The holy spirit is the power or influence of God. Notice, it was the Father’s spirit that was communicated to our Lord Jesus, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel” (Luke 4:18). This text is a quotation from Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on me, because Jehovah hath anointed me to proclaim good tidings to the humble.” A similar text is, “And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of reverence of Jehovah.” (Isaiah 11:2,3) The same spirit in Christ is referred to as “The spirit of Christ,” the mind of Christ – “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus our Lord” Philippians 2:5.
Some say our Lord’s reference to the holy spirit in John 14:26 proves the spirit is a person. The King James Bible reads, “But the Comforter, which is the holy spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” But original the Greek text shows that the translators were influenced by their doctrinal prejudices. There is no ground for using the words “whom” and “he.” The Reverend Alfred Marshall Diaglott (Zondervand) translates “whom” as “which” and “he” as “that one.”
Similarly, John 14:17 (KJV) reads, “The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Here the expression, “spirit of truth,” is contrasting “the spirit of error.” The passage refers to the influence of the truth, and the effect of the same upon the Lord’s people. The Marshall Diaglott reads: “The spirit of truth which the world cannot receive because it beholds it not nor knows; ye know it, because with you he (or it) remains and in you will be.”
In John 16:13,14, the Greek word heautou is translated “himself,” yet the same word is frequently properly translated as “itself.” Heautou is rendered in the masculine, feminine, common and neuter genders. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “Love seeketh not her own.” In 1 Corinthians 11:31, “would judge ourselves.” In 1 Corinthians 16:15, “have addicted themselves.”
Examples of the word heautou being translated as neither masculine nor feminine are:
“Let the morrow take thought for the things of itself.” Matthew 6:34
“If a kingdom be divided against itself.” Mark 3:24
“Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being by itself.” James 2:17
Thus, the Bible translators mistranslated the Greek as masculine using “he” or “him” because of their doctrinal biases.
Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1188: “Do We Have the Purpose of the Holy Spirit Backwards?”
Distinguishing God’s power from our own desires in our daily life
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes
Episode #946: “How Can I Get the Holy Spirit?”
What the holy spirit is, what it does, who gets it and why
CQ Rewind Show Notes
For children, parents and Bible class teachers, watch these short, animated videos from the Christian Questions podcast:
CQ Kids video: “What is the holy spirit?”
CQ Kids video: “What does the holy spirit do?”
CQ Kids video: “How do Christians receive the holy spirit?”
