SUBJECT:  John 16:13 - Trinity

QUESTIONS:  John 16:13-14 uses the word “he” is referring to the Holy Spirit.  Is this correct?  Is the Holy Spirit a person?

ANSWER:

No, the Holy Spirit is not a person.  The use of the word “he” in John 16 is an error.  Notice the meaning of the key word:

NT:1565

ekeinos (ek-i'-nos); from NT:1563; that one (or [neuter] thing); often intensified by the art. prefixed:

KJV - he, it, the other (same), selfsame, that (same, very), X their, X them, they, this, those. See also NT:3778.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary) [Emphasis is mine]

The following is taken from Garner Ted Armstrong’s booklet: “Is God a Mystery?”
https://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/is-god-a-mystery/

The Greek Word For "He"

Many assume that the language of Christ (recorded by John) concerning the "Other Comforter" is referring to a third person of the Godhead.

Christ said, "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.

"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

"Of sin, because they believe not on me;

"Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

"Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

"All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:7-15).

God the Father is masculine, not feminine. Like the Latin languages, the Greek has gender. In Spanish, "el" is masculine, while "la" is feminine. Hence, "el techo" is masculine, for "the roof," and "la casa" is feminine for "the house."

The Greek word translated "he" in this lengthy passage is from "ekeinos." Of this word, the exhaustive concordance says, "that one (or [neut.] thing); often intensified by the art. Prefixed:--he, it, the other (same), selfsame, that (same, very), x their x them, they, this, those."

Notice carefully that "ekeinos" can just as easily be translated "it" as "he." It can also be used to indicate "that one" or "that thing."

"He" in any language is a reflexive third-person pronoun, and can be applied in many, many ways. In the Greek, it is "autos," and is used in the following ways: "her, it (self), one, the other, (mine) own, said ([self], the] same, ([him, my, thy]) self, [your] selves, she, that, their (s), them ([selves]), there [at, by, in, into, of, on, with], they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which." (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance,Greek Dictionary, No. 846).

Because one or another of these two words are used in connection with the Holy Spirit which issues forth from the Father, they are used in the masculine "He" in the passages appearing in John 16.

However, notice, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:15-17).

The word "itself" comes from the Greek "autos," and is a reflexive pronoun.

It is quite appropriately translated "itself" in this passage.

Notice the awesome MEANING of these beautiful words!

When we receive the Holy Spirit of God following repentance, accepting the shed blood of Christ, water baptism, and the laying on of hands, we are begotten of God, the Father!

Our spiritual FATHER is the FATHER; the same Father to Whom Jesus prayed, and the Father to Whom He returned!

We are NOT the "children of the Holy Spirit," as if a third person of a triumvirate had begotten us, but the children of God, the Father. Christ is the first begotten of the Father, and He is the FIRSTBORN among many brethren (1 Corinthians 15:23; Romans 8:29).

This clearly shows that being "born of God" means exactly what it says; that we are eventually to be BORN AGAIN as a SPIRIT being, in the Divine Family of God!

The word "adoption" should be rendered "sonship," for it means much more than mere legal adoption. It means becoming the actual begotten child; the BORN child of the parent!

Paul says this is why we cry "Abba," which means "FATHER."

Your human father is your literal, actual, real father, not some vague, shadowy, ghost-like "mister in between." It was your FATHER whose life-giving seed united with your mother to produce YOU.

In like fashion, the life-giving HOLY SPIRIT OF THE FATHER unites with your human spirit (erroneously called "the soul" by most) which produces a ‘new creature in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ is now our elder Brother, for He was the FIRST begotten of the same Father!

God’s Holy Spirit witnesses with our human spirit that we are now the "children of God!"

There is no "third person" active in this scenario!   [end quote from booklet]

The following explains this error.

The Gender of the Holy Spirit

Recently a letter was received by the Church which addressed the question of the gender of the Holy Spirit. That letter was important because it was based on a false premise which seems to have currency in the English speaking world, and is actively encouraged by Trinitarians because it supports their error. The letter is reproduced in part to assist others in identifying the problem.

I have been told that your church teaches that the Holy Spirit is not a person in the Godhead, but is merely the power of God working in true Christians. I believed this for many years, but a few weeks ago I discovered that the Holy Spirit mentioned as the Spirit of Truth in John 16:13 is referred to as he.

I realize that there are many places in the New Testament where the Holy Spirit is referred to as he, but in all instances except three the Greek word for he is not actually in the Greek. Commonly Greek leaves out the subject pronoun and, in these references to the Holy Spirit, implies by the verbal ending that the subject is he, she, or it. All of the translations that I have seen use he. She or it could have been used instead.

In Greek, as in Latin, Slavic, and most Germanic languages, every noun is given a gender by virtue of its ending. This is called grammatical gender and cannot be changed. This may not correspond to its natural gender. The word for man is grammatically masculine which is good because a man is masculine, but the word for sun is also masculine and this is in contrast with its neuter meaning. Greek grammar demands that when a word is referred back to by a pronoun, the pronoun must have the same grammatical gender as the noun it refers to. An exception is made by a writer only when he is emphasising natural gender. Spirit is grammatically neuter, so he refers to the Spirit because the Spirit is a living being.

