Is the Holy Spirit a Person?

Anyone can easily see a difference between these two words: it - he.

Likewise, we all can see a difference between these words: which - who.

We can see a difference between those words simply because there is a difference; the letters used to spell each word are different. In this study, that is how simple the issue is. In the Greek language, the difference between it and he or between which and who is as easily recognized as it is in English, for they, too, are spelled differently. For one example, the Greek words for it ( o ) and for he ( os ). Even a small child in ancient Greece could have recognized the difference between those simple Greek words.

One day I began a study with a question: "Did the writers of the New Testament refer to God's Spirit as a person (he, him, who) or as a thing (it, which, that)? To find the answer to the question, I had only to locate the verses in the New Testament which contain a reference to the holy Spirit and read each verse in the Greek. It was a very simple process, one that a first-year student of the Greek language could easily perform.

Once I had determined which words the apostles used when they referred to the Spirit of God, then the focus of the study became, "How faithful to the apostles' words are the various versions of the Bible which have been made?" To answer that question, I needed only to read the appropriate verses in the translations available and see how the apostles' words were translated.

Lastly, I organized the information into Tables so that the reader could see:

1. which Greek words the apostles used when referring to the Spirit
2. what the correct translation of those words should be
3. how those words were translated in various versions of the Bible

What I discovered was irrefutable proof of intentional mistranslation of words which refer to the Spirit of God in translations by trinitarians. They did not have to do it - but they did. Which leads one to the question: "why?"

Many languages refer to things, as well as to people and animals, as "him" or "her". For example, bread and house in biblical Greek are treated as masculine words, and so, the personal pronoun he is always used when such words are the antecedent. Love, sword, and city, on the other hand, are treated as feminine and always referred to as she. And words considered neuter, such as name and water, are always referred to as it. Gender designation may change from language to language (the biblical Greek word for spirit is neuter, but the modern German word for spirit is masculine), but within a language itself gender designation is consistent (the biblical Greek word for spirit is always neuter in Biblical Greek). How it developed, and which people first began designating nouns as masculine, feminine, or neuter is an interesting question, but is probably unknowable. Nevertheless, the designation of words as masculine, feminine, or neuter became an integral part of many ancient languages and remains so in many modern languages.

A determiner is a word that signals that a noun (such as spirit) is coming in the sentence. In English, articles such as the and other determiners do not change form, regardless of what they point out (the man, the woman, the tree). But in many languages, including Biblical Greek, determiners do change form in order to match the gender of the noun they describe. An excellent example of this is found in Ephesians 4:5. In this verse, we find but six words: three determiners which modify three nouns. In English, it reads:

In English, the determiner one is spelled the same way, whether describing Lord, faith, or baptism. But in Greek, we find in this single verse three completely different words which mean one in English. The reason that Paul used three different determiners is because of the genders of the three nouns in this verse: Lord is masculine, faith is feminine, and baptism is neuter. The Greek word for one masculine thing is hais, one feminine thing is mia, and one neuter thing is hen. So, these are the (transliterated) words for one that are found in Ephesians 4:5:

(Note: An antecedent is a word to which a pronoun refers. For example, John is the antecedent of his in the following sentence: John took his hat to the game. His is a pronoun which refers to the antecedent, John. In this study we will focus on pronouns which have the holy Spirit as their antecedent. For example, in Matthew 10:20 Spirit is the antecedent of which: For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your heavenly Father which speaks in you. Since which refers to Spirit, the word Spirit is called the antecedent of which.)

As with the word one from Ephesians 4:5 just given, and with virtually all such examples found in the New Testament Scriptures, the Greek words are clearly different from each other, though in English translation they are exactly the same! In 2Corinthians 3:17, we find this example with the article the:

In English translation, the is spelled the same way, whether describing Lord or Spirit. But in Greek, Lord is a masculine word and Spirit is a neuter word, and so Paul uses two different words for the. Here is the actual Greek verse from 2Corinthians 3:17:

The masculine the is different from the neuter the, as you can see for yourself. A young child could be taught the difference between those two words, and every young child in ancient Greece was so taught. This simple concept of different Greek words meaning exactly the same thing in English lies at the heart of our study, especially concerning pronouns.

