The Holy Spirit is Not A Separate Person From The Father

Unless otherwise stated all Scriptures are quoted from the English Standard Version or the NIV.

NOTE: there is no justification for the insertion of the definite article, in many cases, before the terms spirit or holy spirit or for the capitalization of these terms in these and most other translations.

Prior to 381 A.D. the holy spirit was generally thought of as the power and presence of God rather than as a substance or a separate person.

Church of England Theologian Alan Richardson reasons:

To ask whether in the New Testament the spirit is a person in the modern sense of the word would be like asking whether the spirit of Elijah is a person.

The spirit of God is of course personal; it is God’s dunamis [power] in action. But the Holy Spirit is not a person, existing independently of God...The New Testament, nowhere represents the Spirit, anymore than the wisdom of God, as having independent personality.

Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament, p.120.

Clearly the spirit of Elijah is not a person separate from Elijah. So too with the spirit of God—it is not a person separate from God. Yet at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. Emperor Theodosius decided that the holy spirit was equal to the Father and to the Son. Yet this teaching was not widely accepted for many decades.

HOLY SPIRIT IS PARALLELED WITH POWER

· “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).

· “I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD” (Mic. 3:8). Hebrew parallelism.

Assuming (though falsely) that the holy spirit is a 3^rd person he is evidently NOT OMNISCIENT as is the Father:

“But concerning that day or that hour no one knows(including an imagined 3^rd person)...but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).

The following statement would not be true if the holy spirit were a third person who was also omniscient and almighty God:

“...no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matt. 11:27).

However, in reality, because the Spirit of God is actually His own outreach to humanity it is omnipotent. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10: “the Spirit searches everything.” It is also omnipresent (Ps. 139:7). However, there is no third person who is either omnipotent or omnipresent

The spirit as a person CANNOT BE DISTRIBUTED, but the spirit as an influence God can:

· “...take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them” (Num. 11:17).

· “…for he gives the Spirit without measure” (John 3:3).

· “…because he has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13). Or “given us a share in his Spirit” NJB. Or “He has imparted his Spirit to us” REB.

By definition a person CANNOT BE GIVEN THE ATTRIBUTE OF FLOW as of a liquid or wind or fire:

· “‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’ He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive” (John 7:38, 39).

· “He will baptize [immerse]you with Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). See Acts 1:5

· “he breathed on them and said to them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit...’” (John 20:22).

· “all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13).

· “…God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17).

· “the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:45).

· “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:4).

· “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4).

· “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Here it is likened to wine

· “But he [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit...” (Acts 7:55).

· “you are a letter...written not with ink but with the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:3).

· “...how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 10:38) as with oil.

· “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:19) as if it were fire.

· “you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13) as with liquid sealing wax.

Of course, none of these expressions mean that “spirit” is a substance, but rather both breath and wind are apt metaphors for the invisible powerful presence of God.

CONTRASTED WITH “THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD”

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God” (1 Cor. 2:12).

(Also see NAB, KJV, Moffatt, Rotherham, Weymouth and Darby).

It makes no sense to turn “the Spirit that is from God” into a person when it is contrasted with “the spirit of the world” which is clearly not a person.

THE SPIRIT IS NOT ABSTRACT POWER BUT POWER ASSOCIATED WITH A PERSON

Although Luke 1:35 and Micah 3:8 make the connection between “The Holy Spirit” and “the power of the Most High” this does not mean that they can be equated. The following Scriptures show that power is simply one facet of holy spirit:

· “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

· “...by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:19).

The various facets of ‘spirit’ include: power (influence), presence and mind (intelligence) all of which are personal to an individual i.e. things which belong to them.

HOLY SPIRIT: THE SPIRIT IS NOT IMPERSONAL

· “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. "”(Luke 12:10-12).

It makes no sense to speak of blasphemy against an impersonal power that is therefore set above Jesus? But the blasphemy that “will not be forgiven” is that which is directed to God i.e. Yahweh—the Father. A further point to be made is that if “a word [spoken] against the Son of Man will be forgiven” then evidently Jesus cannot be equal to the Father. The following texts give more of the personal characteristics of holy spirit:

· “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements...” (Acts 15:28).

· “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me” (Acts 20:22, 23).

· “Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles'” (Acts 21:11).

· “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice...” (Heb. 3:7).

· “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. "Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Heb. 10:15-17).

It is obvious that the testifying, the teaching, the decision making, the giving of instructions, the foreseeing of the future, the warnings, and the forgiving of sins cannot have been made by an impersonal force or power, but as will be shown these are the activities of God and/or Jesus i.e. their presence by spirit. However, just to labour the point they are not the activities of a third person.

HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD’S POWERFUL PERSONAL INFLUENCE ALSO GRANTED TO JESUS

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? (Ps. 139:7).

The phrase “the spirit of God” (Matt. 12:28) is also paralleled with “the finger of God” in Luke 11:20. Just as an individual’s mind or hand or finger are personal to that individual, but not separate persons from the individual, so too, “the spirit of God” as God’s hand (Ezek. 3:14) or finger is the extension of His mind—His outreach to make contact with the creation—but is not a separate person.

Because “spirit” (Gk. pneuma) means ‘breath’ it serves as a metaphor throughout the Scriptures for God’s personal presence—His projected thoughts or mind.

SPIRIT = MIND

The spirit of God is, in fact, an interchangeable term with mind of God as Paul showsin Romans and 1 Corinthians when he quotes from Isaiah:

· “Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?” (Isa. 40:13).

· “Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?” (Rom. 11:34 quoting Isa. 40:13).

· “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16).

SPIRIT = PRESENCE/OUTREACH OF GOD

· In Luke 1:35 the Most High and the holy spirit are not 2 fathers of Jesus, but are closely synonymous terms, whereby God personally extends his mind and power to beget Jesus.

· In Acts 5:3, 4 Ananias did not lie to 2 different persons. The term God is used rather than Father, so these verses do not speak of 2 distinct persons who are God. So God’s spirit is shown to make decisions because it is God Himself that is making those decisions rather than simply raw power. Furthermore, one cannot lie to ‘power.’

SPIRIT = THE PRESENCE/OUTREACH OF BOTH GOD AND CHRIST

1. In three parallel accounts in the synoptic gospels:

· “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt. 10:20).

· “…for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11).

· “…for I [Jesus]will give you a mouth and wisdom” (Luke 21:15).

2. In Acts:

· “The Spirit told him [Peter] ... God showed me that I ...” (Acts 10:19, 28).

· “...the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I [probably Jesus]have called them” (Acts 13:2).

· “…having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia...they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them”  (Acts 16:6, 7).

Here holy spirit is being used as a means of communication by Jesus. To illustrate: one might say, “The radio said it’s going to rain later today.” From this, one does not conclude that the radio is a person separate from the weather forecaster. It is similar to Luke 11:49 where Jesus says: “Therefore also the wisdom of God said ‘I will send them prophets...” and yet the parallel account in Matthew 23:34 shows that it is Jesus speaking: “Therefore I send you prophets...”

SPIRIT = THE PRESENCE/OUTREACH OF CHRIST

1. In Romans 8:26, 27 NAB:

· “...the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness ... but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.”

· “Christ Jesus is the one ... who indeed intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:33, 34).

So the spirit and Jesus are near synonyms as our one intercessor (1 Tim. 2:5). They are not 2 distinct persons.

NOTE: Just as in the NAB, Romans 8:11, 16, 26 are correctly translated as “through his Spirit that.” and “the Spirit itself” in KJV, Rotherham, Smith & Goodspeed and Darby. Moffatt uses neither reflexive pronoun.

2. Jesus through the spirit acts as the means of sanctification:

· “God chose you as the first-fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit”

(2 Thess. 2:13).

· “To those sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2).

· “He [God] is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our ... sanctification” (1 Cor. 1:30).

3. Jesus through the spirit dwells in our hearts:

“...he [God] may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts...” (Eph. 3:16).

4. Jesus through the spirit gives the Revelation:

· “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him...” (Rev. 1:1).

· “the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7).

Then each of the 7 churches receives the words of Jesus.

“THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST” IS NOT A PERSON SEPARATE FROM HIM

· “You are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:9).

· “God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts…” (Gal. 4:6).

· “…and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19).

· “…investigating the time and circumstances that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them” (1 Pet. 1:11).

This means that the Messianic spirit moved the prophets to search for the details of Messiah’s career.

· “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17, 18).

Whether we view the Lord mentioned here as the Father or more likely as the Christ, we, here, have proof that there is no 3^rd person. Either the Father is the Spirit or the Christ is the Lord who is the Spirit.

“ANOTHER ADVOCATE” IS THE SPIRIT OF JESUS

NOT A THIRD PERSON

· “...we have an Advocate (parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

· “…the Father...will give you another Advocate (parakletos), to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you and will be in you ... I [Jesus]will not leave you orphans; Iwill come to you” (John 14:16, 18NAB).

· “But the Advocate, the holy Spirit, that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything ... I will come to you” (John 14:26, 28NAB).

· “But when the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me” (John 15:26NAB).

· “If I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7 NAB).

This is because it is Jesus who has been given “All authority in heaven and on earth.” (Matt. 28:18) so he sends his spirit—personified as an advocate, comforter or helper.

