Expert: Daniel Kimbril - 1/6/2008

Question
Is there any scripural passage that differentiates between whether the Holy Spirit has always/eternally proceeded from the father, or did He only proceed from the father into our world and time? And what exactly does proceed mean in the biblical sense. Thanks

Answer
No verse in the Bible clearly defines what there was before our existence. As far as the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father that term usually means "comes from" for example: the Holy Spirit came from the Father.

NOTE: If you have a particular verse in question it helps for me to know that as there several methods used to determine the meaning behind words such as context, the pretext and the post text (what is written before it and after it and what is the underlying thought.) If you have a verse in mind request a follow up and I can get a more specific answer to its meaning for you or if you have further questions.