In Trinitarian Christianity, The Holy Spirit (prior English language usage: the Holy Ghost (from Old English gast, “spirit”)) is the third person of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is, Himself, Almighty God.[1][2][3] The Holy Spirit is not seen by most Christians as one of three deities, but rather as one Person of the Triune God who manifests himself as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases,[4] one being.[5] (Personhood in the Trinity does not match the common Western understanding of "person" as used in the English language—it does not imply an "individual, self-actualized center of free will and conscious activity.")[6]
Jesus is presented in the Gospels as the prophesied Messiah, Who baptizes not with water but with The Holy Spirit and with Fire.[Lk 3:16] Jesus, just before his Passion, during Last Supper, promises to send from the Father another Paraclete to the world, The Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Truth[Jn 14:26] who, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, after the Ascension of Jesus to Heaven, commands, exhorts, comforts, rules the Apostles of Jesus Christ and his church as the invisible Spiritual Presence of God.
The theology of the Holy Spirit is called pneumatology. The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Lord and Giver of Life in the Nicene creed. He is The Creator Spirit, present before the creation of the universe and through his power everything was made in Jesus Christ, by the Father, Yahweh. He is credited as He Who inspires and allows to interpret all the sacred scripture and leads prophets, both in Old Testament and New Testament. By His Power, Jesus Christ wasconceived virginally in the womb of the virgin Mary.[Lk 1:35] He descended over Jesus in a corporal way, as a dove, at the time of his baptism,[Mt 3:16] and a voice from Heaven was heard: "You are my Beloved Son".[Lk 3:22] He is the Sanctifier of souls, the Helper,[Jn 15:26] The Comforter,[Jn 14:16] The Giver of graces, He Who leads souls to the Father and the Son from Whom He proceeds. Christians receive the Fruits of the Holy Spirit by means of his Mercy and Grace.
This article describes the beliefs shared within mainstream Christianity and also those espoused by non-Trinitarian Christians. Discussion is included regarding groups whose major theological premises share little in common with mainstream Christianity as well as non-Christian religiouWithin mainstream Christianity the Holy Spirit is understood to be one of the three persons of the Trinity. As such he is personal and also fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and Son of God.[1][2][3] He is different from the Father and the Son in that he proceeds from the Father (or from the Father and the Son) as described in the Nicene Creed.[2] His sacredness is reflected in the New Testament gospels[Mk 3:28-30] [Mt 12:30-32] [Lk 12:8-10] which proclaimblasphemy against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin.
[edit]Etymology
The meaning of The Holy Spirit and The Holy Ghost are identical. Holy Ghost was the common name for the Holy Spirit in English before the 20th century. It is the name used in the Book of Common Prayer, the Catholic Douay Rheims Bible and the King James Version (KJV), and is still widely used by English speakers whose religious vocabulary is largely derived from the KJV. The term is still retained in the traditional-language rites of the Anglican Church. The original meaning of the English word ghost closely paralleled the words spirit or soul; only later did the former word come to acquire the specific sense of "disembodied spirit of the dead" and the associated pejorative connotations.[7]
In 1901 the American Standard Version of the Bible translated the name as Holy Spirit, as had the English Revised Version of 1881-1885 upon which it was based. Almost all modern English translations have followed suit.
"Pneuma" is the Greek word for spirit and is found 385 times in the New Testament. It is used in the general sense of spirit as well as the Holy Spirit, and can also mean wind or breath.
[edit]Divine function
The Holy Spirit is believed to perform specific divine functions in the life of the Christian or the church. These include:
- Conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit acts to convince the unredeemed person both of the sinfulness of their actions, and of their moral standing as sinners before God.[8]
- Bringing to conversion. The action of the Holy Spirit is seen as an essential part of the bringing of the person to the Christian faith.[9] The new believer is "born again of the Spirit".[10]
- Enabling the Christian life. The Holy Spirit is believed to dwell in the individual believers and enable them to live a righteous and faithful life.[9]
- As a comforter or Paraclete, one who intercedes, or supports or acts as an advocate, particularly in times of trial.
