What Is the Holy Spirit?

The holy spirit is not a person

By referring to God's spirit as his "hands,"  "fingers," or "breath," the Bible shows that the holy spirit is not a person. (Exodus 15:8, 10) A craftsman's hands cannot function independent of his mind and body; likewise , God's holy spirit operates only as he directs it.  (Luke 11:13) The Bible also compares God's spirit to water and associates it with such things as faith and knowledge.  These comparisons all point to the impersonal truth of the holy spirit. Isaiah 44:3; Acts 6:5; 2 Corinthians 6:6. 

The Bible gives the names of Jehovah God and of his Son, Jesus Christ; yet, nowhere does it name the holy spirit.  (Isaiah 42:8; Luke 1:31) When the Christian martyr Stephen was given a miraculous vision, he saw only two persons, not three.  The Bible says: "He being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God's glory and of Jesus standing at God's right hand." (Acts 7:55) The holy spirit was God's power in action, enabling Stephen to see the vision. 

Misconceptions about the holy spirit

Misconception:  The "Holy Ghost," or holy spirit, is a person and is part of the      trinity, as stated at 1 John 5:7, 8 in the King James version of the Bible.

Fact:  The King James version of the Bible includes at 1 John 5:7,8 the words "in heaven., the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth."  However, researchers have found that those words were not written by the apostle John and so do not belong in the Bible.  Professor Bruce M. Metzger wrote:  "That these words was spurious and have no right to stand in the New Testament is certain." -A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament.

Next time: What is the Holy Spirit? Conclusion of Misconceptions about the holy spirit

From the jw.org publications