Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost?

Because the terms “Holy Spirit” and “Holy Ghost” are both found in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, some have concluded that two different spirits are being discussed. However, “ghost” is an archaic translation of the original Greek word pneuma, from which both terms are translated.

When referring to God’s Spirit, pneuma (which literally means “breath”) is properly translated “Spirit,” as is the case in Luke 11:13, Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30, and many other verses.

At the time of the first printing of the KJV (1611; over 1,400 years after the New Testament was first written in Greek), the English words “spirit” and “ghost” had the same meaning. This made it natural for the translators to render the one Greek word as both English words. Though their inconsistency was not intentional, it resulted in the misunderstanding that the “Holy Ghost” and “Holy Spirit” are two separate spirits.

To clarify the matter, the term “Holy Spirit” could be used in all instances in which the Spirit of God or Spirit of Christ is referenced. A good example is Romans 8:9, which mentions both the “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ.”

As Ephesians 4:6 shows, when a person receives the Holy Spirit, it is one Spirit: “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Also notice John 10:30, 14:8-9 and Amos 3:3.

This problem is rectified in the New King James Version, in which the Greek expression hagios pneuma is consistently translated “Holy Spirit.”

Why Is the Holy Spirit Referred to as “He”?

A universally favored piece of “evidence” used to “prove” the Holy Spirit’s personage is the usage of the masculine pronoun “He,” found in certain verses in John’s gospel account. However, when properly examined, this evidence is proven to be strictly circumstantial and of no “trinity-conclusive” value.

The irony of this claim is that the scholars teaching it are supposedly versed in the Greek language of the New Testament. Unlike English, Greek nouns are always assigned gender. They are either masculine, feminine or neuter.

This is completely arbitrary, having nothing whatsoever to do with any actual defining quality of the person, place or thing being referred to, unless a specific human being is being referenced. And pronouns must agree in gender with the nouns for which they are substituted.

In order to back up their claims, trinitarians will quote John’s gospel for defence of their position. The words “He” and “Himself” are used extensively in reference to the Holy Spirit. However, the inspired Greek words can also be translated “it” or “itself.”

Case in point: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7).

Compare this verse with Romans 8:16: “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” The exact same Greek word autos is translated two entirely different ways in these two verses (“him” and “itself”). When studying difficult biblical subjects, a careful study of the originally inspired language is sometimes necessary to avoid drawing wrong conclusions.

In John 16:8 and 16:13, the phrases “he will show” and “he will reprove” are actually translated from the Greek words elegcho and anaggello respectively; and they mean: “to confute or admonish” and “to announce.” The word “he” was used by translators for gender agreement, not because John was trying to establish the trinity doctrine.

Many will also cite the word “Comforter” as referring to a person. Of course, this is ridiculous. A comforter on your bed is obviously not a person. It is called such because of what it does, the same being true of the Holy Spirit.

Notice other examples of gender being assigned to non-gender items:

“And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shines in his [the sun’s] strength” (Rev. 1:16).

The above verse is an example of how gender could unwittingly be attributed to something that obviously has no gender. The possessive pronoun “his,” referring to the sun, is strictly a grammatical tool. Such use of gender-specific pronouns in reference to inanimate objects is found in other languages as well, such as French and Spanish. In these languages, the gender of a possessive pronoun agrees with its object, not its subject. Again, it is a grammatical tool. In the case of Revelation 1:16, obviously, neither “sun” nor “strength” has any inherent gender. Consider two more scriptures:

“Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her [the earth’s] place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger” (Isa. 13:13). Is the earth female?

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her [the moon’s] light” (Matt. 24:29). Again, is the moon female?

This section is not intended to be a lesson in Hebrew or Greek grammar. But, when examined from the perspective of overall biblical usage, the way pronouns are translated is irrelevant. The real issue is the inconsistency found in theological arguments. Do trinitarians attribute literal gender and consciousness to the sun, moon or earth? Of course not—that would be ridiculous. So why assign gender to the Holy Spirit?

One does not have to be a grammarian, historian or scholar to understand the Bible. In fact, the Bible shows that those who study it for the simplicity it contains (I Cor. 1:27; II Cor. 11:3;John 4:23), without adding their own “theological” conjecture, are the ones God is calling and working with (John 6:44, 65).