2nd–3rd centuries

The Holy Spirit in Pre-Nicene Theology: Justin, Origen and the Gift of the Spirit in Baptism

Pre-Nicene theologians did not yet have a clear doctrine of the Spirit's place in the Trinity. Interpreting Luke 1:35, Justin wrote that the Holy Spirit is the Word becoming incarnate in the Virgin's womb; this interpretation spread in the West and even entered Leo's Tome (449). Origen, according to Berkhof, called the Spirit the first creature of the Father through the Son, active not in all creation but only in the saints, though good by nature and worthy of worship as Deity. At the same time, the connection between the Spirit and baptism was established early: Tertullian taught that the Spirit is given by the laying on of hands, and Cyprian that there is no baptism where the Holy Spirit is absent.