[soc.religion.christian] Is the holy spirit a person?

stevep@cadence.com (Steve Peterson) (03/19/91)

Many people believe that the "Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost" is a person, part of the Trinity.  They believe this way, pointing to the fact that the Bible 
personifies the "Holy Spirit".  Thus, they conclude it must be a person. 

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 that is not actually a person to be personalized or
personified.  Wisdom is personified in the book of Proverbs (1:20-33; 8:1-36);
and feminine pronominal forms are used of it in the original Hebrew, as also in
many English translations. (KJ, RS, JP, AT)  Wisdom is also personified at
Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:35, where it is depicted as having both "works" and
"children."  The apostle Paul personalized sin and death and also undeserved
kindness as "kings". (Rom 5:14, 17, 21; 6:12)  He speaks of sin as "receiving
an inducement," 'working out covetousness,' 'seducing,' and 'killing.' (Rom
7:8-11)  Yet it is obvious that Paul did not mean that sin was actually a
person.

So, likewise with John's account of Jesus' words regarding the holy spirit, his
remarks must be taken in context.  Jesus personalized the holy spirit when
speaking of that spirit as a "helper" (which in Greek is the masculine
substantive parakletos).  Properly, therefore, John presents Jesus' words as
referring to that "helper" aspect of the spirit with masculine personal
pronouns.  On the other hand, in the same context, when the Greek "pnuema" is
used, John employs a neuter pronound to refer to the holy spirit, pnuema itself
being neuter.  Hence, we have in John's use of the masculine personal pronoun
in association with parakletos an example of conformity to grammatical rules,
not an expression of doctrine (John 14:16, 17; 16:7, 8).

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 with 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 qualites at 2 Cor. 6:6.  It is most unlikely that such
expressions would be made if the holy spirit were a divine person.  As to the
spirits's 'bearing witness' (Acts 5:32; 20:23), it may be noted that the same
thing is said of the water and the blood at 1 John 5:6-8.  While some texts
refer to the spirit as 'witnessing,' 'speaking,' or 'saying things, other texts
make clear that it spoke through persons, having no personal voice of its own.
(Compare Heb 3:7; 10:15-17; Psa. 95:7; Jer 31:33, 34; Acts 19:2-6; 21:4;
28:25.)  It may thus be compared to radio waves that can transmit a message
from a person speaking into a microphone and cause his voice to be heard by
persons a distance away, in effect, 'speaking' the massage by a radio
loudspeaker.  God, by his spirit, transmits his messages and communicates his
will to the minds and hearts of his servants on earth, who, in turn, may convey
that message to yet others.


Best Regards......

Steve Peterson

----
      stevep@cadence.com or ...!uunet!cadence!stevep

kutz@cis.ohio-state.edu (Kenneth J. Kutz) (03/20/91)

In article <Mar.18.23.53.46.1991.29111@athos.rutgers.edu>, stevep@cadence.com (Steve Peterson) writes:

> While some texts
> refer to the spirit as 'witnessing,' 'speaking,' or 'saying things, other texts
> make clear that it spoke through persons, having no personal voice of its own.
> (Compare Heb 3:7; 10:15-17; Psa. 95:7; Jer 31:33, 34; Acts 19:2-6; 21:4;
> 28:25.)

In order to blow your theory, all it takes is one reference where the
Spirit does not speak through a person and does have a personal voice.

You forgot Romans 8:26-27 from your list where the Spirit's *groanings*
are clearly independent of the human involved:

"In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know
what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us
with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts
knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints in accordance with God's will."

This One that intercedes and groans independently on our behalf
(when we do not know what to pray for, also has a *name*):

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".

I highly recommend you look at John Walvoord's book titled "The Holy
Spirit".  Read the chapter on the person of the Holy Spirit.  


-- 
  Kenneth J. Kutz		  Internet 	kutz@andy.bgsu.edu         
  Systems Programmer		  BITNET   	KUTZ@ANDY
  University Computer Services    UUCP     	...!osu-cis!bgsuvax!kutz   
  Bowling Green State Univ.       US Mail   238 Math Science, BG OH 43403