Is There A Gender to the HOLY SPRIT?

by Leonard V Johnson

Do you know the grammatical facts concerning Koine Greek?

God’s living word – the Holy Bible – let's begin in the 2nd Book of Acts ──

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” – Acts 2:1.

Notice it was when the Day of Pentecost had fully come. The Bible is clear that the events that follow were directly related to the fact that the Day of Pentecost had fully come. And the apostles were all observing it together.

Here is what happened:

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven [the sky], as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave them utterance.” – Acts 2:2-4.

They received some of the power of God’s Spirit. The Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, the greater majority of Protestants, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Church of God all believe that this was the beginning of the New Testament Church of God. And rightly so. The Holy Spirit (be sure to watch “The Truth Concerning the Trinity Explained” in which Minister Garrett explains from God’s Word the Holy Spirit) was gifted at a certain time (the same time that many Jews observed Pentecost).

Many may not realize that Pentecost represented more than just the gifting of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the New Testament Church of God.

So, we see that God’s Spirit was given and that it looked like licking flames of fire.

There are many languages around the world ── including Koine Greek, the very language that the New Testament was originally written in ── use what is known as grammatical gender.

The very word for “fire” is πῦρ (or rather, pur – pronounced poor). It is a noun and is neuter.

However, the overall majority ── millions if not billions of people ── consider the Holy Spirit a male.

Nearly every translation of the New Testament into the English language uses the pronoun “he” in relation to the Holy Spirit, as well as the relative pronoun “who.” But, neither of these pronouns are supported by the original Koine Greek.

Also, the Koine Greek word for “Spirit” is πνεῦμα ( or rather, pneuma – pronounced pnyoo'-mah). Again, it is a noun and is neuter. The word is neither masculine nor feminine.

But, what about in the Old Testament ── which was originally written in Hebrew ── are the words “fire” and “Spirit” masculine or feminine?

Let’s see.

The word “fire” is אֵשׂ (or rather, esh – pronounced aysh). An example we can use is Genesis 19:24 – “Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.” I also confirmed this with the Theological Wordbook of the Bible, which states that ‘esh appears over 375 times in the Bible. It is a noun and is feminine.

The word “Spirit” is רוּחַ (or rather, ruach – pronounced roo'-akh). Definition is wind, breath, spirit. It is a noun and is feminine.

Unfortunately – despite the original writers of the New Testament surely knowing the Koine Greek language, along with a little Aramaic, the overall majority of people know better than they ── they continue to portray the Holy Spirit as male. Notice this from the Jamieson Faussett and Brown Commentary in regards to Genesis 1:1 –

“God – the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew, ‘Strong,’ ‘Mighty.’ It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its use here in the plural form, is obscurely taught at the opening of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of it, viz., that though God is one, there is plurality of persons in the Godhead── Father, Son, and Spirit, who were engaged in the creative work.”

Is this correct? No!

They continue to propagate the false doctrine of a Trinity. Neither the Old Testament or the New Testament supports the idea that the Holy Spirit is a male── or for that matter a separate being!

As I was saying to a person on Facebook concerning painting graffiti on someone’s private property── because I had originally commented, “It's very good work, and he's very talented, but unless he owns that property or got permission, it's called vandalism.” 😔

A person commented back, “would you speak up if someone did that to your property???? Not me!!!!! I would say Thank you . Your work is amazing!” 💓💓💓

My response to her ── “You're entitled to your own opinions, but not the facts.” Graffiti without permission is still a crime in the United States. And there can be legal consequences. The owner of the property could, of course, refuse to press charges and absolutely LOVE HIS WORK! God's living word - the Holy Bible - says a lot about the fact that we should not do something bad for a good cause (cf. 1 Thess. 5:15).

Instead of resorting to illegal actions, it’s often more effective to seek lawful and ethical ways to achieve positive outcomes.”