In three verses ie. John 14:26, 15:26 & 16:13, the Greek word for he (ie [ekeinos]) is actually used. In these first two instances, if the grammar is greatly and absurdly stretched, one perhaps could say that [ekeinos] refers to the comforter (ho parakletos) or father (patros) both of which are masculine and therefore demand he and not it. However, in John 16:13 there is not any other word in the sentence that he (ekeinos) could refer to except the word Spirit (pneuma) in the phrase the Spirit of Truth.

The Greek word for Spirit [pneuma] is grammatically neuter and demands the pronoun it [ekeino], but John has purposely chosen to use he [ekeinos], therefore the Holy Spirit must be a person in the Godhead. Furthermore, The Greek word for comforter [parakletos] is a verbal adjective used as a noun. This word is essentially an adjective which can be used in common (ie. masculine or feminine) gender (parakletos) or in neuter gender [parakleton]. Comforter is used in the New Testament in the common gender, ie, [parakletos].

If the Holy Spirit is only the power of God how can you account for these two points?

The answer to the problem lies in the most basic of false assumptions, in this case, that ekeinos means he. It does not mean, nor has it been translated as, he. This seems to have been stated by someone as if to demonstrate a point and then remained unchallenged. The word he in John 16:13 is deduced from the grammar and inserted in the English, as it has been elsewhere.

In English the problem of sex and gender is complicated because, in this language, gender implies sex. In many languages, gender is inherent in the grammar. It is not directly linked to sex as it is in English. The mistake is trying to make deductions from foreign languages by using an English thought process. It might be pointed out that it is dangerous, indeed, to construct a theology from the presence or absence of the Greek letter sigma in John 16:13 (translated That one; see also 16:14), given the acknowledged forgeries in 1Timothy 3:16, in Codex Aleph, involving also the letter sigma and theta constructing Theos where none existed. This resulted in the false text in the KJV. Also 1John 5:7 was a forgery inserted in the Receptus, again affecting the KJV. Be that as it may, we will accept ekeinos as accurate because it is not critical to the point.

Ekeinos is rendered That one and not He on each occasion it is used in relation to the Holy Spirit in these texts. The New Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon (p. 194) shows that ekeinos does not mean he. It is derived from the proposition the one there. It is a pronoun meaning That man, women or thing. It is used for stress. Hence, it is given the suffix os to reflect the grammatical structure in which it occurs. The endings can also denote case, os denoting the nominative case, n or on denoting the accusative (hence theos (our theos or elohim) and ton theon (the God) in Jn. 1:1). The word he in John 16:13 is rendered from words which do not convey that meaning except abstractly from their construction. Marshall’s Interlinear shows that The Spirit receives literally the of me and announces or conveys it to the brethren. This Spirit is of the Father, because Christ says in the next verse that All things which has the Father, mine is (are) (see Marshall’s Jn. 16:13-15). The Interlinear text supports the concept that the Spirit is the power of God. The grammatical structure is used because it speaks of the Father and His attributes or powers.

Marshall’s Interlinear shows how the problem is asserted from the translation. The Greek is Romanised for ease of reading.

otan de elthe ekeinos, to pneuma tes aletheias

but when comes that one the Spirit of truth,

odegesei umas eis ten aletheian pasan

he will guide you into the truth all;

ou gar lalesei aph eautou, all osa

for not will he speak from himself but what things

akouei lalesei, kai ta erchomena

he hears he will speak and the coming things

anaggelei umin

he will announce to you.

Note that the word he is attributed from the word structure. The word he can also be attributed in the following circumstance as Marshall notes in the Introduction.

The definite article must sometimes be rendered by a pronoun or a possessive adjective. This is particularly so where parts of the body are indicated; e.g., Matthew ch. 8, v. 3. Sometimes it is used ‘pronominally’ - that is, it must be rendered ‘he’ (or otherwise according to the gender) or ‘they’; see Mark ch. 10, v. 4.

Marshall goes on to deal with the question of gender on page xi.

In Greek, gender belongs to the word and not necessarily to what is indicated by the word; whereas of course in English we keep the ideas of masculine, feminine, and neuter to men, women, and inanimate things respectively. (English, by the way, is the only great modern language to do so.) Allowance must be made for this in translating: sometimes it is possible to transfer the idea from one language to another, but not always. The note to Revelation ch. 13, v. 1, may be consulted.

The note to Revelation 13:1 is useful because it also deals with the notion of gender from grammar and bears on John 16:13 and the translation of the word rendered himself.

[autou], of course may be neuter or masculine - "of it" or "of him". [drakon] being masculine (= Satan), we have kept to the masculine. But [therion] is neuter. Yet if it stands for a person, as [arnion] certainly does, it too should be treated, as to the pronoun, as a masculine.

Thus himself is a rendering of a word which can either be neuter or masculine. The rendering of himself is in accord with the association with the attributes of God. The translations are compounded by the fact that it is convenient to render the texts in such manner.

