Breviloquium

Second, concerning the plurality of apparitions, divine doctrine teaches that this is to be held: although God is uncircumscribable, invisible, and immutable, nevertheless he dwells in a special way in holy men, appeared to the Patriarchs and Prophets, descended from heaven, and also sent the Son and the Holy Spirit for the salvation of the human race. — And although in God the nature, power, and operation of the Trinity are undivided, the mission or apparition of one person is nevertheless not the mission or apparition of another. Although there is also supreme equality there, yet it belongs to the Father alone to send and not to be sent; it belongs to the Holy Spirit only to be sent with respect to the divine persons, unless perhaps he is said to send the assumed man; but it belongs to the Son to send and to be sent, as can be gathered from the Scriptures.¹

The understanding and reason of the aforesaid is this: although the first principle is immense and uncircumscribable, incorporeal and invisible, eternal and immutable, yet it is the principle of spiritual and corporeal things, of natural and gratuitous things, and thereby also of mutable, sensible, and circumscribed things, through which, although he himself is immutable, insensible, and uncircumscribable, he renders himself manifest and known. He renders himself manifest and known generally through the totality of his effects emanating from him, in which he is said to exist by essence, power, and presence, which extends to all created things.² — He also renders himself specially known through certain effects that lead especially to him, by reason of which he is said to dwell, to appear, to descend, to be sent, and to send.³ — For to dwell signifies a spiritual effect with acceptance, as is the effect of grace that makes one pleasing, which is deiform, leads us back to God, causes us to possess God and God to be possessed by us, and thereby also to have him dwell in us.⁴ And because the effect of grace is common to all persons, therefore one person does not dwell within us without another; indeed, the whole Trinity dwells there together.⁵

But to appear signifies a sensible effect with express signification, as the Holy Spirit appeared in a dove. And since, just as the divine persons are distinct, so they can be distinctly signified both by signs and by names, therefore each person can appear by itself, and apparition can belong to all, either together or to each individually. Hence, the fact that the Holy Spirit is said to have appeared in fiery tongues and in a dove is not on account of a new bond or special effect, but on account of the union between the thing signified and the sign assigned to it in a special way, both as to mode and origin.⁶

To descend signifies either of the aforesaid effects with inception. For God is always present to the most blessed Angels in heaven, because he always dwells and appears in them. But to sinners on earth he is at present as absent both with respect to grace and with respect to knowledge; and therefore, when he begins to appear or dwell, from being present in heaven and as it were absent from us he becomes present on earth: and therefore, although he is not changed in himself, he is nevertheless said to descend with respect to us.⁷

To be sent signifies the aforesaid effects with eternal production. For then the Father sends the Son, when, making him present to us through knowledge or grace, he intimates that he proceeds from him. And because the Father proceeds from no one, therefore he is nowhere said to be sent.⁸ Because the Son both produces and is produced, therefore he sends and is sent. Because the Holy Spirit is eternally produced, but produces only in time, therefore it properly belongs to him to be sent, while to send belongs to him only with respect to the creature. — From this it appears that these expressions are improper and must be explained: the Holy Spirit sends himself; the Holy Spirit sends the Son; the Son sends himself, unless it is understood: insofar as he was born of the Virgin. — It is also clear why sending and being sent do not belong to all: because, although it signifies an effect in the creature, it nevertheless signifies an intrinsic relation, such that sending signifies authority, being sent subordinate authority, by reason of eternal production internally implied.