As with determiners, described above, Greek pronouns which have masculine antecedents do not resemble pronouns which have feminine antecedents. And neuter pronouns, of course, are different from both masculine and feminine pronouns. (With pronouns this is true even in English: his, hers, and its, for example, are clearly different.) The issue, then, is simple: When Spirit (Greek: pneuma) is the antecedent, is a masculine or a neuter pronoun used? In other words, did the New Testament writers refer to God's Spirit as "it" or as "he"? And then, how faithful to the New Testament writers' words are the translations which we have?

The Temptation. There have been many attempts by Christians to use certain Scriptural references to the Spirit as support for Christianity's doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine holds that the Spirit of God is itself a person, and as such, should always be referred to as "he" (or "He"). The evidence in this study will show that the Greek words used in reference to the holy Spirit offer no support for that doctrine at all. Trinitarian translators are especially tempted to translate neuter pronouns which refer to pneuma as if they were masculine pronouns. They would prefer whom instead of which, and he instead of it. However, the writers of the original texts left nothing to the translator's discretion in this matter, for they chose the Greek equivalent of which and it every time they referred to the Spirit of God (or anyone else's spirit, for that matter).

Some translators fell to the temptation to ignore the Greek text in order to make it appear to the English reader that the apostles believed in Christianity's doctrine of a holy Trinity of persons. Whether such a thing exists cannot be established based on the pronouns, antecedents, or determiners in the Greek languange - however such translators did deceive us, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

When the information is carefully weighed, the conclusion which forces itself upon us is that the men who wrote the New Testament books were not intentionally making any theological point in their choice of words used in connection with the Spirit; they were merely following the rules of Greek grammar (though the theological point they inadvertently made is powerful, as you will see). If there is any theological point concerning the Spirit which can be made from the Greek grammar of the Bible, it can be made only from these facts: (1) pneuma is a neuter noun, and (2) if the apostles believed that the Spirit is a person, they were freed, by the rules of Greek grammar, to refer to the holy Spirit with a masculine pronoun, but they never once chose to do so. These two indisputable facts of Greek grammar argue, if anything, against the Spirit being a person, and by course lead us to a biblically sound conclusion: that the Spirit of God is not a person and, therefore, no such thing as a "Trinity" exists. However, some translations purposely leave the reader with a contrary impression - mistranslating certain Greek words in order to lend credence to the doctrine of the Trinity. Every reference to the Spirit as he, him, or whom found in the translations used in this study is unscriptural, as you will see for yourself; and the transparent inspiration for those mistranslations was not to make the Greek more understandable, but to make the doctrine of the Trinity more believable.

The evidence presented in our study will prove that some translators wrote things as being part of the holy Scriptures which the authors of the Scriptures did not write, substituting the original words with their own for the sole purpose of indoctrination - and then their work was published as a translation of the original words and meaning. What is especially disturbing is that all of the trinitarian translators whose work is examined omitted any mention whatsoever of the subtle changes which they made. This omission is inexcusable; and it causes one to suspect that not only did trinitarian translators corrupt the text, but that they also attempted to prevent the readers from knowing that they had done so.

Below are some examples of popular translations and the number of mis-translations in each. I am sure the version of the Scriptures you read are among them:

• Translation # 2 - 0
• Translation # 11 - 0
• Translation # 19 - 1
• Translation # 12 - 3
• Translation # 18 - 7
• Translation # 3 - 92
• Translation # 6 - 10
• Translation # 20 -12
• Translation # 13 - 13

IMPORTANT! Please note that this ranking applies only to this very narrow issue. This study is neither an endorsement nor a rejection of a particular version of the Bible as a whole. For example, Translation #11, ranked Best here, is published by a sect which does not believe in the Trinity. For that reason, these translators had no problem translating faithfully the Greek words related to the Spirit. However, this sect is guilty of manipulating many other Scriptures in order to lend credence to its non-trinitarian faith! The above rankings, then, have to do only with Greek words related to this narrow subject matter, and may or may not reflect on the particular translation as a whole. In other words, do not think that correct translation alone is justification for accepting that sects certain set of beliefs. We want to believe what God believes. We want to understand spiritual things the way Jesus wants us to, and nothing more, and nothing less. God is right. Jesus makes no mistakes. We can trust what has been given, without "helping God out!"

