament expression, "Spirit of the
Lord," in a very few places where the Old Testament is quoted or
where a quotation is introduced. It may be reasonable to suggest that
this general uniformity to the usage of the New Testament terminology
for Spirit argues for the knowledge of, reverence for, and dependence
upon the New Testament on the part of the Apostolic Fathers.

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

as Seen in the Apostolic Fathers

The Person of the Holy Spirit

It has been said that ". upon the whole their [i. e., the
early Christian writings] testimony is unmistakably in favor of the per-
sonality [of the Holy Spirit]. ,,11 On the basis of several references in
the Fathers to the Spirit which present a high view of His person, a
viewpoint comparable to statements in the New Testament regarding the
supernatural character and work of the Spirit, it is proper to say that
the Fathers go beyond just identifying the personality of the Spirit, but
likewise present a concept of the Holy Spirit's person which is super-
natural and divine. The Spirit in several places is associated with the
Father and the Son in such a way as to suggest that the Apostolic Fathers
counted Him to be equal with the other two members of the Trinity.
Twice in the Didache (7:1 and 7:3), in reference to the baptismal form-
ula' the Holy Spirit is included with the Father and the Son, and the
formulary expression is identical to that set forth in Matthew 28:19
( E~S 10 bvo~a T aU nUTpos Kal TOU VI 00 Kat IOU ayfou TIVEU~al0s ).12
 THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS 7

It is tempting to suggest that either the Didache and Matthew had a com-
mon source or, better, that the author(s) of the Didache knew the contents
of the Gospel of Matthew.

In Ignatius~. 13:1 the Spirit is associated with the Son and the
Father in a challenge to obedience to the Word for prosperity in the
Christian life. In this passage the Son and the Father in that order are
associated together in one prepositional phrase (with £v ), the Spirit fol-
lowing in a separate phrase. 13

In Hermas, Sim. 5:6,5 there is a strong statement that the Holy

Spirit is the creator of all things and also that He is the pre-existent one
(TO TIVclljJa r:!Yl0V TO TIPOQ\!), but this passage does not bear on the per-
son of the Spirit Himself since it seems to be identifying the concept of
Holy Spirit in this context with Christ.

In His dying prayers (Martyrdom of Polycarp 14:2) Polycarp ex-

presses his gratitude to God for the coming resurrection life and con-
siders the Holy Spirit as well as the Father, and the Christ to be re-
sponsible for this blessing, and in 14:3 of the same work in an expres-
sion of final praise Polycarp again includes all three persons of the
Trinity, closely associating here the Holy Spirit with Christ in a single
a uv phrase (a u\! a(mjJ Kal 1!\iE ujJaTl &y f"l\. In concluding notes by a later
scribe (Martyrdom of Polycarp 22 :3) the thought is set forth that divine
glory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the Father and the Holy Spirit,
and in this case the Father and the Spirit are closely associated together
in one auv phrase (a uv T ~ naTp "i K at ttyf ltl 1T\JEu ~aTl ElS T OUS aiiDV O,S TW\)
a ~ wvwv ) .

In IgnatiUS Ephesians 18:2 the Trinity is associated together in

the incarnation of Christ, 14 a thought Similarly expressed, but in dif-
ferent words, in Luke 1:35.

The statement in Hermas, Mand. 11:21 is that the Spirit is Di-

vine (the expression is, "Divine Spirit", TO rr VE U)jo' TO BE1 0\) ).

That "the Divine Spirit coming from above is powerful" (the

c lause is TfVEU l-lo. TO BEla v ~VWeE\) E P X0 ]J EV O'J 6vvcn 6v t aT t)in a general
c ontext which associates this concept with the Spirit of the Godhead and
of the Holy Spirit (Hermas, Mand. 11:21 and 11:8-10) further confirms
the conclus ion that the Apostolic Fathers present the Spirit as a super-
natural person.

That the term "Spirit" or "Holy Spirit" carried in the Fathers a

divine connotation is further argued by the fact that in three places the
Son of God or Christ is said to be the Holy Spirit (Hermas, Sim. 9 :1, I;
8 GRACE JOURNAL

Sim . 5:6,5 and 2 Clem. 14:4. 15

Thus, since in the Apostolic Fathers the Spirit is associated in t he

baptismal formula and in benedictions so closely with the Father and
the Son and since the term, Holy Spirit, is used in the same way of the
divine Son of God, Jesus Christ, as of the Spirit, we conclude that the
concept of the divine personality of the Holy Spirit is generally taught in
the Apostolic Fathers, although not to the extent nOr as clearly as set
forth by Christ and the Apostles in the New Testament record.
The Work of the Holy Spirit

In a number of ways the work of the Holy Spirit in the Fathers

corresponds to that developed on the subject in the New Testament.