THE GRAMMAR OF ‘PARAKLETOS’

Because parakletos (advocate/comforter/helper) is masculine and its qualifying pronouns are correctly translated as “he” or “whom” this does not prove that the spirit is a person separate from God or Jesus. As can be seen above whenever the pronoun qualifies the term “spirit” it is translated as “it.” This is because the Greek word for spirit is always neuter and therefore refers to the personal presence and power of God or of Jesus.

NEUTER PRONOUNS TO AGREE WITH NEUTER “SPIRIT”

· “The Spirit itself bears witness (intercedes)...” (Rom. 8:16, 26 NAB).

· “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it...” (John 14:16, 17 NAB).

· “But the encourager, the spirit holy, which will send the Father in the name of me, that one will teach you...” (John 14:26 UBS).

The Greek word pneuma for “spirit” is in the neuter gender. Now while it is possible in Greek to apply masculine/feminine pronouns to certain inanimate things (as in personification), it is not correct to apply neuter pronouns to personalities. So if the spirit were a person it would be incorrect to apply neuter pronouns to the word spirit which, in fact, the Bible does; thereby showing that the word spirit does not represent a personality. Marshall’s Interlinear, Rotherham, and Smith & Goodspeed all use neuter pronouns wherever the word spirit occurs. The UBS 4^th and the NAB also use neuter pronouns wherever the word spirit occurs except in 1 Corinthians 6:19.

The KJV is also inconsistent in this area of grammar. However, the Smith and Goodspeed translation is accurate with:

“...the holy Spirit that is within you, which you have received from God” (1 Cor. 6:19S & G).

If the spirit were actually a person neuter pronouns could never be used with the word “spirit.” However, because neuter pronouns are used, “the spirit” cannot be a person.

NOTE: Many translations render 1 Corinthians 2:12: “...the Spirit who is from God” NIV, ESV, NASB, NKJV. However, there is no pronoun here in the Greek text. It reads: “but the spirit from God.” So a pronoun and verb are sometimes inserted for smoothness of English. The broad context from other passages shows that it should be a neuter pronoun - either which or that as in all the above translations and the following ones. The KJV and Darby render it: “the Spirit which is of God.” Weymouth: “the Spirit which comes from God.” The NRSV: “the Spirit that is from God.” Moffatt and JB: “the Spirit that comes from God.” There are also translations which avoid inserting a pronoun: NJB: “but God’s own Spirit.” REB: “we have received this Spirit from God.” NLT: “we have received God’s Spirit.”

GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT

The idea of a personality of the holy spirit is supported by the Trinitarian argument that it requires a real person to be able to suffer grief:

“And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed...”(Eph. 4:30 NAB).

However, the neuter pronoun “which” rather than “whom” is correctly used as in the NAB also in the KJV, REB, S&G, Young’s Literal and by Rotherham for this verse. Because it is actually the spirit of God, it is actually God himself who is grieved. This is demonstrated by a comparison of Isaiah 63:10 and Psalm 78:40:

· “But they rebelled, and grieved his holy spirit; so he turned on them like an enemy” (Isa. 63:10NAB).

· “How often they rebelled against God in the desert, grieved him in the wasteland” (Ps. 78:40).

This verses detail the same situation. So evidently the holy spirit is not a separate person from God but is His outreach to others.

GOD’S SPIRIT THROUGH AN ANGEL

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip ... And the Spirit said to Philip” (Acts 8:26, 29).

Clearly no 3^rd person of the trinity is being spoken of here.

OTHER FACTORS IN THE SCRIPTURES WHICH SHOW THAT HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT A THIRD PERSON IN A TRINITY

The Holy Spirit:

· Is never called ‘God the Holy Spirit.’

· Is not given a personal name.

· Is never worshipped, prayed to or sung to.

· Is missing from the salutations in the letters sent by the apostle Paul. He mentions only God and Jesus.

· Is missing from the order of responsibility in 1 Corinthians 11:3: “the head of every man is Christ.” This would have been a perfect place to express the Trinity.

· Is missing from John 1:1-3 according to the usual Trinitarian interpretation of these verses.

· Is missing from statements about Jesus sitting at the right hand of God (except Acts 2:33:“[Jesus] exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit”).

· Is missing from scenes that describe God and Jesus as being enthroned or reigning e.g. Rev 7:10: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

· Is missing from the vision seen by Stephen when he “saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).

· Is missing from the important doctrinal letter to the Colossians. This would be unlikely in this type of letter if the holy spirit were a person.

· Is missing from 1Timothy 5:21: “In the presence of God and of Christ and of the elect angels. So the angels must be the third person in the Trinity according to Trinitarian reasoning.

· Is missing from the book of Revelation (see next section), especially since Godand the Lamb are so closely associated in this book.

