Is the HOLY SPIRIT a Person &/or a Force?

Updated: May 22 / 99 --- Site Purpose: provide fair & objective presentations of significant spiritual issues.

[Except for top & bottom e-mail links, ALL OTHER underlined words are (not links, but are) for emphasis only.]

The Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society's view on "The Holy Spirit" deviates dramatically from most other Christian groups. WTS dictionaries contain a very shocking statement that summarizes their view. "The Scriptures themselves unite to show that God's HOLY SPIRIT is NOT a PERSON but is God's active FORCE by which he accomplishes his purpose and executes his will." (Insight p.1019, & Aid p.1543)

[INSIGHT On The Scriptures (1988) is the updated version of AID To Bible Understanding (1971).]

IF it's proved that 'Holy Spirit' is just a 'force', then I (& any truth-seeker) would be compelled to abandon belief in the Trinity!

IF it's proved that the 'Holy Spirit' is a 'force', &/or a 'person', then WTS theology & JW beliefs must change.

The WTS formed a dramatic conclusion from a Greek text fact that appears to DESTROY the Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Eastern & Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Missionary, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, United, Wesleyan, (etc., etc.) theology of THE TRINITY !

"Lacks personal identification -- Since God himself is a Spirit and is holy and since all his faithful angelic sons are spirits and are holy, it is evident that if the 'holy spirit' were a person there should reasonably be given some means in the Scriptures to distinguish and identify such spirit person from all these other 'holy spirits.' It would be expected that, at the very least, the DEFINITE article ['the'] would be used with it [i.e. words 'holy spirit'] in all cases where it is not called 'God's holy spirit' or is not modified by some similar expression. This would at least distinguish it as THE Holy Spirit. But, to the contrary, in a large number of cases [47 in the Kingdom Interlinear] the expression 'HOLY SPIRIT' appears in the original Greek WITHOUT the ARTICLE, thus INDICATING ITS LACK of PERSONALITY." [Insight p.1019, & Aid p.1543]

IF the above CONCLUSION is JUSTIFIED, then the doctrine of "The Trinity" is totally destroyed! You cannot have a God The Father, & God The Son, & God The (active force, non-person) Spirit TRI-UNITY, because they are not equal Persons, IF one 'member' is an " IT ".

But can it be PROVED that the definite article " THE " is ABSENT ?

Fact#1 - IT'S TRUE! The expression 'holy spirit' does appear in the Greek text, without the definite article " THE " ! Check out the following references in any Greek New Testament (or Greek-English Interlinear, especially the Kingdom Interlinear) & discover an interesting fact that your favourite author, pastor, priest, preacher, or Bible-teacher probably never told you about.

Power of (holy spirit) - Lk.1:35; Rom.15:13,19

(holy spirit) Given / Received - Lk.11:13; Jn.20:22; Acts 8:15,17,19; 19:2

(holy spirit) Comes Upon - Lk.1:35; 2:25

Baptized In / With (holy spirit) - Mt.3:11; Mk 1:8; Lk 3:16; Jn 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16

Through / By (holy spirit) - Mt.1:18,20; Acts 1:2; 4:25; Rom.5:5; 1Cor.12:3; 2Cor.6:6; 2Tim.1:14; Titus 3:5; 2Pet.1:21

With / In / Of (holy spirit) - Acts 10:38; Rom.9:1; 14:17; 15:16; Heb.2:4; 6:4; 1Pet.1:12; Jude 1:20

Full Of / Filled With (holy spirit) - Lk.1:15,41,67; 4:1; Acts 2:4; 4:8; 6:5; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9,52

The Greek text PROVES that the definite article 'the' is ABSENT in the above verses.
The context PROVES that the emphasis is on 'POWER' or a 'FORCE' not a 'PERSON'.
The expression 'holy spirit' is defined by Scripture as the "FREE GIFT OF GOD" (Acts 8:15-20), & as the "POWER FROM ON HIGH" (compare Lk 24:49 with Acts 2:4).

But what do these facts mean?

Does the missing Greek article 'the' prove that The Holy Spirit is just a force, power or energy ?

Fact#2 - The Greek Scriptures use 5 grammatical constructions referring to HOLY pneuma.

(1) spirit (pneuma) - See Jn.3:5,6; 4:23,24; Rom.8:4; Rev.1:10; 4:2; 17:3.

