IS GOD A TRINITY? PART NINE
IS THE HOLY SPIRIT GOD?
As discussed at the beginning of this series, inclusion of the Holy Spirit in the Trinitarian concept of God did not materialize until the Council of Constantinople where the Holy Spirit is described as the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified. Thus we see the Holy Spirit viewed in a relationship with the Father and the Son and to be worshiped and glorified as is the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is seen as proceeding from the Father and is characterized as the Lord and Giver of Life. Therefore the Holy Spirit is considered consubstantial, coequal and coeternal with the Father and the Son and is God as Father and Son is God.
The idea that the Spirit is a person of a Triune God is not explicitly found in scripture. As is true of the belief that the Son is a person of a Triune God, belief that the Spirit is a person of a triune God is based on conclusions drawn from what it is believed the scriptures teach on this issue. The primary argument offered by Trinitarians for the Holy Spirit being God is the Spirit's close association with God and Christ as seen throughout the scriptures. The Spirit is seen as exerting influence in a great number of ways and always doing so in association with the Father and/or the Son The Spirit is seen as active in creation, in the affairs of Israel, in the Prophets and, of course, in Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the New Testament Church. The Holy Spirit is seen in association with the manifestation of power, wisdom, understanding, judgement, love and truth.
The words Spirit and Holy Spirit appear hundreds of times in the scriptures. In Hebrew the word for Spirit is ruah and in Greek the word for Spirit is pneuma. These words have the same basic meaning. They mean air. More specifically these words denote the movement of air as in breath or wind. Scripture speaks of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of life, the spirit in man and of the Spirit in a variety of others ways. The scriptures often show the Spirit as speaking, teaching, helping, interceding, guiding and doing many other such things. Therefore, Trinitarians view the Spirit as a person and believe only a person could be said to do what the Spirit is said to do. For example the Spirit teaches, convicts, is truth, guides, speaks, hears, restrains, sanctifies and even appears to think.
John 14:26: But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 16:8: When he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
John 16:13: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Acts: 16:6: Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and
1 Peter 1:2: Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:10: but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
This has led many Trinitarian theologians to conclude the Spirit has personality and must be a distinct person like the Father and the Son. Non-Trinitarians respond that such references represent the mind and power of God and are personifications of God's Spirit. Personification is where abstract attributes such as wisdom and understanding are represented as having a life of their own or where a person is seen as representing such attributes by being viewed as the attribute itself. Personification is found throughout the scriptures. For example, in the Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman and is said to speak, cry out, raise her voice, reprove, laugh and so forth. Wisdom is seen as being loved, having a mouth, having a house and offering bread and wine (See Proverbs chapters one, four, eight and nine). Yet we all know that wisdom is not a person but an attribute of mind.
It is therefore argued that the Spirit of God is not a person and does not exist in distinction from God. The Spirit of God is seen as the mind and power of God expressing all that God is. It is His knowledge, understanding and wisdom. It is his power and authority. It is His love, mercy, righteousness and justice. It is the outward manifestation of all that God is. The scriptures actually identify God as Spirit.
Non-Trinitarians point out that the human spirit represents and is the manifestation of all that humans are. The body without the spirit has no viable expression of thought or will. Spirit is the cognition function of the physical body. In Genesis 2:7 it is recorded God breathed (Hebrew ruah) into man and man became a living soul. The spirit of a human is the human in action. The Spirit of God is God in action. God is identified in scripture as the Father. The Spirit of the Father is no more separate or distinct from the Father than the human spirit is separate or distinct from the human while the human is alive. Since God is eternal and is self existent, God cannot die and so His Spirit is eternally active. God is eternal Spirit. When scripture speaks of God being Spirit it is not speaking of Spirit as a distinction within a Trinitarian unity of three persons that is God but of will, power and thought that make the one God a cognitive living Being.
Human life comes from God Spirit but it is temporary life. Upon conversion we become reborn by the Spirit of God and this rebirth imparts eternal life to us. When Jesus said that God is spirit and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth, Jesus is saying we are to worship Him with the very life He has given us through Spiritual rebirth. Spiritual rebirth is what Jesus discussed with Nicodemus in John, chapter three. This is how relationship with God is facilitated.