The first of these areas concerns the emphasis given to the

Spirit's inspiring and authoring Holy Scripture. In introducing a quota-
tion of Ezekiel 33:11-27, ' 1 Clement 8:1 refers to the Old Testament
prophets as speaking through the Holy Spirit ( a lil TI\!EI:i~O:TOS 6.Y\OU ).
This is similar to Acts 4 :25 where the identical prepositional phrase is
used in referring to David as being used by God to give the prophecy
in Psalm 2: Iff. Several times in the Fathers Old Testament quotations
are introduced by the statements, "the Holy Spirit says" (1 Clement 13:1,
in quoting Jeremiah 9:23,24), "the Holy Spirit spoke" (1 Clement 16:2,3,
before citing Isa. 53), "Christ through His Holy Spirit calls us" (1 Cle-
ment 22:1, in quoting Psalm 34:11-17), and "the Spirit of the Lord pro-
phesies" (Ep. Barn. 9:2, in citing Psalm 33(34):12 and Exodus 15:26).
In some cases the statement of inspiration by the Spirit is not followed
by a direct quotation of Scripture, such a case being in Ignatius Phila.
7:2 where the statement, "the Holy Spirit preaches and says" is not suc-
ceeded by a direct quote from either Testament but by what sounds like a
combination of 1 Cor. 6:19, Ephesians 4:1-3;5:1, and 1 Thessalonians 1:6.1 6

Presented as though an accepted principle of the Church 1 Cle-

ment 45:2 concludes that the Holy Scriptures are given through the Holy
Spirit 17 which Scripture in the context of the immediate sections 45-47
seems to include the Old Testament and pOSSibly parts of the New. 18

Secondly , there are allusions in the Fathers as to the Spirit being

involved in the beginnings of the Christian's salvation. The Spirit is said
to have prepared the men whom God calls (Didache 4:10), and He is also
the author of the hope which those who believe in Jesus and participate
in the sacrament of baptism possess (Ep. Barn. 11:11).

Further, the Spirit is also represented in the Fathers as being

a vital spiritual influence in the development of the Christian Life. He
is said to dwell in (Hermas Mand. 5 :1, 2)19 and to be poured out in
 THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS 9

abundance upon the Christian (1 Clement 2:2).20 Hermas Mand. 11:9

suggests that those with the prophetic spirit are filled with the Holy Spirit
(compare also Hermas Mand. 10:2,5).21 As to the Spirit's ministry of
influencing and developing a holy life in the Christian, Christ is said to
call us to such a life through the Holy Spirit and Psalm 34:11-17 22 is
quoted as supporting this thought (1 Clement 22 :1). 1 Clement 21:2
argues that since the Spirit of the Lord is a lamp searching the inward
parts of the Christian, therefore, the believer is to live a godly and
pure life (compare also Hermas Sim. 5 :6, 5). The test of a true pro-
phet who has the Spirit according to Hermas Mand. 11:7 is to be found
in his meek and godly life, and the fact that the Apostles and teachers
of the New Testament era walked in righteousness and truth is to be
attributed to the fact that they had received the Holy Spirit (Hermas.
Sim. 9:25, 2). That the Christian can grieve the Spirit (compare Ephe-
sians 4 :30-32) by committing acts of sin is taught in Hermas Mand 10:2,2
where ill temper and doublemindedness are set forth as grieving elements.

As he is set forth in the New Testament, so the Holy Spirit in

the Apostolic Fathers is the one who grants charismatic gifts to the be-
lievers. The Apostles used spiritual discernment and knowledge (com-
pare I Cor. 2:10 and 12:8) in choosing proper officers for the Church
(1 Clement 42:4). In preaching the Word of God purely, the Apostles
and New Testament teachers were guided by the Spirit (Hermas Sim.
9:25, 2), and they preached in the assurance of the Holy Spirit (1 Cle-
ment 42 :3). As to the prophetic office, it is the Spirit on the true pro-
phet who enables Him to speak prophetically (Hermas Mand. 11 :9, 10),
whereas the false prophet does not have the power of the Divine Spirit
(Hermas Mand. 11:2) (compare 1 John 4:1-3). As to the gift of faith
(1 Cor. 12:9), Hermas Mand. 11:9 knows of righteous men who have
the faith of the Divine Spirit.

Thus it is clearly observable that the presentation in the Fathers

of the divine person and effective supernatural work of the Spirit is quite
comparable to, though not as full and complete as that set forth in the
New Testament.
Some Divergences in the Apostolic Fathers
from the Biblical Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
Evena cursory reading of the Fathers will show some erroneous and
enigmatic statements regarding the Spirit obviously at variance with Bibli-
cal teaching. A few illustrations will suffice. 1 Clement 63:2 suggests
that there were others than the Apostles and their close acquaintances in
subsequent times, who through the Spirit were authors of Scripture. 23

In Hermas Mand. 5:1 and 2 the erroneous thought is presented

that the indiVidual Christian can lose the Holy Spirit through a spirit of
10 GRACE JOURNAL

ill temper, bitterness, etc. 2 Clement 14:3 sets forth the enigmatic
statement that God will receive the spiritual Church back again in the
Holy Spirit if she is guarded in the flesh without corruption.