Marshall also makes note of the use of a participle with the definite article (Intro., p. xiv).

A participle may be used, with the definite article, with, say, "one" understood, where we should use a noun or a relative phrase; e.g., frequently, [ho pisteuon] = the [one] believing = the believer or he who believes. Here the participle is continuous; in Luke ch. 1, v. 45, it is momentary (and, naturally, feminine in gender as referring to Mary’s one act of faith at the Annunciation). If two participles are used but with one definite article, as in John ch. 5, v. 24, the meaning is that one person is doubly described, not two persons doing two things. This feature has been preserved in our translation.

John was a Hebrew using Aramaic as his native language relating Aramaic and Hebrew concepts and Hebrew theology. There is even some doubt as to whether the gospels were written originally in Greek. To examine the aspects of the Holy Spirit we should go back to the context in which the Holy Spirit is revealed and prophesied. That is the Old Testament.

There should be harmony between the Old and New Testaments. The Bible does not contradict itself on spiritual matters. The Holy Spirit is referred to in the Old Testament on many occasions. The Spirit is linked with God as the Spirit of the Lord. The word is Ruach (see SHD 7307). It is a spirit but only of a rational being (see Strong’s). The term does not possess the same problems because the grammatical structure of Hebrew is not value laden in the same way as it is in Greek. English merely compounds this linguistic problem.

The Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew English Lexicon on pages 924-925 shows the spirit in man to be the gift and creation of God (referring to Zech. 12:1; Job. 27:3 cf. Isa. 42:6). God preserves it (Job 10:12; cf. 12:10; Num. 16:22; 27:16; Prov. 16:2). The Lexicon concludes that it is therefore God’s Spirit (Gen. 6:3) departing at death (Isa. 38:16; Job 17:1; 34:14; Isa. 57:16; Eccl. 8:8).

The Lexicon then deals with the Spirit of God in the various references in the neuter. It is referred to as the inspiration of prophecy and the force that impels the prophets to utter instruction or warning. This was so of ancient prophets (Zech. 7:12; Neh. 9:30).

Zechariah 7:12 12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. (KJV)

Nehemiah 9:30 30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. (KJV)

These verses make it quite clear that the Holy Spirit is the possession of the God of Hosts who sends His Spirit to the prophets. Isaiah 11:2 shows that this Spirit rests on Messiah.

The Spirit of God was held to impart warlike energy and executive and administrative power to ancient Israel (Judg. 3:10; 11:29; cf. 6:34; 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14; 1Sam. 11:6; 16:13,14 and also Isa. 32:15). It was seen as resting upon the Messianic king (Isa. 11:2). It was seen as endowing men with various gifts, e.g. technical skill (Ex. 31:3; 35:31), understanding (Job 32:8), as poured out by divine wisdom (Prov. 1:23). It was seen as the energy of life (Gen. 1:2), and as a vital power (Isa. 31:3) (and in a cherubic chariot from Ezek. 1:12 cf. vv. 20-21).

The Lexicon groups the Spirit in the last category as being the ancient Angel of the Presence and later Shekina (Isa. 63:10-11; cf. also the concepts in Neh. 9:20). Thus the Spirit was made manifest to Israel first in the Angel of the Presence, who later became Messiah. Messiah thus is embodied with the Spirit as the power of God. Later it became evident as the Shekina. The Lexicon holds that the prophecies of restoration conceive of the divine Spirit as standing in the midst of Israel and about to fulfil all divine promises (Hag. 2:5; Zech. 4:6). This concept culminates in the divine presence and as such [God is] omnipresent (see p. 926).

The Spirit is thus the Power of God. It is not merely or only the Power of God. No concept of the Holy Spirit as the third person of a closed Trinity could grasp the omnipresent all embracing extension of the nature and personality of God that will ensue from this process of God becoming all in all (1Cor. 12:6; 15:28 KJV; Eph. 4:6). The power of the elect will thus be as the power of God in the Holy Spirit and they will be as Elohim (Zech. 12:8) as the Angel of Jehovah at their head, who is Messiah. They will be Israel and they shall rule as God.

Historically, it is useful to understand the development of the doctrine of the Trinity. It was not suggested that the Holy Spirit was a person nor was it considered as such until the Council of Constantinople in 381 CE.

The Holy Spirit was not fixed in the doctrine at all in the Council of Nicea (325). It failed to gain formulation at Constantinople (381). Only at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 was the doctrine formulated. There is no evidence that the apostles or the early apologists saw Christ as other than created and the Spirit as other than the power of God until the end of the third century, except with the Modalists and the Gnostics. It was these groups that finally emerged as the Trinitarian faction under Theodosius in 381 and by force of arms introduced their heresy.

The Trinity must reduce the activities of the Holy Spirit in order to deny the destiny of Israel and the elect. Greek ethics and philosophy are totally reliant on this epistemology in order to remove the logical requirements of biblical law as given at Sinai. The assertion of He and masculine gender is but part of the process in the assertion of personality to an attribute of God by which the elect are empowered.  [end]
 
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