Non-Trinitarians see the Spirit of God intimately associated with what God is. Therefore sinning against the Spirit is the same as sinning against God. For example, in the account of Ananias and his wife lying about the money, they are seen as lying to the Holy Spirit and to God. Trinitarians see this passage as proof the Holy Spirit and God are separate identities. Non-Trinitarians see this as Ananias and his wife sinning against the one God who is working in Peter by His Spirit and so when these two individuals lied to Peter it was the same as lying to God.
Acts 5:3-4: Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
Apostle Paul shows that rejection of instruction coming from the Apostles was the same as rejecting the instruction of God, instruction that is seen as coming through and being understood as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 4:8: Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
God is seen as giving His Holy Spirit. It is noted that in scripture you often see that action directed toward or coming from God or the Holy Spirit means the same thing.
Non-Trinitarians refer to Paul’s comments about the spirit of man being compared to the Spirit of God. It’s pointed out that just as the thoughts of man's spirit are not separated or distinct from man, neither are the thoughts of God’s Spirit separate or distinct from God. Just as the spirit of man is the very manifestation of man's thoughts and actions, so the Spirit of God is the very manifestation of what God thinks, does and virtually is. Just as man has spirit which is not a separate or distinct person from himself, so God has Spirit which is not a separate or distinct person from God.
1 Corinthians 2:11: For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
The scriptures show that God is able to distribute His Spirit throughout the universe. It is by His Spirit the universe is sustained. Here the analogy of the sun distributing its light and heat through millions of miles applies. The light and heat are not the sun but are a manifestation of the sun's make up. God’s Spirit is seen as a manifestation of God essence which is distributed throughout the universe and is expressed in thousands of ways including the various personifications found in scripture. It is through His Spirit that Mary became impregnated with Jesus. Non-Trinitarians point to the association between Spirit and power of God in the account of the birth of Jesus.
Luke 1:35: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Some Non-Trinitarians like to say that if the Holy Spirit is a person then the Holy Spirit was Father of Jesus and not God the Father. Trinitarians respond that the Father used the Spirit to incarnate Jesus. Non-Trinitarians wholehearted agree, but believe this proves Spirit (The word “The” before Spirit is not in the Greek of Luke 1:35) emanates from the Father as mind and power and not as a person distinct from the Father. Therefore, God the Father is the Father of Jesus, not through the action of a person called the Holy Spirit, but through the action of His innate mind and power that is called Holy Spirit. This Spirit is called Holy because it emanates from Him who is completely holy.
It is pointed out that Jesus told the disciples to stay in
Luke 24:49: I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
Non-Trinitarians see the Spirit of God equated with the presence of God which is seen to be everywhere. David equates God’s Spirit and presence with God Himself and not some person that proceeds from God.
Psalm 139:7: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,
Spirit is regularly seen in scripture to signify power, mind and presence. In Luke 1:17, John the Baptist is seen as coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. No one would conclude the spirit of Elijah was a person. Paul wrote to Timothy that God has given us a spirit of power, love and sound mindedness (1st Timothy 1:7). These are all attributes of God’s Spirit with no hint of them coming from and through a third person of a Trinity. Paul said this to the Romans:
Romans 8:9: You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Here it is indicated that the Spirit of God is an attitude and power of mind that overrides the power of the sinful nature and it is therefore a spirit of righteousness. It is equated with having the Spirit of Christ. We know the Spirit of Christ was a Spirit of righteousness. In another place in Paul’s writings he speaks of having the mind of Christ. Having the mind of Christ would be no different than having the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of Christ is shown as equal to having the Spirit of God. Over and over again we see attributes of mind such as thought and attitude associated with spirit. Non-Trinitarians see no reason to associate spirit with a third person of a Triune God when spirit is constantly seen in scripture as the action of mind and power which ultimately derives from the one God who is identified over and over again in scripture as the Father.
Non-Trinitarians point out that when the Apostles write to the Churches, greetings are always sent from two persons, the Father and the Son. Never is the Holy Spirit included in such greetings. It is asked if God is a Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit, why is the Spirit never included in these greetings? Worship is seen as directed to both the Father and the Son but never to the Spirit. Trinitarians retort that scripture does direct worship to the Spirit as the scriptures direct worship to God and God is Father, Son and Spirit. This, of course, assumes the Trinity to be valid and is therefore a case of assuming the thing to be proved, which is a dangerous way to argue anything.