"SPIRIT" + ABSENCe of the Greek definite article 'the', supports the WTS's "LACK of Personality" premise.

(2) holy spirit - See Lk.11:13; Acts 1:2; 4:25; Rom.14:17; 15:13,16,19.

"Holy SPIRIT" + ABSENCE of the Greek definite article, also supports "LACK of Personality"premise.

(3) THE Spirit - See Mt.4:1; Acts 2:4; 5:9; 8:29; 16:7; Rom.8:9-11,16,26,27.

"SPIRIT" + PRESENCE of the Greek definite article, supports "PERSONALITY" concept.

(4) THE Holy Spirit - See Mt.28:19; Lk.12:10,12; Acts 9:31; 16:6; 2Cor.13:14.

"Holy SPIRIT" + PRESENCE of theGreek definite article, also supports "PERSONALITY" concept.

(5) THE Spirit THE Holy - See Acts 1:16; 5:3,32; 7:51; 13:2; 20:23,28; 21:11; Heb.3:7; 9:8.

PRESENCE of 2 articles - THE Spirit THE Holy (One) - is dramatically PERSON oriented !

The 1st & 2nd Greek constructions appear to support the WTS's "FORCE" concept.

The 3rd, 4th & 5th Greek constructions, neutralize (1) & (2), & strongly support the "PERSONALITY" concept.

The Greek Scriptures emphasize:

the POWER of The Holy Spirit, when the Greek definite article 'the' is absent.
the PERSON of The Holy Spirit, when the Greek definite article 'the' is present.

In language, the presence of a definite article is much more significant & specific than its absence.

"Who hit you?" - It was a man (1).

"Was it this man?" - No, it was a tall man (2).

"Was it this next man?" - I don't know his name (see WTS Point "E"), but YES, it was THE man - THE tall man (5) - standing beside you & the short man (4). He definitely is the man (3) who hit me.

Fact#3 - The Greek grammatical construction for Unclean / Wicked PNEUMA (F#3) is IDENTICAL with the Greek grammatical construction for HOLY PNEUMA (F#2)! [Check any (Kingdom) Interlinear.]

(1) spirit (pneuma - i.e. 'demons' in this chart) - Lk.9:39; 13:11; 2Cor.11:4; 2Th.2:2; 1Jn.4:1,3

(plural) spirits - Mt.12:45; Lk.11:26; 1Cor.12:10; Rev.16:13,14

(2) unclean spirit - Mk.1:23; 3:30; 5:2; 7:25; 9:17; Acts 16:16; Rev.18:2

(plural) unclean spirits - Mt.10:1; Lk.6:18; 7:21; 8:2; Acts 5:16; 8:7

(3) THE spirit - Mk.9:20; Acts 16:18; Eph.2:2 (satan); 1Jn.4:3

(plural) THE spirits - Mt.8:16; Lk.10:20; 1Jn.4:1

(4) THE unclean spirit - Mt.12:43; Mk.9:25; Lk.11:24

(plural) THE unclean spirits - Lk.4:36

(5) THE spirit THE unclean - Mk.1:26; 5:8; 9:25; Lk.8:29; 9:42; Acts 19:15,16

(plural) THE spirits THE unclean - Mk.1:27; 3:11; 5:13; 6:7; Acts 19:12,13

The Scriptures in FACT #3 reveal that demon (1) spirit(s), & (2) unclean-spirit(s), & (3) The spirit(s), & (4) The Unclean spirit(s), & (5) The spirit(s) The UNCLEAN are all personalities going about doing their thing.
The ABSENT Greek definite article 'the' is not a factor, & does not call into question whether demon (1) spirit(s), or (2) unclean spirit(s) are personalities or not.
The block-buster story of F#3 is that it totally & completely refutes the premise that the absent definite article indicates lack of personality!
Therefore, no one can cancel the personality of The Spirit The HOLY on this identical point of Greek grammar !!!
In light of F#2 & #3, how can the WTS continue to claim (before Jehovah God) that the "the expression 'HOLY SPIRIT' appears in the original Greek WITHOUT the ARTICLE, thus INDICATING ITS LACK of PERSONALITY." [Insight p.1019, & Aid p.1543] ???
Option 1: The WTS (& each JW) could simply ignore the truth of what the Greek text & context reveals.
Option 2: The WTS (or individual JWs) could accept the truth of what the Greek text & context reveals.
Option 3: The WTS (& therefore all JWs worldwide) could adopt a new theory that "unclean spirits" are Satan's ACTIVE FORCES(!!!) to supports its other theory that "holy spirit" is God's ACTIVE FORCE.