- Inspiration and interpretation of scripture. The Holy Spirit both inspires the writing of the scriptures and interprets them to the Christian and/or church.[11]
[edit]Jesus Christ
The Holy Spirit is also believed to be active especially in the life of Jesus Christ, enabling him to fulfill his work on earth. Particular actions of the Holy Spirit include:
- Cause of his birth. According to the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, he was not conceived by a human father, but by the Holy Spirit; and he was born of the Virgin Mary. The "beginning of His incarnate existence" was due to the Holy Spirit. The Apostles' Creed says Jesus was "conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary."[12][13]
- Anointing him at his baptism.[9]
- Empowerment of his ministry. The ministry of Jesus following his baptism (in which the Holy Spirit is described in the gospels as "descending on Him like a dove") is conducted in the power and at the direction of the Holy Spirit.[9]
[edit]Fruit of the Spirit
Main article: Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Christians believe the "Fruit of the Spirit" consists of virtuous characteristics engendered in the Christian by the action of the Holy Spirit. They are those listed in Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."[14] The Roman Catholic Church adds to this list generosity, modesty, and chastity.[15]
[edit]Gifts of the Spirit
Main article: Spiritual gift
Christians believe that the Holy Spirit gives 'gifts' to Christians. These gifts consist of specific abilities granted to the individual Christian.[9] They are frequently known by the Greek word for gift,Charisma, from which the term charismatic derives. The New Testament provides three different lists of such gifts which range from the supernatural (healing, prophecy, tongues) through those associated with specific callings (teaching) to those expected of all Christians in some degree (faith). Most consider these lists not to be exhaustive, and other have compiled their own lists. SaintAmbrose wrote of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out on a believer at baptism (Isaiah 11:1-2): 1. Spirit of Wisdom; 2. Spirit of Understanding; 3. Spirit of Counsel; 4. Spirit of Strength; 5. Spirit of Knowledge; 6. Spirit of Godliness; 7. Spirit of Holy Fear.[16]
It is over the nature and occurrence of these gifts, particularly the supernatural gifts (sometimes called charismatic gifts), that the greatest disagreement between Christians with regard to the Holy Spirit exists.
One view is that the supernatural gifts were a special dispensation for the apostolic ages, bestowed because of the unique conditions of the church at that time, and are extremely rarely bestowed in the present time.[17] This is the view of the Catholic Church[3] and many other mainstream Christian groups. The alternate view, espoused mainly by Pentecostal denominations and the charismatic movement, is that the absence of the supernatural gifts was due to the neglect of the Holy Spirit and his work by the church. Although some small groups, such as the Montanists, practiced the supernatural gifts they were rare until the growth of the Pentecostal movement in the late 19th century.[17]
Believers in the relevance of the supernatural gifts sometimes speak of a Baptism of the Holy Spirit or Filling of the Holy Spirit which the Christian needs to experience in order to receive those gifts. Many churches hold that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is identical with conversion, and that all Christians are by definition baptized in the Holy Spirit.[17]
[edit]Symbols
The Holy Spirit is frequently referred to by metaphor and symbol, both doctrinally and biblically. Theologically speaking these symbols are a key to understanding of the Holy Spirit and his actions, and are not mere artistic representations.[3][18]
- Water - signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism, such that in the manner that "by one Spirit [believers] were all baptized", so they are "made to drink of one Spirit".[1Cor 12:13] Thus the Spirit is also personally the living water welling up from Christ crucified[Jn 19:34] [1 Jn 5:8] as its source and welling up in Christians to eternal life.[18][19]
- Anointing - The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. The coming of the Spirit is referred to as his "anointing".[2Cor 1:21] In some denominations anointing is practiced in Confirmation; ("chrismation" in the Eastern Churches). Its full force can be grasped only in relation to the primary anointing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, that of Jesus. Christ (in Hebrew, messiah) means the one "anointed" by God's Spirit.[18][19]
- Fire - symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. In the form of tongues "as of fire", the Holy Spirit rested on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost.[18][19]
- Cloud and light - The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and "overshadows" her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus. On the mountain of transfiguration, the Spirit in the "cloud came and overshadowed" Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and "a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'"[19][Lk 9:34-35]
- The dove. When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him.[18][19][Mt 3:16]
- Wind The Spirit is likened to the "wind that blows where it will,"[Jn 3:8] and described as "a sound from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind."[Acts 2:24] [18]
[edit]Variations in mainstream Christian doctrine
[edit]Catholicism
According to Roman Catholic theology the primary work of the Holy Spirit is through the church. According to the Catechism: "The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. [...] Through the Church's sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body."