Even in the one scripture where Jesus Christ, God and Spirit are simultaneously mentioned, not as a greeting but as a benediction, it is to be noted that the wording is such as to distinguish between Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God.
2 Corinthians 13:14: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
If indeed Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are God as God is God, it is rather strange that this greeting makes these distinctions. Trinitarians will argue that the one God is being identified in His three distinctions. Paul, however, does not distinguish the Father from Jesus and the Spirit but he distinguishes God from Jesus and the Spirit. It would appear Paul is seeing God as God, Jesus as His Son and the Spirit as the mind and power of God which God shares with us which Paul sees as the fellowship of the Spirit.
The scriptures often speak of the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ. It is asked if the Spirit is a distinction in the Godhead how can it be of God and of Christ. If the Spirit is consubstantial, coequal and coeternal and yet a distinction in the Godhead how can it be described as of God or of Christ. If when described as of God is meant of God the Father it would imply subordination to the Father. When described as of Christ it would imply subordination to Christ. Some Trinitarians will argue that all three persons of the Godhead are subordinate to each other and of equal will. Non-Trinitarian respond that scripture shows subordination of the Son to the Father but the Spirit as something shared between Father and Son and also shared with man.
It is believed the scriptures clearly show the Spirit is of the Father and is virtually personified in Christ because of Christ being in perfect unity with the Father. It is this unity of Spirit that Christ wants us to have with Him and through Him with the Father. Scripture records that when the disciples would have to appear before government officials, they would be given the words to say. Mark records it as, “Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Matthew records it as, “For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20). Matthew identifies that it is the Spirit of the Father. Luke writes, “For I (Christ) will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” Luke records Christ as saying it is He that will give them the words to say thus implying the Spirit is personified in Christ. In referring to Christ, Paul said, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
In Trinitarian theology, Christ is not the Spirit but is seen as distinct from the Spirit. The three “persons” of the Godhead are not seen as being each other but are seen as distinct from each other while maintaining oneness of Being. So even though they are considered consubstantial, coequal and coeternal, they are not each other. Yet Paul defines Christ as the Spirit. Jesus said God is Spirit. Non-Trinitarians see this as Paul showing the total harmony of relationship between the Father and His Son and therefore the Son is a total representation of the Spirit of the Father. Therefore, the Spirit is seen, not as a person of a Trinitarian union between Father, Son and Spirit, but as the mind and power of the one God, the Father, flowing through Christ and from Christ into and through man. Christ is not seen as a person of the one Supreme God but as God's glorified agent who is in complete subornation to, and in a totally harmonious spiritual relationship with the Father, the one Supreme God. Through Christ, humans are seen as having opportunity to share in that same relationship.
In Trinitarian theology the Spirit is seen as distinct from the Father and the Son as part of a Triune relationship of Father, Son and Spirit. Non-Trinitarians see God as the Father only and note that the Spirit of God (the Father) is spoken of in ways that clearly show it to be an attribute of the Father and therefore does not exist as an identity or distinction from the Father. Scripture shows the Spirit can be quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19), fanned into flame (2 Timothy 1:6-7) and given out in portions or in full amounts (1 John 4:13 &. John 3:34). This is not language conducive to defining the Spirit as a person or identity distinct from the Father or the Son. This is seen as language that depicts the Spirit as God’s influence upon our lives and yet an influence that can be mitigated by our human ability to exercise free choice.
Trinitarians retort that these are figurative representations of the Spirit and therefore they can be applied to the Spirit as a distinction within the Trinity. It is noted that scriptures say the Spirit can be poured out (Acts 10:45), but the scriptures also speak of Paul being poured out (2 Timothy 4:6). If Paul can be poured out then so can the person of the Spirit within the Trinity be poured out. Non-Trinitarians respond that scripture explicitly shows Paul to be a living person, distinct and separate from other persons. So when Paul says he is being poured out, while he is speaking figuratively of himself, he is identified as a distinct person having definite structure. The Holy Spirit has no such identification but is said to be a person only on the basis of manifesting person like qualities. Non Trinitarians see such manifestations as personifications of the mind and power of God in action and not the action of a distinct person of a Triune God. In Isaiah 40:13 the prophet says, “Who hath directed the spirit (Hebrew: ruah: Masoretic Hebrew text) of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught him?" (KJV). Apostle Paul quotes this passage when he says, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor?" (Romans 11:34). Paul uses the Greek word nous (Septuagint rendering of Isaiah 40:13) which means the faculty of intellect, perceiving, understanding, feeling, judging and determining, etcetera. Here Paul is seen as equating the Spirit of God with the mind of God. It is also apparent that the Septuagint translators (Hebrew to Greek) understood the Spirit to be the mind of God and rendered ruah as mind. This is felt to clearly show the Spirit of God is the mind of God and not a person within a Trinitarian Godhead.