"Personification does not prove personality - It is true that Jesus spoke of the holy spirit as a 'helper' and spoke of such helper as 'teaching,' 'bearing witness,' 'giving evidence,' 'guiding,' 'speaking,' 'hearing,' and 'receiving.' In so doing, the original Greek shows Jesus at times applying the personal pronoun 'he' to that 'helper' (paraclete). (Compare John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15.) However, it is not unusual in the Scriptures for something to be personalized or personified that is not actually a person." [Insight p.1019, & Aid p.1543]

F#4 - It's true that the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures occasionally personify things (e.g. wisdom, sin, & death). A Figure of Speech (Hyperbole; Irony; Metaphor; Metonymy; Personification; Simile) is the use of words in certain conventional patterns of thought & expression.

F#5 - However, personality is ascribed to The Holy Spirit throughout the entire New Testament. Contact me if interested in the evidence. It's succinct, but too much to include in this format. The research is organized as follows:

Testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ (who is TRUTH personified).
Testimony of the whole New Testament (from the New World Translation, or The Kingdom Interlinear).
Greek Pronouns.
Personality is expressed, demonstrated & manifested by INTELLECT.
Personality is expressed, demonstrated & manifested by EMOTION.
Personality is expressed, demonstrated & manifested by WILL.
Greek Scholarship.

For example, under INTELLECT, one learns that the Greek word phronema (meaning 'MIND' or 'what one has in MIND, the THOUGHTS & PURPOSES') is found only 4 times in Scripture (with identical spelling).

Romans

New World Translation of phronema

Kingdom Interlinear Translation of phronema

8 : 6

8 : 7

8 : 27

- MINDING of the flesh

- MINDING of the spirit

- MINDING of the flesh

- MEANING of THE SPIRIT

- MINDING of the flesh

- MINDING of the spirit

- MINDING of the flesh

- MINDING of THE SPIRIT

WHY is phronema translated differently in verse 27 in the New World Translation ???

Romans 8: 26 & 27 clearly helps to answer the above question.

"In like manner THE SPIRIT also joins in with help for our weakness; for the [problem of] what we should pray for as we need to we do not know, but THE SPIRIT itself PLEADS for us with groanings unuttered. Yet he who searches the hearts knows what the MIND of THE SPIRIT is, because it is PLEADING in accord with God for holy ones."

"But on the other hand, we find Jesus repeatedly using IMPERSONAL pronouns when referring to God's holy spirit, a most DISRESPECTFUL thing to do if the holy spirit were the third person of a trinity, coequal, and cosubstantial with Jehovah God himself.... But if the holy spirit were the third person of the trinity, equal to God and Christ in glory and honor as claimed by the creeds, could we imagine the Scriptures referring to the holy spirit as ' IT '?" [Watchtower July 15, 1957 p.434]

I received a letter that states: "If the holy spirit is a person, IT should always be referred to as 'he' in the Bible. Jesus is a person, and is NEVER referred to as 'it'. Nor is Jehovah God. But at times the Greek word pneuma is in the NEUTER gender. That means that IT is considered as neither masculine nor feminine."

Fact #6 - Greek grammar requires that if a NOUN is neuter in gender, then technically, associated adjectives & pronouns must also be neuter, even if a person is being referred to (e.g. The Holy Spirit, Jesus, John the Baptist, Jehovah God, angels, demons, infants, children, girls). [For readability, translators normally adapt to the grammar & idiom of the language chosen.]

F#7 - In the Greek text, Jesus is referred to as IT - 5x, & as ITS - 5x (see Mt.2:8,11,13,14,20,21) !

F#8 - John the Baptist is referred to as IT - 8x (see Lk.1:59,60,62,63,66,67) !

F#9 - The Holy Spirit is referred to as IT or ITSELF (see Rom.8:26,27; 1Cor.12:11; Heb.10:15,17).

