Is the Holy Spirit a "He," "She," or “It,” male, female, or neuter? | GotQuestions.org

The Holy Spirit as a Person, Not an “It”

Today's question is, is the Holy Spirit a he, she, or it—male, female, or neuter? In this video I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective. Then afterwards, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.

A common mistake made with regard to the Holy Spirit is referring to the Spirit as it, something most translations of the Bible are careful to avoid. The Holy Spirit is a person. He has the attributes of personhood, performs the actions of persons, and has personal relationships.

He has insight. He knows things, which requires an intellect. He has a will. He convicts of sin. He performs miracles. He guides. He intercedes between persons. He is to be obeyed. He can be lied to, resisted, grieved, even insulted.

He relates to the apostles in Acts 15, verse 28, and to each member of the Trinity. The personhood of the Holy Spirit is presented without question in the Bible. But what about gender? Linguistically, it is clear that masculine, theistic terminology dominates the Scriptures.

Biblical Language for God Is Predominantly Masculine

Throughout both Testaments, references to God use masculine pronouns. Specific names for God—for example, Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, Kurios, Theos, etc .—are all in the masculine gender. God is never given a feminine name or referred to using feminine pronouns.

The Holy Spirit is referred to in the masculine throughout the New Testament, although the word for spirit by itself, pneuma, is actually gender neutral. The Hebrew word for spirit, ruach, is feminine in Genesis 1, verse 2.

But the gender of a word in Greek or Hebrew has nothing to do with gender identity. Theologically speaking, since the Holy Spirit is God, we can make some statements about Him from general statements about God.

God is spirit, as opposed to physical or material. God is invisible and spirit, that is, non-body. This is why no material thing was ever to be used to represent God. If gender is an attribute of the body, then a spirit does not have gender.

God in His essence has no gender. Gender identifications of God in the Bible are not unanimous. Many people think that the Bible presents God in exclusively male terms, but this is not the case. God is said to give birth in the book of Job and portrays Himself as a mother in Isaiah.

Jesus described the Father as being like a woman in search of a lost coin in Luke 15 and Himself as a mother hen in Matthew 23, verse 37. In Genesis 1, verses 26 -27, God said, "...let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness.".

And then God created humankind in His own image. In the image of God, He created them. Male and female, He created them. Thus, the image of God was male and female, not simply one or the other. This is further confirmed in Genesis 5, verse 2, which can be literally translated as, "...He created them male and female when they were created.

He blessed them and named them Adam.". The Hebrew term Adam means man, the context showing whether it means man as opposed to woman or mankind in the collective sense. Therefore, to whatever degree humanity is made in the image of God, gender is not an issue.

Christ as the Visible Image of the Invisible God

Masculine imagery in Revelation is not without significance, however. A second time that God was specifically said to be revealed via a physical image was when Jesus was asked to show the Father to the disciples in John 14.

He responds in verse 9 by saying, "...the person who has seen me has seen the Father.". Paul makes it clear that Jesus was the exact image of God in Colossians 1, verse 15, calling Jesus the image of the invisible God.

This verse is couched in a section that demonstrates Christ's superiority over all creation. Most ancient religions believed in a pantheon, both gods and goddesses, that were worthy.

Of worship.

But one of Judeo-Christianity's distinctives is its belief in a supreme creator. Masculine language better relates this relationship of creator to creation. As a man comes into a woman from without to make her pregnant, so God creates the universe from without rather than birthing it from within, as a woman cannot impregnate herself, so the universe cannot create itself.

Paul echoes this idea in 1 Timothy 2, verses 12 -14, when he refers to the creation order as a template for church order. In the end, whatever our theological explanation, the fact is that God used exclusively masculine terms to refer to Himself, and almost exclusively masculine terminology, even in metaphor.

Throughout the Bible, He taught us how to speak of Him, and it was in masculine relational.

Terms.

The Holy Spirit Is Properly Referred to in the Masculine

So, while the Holy Spirit is neither male nor female in His essence, He is properly referred to in the masculine by virtue of His relation to creation and biblical revelation. There is absolutely no biblical basis for viewing the Holy Spirit as the female member of the Trinity.

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