GREEK NOUNS AND PRONOUNS:
Another area of contention between Trinitarians and Non-Trinitarians relates to the manner in which the Spirit is identified grammatically in the scriptures. Trinitarians see the pronouns “he” and “his” used in association with references to the Spirit and conclude this proves the Spirit has personality and should be identified as a person.
In the Greek language, nouns have what is called gender where some nouns are considered masculine, some feminine and some neuter. These designations do not necessarily identify the noun as being male, female or neuter as these gender designations are often applied to words that have nothing to do with actual gender (male or female). For example, the word "sword” in Greek is in the feminine gender and yet a sword is not a female. The Greek for wall is masculine, for door feminine, and for floor neuter. In Greek, gender designations of male and female are applied to persons, places and things. Neuter nouns are applied only to impersonal things such as objects, forces, abstractions and so forth, but such nouns can be given personification.
The Greek language also has three kinds of pronouns associated with these genders. When a pronoun appears with a noun having a masculine, feminine or neuter gender, the pronoun must match the gender designation of the noun. For example, a masculine noun takes a masculine pronoun such as “he,” “who,” “whom,” or “his.” A neuter noun takes a neuter pronoun such as “it,” “itself,” or “which.” The word “Spirit” (Greek pneuma), in Greek, is neuter and takes the pronoun “it” or “which.” Many English translations place a masculine pronoun in association with Spirit and Holy Spirit. Thus, the translators have abandoned the grammatical requirements of the Greek language in favor of supporting their predisposition toward believing the Holy Spirit to be a person. This method of rendering neuter pronouns as masculine pronouns is common throughout English translations in reference to the Holy Spirit. A good example of this type of translation/interpretation is Acts 5:32.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom (Greek “o”) God has given to those who obey him" (NIV and most English translations).
Here the phrase “Holy Spirit” is neuter with the Greek pronoun “o” which, to be consistent with Greek grammar, should be translated “which” and not “whom.” If you look at Acts 5.32, in a Greek interlinear translation where Greek words are translated into their equivalent English words you will find “o” translated as “which.” In interlinear translations the translator must adhere to the grammar requirements of the language being translated and therefore personal basis is largely eliminated.
In view of the foregoing, it is misleading to use masculine pronouns in association with the grammatically neuter “Spirit” as it gives the false impression that the Greek language is showing the Spirit to be a person which the language is not doing. The application of gender in the Greek language does not directly define whether something is person, place or thing. Such definition must be established with other knowledge of how a particular word is to be understood. It should be pointed out, however, that the neuter designation in Greek appears to only apply to impersonal things. While this is not definitive as to the Spirit not being a person it points to the difficulty associated with such a designation.
Trinitarians often point to passages in John 14 and 15 as proof that the Holy Spirit is a person and not just the manifestation of the mind and power of God. In these passages Jesus tells the disciples that He would send them another Counselor (Greek parakletos) who is identified as the Holy Spirit. Since the Counselor, as the Holy Spirit, is referred to as he, him and whom, it is believed the Holy Spirit is a person.
John 14: 16-17: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor (Comforter in KJV, Helper in NKJV) to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (NIV).
John 14:26: But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 15:26: "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
John 16:7-8: But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.
John 16:13-15: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
Non Trinitarians point out that the Greek parakletos is of masculine gender and, therefore, requires a masculine pronoun. It is, therefore, grammatically necessary to use the pronouns him, he, his and whom in these passages. However, just as the neuter gender Greek pneuma does not establish the personhood or non-personhood of Spirit, neither does the masculine gender parakletos establish the person or non-personhood of Counselor. As stated above, the Greek masculine gender is associated with persons, places and things. When this gender is associated with a noun, it doesn’t by itself tell you what the noun means. That must be determined by other information.