F#10 - Jehovah God is a (neuter pneuma 'IT') Spirit (see Jn.4:24) !

F#11 - Angels are (neuter pneuma 'IT') spirits (see Heb.1:14) !

F#12 - Demons are (neuter pneuma 'IT') spirits (found 45x) ! (See F#2 for some references.)

F#13 - Because pneuma is always neuter in gender, ALL pneumas are ITS grammatically ! And therefore we now easily understand why the Scriptures refer to The Holy Spirit as ' IT '.

F#14 - Another interesting grammatical fact is that the Aramaic word for spirit is "rucha" - a FEMININE gender noun! [Some Aramaic NT words/phrases are: Abba, Father (Rom.8:15); Maranatha (1Cor.16:22); Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani (Mk.15:34). Aramaic is a West Semitic language closely related to Hebrew.]

F#15 - Another neuter noun is daimonion - demon (found 60x) !

F#16 - Another neuter noun is brephos - infant (see Lk.1:41,44; 2:16; 18:15) !

F#17 - Another neuter noun is paidion - child (see Mk.5:39-41) !

F#18 - Another neuter noun is korasion - girl (see Mt.9:24,25; Mk.5:41,42) !

F#19 - Like Aramaic, & Greek, other languages have GRAMMATICAL gender, & NATURAL gender words. The French word for "tree" is MASCULINE in gender. Should English people conclude that French trees are "men"; or that Greek neuter nouns, pronouns, & adjectives make THE Father, THE Son, & THE Spirit (& angels, demons, infants, children, girls, John the Baptist, etc.) into " ITS " ?

"While some texts refer to the spirit as 'witnessing,' 'speaking,' 'saying' things, other texts make clear that IT spoke through persons, having NO PERSONAL VOICE OF ITS OWN." [Insight p.1020, & Aid p.1543]

Fact#20 - It could be said that Jehovah has "no personal voice" (Mt.1:22; 2:15; Lk.1:70). But that isn't the full story.

F#21 - Demon pneuma spirits speak through humans (Mk.1:23-25), so does that mean they have "no personal voice"?

F#22 - Demon pneuma spirits speak directly (Mk.1:26; Lk.4:33; Acts 19:15).

F#23 - The Holy Spirit chose to speak through HUMANS (Mk.13:11; Lk.12:12; Acts 21:4,11) - which is impressive!

F#24 - The Holy Spirit chose to speak DIRECTLY (Jn.16:13-15; Acts 8:29; 10:19,20; 11:12; 13:2; 20:23) - awesome!!

F#25 - The Holy Spirit also chose to speak through SCRIPTURE (compare Mk.12:36 with Psalm 110:1; -- Acts 1:16-20 with Psalm 41:9, 69:25, 109:8; -- Acts 28:25 with Isaiah 6:9,10; -- Heb.3:7-11 with Psalm 95:7-11; -- Heb.10:15-17 with Jer.31:33,34). "Thus THE Spirit THE Holy makes it plain" (Heb.9:8) that HE is Scripture's Author!!!

F#26 - Humans can choose to speak through their personal voices, or clothes, or possessions, or actions, or lawyers, or votes, or boycotts, or e-mail, or letters, or signs, or sign or body language, or foreign tongues, or ventriloquist dummies, or even through SILENCE. [As a general principle, silence is telling anyway - especially in the face of abuse, injustice, or atrocity.] However, an impersonal method of communication does not cancel personality - it enhances IT! And as far as 3rd-party communication goes, it isn't easy. Try speaking through another person! If you are successful you're good.

F#27 - Spirit beings (Jehovah; The Holy Spirit; angels; demons) have fewer options than humans (because of our limitations)!

"That the holy spirit is WITHOUT PERSONALITY is also indicated by the fact that IT has NO DISTINCTIVE NAME." [Watchtower, July 15, 1957 p.432]

Fact#28 - A celestial star is named in Rev.8:11, but that doesn't make this sky-walker into a person because IT has a name. Old Betsy the cow, & old Betsy the car are not persons. However, a nameless, homeless street-walker is a valid someone.

F#29 - Demon pneumas are rarely named in Scripture ("My name is Legion because there are many of us." Mk.5:9). They are usually identified by their CHARACTER (unclean, wicked) or SPECIALTY (weakness, deafness, dumbness).