Thus, we conclude from such illustrations of doctrinal divergence,

that although the statements of the Apostolic Fathers regarding the Holy
Spirit evidence a first hand knowledge of the New Testament record, yet
these statements do not set forth as clear, full and true a record on
this subject as is found in the New Testament itself.

Conclusions

From' this study of the Holy Spirit in the Apostolic Fathers a

number of conclusions can be drawn.

In the first place, the references to the Spirit in the Fathers are
not an infrequent occurrence. Secondly, terminology used by the Fathers
for the Holy Spirit follows the pattern of the Biblical books, espec ially
those of the New Testament. Then, too, it has been observed that the
teaching in the Fathers concerning the Spirit's person and work is not
inchoate and inconsequential, and the doctrinal concepts suggested coin-
cide with many of those set forth in the Old and New Testaments.

However, it is to be noted that, contrary to the Scripture, the

teaching by the Fathers on the Spirit is not free from erroneous and
enigmatic statements.

On the whole, the presentation ot the Holy Spirit by the Fathers

evidences the heartbeat of early New Testament Christianity close to the
time of the Apostolic period. The results of this study do not agree
with the statement, "The doctrine of the Holy Spirit was not made prom-
inent till the fourth century. "24 This statement may be true when applied
to the later Ante-Nicene Fathers but it is certainly not true of the
Apostolic Fathers.

DOCUMENTATION

1. Henry Bettenson, ed. and trans., The Early Christian Fathers

(London: Oxford University Press, 1956), p. 41.
2. Hereafter the Apostolic Fathers are meant when the term "Fathers"
is used.
3. Kirsopp Lake, tr., The Apostolic Fathers, in The Loeb Classical
Library, 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1959).
 THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS 11

4. It is somewhat dubious that Clement wrote this. See Lake, op. cit.,
Vol. 1, p. 126.
5. About 225.
6. There are approximately 75 references.
7. There are in the Old Testament over 60 references to the Divine
Spirit.
8. Lake, op. cit., Vo. II, pp. 348, 349.
9. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, ed.
S. M. Jackson, Vol. V. (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1909)
p. 331, "Holy Spirit. "
10. Thus, this passage in I Clement 21:2 is suspect as to whether this
is at valid quotation of an Old Testament reference to the term,
"Spirit of the Lord."
11. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol.
V, p. 331, "Holy Spirit."
12. The phrases are identical to this both in Didache 7:1 and 7:3, only
that in the latter reference the Greek article, TaD, is omitted in
the case of each member of the Trinity, concerning which it may
be suggested that the author thought it was not necessary to repeat
T aD in each case, since he had just included the formula in its
full form a sentence or two earlier.
13. It is not necessary to infer on the basis of these two separate pre-
positional phrases that Ignatius is subordinating the Spirit to the
Father and the Son, for in the same context there are two other
prepositional phrases introduced separately by h which are un-
doubtedly, to be understood as equally parallel thoughts: ~v &p X ~
Kal ~v T(.\(l.
14. The text says, "Our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived by Mary
by the dispensation of God . . . . of the Holy Spirit." There is
a textual problem over the word 8E aD , however. See Lake, op. cit. ,
Vol. I, p. 192.
15. In Hermas Sim. 9:1,1 the Holy Spirit is called the Son of God,
which expression reminds us of 2 Cor. 3:17. In 2 Clement 14:4
the Spirit is said to be Christ, and in Hermas Sim. 5 :6, 5 the
Holy Spirit seems to be equivalent to the Son of God discussed
in an earlier part of the section.
16. The statement reads, "Do nothing without the overseer, keep your
flesh as the temple of God, love unity, flee divis ions, become
imitators of Jesus Christ, as also He was of His Father."
17. Observe the use again of the same prepositional phrase, o,a TaD

1TVEUJ-lClT O S ~ y f o u.
18. The illustrations and quotations are from Daniel, the Psalms, Jesus
and Paul.
19. Compare I Corinthians 6:19.
20. Compare Acts 2 :1£f. and Romans 5 :5.
12 GRACE JOURNAL

21. See also a similar expression regarding the fulness of the Spirit in
Epl:!. 5:18
22. This may be interpreted to mean that the Holy Spirit both divinely
inspired Psalm 34:11-17 and urges through it the living of a godly
life.
23. The phrase is, "If you are obedient to the things which we have
written through the Holy Spirit." It is possible to take the phrase
010. TOU &:YlDU 1fV£U\-lClT OS with 01TTlKOO l which would then mean"if you
are obedient through the Spirit," but the 6 \Ii phrase is too far re-
moved from 0 nnKool to make such a suggestion plausible.
24. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, Vol. V, p. 331, "Holy Spirit."