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God is (a) Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship (Him) in (His) spirit and in (His) truth. John 4:24
For those who believe in the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit – 3 persons in one God), the Holy Spirit sure gets glossed over. Every once in a while you’ll read a study or hear a teaching that makes an effort to reinforce the Holy Spirit’s importance in the Triune Godhead, yet the reality continues to be that the Holy Spirit is just not as important as God the Father and God the Son, at least as far as people’s understanding and preacher’s treatment goes. In this study we’ll take a look at the who, what where, why, when and how of the Holy Spirit.
There is no way this will be an exhaustive (complete) study of the Holy Spirit, but hopefully it will be a starting (or continuing) point in your own search for truth.
The words “holy” and “spirit” are used together only three (3) times in the entire Old Testament. Two are found in Isaiah, and one in Psalms.
But they (Israel) rebelled, and vexed His holy Spirit; therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought against them. Then He remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is He that brought them up out of the sea (the Red Sea) with the shepherd of His flock? where is He that put His holy Spirit within him (Moses)?
Isaiah 63:10,11
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A note on the capitalization of letters. All capitalization in the Bible was done at the decision of the translators, based on whatever doctrinal understanding they held in their heads at the time. In the King James Version of the Bible, out of which the above verses are copied, the words “his” and “he” are not capitalized, speaking about God. I always capitalize pronouns which refer to God. The three times “holy” is used (in the verses above & the one immediately below) that word is not capitalized, while two times “spirit” is used it is capitalized, and one time it is not.
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Cast me not away from Your presence; and take not Your holy spirit from me. Psalms 51:11
You can see in the above verses how the capitalization (or lack thereof) is inconsistent. In the Isaiah verses, it is written “holy Spirit” and in the Psalm verse, it is written “holy spirit.” Why, I do not know, except to reiterate that what words were capitalized and what words were not capitalized was the subjective decision of the translators, and, as we clearly see here, they were not consistent. This is why it is important that we each understand clearly the truth of what God is communicating, and not rely on others’ interpretation of it.
In the New Testament, this term, “holy spirit” (or Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit) is used 27X in the Gospels, 41X in Acts (of the Apostles), 15X in Paul’s general epistles (Romans-Thessalonians), 2X in Timothy and Titus, and 9X in the rest of the New Testament, not including the book of Revelation, where it is not used at all! That’s 3X in the Old Testament, 94X in the New Testament!
You may ask, “Why is it translated both Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit; what’s the difference?” The answer is that the word “Ghost” is exactly the same Greek word as “Spirit” (pneuma). Perhaps the translators of the King James Version thought that in certain contexts, the word “ghost” should be used to differentiate it from other contexts. I’ve heard that there were two groups, or committees of theologians who did the translating, and that they could not agree on which word to use, so whichever section was translated by each group, they got to leave their translating of those words intact (agree to disagree!). In any case, the word “ghost” today has more of a meaning of a dead person’s presence, so I just automatically translate that word as “spirit” whenever I read (or when I write a study regarding) the Bible.
In the New Testament, when the text simply reads “spirit,” or “Spirit,” it is speaking of the holy spirit (when it’s obviously not talking about the devil). So, like all Scripture, it depends on the context. Especially in the Old Testament, sometimes when the text reads “spirit” it’s talking about an angel. Context is very important!
Another question is, “Is the Holy Spirit a person of the Trinity?” Again, context is important. Whenever the term “Holy Spirit” is speaking about God, I like to see it capitalized. Whenever it’s speaking of God’s nature in or toward us (like in the 3X it’s used in the Old Testament) I like to leave it un-capitalized.
In all 3 uses in the Old Testament, a possessive pronoun (his, your) is used before its use, showing that the possessor of this “holy spirit” is God. (“His holy spirit” and “Your holy spirit”). This indicates that “holy spirit” is possessed by or belongs to God. In 2 of the 3 uses, it is indicated that this “holy spirit” was in a person (and by context, even the first use in Isaiah is indicating that this holy spirit was in someone). In fact, in these 3 uses of “holy spirit” in the Old Testament is established the truth that the holy spirit is something belonging to God which inhabits a person.
Whereby (by the intimate experiential knowing of God) are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. II Peter 1:4
That “divine nature” is the holy spirit. Sometimes it’s referred to as a “he,” sometimes as an “it.” Which is correct? The word “spirit,” being a masculine Greek noun, uses the masculine pronoun, which could be translated “he.” However, just because it’s a masculine noun, that doesn’t mean it’s a masculine man. In English our nouns don’t have a gender, but in many (if not most) other languages, gender of nouns is very important. In French, “table” is a feminine noun (la table), and the pronoun for it is “elle,” which by itself would be translated “she.” So literally, in France, they say, “The table, put her over there,” but in English we would translate that French into, “The table, put it over there.”
So it is with “spirit.” When referring to God, we can use the pronoun “He,” but when referring to His nature in and toward us, I like using the pronoun “it.” In the King James version there is no consistency – again!
Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (understood). And He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26, 27
The first verse refers to the spirit as “it” (the Spirit itself), while the second verse refers to the spirit as “he” (he makes intercession). No consistency. This is why it is absolutely necessary, in order to come to God’s understanding of His Word, that we understand what is being written, and not accept what translators 400 years ago decided upon.