I’m sure I’ll be attacked! But, the point I want to make is that calling the Holy Spirit a “she” or a “he,” or even a “who,” doesn’t negate the fact that the original Koine Greek has what is known as grammatical rules. There are laws, there are rules. And scratching “John 3:16” on the wall of a public restroom (at least in the state of Florida) falls under the crime of vandalism, codified in Florida Statute Section 806.13.

Even though many translations of the Word of God improperly used the pronoun “he” when referring to the Holy Spirit ── it’s interesting to note that the 1611 King James Version – which was produced from the Latin Vulgate – also would correctly translate a text as “it” when referring to the Holy Spirit. But, then, would incorrectly add “self”! Notice –

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” – Romans 8:16.

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” – Romans 8:26.

The English pronoun “it” is appropriate.

Just What is the Holy Spirit?

• It is the power of God. “ … ‘Not by might nor by power [of any human], but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts” – Zechariah 3:6. “But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, …” – Micah 3:8.
• It is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear (reverent fear) of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2).
• It is a gift. After baptism, you are to receive ‘the gift of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:38). And, it is poured out – “’ And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; …” – Acts 2:17. “ … the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also” – Acts 10:45.

And these were the beliefs “which was once for all delivered to the saints” – the early Christians. The oldest known complete Christian sermon which has survived is erroneously called The Letter of 2 Clement. It was given perhaps a year or so after the Apostle John’s death, and begins with: “Brothers, we must think about Jesus Christ as we think about God, as about the Judge of the living and the dead … So my brothers, let us do the will of the Father who called us, that we may live; …” – 2 Clement 1:1; 10:1.

So, the oldest surviving sermon outside of the Bible says to think of Jesus Christ as God and that the Father is God – but never indicates nor mentions the Holy Spirit.

The Trinity was formally adopted at the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381 – though many in the Roman and Orthodox churches believed in different versions of it prior to this – even in 381 it was not exactly the same trinity doctrine as now understood by the vast majority of this world’s churches.

In one of the best versions of God’s living word ever translated is Minister, Author, Translator, and Teacher Fred R. Coulter’s New English Translation in its original order. HE TEACHES THE TRUTH CONCERNING THIS MISUNDERSTOOD SUBJECT!

 Notice –

“2) John 15:26, KJV: ‘But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of the truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.’

The word “which,” referring to “the Spirit of the truth,” is correctly translated from the neuter pronoun o. In John 14:17, the translators of the KJV had incorrectly rendered this neuter pronoun as “whom.” However, in John 15:26, they have correctly rendered the neuter relative pronoun o as “which.”

The descriptive noun “the Comforter” is correctly translated from the masculine Greek noun ο παρακλητος ho parakleetos. While this masculine noun is used to describe a vital function of the Holy Spirit, it does not designate the Holy Spirit, or “the Spirit of the truth,” as a person. A descriptive noun never changes the gender of the principle noun. For example: Jesus said that He is “the true vine” (John 15:1). The Greek word translated “vine” is the feminine noun ἡ ἄμπελος, he ampilos. The use of this feminine noun to describe Jesus Christ does not change His masculine gender to the feminine gender. In exactly the same way, the use of the masculine noun ο παρακλητος ho parakleetos to describe a function of the Holy Spirit does not alter the fact that the Holy Spirit is neuter. Because the Holy Spirit is neuter in gender ── not masculine ── there is no basis in the New Testament Greek text for mistranslating and interpreting the Holy Spirit as a person.” 1

Now, while nearly every major Protestant Christian group claims to believe in all of the Holy Bible for their doctrines as opposed to the councils of men ── the overall majority of them have outright accepted the traditions of the Roman Catholics and Orthodox churches relating to the Holy Spirit.

Let us not fall for any false traditions that claim that the Holy Spirit is masculine or a separate person, because Scripturally and grammatically ── that is false. □

1 Coulter R. F., The Holy Bible In Its Original Order A New English Translation, Exegesis for the Translation of “The Holy Spirit” York Publishing Co., © 2009, pg. 1283.