In the passages cited above, the Counselor is identified as the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth. But, it is the masculine gender parakletos that is being discussed and so using the personal pronouns of he, him and whom is perfectly legitimate. Even in John 16: 13-15, were Jesus speaks of the Spirit of truth, He is still talking about the parakletos and therefore the use of the Greek pronoun ekeinos, he and his, is appropriate. Some Trinitarians insist that the word Spirit is being modified by the pronoun ekeinos. This is simply not the case as this is a masculine pronoun and would not be applied to a neuter noun.
In view of the dynamics associated with gender in the Greek language and the fact that gender, in and of itself, does not establish the meaning of a noun, a personhood for the Holy Spirit cannot be established on the basis of grammar, a fact acknowledged by various Greek scholars. It is further pointed out that in John 15:26, the Counselor is seen as going out from the Father (proceeding from the Father in the KJV). According to Trinitarian theology, the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father in the Trinitarian Godhead. If this is the case, why is it seen as proceeding from the Father? To the Non-Trinitarian the answer is that the Father is the one and only Supreme God who has Holy Spirit of intellect and power and this Spirit flows to wherever the Father wills that it flow.
Non-Trinitarians point out that throughout the scriptures the Son is spoken of as of God, the Spirit is spoken of as of God but nowhere is the Father spoken of as of God. It is believed the Father is never spoken of as of God because the Father is God and the Son and Spirit are of the Father. The Son is seen as of the Father in being directly begotten by the Father and the Spirit is seen as of the Father as the Father's power, thought, emotion, creativity and all other personal attributes manifested by the Spirit. The Spirit of God is seen as the personality of God as defined by all the characteristics attributed to the Spirit in the scriptures. The Spirit of God is virtually what God is just as the spirit in man is virtually what man is. In neither case does the Spirit/spirit exist as its own person in distinction from the person wherein it resides.
Trinitarians often point to Matthew 28:19 as proof of the Trinitarian nature of God. It is believed that since the Father is identified in scripture as a person and the Son is identified in scripture as a person, so must the Holy Spirit be a person as all three are mentioned as needing to be named in this baptismal protocol.
Matthew 28:19: 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.
Non-Trinitarians readily admit to the Father and Son being identified in scripture as persons but do not see the Spirit so identified and so do not conclude that just because the Spirit is mentioned in this baptismal protocol that the Spirit is a person or that because three entities are mentioned this proves God is a Trinity of consubstantial, coequal and coeternal persons. In 1 Timothy 5:21 Paul says to Timothy, “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.” Here we have elect angels mentioned in relation to Jesus and God. No Trinitarian would conclude that these angels are in a Trinitarian relationship with God and Jesus. What is also interesting is that Paul distinguishes between God and Jesus Christ. Paul doesn’t distinguish between the Father and Jesus but between God and Jesus. If Jesus is God in a consubstantial, coequal and coeternal Trinitarian relationship why does Paul distinguish between God and Jesus?
There is an additional problem as to the use of the baptismal protocol found in Matthew 28:19 to support Trinitarianism. This supposed instruction of Jesus is nowhere found in scripture to have been followed by the early church. All references to baptism show baptism being done only in the name of Jesus. Here are a few examples:
Acts 2:38: Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:48: So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Acts 19:5: On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
The reasons we see the early church not following the baptismal protocol found in Matthew 28:19 is that this formula may never have been uttered by Jesus Christ. Eusebius (260 to 340 AD), Bishop of Caesarea, was a prolific writer of church history up to his time and often quoted scripture in his writings including Matthew 28:19. Eusebius never quotes Matthew 28:19 as it appears in modern translations but always finishes this verse with “in my name.” He shows Jesus saying that baptism was to be done in His name. Eusebius was quoting from manuscripts no longer extant as our modern translations are taken from later Greek manuscripts. In view of this fact and the scriptures repeatedly showing baptism being only done in the name of Jesus, it would appear that the baptismal protocol found in modern translations of Matthew 28:19 is suspect and should not be used as a definite protocol for baptism and certainly not as a proof text for the Trinity.