"...and of the Holy Spirit", pt. 3 (05/20/2024)

(I do not condone)

The “Helper”

JESUS spoke of the holy spirit as a “helper,” and he said it would teach, guide, and speak. (John 14:16, 26; 16:13) The Greek word he used for helper (pa·raʹkle·tos) is in the masculine gender. So when Jesus referred to what the helper would do, he used masculine personal pronouns. (John 16:7, 8) On the other hand, when the neuter Greek word for spirit (pneuʹma) is used, the neuter pronoun “it” is properly employed.

Most Trinitarian translators hide this fact, as the Catholic New American Bible admits regarding John 14:17: “The Greek word for ‘Spirit’ is neuter, and while we use personal pronouns in English (‘he,’ ‘his,’ ‘him’), most Greek MSS [manuscripts] employ ‘it.’”

So when the Bible uses masculine personal pronouns in connection with pa·raʹkle·tos at John 16:7, 8, it is conforming to rules of grammar, not expressing a doctrine.

No Part of a Trinity

VARIOUS sources acknowledge that the Bible does not support the idea that the holy spirit is the third person of a Trinity. For example:

The Catholic Encyclopedia: “Nowhere in the Old Testament do we find any clear indication of a Third Person.”

Catholic theologian Fortman: “The Jews never regarded the spirit as a person; nor is there any solid evidence that any Old Testament writer held this view. . . . The Holy Spirit is usually presented in the Synoptics [Gospels] and in Acts as a divine force or power.”

The New Catholic Encyclopedia: “The O[ld] T[estament] clearly does not envisage God’s spirit as a person . . . God’s spirit is simply God’s power. If it is sometimes represented as being distinct from God, it is because the breath of Yahweh acts exteriorly.” It also says: “The majority of N[ew] T[estament] texts reveal God’s spirit as something, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God.”—Italics ours.

A Catholic Dictionary: “On the whole, the New Testament, like the Old, speaks of the spirit as a divine energy or power.”

Hence, neither the Jews nor the early Christians viewed the holy spirit as part of a Trinity. That teaching came centuries later. As A Catholic Dictionary notes: “The third Person was asserted at a Council of Alexandria in 362 . . . and finally by the Council of Constantinople of 381”—some three and a half centuries after holy spirit filled the disciples at Pentecost!

No, the holy spirit is not a person and it is not part of a Trinity. The holy spirit is God’s active force that he uses to accomplish his will. It is not equal to God but is always at his disposition and subordinate to him.

Response:

The Holy Spirit’s gender: Due to being a spirit, the Holy Spirit has no gender, in the same way that God the Father doesn’t actually have a gender (“God is spirit”). However, God still refers to Himself as “Himself”. Some people say this means God is trans; that’s just anachronistic. God the Father is not human to transition genders; gender is not something that applies to Him. Even though God became man through Jesus, this means that God the Son is male. It may sound confusing, especially when gender is mistreated in the modern understanding, but for the purpose, let it be known that this is not evidence against the Holy Spirit; in fact, the so-called “exception” of the Holy Spirit being called masculine is evidence.

The Old Testament understanding of the Holy Spirit: We talked about this last time, but it needs to be said again. The passages in the Old Testament that speak about Jesus or the Holy Spirit never specify their names. This is because they are prophecies. Take for example Joel 2:28-29

Joel 2:28–29 NKJV

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Here is a prophecy about God’s Spirit being poured out, but no one knew of the Holy Spirit personally. This did not happen until the 30s AD, when we see Acts 2 and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (which was celebrated yesterday). Acts 2:14-18:

Acts 2:14–18 NKJV

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.

If you read St. Peter’s full sermon at Pentecost, he also speaks of Jesus being revealed in the Old Testament. This is all about Jesus and the Holy Spirit being present but unknown in the Old Testament, and becoming known and manifest in the New Testament.

Let’s talk about councils: I don’t want to exaggerate, but the sheer dishonesty of this claim is surprising. I can’t access the direct quote, but this article is implying that the Holy Spirit was invented in the 4th century. That’s a complete lie: councils were held to address theological questions and usually ended up refuting heretics. This means that it was known well before the 4th century. In fact, 1 John 5:7 says:

1 John 5:7 NKJV

7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

Manuscript evidence suggests that this verse wasn’t contained in the original manuscripts of 1 John, which was written in the 90s AD. But it was added so closely after its writing that it is very early. In fact, Tertullian, who coined the term Trinity, wrote of it in the early third century. The doctrine was not only known but named within 2 centuries of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension.

So, as we finish this article which has convinced many people of heresy: we truly have no need to worry. There is hope in the Holy Spirit when He dwells inside of all believers. It’s very important to ensure we are included.