So here are the challenges in understanding the Holy Spirit.
Which words should be capitalized and when? (or at least understood that way)
Is the Holy Spirit a member of the Trinity, a person of the Triune God, having a personality, or not?
What exactly is the Holy Spirit in relation to God the Father, and Jesus Christ?
To capitalize or not.
Most of the time … no! The holy spirit is God’s nature toward and in us. Like a bay of the ocean is the ocean, but not the whole ocean, so the spirit of God is God, but not all of God. Inasmuch as what the spirit does for/in us is speaking about what God is speaking or doing for/in us, the holy spirit can be referred to with the pronoun “he.” Inasmuch as the text is referring to the mere fact or presence of the holy spirit, it can be referred to with the pronoun “it.”
Is the holy spirit a member of the Trinity or not?
If there were a Trinity mentioned or defined in the bible, then the holy spirit would certainly be a member of it. But no, due to a lack of spiritual (of the spirit) understanding, men of the early centuries after Christ were duped into the idea of a Triune God (that is, “three persons in one God”). The Bible certainly says that there is only one true God, but talks nothing about that God being comprised of “three persons.”
(This “trinity,” by definition is understood to be beyond understanding, and yet trinitarian believers often feel a need to try and explain it – a vain endeavor).
The term “Godhead” has come to represent this Trinity, but the word (in Greek, theotetos – a derivative of theos, God) simply means divinity or “godness” (the nature of God).
For in him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (divinity) bodily. Colossians 2:9
This verse is stating a similar truth to II Peter 1:4 above, with the added thought that all the fullness of God’s nature dwells in Christ.
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself …
II Corinthians 5:19a
Another place theotes is used is in Romans:
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; Romans 1:20,21a
Adam and Eve not only knew God, they knew and understood His divinity, His Godness. I once saw a movie called “The Prince and Me” which dealt with this very thing. The prince of Denmark went to university in the USA incognito. He met a girl and they fell in love, but she didn’t know he was the prince of Denmark. So it is with God. We can encounter Him without knowing it’s HIM! But Adam and Eve had no excuse, they not only knew God; they knew and understood His Godness!
Jesus had the same qualities as his Father, and that is one reason many get confused in thinking he is God. But Jesus himself always attributed his origin, his doctrine and his abilities as coming from his Father, and not being his own inherently or eternally.
For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father.
John 16:27, 28Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do… John 5:19a
As the living Father has sent me, and I live by (because of) the Father; … John 6:57a
Now there is definitely a oneness among God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and God’s holy spirit. In fact, there is no disagreement at all among them, for Jesus always did the Father’s will (always, from his baptism on, walked in the influence and power of his Father’s spirit within – “This is My beloved son, in (within) whom I am well pleased”), and the holy spirit is of course the very nature of God Himself.
I do not denigrate or belittle the wonderfulness of Jesus the Christ. Is it more spectacular and wonderful that he did what he did as being God? …. or as being man? For God not to sin … meh! No big deal. But for a man, Jesus, not to sin? Big Big Deal!
But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many. Romans 5:15
We’ll leave this study for the time being. Try reading the Bible with the above understanding and see whether or not it makes much more sense, seems clearer and more powerful in your understanding. It is totally between you and the Father what you choose to believe, and I never let another’s doctrine and/or understanding which differs from mine to get in the way of our spiritual, loving fellowship. I know many, many believers who believe the Holy Spirit is a “person” of the Trinity, and it doesn’t hamper me in the least from loving them. When truth is arrived at, life becomes clearer, more powerful, a relationship with God more attainable and more easily understood and accessed. This is what I search for when I search the Scriptures.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus; I Timothy 2:5
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Other interesting verses & questions:
Acts 2:33 Jesus received the holy spirit from the Father
Ephesians 4:6 says God the Father is in us. Verse 4 says there is one Spirit.
Romans 8:9-11 Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Christ (in you), Spirit,
Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead, He shall quicken your
mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:14,15 Spirit of God, Spirit of adoption
Are all of the above the same spirit? Or are they different spirits? (remember
Ephesians 4:4 – there is one spirit). Or are they all different terms for the
Holy Spirit/holy spirit?
Matthew 10:20 for it is …. the spirit of your Father which speaks in you
I Corinthians 12:13 by one spirit we are all baptized into one body
we have all been made to drink one spirit (“into” not in text)
II Corinthians 3:17 the Lord (Jesus Christ) is that spirit
I Corinthians first man, Adam, was made a living soul; the last Adam a
quickening spirit
Galatians 4:6 God has sent forth the spirit of His son into your hearts …. are the above
all referring to the holy spirit (Holy Spirit)?
Ephesians 2:18 through (dia – by means of) him (Jesus) we both (Jew & Gentile) have
access by (en – in) one spirit unto (pros – toward) the Father
Ephesians 3:16 – that He (the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ) would grant you … to be
strengthened with might by His spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith…..
Philippians 1:19 this shall turn to my salvation through (dia – by means of) the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ …. is he speaking here of the holy spirit?
Revelation 11:11 after 3 days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them,
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Related Studies
If you enjoyed how this study challenged your thinking and opened up your understanding of Christ, click on one of the related studies below:
Jobs of the Holy Spirit
Who and What is God
Jesus and his Father
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