Around the 6th century, the word Filioque was added to the Nicene Creed, defining as a doctrinal teaching that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son." While the Eastern Catholicchurches are required to believe the doctrinal teaching contained in the Filioque, they are not all required to insert it in the Creed when it is recited during services.
[edit]Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy proclaims that the Father is the eternal source of the Godhead, from whom the Son is begotten eternally, and also from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church and Western Christianity in general, the Orthodox Church does not espouse the use of the Filioque ("and the Son") in describing the procession of the Holy Spirit. Filioque was mentioned for the first time at the Third Council of Toledo in 589 and it was added by the Roman Catholic Church to the Credo in the 11th century. The Holy Spirit is believed to eternally proceed from the Father, as Christ says in John 15:26, and not from the Father and the Son, as the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches claim. Orthodox doctrine regarding the Holy Trinity is summarized in theSymbol of Faith (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). Oriental Orthodox usage coincides with Eastern Orthodox usage and teachings on the matter. The Assyrian Church of the East also retains the original formula of the Creed without the Filioque.
[edit]Protestantism
The majority of mainstream Protestantism hold similar views on the theology of the Holy Spirit as the Roman Catholic Church, as described above. There are significant differences in belief betweenPentecostalism and the rest of Protestantism.[1][20]
[edit]Other Christian views
[edit]Restoration Movement and Churches of Christ
During the late 19th century, the prevailing view in the Restoration Movement was that the Holy Spirit currently acts only through the influence of inspired scripture.[21] This rationalist view was associated with Alexander Campbell, who was "greatly affected by what he viewed as the excesses of the emotional camp meetings and revivals of his day."[21] He believed that the Spirit draws people towards salvation, but understood the Spirit to do this "in the same way any person moves another—by persuasion with words and ideas." This view came to prevail over that of Barton W. Stone, who believed the Spirit had a more direct role in the life of the Christian.[21] Since the early 20th century, many among the Churches of Christ have moved away from this "word-only" theory of the operation of the Holy Spirit.[22] As one student of the movement puts it, "[f]or better or worse, those who champion the so-called word-only theory no longer have a hold on the minds of the constituency of Churches of Christ. Though relatively few have adopted outright charismatic and third wave views and remained in the body, apparently the spiritual waves have begun to erode that rational rock."[21]
[edit]Pentecostalism
See also: Pentecostalism
While the Holy Spirit is acknowledged as God in all mainstream denominations, he is given particular emphasis in Pentecostal churches. In those churches he is seen as the giver of natural and supernatural gifts, such as tongues and prophecy, to modern-day Christians.
The Christian movement called Pentecostalism derives its name from the event of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit when Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem.[Acts 2] Pentecostals believe that when a believer is "baptized in the Holy Spirit", the gifts of the Spirit (also called the charismata) are activated in the recipient to edify the body of Christ, the church. Some of these gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12.
The Pentecostal movement places special emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit, and especially on the gifts mentioned above, believing that they are still given today. Much of Pentecostalism differentiates the "baptism with the Holy Spirit" from the salvific born again experience, considering it a usually distinct experience in which the Spirit's power is received by the Christian in a new way, with the belief that the Christian can be more readily used to perform signs, miracles, and wonders for the sake of evangelism or for ministry within the church (the body of Christ) and the community. There are also some Pentecostals who believe that Spirit baptism is a necessary element in salvation, not a "second blessing". These Pentecostals believe that in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the power of the Spirit is released in their lives.
Many Pentecostals believe that the normative initial evidence of this infilling (baptism) of the Holy Spirit is the ability to speak in other tongues (glossolalia), and that tongues are one of several spiritual manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit in an individual believer's life.