Because the word spirit is so often capitalized in various translations, the assumption on the part of many readers is that pneuma is capitalized in the original Greek text. It is not. Of the 245 times when the New Testament writers used the word pneuma, they never capitalized it (except on the two occasions when pneuma was the first word in a quotation: Lk.1:35 and 4:18). The only justification for capitalizing spirit is reverence for God, just as we may capitalize other words not capitalized in the Greek, such as Father, Son, Scripture, and even the word God itself.

What is problematic is that most translators, not content with capitalizing the word spirit, overstep the boundary of sound discretion by also capitalizing the simple adjective holy. And when the words holy spirit are capitalized (as a person's name always is) the capitalized words Holy Spirit are read by many as a personal name. With this addition to the original text, translators suggest something in their translations which the apostles did not intend. Such a change does not clarify the original; it alters it for pedagogic purposes. This is mistranslation pure and simple, motivated by misdirected piety and intended to advance a sectarian idea; to wit, the Spirit of God is a person.

A person is a being with a body and a spirit. God is a person. He has a body and a spirit. No one denies the Biblical testimony as to the existence of God's Spirit; however, many deny the Biblical testimony in regards to His body. Nevertheless, God's hands, eyes, back, arms, and other body parts are mentioned in the Scriptures. God's Son, Jesus, is another person. He dwells in his own body, separate from the Father's body (that's what makes Jesus a different person); but he shares the eternal Spirit of life with his Father. By Jesus's own confession, we learn that he received life from the Father, that - whether you want to believe it or not - he was in fact created by God because he, and the writers of the Bible said he was (PLEASE read Jn.5:26; Col.1:15; Rev.3:14; Prov.8; etc. and see that this is so). Lay down your denominational creeds, and look at the Scriptures honestly. It will not hurt you to do so. The father and son are two separate persons enjoying a blessed unity of purpose, a communion of spirit of which carnal men are thoroughly ignorant. God is neither a trinity nor a quadripartite of persons, anymore than we are, who were created in His image. There is in heaven a holy Father, a person, and His only begotten Son with Him, also a divine person; no other than these two is worthy of worship.

The Father created the Son and then anointed him with power to create all things, seen and unseen (Jn.1:3). Christ Jesus is "the first and the last" of all that the Father created (Rev.3:14; 22:13); but, though he was created with glory beyond description, he feared and obeyed God while he lived on this earth (Heb.5:7) and warned his followers to do the same (Lk.12:4-5). He was completely dependent upon the Father for his doctrine (Jn.7:16-17) and his power (Jn.14:10), as well as his very life (Jn.6:57). The Father is greater than Jesus in every respect (Jn.10:29; 14:28). It is true that all power in heaven and in earth has been given to Jesus (Mt.28:18); but it is equally true that if the Father had not given that power to him, he would not possess it. Jesus is at times called God (e.g. Heb.1:8) because the Father made him God over this creation, just as the Father made Moses a god to Pharaoh (Ex.7:1), although on an entirely different and incomparably greater plane.

Because the Father gave life to the Son (Jn.5:26) and the Son obediently walked in that eternal life, they were, and are, "one" (Jn.10:30). This oneness, this fellowship with the Father, is offered to us freely in Christ Jesus through the Spirit which he purchased for us. He prayed fervently that we might be given the holy Spirit, pleading with the Father that we might thus become one as he and the Father are one (Jn.17:20-23). Jesus's oneness with the Father is spiritual, as is our oneness with Him. It is a thing, a spiritual condition (thus, the neuter form of one in John 10:30). It will be obvious to every reasonable person that in praying that his followers might be made one as he was one with his Father, Jesus was not praying that we would be made into one person, but rather that we would "speak the same thing [and] be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment", "having the same love" for one another (1Cor.1:10; Phip.2:2). That is how the Father and the Son are one, and that is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us.

If you would like a list of the Translations used, and the number of mis-translations in each, you may E-mail us, and say "send translation list" - I will E-mail you back the translation list and number of errors. Or, you may read our free complete study on this CD called "The Influence of the Trinitarian Doctrine on the Translation of the Bible", and you may view it from there. The study is a 50+ page listing of ALL verses, and a theological masterpiece. Above all - seek the truth... that is God's will for you in Christ Jesus!

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