The Holy Spirit is not a person distinct from the Father and the Son.  The Holy Spirit is the LIFE AND POWER OF God, as in the Father.  Many people believe that the Holy Spirit is a personage, but we believe the Scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit is the personal power and life-force of God.  Let us carefully search the Scriptures to see what they reveal about the Holy Spirit and Its operation.

 

The word  Spirit is translated from the  Hebrew word “ruach” and the Greek  word “pneuma."  Both of these words mean air, breath, wind, power or life.  The Holy Spirit is the divine energy of the Almighty God . . . His life and power.  It is a personal, invisible force just like the wind, breath and air.  Consider carefully the following Scriptures:

 

“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The invisible active force of God moved upon the waters and brought order and beauty out of the condition described here.

 

“And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and [or even] the POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE:  Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of Elohim” (Luke 1:35).  The Holy Spirit is explained here to be the POWER OF THE HIGHEST.  This verse gives us a Biblical definition of the Holy Spirit.

 

“And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you:  but tarry . . . until you be ENDUED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH” (Luke 24:49).

 

“But ye shall receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:  and you shall be witnesses unto Me” (Acts 1:8).  

 

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith Elohim, I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17).   It is God's own Spirit.

 

“Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath GIVEN US OF HIS  SPIRIT” (1 John 4:13).   It is God's own Spirit.

 

“But if THE SPIRIT OF HIM [God, as in the Father] that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ  from the dead shall also quicken [or make alive] your mortal bodies BY HIS SPIRIT that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11).   Again it is God's own Spirit.

 

“And what is the exceeding greatness of HIS POWER to usward who believe, ACCORDING TO THE WORKING OF HIS MIGHTY POWER, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:19, 20).   

 

"Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?  or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there:  if I make my bed in hell [the grave], behold, Thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me" (Psalms 139:7-10). Elohim can be everywhere through His Spirit.

 

When all of these Scriptures are put together, we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit is NOT A PERSON . . . but an INVISIBLE FORCE . . . GOD’S LIFE AND POWER.  The Holy Spirit is not a person . . . it is the life of God.  Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Holy Life.  It is the very essence of God Himself . . . it is His Spirit or life-force.  It is the invisible active force of the Almighty God  by which He moves upon His children and accomplishes His purposes.  The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit or life that can be everywhere (Psalms 139:7-8). and a portion of that Spirit comes into our being when we are born again.  

 

“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”(John 1:13).

 

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).   

 

“But as then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now” (Galatians 4:29).  

 

Man is composed of three parts . . . the spirit, the soul, and the body.  See 1 Thessalonians 5:23.   The body is the physical aspect of life . . . the flesh and blood.  The soul of man contains his intellect, his sensibilities and his will.  The soul is the total real person . . . the personality of the individual.  The spirit is the life-giving force.  When you lose the spirit, you die.  See Ecclesiastes 8:8; 12:7; James 2:26.  

 

Even so the Holy Spirit is the LIFE-FORCE OF GOD who created Heaven and earth.  It is the life and power that emanates from the Father and the Son.  They both share the same Spirit or life-force which belongs to the Father.  "All things that the Father hath are Mine:  therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:15). This is how both the Father and His Son can abide in or dwell in a person at the same time. 

 

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter (Holy Spirit – Ruach), that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16, emphasis added). 

 

“I will not leave you comfortless:  I will come to you” (John 14:18).  

 

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words:  and My Father will love him, and WE will come unto him and make OUR abode with him” (John 14:23).

 

God the Father is a BEING or entity . . . Therefore He has a SOUL (personality).

 

“Behold My servant [Jesus], Whom I [God, the Father] uphold; Mine elect, in Whom MY SOUL delighteth; I have put MY SPIRIT upon Him:  He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:1).  

 

From this Scripture we see that God has both a SOUL and has a SPIRIT.  He is a soul because He is a Being.  He also has a Spirit which is His life-force.  Jesus is a separate entity or Being . . . He also has a soul.  Jesus “poured out His soul unto death” (Isaiah 53:12).  

 

BUT NOWHERE IS IT SAID THAT THE HOLY GHOST (SPIRIT) HAS A SOUL . . . the reason for this is because the Holy Ghost (Spirit) is not a Being, as in exiting on its own.  Rather, it is the Spirit or life-force of God.  Therefore, there are  TWO SOULS or BEINGS . . . God the Father and His Son.  The Holy Spirit is not a being, but the Spirit or life-force of God . . . the invisible active force of Almighty God.

 

Some will ask if the Holy Spirit is not a person then why is it called a “He” in the Scriptures? Jesus said:  “Howbeit when He the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).   Trinitarians use this to try and prove that the Holy Spirit is a person.  Two legitimate explanations can be given for this:

 

1. The Holy Spirit is the  Spirit  or  life-force of God.  God, as in the Father is a masculine entity Therefore, it would certainly be proper to refer to the Holy Spirit in the masculine gender.  Notice the following Scriptures:  “The Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father” (John 15:26).   “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17).   “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13).  Since the Holy Spirit is God’s own Spirit, it is therefore proper to refer to it in the masculine gender . . . but this in no way proves that it is another entity separate and distinct from God.