[edit]Non-Trinitarian views
Main article: Nontrinitarianism
Non-trinitarian views about the Holy Spirit differ significantly from orthodox Christian doctrine and generally fall into one of two categories. Some groups believe that the Holy Spirit is a separate being from God the Father and God the Son, and is 'one' with them in some other sense than of being one substance; Latter Day Saint beliefs fall within this category. Others believe that the Holy Spirit refers to some aspect or action of God (i.e., Modalism); Jehovah's Witness, Christadelphian, Unity Church, and Oneness Pentecostalism beliefs fall within this category.
[edit]Latter Day Saints
In the Latter-day Saint movement, the Holy Ghost (usually synonymous with Holy Spirit.)[23] is considered the third distinct member of the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Ghost). ,[24] and to have a body of "spirit,"[25] which makes him unlike the Father and the Son who are said to have bodies "as tangible as man's."[26]
[edit]Oneness Pentecostalism
Oneness Pentecostalism, as with other modalist groups, teach that the Holy Spirit is a mode of God, rather than a distinct or separate person from the Father, but is just another name for the Father, and that there is no personal distinction between God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[edit]Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is not an actual person but God's power in action, like God's divine "breath" or "energy", that he uses to accomplish his will and purpose in creation, redemption, sanctification, and divine guidance, and they do not typically capitalize the term.[27] A Jehovah's Witness brochure quotes Alvan Lamson: "...the Father, Son, and... Holy Spirit [are] not as co-equal, not as one numerical essence, not as Three in One... The very reverse is the fact."[28]
[edit]Christadelphians
Christadelphians believe that the phrase Holy Spirit refers to God's power or mind/character, depending on the context.[29]
[edit]Unity Church
The Unity Church interprets the religious terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit metaphysically, as three aspects of mind action: mind, idea, and expression. They believe this is the process through which all manifestation takes place.[30]
[edit]Non-Christian views
[edit]Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith has the concept of the Most Great Spirit, seen as the bounty of God.[31] It is usually used to describe the descent of the Spirit of God upon the messengers/prophets of God, which are known as Manifestations of God, and include among others Jesus, Muhammad and Bahá'u'lláh.[32] In Bahá'í belief the Holy Spirit is the conduit through which the wisdom of God becomes directly associated with his messenger, and it has been described variously in different religions such as the burning bush to Moses, the sacred fire to Zoroaster, the dove to Jesus, the angel Gabriel to Muhammad, and the maid of heaven to Bahá'u'lláh.[33] The Bahá'í view rejects the idea that the Holy Spirit is a partner to God in the Godhead, but rather is the pure essence of God's attributes.[34]
[edit]Islam
Main article: Holy Spirit (Islam)
In Islam, the Created Spirit that acts as an agent of divine action or communication commonly identified with the angel Gabriel (ar: Jibreel) or Ruhul Qudus (Ruach HaKodesh in Hebrew) is called holy spirit, but also alternatively with the created spirit from God by which he enlivened Adam, and inspired the angels and the prophets. The belief in Trinity is explicitly forbidden by the Qur'an and called agrave sin. The same applies to any idea of the duality of God (Allah).[35][36]
[edit]Judaism
In Judaism, the idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical.[citation needed] Nonetheless, the term Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is found frequently in Talmudic and Midrashic literature. In some cases it signifies prophetic inspiration, while in others it is used as a hypostatization or a metonym for God.[37] The Rabbinic “Holy Spirit,” has a certain degree of personification, but it remains, “a quality belonging to God, one of his attributes” and not, as in Christianity, representative of “any metaphysical divisions in the Godhead.”[38]
See also shekhinah.
[edit]Rastafari movement
Main article: Rastafari movement
As a movement that developed out of Christianity, Rastafari has its own unique interpretation of both the Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit. Although there are several slight variations, they generally state that it is Haile Selassie who embodies both God the Father and God the Son, while the Holy (or rather, "Hola") Spirit is to be found within Rasta believers (see 'I and I'), and within every human being. Rastas also say that the true church is the human body, and that it is this church (or "structure") that contains the Holy Spirit.
[edit]Depiction in art
- See also: God the Father in Western art
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove, based on the account of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove when he was baptized in the Jordan. In many paintings of the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit is shown in the form of a dove, coming down towards Mary on beams of light, as the Archangel Gabriel announces Christ's coming to Mary.
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A dove may also be seen at the ear of Saint Gregory the Great─as recorded by his secretary or other church father authors, dictating their works to them.
