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I was at a home fellowship once which was not my own, and I happened to reference the Holy Spirit as an “it.” One young man spoke right up in an affronted tone. “You called the Holy Spirit an it!” he exclaimed! Well, let’s get to the bottom of the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, shall we? A “he” or an “it?”
We generally think of things that are “it” as being inanimate, and thus having no life; or as having no gender, like an amoeba or a tree. The spirit of God has no gender, but it certainly has life! In fact, it is life… the life of God!
Spirit or Ghost? Pneuma is the Greek word almost always translated “spirit” in the Bible. It is used a total of 385 times in the New Testament, and is translated other than “spirit” only four (4) times. One other Greek word is translated “spirit” and that is the Greek word phantasma, and in today’s vernacular, it should be translated “ghost.” The two times phantasma is used are Matthew 14:26 and Mark 6:49, both times speaking of Jesus’s disciples thinking he was a ghost when they saw him walking on the water at night.
But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit (phantasma – ghost) and cried out: Mark 6:49
Of the 385 times pneuma is used in the New Testament, whenever it is used alone (without the word hagion – holy), it is always translated “spirit” or “spiritually” in the genitive (literally, “of the spirit”), except in the four (4) instances.
(Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus) Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again (anothen – from above). The wind (pneuma – spirit) blows (pneuo) where it wills (desires, intends), and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell where it comes from, and where it is going; so is every one that is born of the Spirit (pneuma). John 3:7, 8
Here the spirit is likened in its behavior to the wind. Perhaps that is the reason the first use of pneuma in this verse is translated as “wind,” (there is a different Greek word usually used for “wind”) even though the second use of pneuma in the same verse is translated as “spirit.” Perhaps this is because the word “blow” is the verb form of pneuma, pneuo, used six (6) times in the New Testament and always translated “blow,” like it is in this verse.
And he (the second beast, who served the first beast) had power to give life (pneuma – spirit) unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Revelation 13:15
Two (2) times a form of the word pneuma is used as “give (or yield) up the ghost” and both speak of Jesus dying on the cross.
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit (pneuma); and having said thus, he gave up the ghost (ekpneusen). Luke 23:46
Ek is the Greek preposition indicated by a line coming from out of the center of a circle. Here it is prefixed in front of the verb form of pneuma. Jesus prayed, “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit,” and then the spirit came out of him.
Why the word “Ghost?” My understanding is that the translators of the King James Bible had more than one group responsible for doing the translation, and that there was disagreement among the groups as to how pneuma hagion should be translated. They compromised (truth by committee) and did it both ways! Of the ninety-three (93) times hagion pneuma is used in the Bible, (89) times it is translated Holy Ghost, and four (4) times as Holy Spirit. Exact same words, different translations!
The word “ghost” has come to mean an apparition of a dead person, and that is why I believe the term Holy Spirit should be used at all times. The spirit is not an apparition, it does not generally appear to anyone’s eyesight. It also certainly does not represent a dead person.
To Capitalize or not? The word pneuma is used three hundred and eighty-five (385) times in the New Testament. Of the times it is translated simply as “spirit,” without the qualifier hagion (holy, pure), it is capitalized one hundred and thirty-three (133) times, and it is not capitalized one hundred and fifty-one (151) times.
It appears that whenever the word pneuma is used of either a devil spirit or a person’s physical life, then “spirit” is not capitalized, but whenever the word pneuma is referring to God, then it is capitalized. There are plenty of exceptions:
And he (Jesus) sighed deeply in his spirit, and says, why does this generation seek after a sign?… Mark 8:12a
Jesus’ spirit was of God, so why not capitalize? The same with the word below:
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit… Luke 23:46a
It gets even weirder:
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:5, 6
So that which is born of the capitalized Spirit is uncapitalized spirit?