F#30 - Angel pneumas are rarely named in Scripture (e.g. Michael, Gabriel - but they are numerous - Rev.5:11).

F#31 - Likewise, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH is usually identified by His HOLY Character rather than a personal name.

F#32 - A person is a PERSON because 'he is' - not because the person has a name.

F#33 - God The Father is a PERSON, as per the Greek word 'estin' meaning "He is" (Heb.11:6).

F#34 - God The Son is a PERSON, as per the Greek word 'estin' meaning "He is" (Jn.5:13,27; 12:9).

F#35 - God The Holy Spirit is a PERSON, as per the Greek word 'estin' meaning "He is" (Jn.14:17).

F#36 - Jesus said: "Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the NAME of The Father & of The Son & of THE HOLY SPIRIT" (Mt.28:19). The name of the Father is not His name but is His title of relationship to us & His Son. The name of the Father & The Son & The Holy Spirit stands for their Authority & Unity."Thus, Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (Vol. I, p.245) says on Matthew 28:19: 'The use of name (onoma) here is a common one in the Septuagint and the papyri for power or AUTHORITY.' " [Insight, p. 1,020 & Aid, p.1,543] By the way, the Greek scholar A.T. Robertson also wrote on the very same page (Vol. I, p.245): "Baptism in... the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, IN THE NAME OF THE TRINITY."

F#37 - The name of The Son is not His name but is His title of relationship to The Father, & one of many titles of our 1Jn.2:1 {paraclete) Helper (see Isa.9:6; Mt.1:23; Rev.17:14).

F#38 - The name of the Holy Spirit is not His name but just one of many titles of our Jn.14:16,26; 15:26; 16:27 "other" (paraclete) Helper. (Note Rev. 19:12. Also see Jn.14:17; Eph.4:30; Heb.10:29 & the Interlinear for Rom.8:2 & 1Pet.1:11.)

"Further evidence against the idea of personality as regards the holy spirit is the way it is used in association with other impersonal things, such as water and fire (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8), and Christians are spoken of as being baptized 'in holy spirit.' (Acts 1:5; 11:16) Persons are urged to become 'filled with spirit' instead of wine. (Eph. 5:18) So, too, persons are spoken of as being 'filled' with it along with such qualities as wisdom and faith (Acts 6:3, 5; 11:24) or joy (Acts 13:52), and holy spirit is inserted or 'sandwiched in' with a number of such qualities at 2 Corinthians 6:6. It is most unlikely that such expressions would be made if reference were being made to a divine person." [Insight p.1020, & Aid p.1543]

"Association with other impersonal things" is a valid observation that must be carefully considered.

But like WTS Point A, B, C, D & E, it isn't the complete story.

The Greek definite article 'the' is absent in every Scripture referred to in WTS Point "F" (& others in F#1). So, "association with other impersonal things" reveals a GOOD & HOLY FORCE at work. However, this truth doesn't invalidate the incredible weight of Scripture that evidences a GOOD & HOLY PERSON also at work (see F#5).

Fact#39 - One cannot eliminate personality from Jesus just because HE is also "associated with other impersonal things". He is: The Bread, The Door, The Lamb, The Life, The Light, The Rock, The Stone, The Truth, The Vine, The Way, The Word! [Jesus is the Bread of Life. If He wasn't, we would all be Toast!]

F#40 - The Written Word is a FORCE that is alive & exerts POWER (Heb.4:12).

F#41 - (The) holy spirit is a FORCE that is alive & exerts POWER (Rom.15:13,19).

F#42 - The Living Word is a PERSON (Jn.1:1,14), JESUS, our (paraclete) Helper (1Jn.2:1) who LOVES us (Gal.2:20).

F#43 - THE HOLY SPIRIT is a PERSON, our OTHER (paraclete) Helper (see F#38) who LOVES us (Rom.15:30)!

F#44 - Hebrews10:29 (in the Kingdom Interlinear) contains some very strong language concerning this whole subject. "Of how much more severe a punishment... will the man be counted worthy... who has CONTEMPTUOUSLY OUTRAGED THE SPIRIT?" It seems to be very important to one's eternal well-being to discern between the PERSON of The Holy Spirit, & HIS POWER & MANIFESTATIONS.