The dove also parallels the one that brought the olive branch to Noah after the deluge (also a symbol of peace), and rabbinic traditions that doves above the water signify the presence of God.
The book of Acts describes the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles at Pentecost in the form of a wind and tongues of fire resting over the apostles' heads. Based on the imagery in that account, the Holy Spirit is sometimes symbolized by a flame of fire.
[edit]Gender
Main article: Gender of the Holy Spirit
See also: Gender of God in Christianity
[edit]Judaism
In Hebrew language texts, in the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible the Holy Spirit (Ruach Adonia, Ruach El, Ruach Elohim, etc.)is a feminine noun. Also, the divine presence of God is the Shekhinahand is also feminine. Jewish theology maintains that they are not the same thing (Holy Spirit does not equal Divine Presence); however, from both approaches the noun is pepe feminine.
[edit]Islam
The term holy spirit translates in Arabic language الروح القدس and is used in the masculine form in all the Quran.
in Arabic language the word "Holy Spirit" doesn't translate as سكينة Sakinah used in a feminine term. The term sakinah means state of relaxation.
[edit]Christianity
Jesus declared, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”[Jn 4:24] There is no article in the Greek text before the word spirit, and that emphasizes the quality or essence of the word. Furthermore, the word spirit occurs first in the sentence for emphasis. The literal idea would be something like, “Absolutely spirit in His essence is God.”
A chapter in Discovering Biblical Equality entitled "God, Gender and Biblical Metaphor" maintains that viewing God in masculine terms are merely ways in which we speak of God in figurative language, but a language which does not reflect who he really is. The author reiterates that God is spirit and that the Bible presents God through personification and anthropomorphism which reflects only a likeness to God.[39]
God is not a sexual being, either male or female─something that was considered to be true in ancient Near Eastern religion. He even speaks specifically against such a view in Num 23:19, where the text has God saying he is not a man [ish], and in Deut 4:15-16, in which he warns against creating a graven image of himself in "the likeness of male and female." But though he is not a male, the "formless" deity (Deut 4:15) has chosen to reveal himself largely in masculine ways.[39]
When in art a human material form is used to represent the Holy Spirit, that form is usually that of the male human body, without meaning to attribute such physical features to the reality represented. For example, in the rare cases of depiction of the Trinity as three identical persons, the Holy Spirit is represented as male, in line with the depictions of the Father and the Son.
There are some Christian groups who teach that the Holy Spirit is feminine, or has feminine aspects. Most are based on the genders of the verbs in the original Bible languages where the Holy Spirit is the subject. In Hebrew the word for spirit (ruach) is feminine.[40] In Greek the word (pneuma) is neuter,[40] and in Aramaic, the language which is generally considered to have been spoken by Jesus, the word is feminine. This is not thought by most linguists to have significance for the sex of the person given that name. There are biblical cases where the pronoun used for the Holy Spirit is masculine, in contradiction of the gender of the word for spirit.[Jn 16:13] [40]
The Syriac language, which was in common use around 300AD, is derived from Aramaic. In documents produced in Syriac by the early Miaphysite church (which later became the Syrian Orthodox Church) the feminine gender of the word for spirit gave rise to a theology in which the Holy Spirit was considered feminine.[41]
In 1977 a leader of the Branch Davidian church, Lois Roden, began to formally teach that the feminine Holy Spirit is the heavenly pattern of women, citing scholars and researchers from Jewish, Christian, and other sources.[citation needed]
There are some other independent Messianic Judaism groups with similar teachings,[42] and some scholars associated with more "mainstream" denominations, while not necessarily indicative of the denominations themselves, have written works explaining a feminine understanding of the third member of the Godhead.[43][44][45]
The Unity Church's co-founder Charles Fillmore considered the Holy Spirit a distinctly feminine aspect of God, considering it to be "the love of Jehovah" and "love is always feminine".[46]
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gender is seen "as an essential characteristic of eternal identity and purpose."[47] The LDS Church believes that before we lived on earth, we existed spiritually, with a spiritual body with defined gender,[48] and that the Holy Spirit had a similar body, but was to become a member of the Godhead. The LDS Church believes that all three members of the Godhead are male.[49]s groups.
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