It is the spirit that quickens (gives life); the flesh profits nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
Apparently it is the uncapitalized spirit that quickens, and not the capitalized one. If I’m understanding the translators’ thinking here, the spirit that gives life is that spirit which is born of the Spirit, and not the Spirit directly? Okay, I think I’m getting it, but now I read:
He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this he spoke of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified). John 7:37, 38
I would have thought that this would have been an uncapitalized spirit which would be flowing out of a believer’s belly like a river of living water. Perhaps the translators felt a need to capitalize because the pneuma hagion, Holy Spirit was used in such close proximity?
Here’s where we begin to get a glimpse of the theology of the King James translators. When the word was referring directly to God, in their thinking, then it should be capitalized. When it was referring to what was of, or what came from God, then it was not. Except in this last verse, because they believed the Holy Spirit was a person of the Trinity, so it had to be capitalized, which now has confused the whole thing! In this last verse, the spirit being spoken of which flows out of a person is the holy spirit, which is of God, and not God Himself. This holy spirit is given to those who will believe on Jesus in the future.
In the original Greek texts, from which the entire New Testament was translated, all letters were capitalized, with no punctuation, verses, paragraphs, chapters, or even spacing, seeing as “paper” (papyrus, skins, whatever) was at such a premium. The Word of God was considered important enough that all letters were capitalized. So how would a translator know which to capitalize for his readers today, seeing as we have rules for which letters get capitalized and which do not? Well, as we’re seeing, that is left up to the translators’ own decision making. Were they correct in their thinking? Were they incorrect?
Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15
If you believe this is God’s Word for you, then you must accept that you bear the responsibility for deciding which times, if any, the word “spirit” should be capitalized or not. Myself? I read the Bible with the realization and understanding that because all words were capitalized in the original texts, then no words are capitalized, or set apart from others, in those texts. So I read the Bible as if no words are capitalized, and this is especially true of this word pneuma, or spirit. Spirit, (see, I did capitalize it at the beginning of a sentence), holy spirit, spirit, I just never exalt one use of the word above another.
But if the Spirit (spirit, because it’s of God) of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit (spirit, because it’s of God) that dwells in you. But if you live after the flesh you shall die; but if you through the Spirit (spirit) do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit (spirit) of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage, to fear again; but you have received the Spirit (spirit), whereby we cry, Abba Father. The Spirit (spirit) itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Romans 8:11, 13-16
He or It? When the Spirit is referring directly to God, I would refer to the Spirit as a He, even though God is not a man, and so He does not have a sex, or gender. He is referred to as our Father, as Lord, and these are masculine words, and so I refer to God as “He.” In the Greek language, “spirit” is masculine, and in the Greek (as in many other languages), the pronoun must agree in gender with the noun it relates to. For example, in French, la table, which is feminine in gender, would be referred to as “she.” La table, elle est la bas. Literally, “The table, she is over there.” Of course, when translating into English, we would say, “The table, it is over there.”
And so the translators had the strong tendency to refer to the spirit, because it was of God, and to the holy spirit, because they believed it a member of the Trinity, as a “he.”
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. 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
In the above, the spirit (Spirit) is referred to as an it. If you’re looking for a consistent rhyme or reason from the translators of the King James Bible (or any other translation), you’ll have a definitely confused theology. I think you’re seeing that it is more important to understand the truth of what is the spirit of God, the holy spirit, than to wrestle with whether the spirit is a he or an it, whether it should be capitalized or not.
God is a (“a” is not in the text) Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24
God is Spirit. God is spirit. Spirit is His nature. What He gives to those who believe on Jesus is His spirit, His nature, which is holy. God gives unto us His holy spirit. It is now our holy spirit, because it was given to us as a gift.
Whereby (the thorough 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
Is the holy spirit which was gifted to us a He or a he, an It or an it? Well, you’ve got it, you’ve experienced it, what would you call it? Do you have a man living inside you, or do you have Christ’s spirit living inside you, through which you can walk in oneness of spirit with God, because it is His spirit?
Who (God) also has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. II Corinthians 3:6, 17, 18
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