 

2. The Greek word for Comforter is “parakletos” and is masculine in gender.  Actually, the word Spirit is neuter and therefore does not denote gender or personality.  See Romans 8:16, 26 . . . "the Spirit itself."  But in the Gospel of John, the masculine pronoun is used in reference to the Holy Spirit because it is referred to as the Comforter . . . a masculine gender word.  In the Greek language the gender of the pronoun always agrees in gender to the noun to which it refers.  This is just a grammatical rule.  The use of masculine or feminine pronouns in the Hebrew or Greek languages is absolutely no proof of gender or personality.  They are used with reference to things and qualities.

 

There is no more logic in calling the Holy Spirit a person . . . than in calling wisdom or patience a person.  Proverbs 9:1 tells us that “Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars." James 1:4  says, “Let patience have her perfect work."  Does this mean that wisdom and patience are women?  No!  They are figures of speech known as personification . . . but they do not denote personages.  Sometimes, the Holy Spirit is personified, but this does not prove the Holy Spirit is a person separate and distinct from God.  The Holy Spirit sometimes takes on the attributes of God’s personality … because God is the One who operates and works through the Spirit. 

 

The Holy Spirit is God’s power.  The working of the Spirit is the working of God and His Son.  When the Bible describes the Spirit as speaking (Revelation 2:7), it refers to the work of God speaking through His power.  When the Spirit is described as making intercession (Romans 8:26-27), it refers to the intercession that Christ our High Priest makes for us through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). Jesus is our only intercessor . . . He is our only mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). 

 

When Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost, he lied to God Himself who was working through that holy power (Acts 5:3).  When one “grieves” the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30), they grieve God Himself  who works through His Holy Spirit.  Note the word “of” in the above.  It denotes who that Spirit belongs to.  It has usage of possessive terminology.

 

Additional Reasons Why the Holy Spirit is NOT a Person

 

1. The Holy Spirit is never addressed in prayer.

 

2. Worship is never directed towards the Holy Spirit.

 

3. The Holy Spirit is designated in the Bible by impersonal symbols.  Some of these are wind (John 3:8; Acts 2:2), fire (Acts 2:3), water (John 3:37-39), Oil (Psalm 45:7; Isaiah 61:1),  seal (Ephesians 1:13), dove (Matthew 3:16),  and breath (John 20:22).

 

4. These impersonal characteristics of the Spirit reveal it as the power of God and not a personality on its own.  The Spirit is mentioned as being poured out (Acts 2:17; 10:45), shed forth. (Acts 2:33; Titus 3:5-6), breathed upon people (John 20:22), and filling people (Acts 2:4; Ephesians 5:18). Jesus was anointed with this power (Acts 10:38).   Men are baptized in it (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:5)  and drank of it (1 Corinthians 12:13).  None of these things could be said of the Holy Spirit if it was a person.  Also, the Holy Spirit is compared to the blowing of the wind . . . an invisible force (John 3:8).  

 

5. The Holy Spirit is NOT included in the Apostolic Salutations.  See Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 3.  God the Father and Jesus are mentioned but the Holy Spirit is left out . . . why if the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead?

 

6. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned as Enthroned or Reigning.  The Bible pictures God the Father, sitting upon His throne and Jesus either sitting or standing at His right hand.  See Acts 7:55-56; Revelation 5:1-5; 22:3.   The Holy Spirit is never seen . . . why? If the Holy Spirit is a third person in the Deity?  The Holy Spirit does not have a throne.

 

7. The Spirit is never designated as the “third person” in the Scriptures.  Moreover, the Father is never called the “first person” and the Son is never called the “second person”.  This is all made up Trinitarian terminology . . . foreign to the sacred Scriptures.

 

 

The Divine Order as given in 1 Corinthians 11:3 leaves out the Holy Spirit

 

The Apostle Paul certainly had an understanding of the Deity.  In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul gives us the DIVINE ORDER that flows from God to the woman.   

 

“But I would have you to know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3).

 

Now when we line this Scripture up, we see the woman with her head . . . the man.  We see man with his head . . . Christ.  We see Christ with His head . . . God.  God the Father the head of Christ.  Christ, the head of man.  And man the head of the woman.  

 

If the Holy Spirit is a person . . . then why did Paul leave IT out of the divine order here?  If God and Jesus were one and the same, then Jesus would not have a head in the designed headship of God. Woman has a head!  Man has a head!  Messiah has a head! God is the top of this headship, for there is none greater than God.  He is the Supreme Being (God Almighty).  This is the simplest explanation of the Deity you will ever find.  It shows there are TWO ENTITIES in the Deity . . . with one being greater than the other.

 

So the above Scriptures prove conclusively that there are TWO DIVINE ENTITIES . . . God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, His Son.  The Holy Spirit is not a separate entity, separate and distinct from the Father and the Son.  Rather, it is the life and power of the eternal Elohim . . . and both the Father and the Son perform their work through the power of the Father's Spirit.