THE REFERENCES TO SPIRIT/SPIRITS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION

1. Lit “The seven spirits which are before the throne of him” (UBS; Marshall) 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6. This most likely refers to the seven angels (Heb 1:1, 14 and Rev. 8:2: “the seven angels who stood before the throne”). “The seven spirits” ofRevelation 1:4 has generally been interpreted as the sevenfold spirit and so as a part of a supposed Trinitarian formula. However, “The Spirit” that speaks to the 7 churches is not sent out into all the earth as is the case with “the seven spirits” (5:6). Mounce understands these to be the seven principle angels. Also Aune in the Word Biblical Commentary states:

A second important view, in my opinion certainly the correct one, understands the seven spirits as the seven principal angels of God. In early Jewish literature the term “spirits” was used only rarely as a synonym for “angels” (Jub. 1:25; 2:2; 15:31–32; 1 Enoch 61:12, “spirit of light”), or of various types of heavenly beings (1 Enoch 75:5, “the spirit of the dew”; see 2 Enoch 12:2 [J], “flying spirits”; 16:7, “the heavenly winds, and spirits and elements and flying angels”); see TDNT 6:375–76. … However, angels are designated “spirits” in the Qumran literature (Sekki, RUAH 145–71). In 1QM 12:8–9 the phrase µykalm ab[ s\b< ml<kym, “host of angels,” is used as a parallel to wyjwr abx s\b< rwh\yw, “host of his spirits” thy messengers, fire and flame thy ministers,” an important passage in view of the association with the seven spirits of God with seven torches of fire in 4:5. In an explanatory gloss in 4:5, the seven torches of fire burning before the throne are interpreted by John as the seven spirits of God.

Again in 5:6 the seven eyes of the Lamb are interpreted as “the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Though commentators formerly noted the absence of the phrase from the OT and early Jewish literature (Beckwith, 424), that situation has changed with the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, for “spirits” (µtwjwr rwh\wtm or the construct form ytwry) is a common designation for angels at Qumran … In the NT, only in Heb 1:14 are angels called spirits. The “seven spirits” of Rev 1:4 are equivalent to “the seven spirits of God” of 3:1, 4:5; 5:6 and must be identified with “the seven angels who stand before God” in 8:2. Thus the view that the seven spirits are the seven archangels (TWNT 6:450) seems correct.

2. “Let anyone who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17. 29; 3:6, 13, 22). As shown earlier “the spirit of God” = “the finger of God” – His outreach to His creation. This is also true of Jesus. He is the one who speaks to each of the seven churches (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). So “what the Spirit is saying” means ‘what Jesus is saying’. The Spirit is not a separate person from him.

3. “In the spirit” (1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10). This simply means that John was caught up in prophetic ecstasy—that he was transported mentally into the world of prophetic visions by Jesus as “the spirit.”

4. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (19:10). This simply means that it is the essence or inspiration (breath) of prophecy.

So none of the 15 references to the word “spirit” in the book of Revelation implies that there is a person who is called “the Holy Spirit” and who is separate from the Father and Jesus. There is no ‘God the Holy Spirit.’

MISAPPLIED TEXTS

2 Corinthians 13:14:

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

1 Corinthians 12:11:

“All these things are empowered by the one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”John 14:16:

“And I will send you another (Greek allos) helper (parakletos), to be with you forever.”

Because allos denotes distinction of individuals Trinitarians believe this verse to be showing a separating of Jesus as ‘God the Son’ from ‘God the Holy Spirit’. However verse 18 shows this helper to be Jesus: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Because he is physically absent he comes to the Christian by means of the spirit. Furthermore, 1 John 2:1 shows Jesus to be the parakletos—the advocate.

AUTHORITATIVE COMMENTS

Fortman in The Triune God states:

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 synoptic gospels and in Acts as a divine force or power pp. 6, 15.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia similarly notes:

The Old Testament 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...The majority of New Testament texts reveal God’s spirit as something, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God. 14:574, 575.

CONCLUSION

Evidently the holy spirit is not a 3^rd person within the formula of a trinity; but rather is God’s own spirit—His mind powerfully expressed into action as outreach to his creation. Since his exaltation to the right hand of God Jesus also expresses his spirit—his mind into action as outreach to his disciples. Because holy spirit means God’s thoughts (and therefore also Jesus’ thoughts)—His mind projected to the receptive human mind, we can say that we have God’s spirit when we are considering the holy Scriptures i.e. when reading/studying them, discussing them or in living our lives in a way that is in harmony with them, including prayer. In this way we are empowered to do God’s will in its many aspects.

The spirit of God has such power that it brought the universe into being, and will be the power (in Christ’s hands) that brings “the new heavens and earth” into being in the future.