In what sense is the Holy Spirit called “the Lord?”
In the Old Testament, various divine names are used, notably the Sacred Name YHWH, but also elohim (“God”) and adonai (“Lord”). Because the Jews would not utter the Sacred Name, the common substitute was adonai; and most manuscripts of the Septuagint render YHWH as “Lord” (Kyrios), so that “Lord” became the common divine title.
In the New Testament the title “Lord” (Kyrios) is usually reserved for Jesus Christ, while “God” (ho theos) generally names the person of God the Father, as St Paul writes: “to us, there is one God the Father, from whom are all things; and we are for him; and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things, and we live” (1Co 8:4–6; see Q082). The common apostolic expression is therefore “God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (e.g., 1Ti 1:2).
Yet, the Holy Spirit is also properly called “Lord” in accordance with Scripture, for the Holy Spirit shares in the one Divine Name (Mat 28:19; see Q083, Q091). As the Apostle writes:
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2Co 3:17–18)
The Creed therefore calls the Holy Spirit “Lord” in the same sense as the Son of God: as very God, uncreated and co-eternal with the Father.
