Jesus offered himself ‘through the Spirit’ on the cross?

It’s a queer little phrase in Hebrews 9:14:



How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!



God made the world when the Father through the Spirit spoke the world into being. Or again, the Father sends the Spirit to apply the work of Christ to us. And in prayer we approach the Father in Christ’s name by the Holy Spirit.


But how does the atonement ITSELF work out from a trinitarian point of view? Hebrews 9:14 is the only passage I can think of that explicitly includes the Holy Spirit in the mix. This makes it a little harder to know exactly what Hebrews 9:14 is describing. Here are some thoughts:



  1. God the Holy Spirit seals and anoints Christ as an acceptable sacrifice.

  2. God the Holy Spirit empowered God the Son in his incarnate act of obedient self sacrifice.

  3. God the Holy Spirit operated as the effectual administrator of the atonement as it took place: he was active in the ‘making him as sin who knew no sin’.


Keen to hear you response to my suggestions, as well as suggestions of your own. Also keen to hear of other passages in Scripture that address this question.






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