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R.P. Nettelhorst: Is There a Question About the Gender of the Holy Spirit?

Is There a Question About the Gender of the Holy Spirit?
In my graduate Semitics program at UCLA, one of the languages I had to study was Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic written with rounded letters reminiscent of modern Arabic. Syriac was the language of people living in northern Mesopotamia, from at least 300 BC until the time Arabic became dominant in the region, around 1000 AD. Most of the Syriac documents available today were produced by a Monophysite branch of Christianity, today known as the Syrian Orthodox Church (monophysitism is the belief that Christ had but one nature). One striking puzzlement of the texts, at least to me, was the constant reference to the Holy Spirit as "she". I was aware, of course, that in Aramaic (and hence in the dialect known as Syriac) the natural gender of the word "spirit" was feminine; however, I was surprised to discover that this accident of grammar had resulted in a whole theology constructed around the femininity of the third person of the Godhead.
An example of Syriac theology is found in the apocryphal Acts of Thomas; it is usually assumed that this particular work was influenced by speculative gnostic Judaism because it contains the notion, that associated with God was a wisdom, or creative power - a spirit - which was feminine. In an invocation accompanying baptism, Thomas calls for the Holy Spirit:

Come, holy name of Christ that is above every name;
Come, power of the Most High and perfect compassion;
Come, thou highest gift;
Come, compassionate mother;
Come, fellowship of the male;
Come, thou (f.) that dost reveal the hidden mysteries;
Come, mother of seven houses, that thy rest may be in the eighth house.
(Acts of Thomas 2:27)

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Come, silence that dost reveal the great deeds of the whole greatness;
Come thou that dost show forth the hidden things
And make the ineffable manifest;
Holy Dove that bearest the twin young;
Come, hidden Mother;
Come, thou that art manifest in thy deeds
and dost furnish joy and rest for all that are joined with thee;
Come and partake with us in this Eucharist
Which we celebrate in thy name,
and in the love-feast in which we are gathered together at thy call.
(Acts of Thomas 5:50)

---

After reading such materials I decided that Syrian Orthodox Christianity was somewhat heretical (though perhaps only through an accident of grammar), and so I wanted nothing to do with Syriac literature. I would find something else on which to do my dissertation.
Then came the Spring of 1986.
I was teaching advanced Hebrew, and I had decided to take the class through the book of Judges. As we read along, I noticed something odd about Judges 3:10:

The Spirit of Yahweh came upon Caleb's younger brother...

In English, this passage from Judges doesn't appear startling, but in Hebrew something strange leapt out at me: "came upon" was a third person FEMININE verb, indicating it's subject "Spirit" was being understood as a feminine noun. Hebrew is not like Aramaic in its use of the word "spirit". While the word is exclusively feminine in Aramaic, in Hebrew it is sometimes masculine. Therefore, the question that came to mind was why had the author of Judges chosen here to make the Spirit of Yahweh feminine, when he could just as easily have made it masculine? Oh well.
I just shrugged my shoulders and went on, not overly concerned. Occasionally, I thought, one finds something inexplicable in the Bible: no big deal. But then came Judges 6:34. Again, "Spirit of Yahweh" was feminine.
At this point I decided to consult the concordance. Much to my surprise, every occurrence of "Spirit of Yahweh" in Judges is feminine. As I pondered that, I recalled Genesis 1:2, the first occurrence of "Spirit of God" in the Bible, and realized to my shock that it too is feminine.
Back to the concordance. Out of 84 OT uses of the word "spirit", in contexts traditionally assumed to be references to the Holy Spirit, 75 times it is either explicitly feminine or indeterminable (due to lack of a verb or adjective). Only nine times can "spirit" be construed as masculine, and in those cases it is unclear that it is a reference to God's Holy Spirit anyway. (Please see Appendix 3 for a complete list and detailed discussion of the usages.)
The New Testament references to the Holy Spirit are not helpful for conclusively deciding on the gender of the Holy Spirit, since "spirit" in Greek is neuter, and so is referred to as "it" by the New Testament writers.
The conclusion of all this is that our traditional assumption of a masculine Spirit is questionable; in fact, the evidence seems overwhelming that the Spirit should be viewed as "She", which does seem to make sense, since the other two members of the Godhead are labeled "Father" and "Son".
What are the theological implications of a feminine Holy Spirit? There are four:

• A feminine Holy Spirit clarifies how women can also be said to be created in the "image of God". It has long been recognized that he Godhead must include some feminine aspects, since Genesis 1:26-27 explicitly states that both men and women were created in God's image.
• A feminine Holy Spirit explains the identity of the personified wisdom in Proverbs 8:12-31:

I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
To fear Yahweh is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have understanding and power.
By me kings reign
and rulers make laws that are just;
by me princes govern,
and all nobles who rule on earth.
I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
With me are riches and honor,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than fine gold;
what I yield surpasses choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
bestowing wealth on those who love me
and making their treasuries full.
Yahweh possessed me at the beginning of his work,
before his deeds of old;
I was appointed from eternity,
from the beginning,
before the world began.
Where there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water;
before the hills, I was given birth,
before he made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.
I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon
on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind....

Some commentators have tried to tie this personification of wisdom to the idea of Christ as divine "Word" [Gk. logos]. Unfortunately for this theory, the genders of the words in question get in the way. The gender of the word "wisdom" is feminine, and is therefore personified as a woman. This makes a direct identification of "wisdom" with "Christ" virtually impossible.
Other commentators have pictured "wisdom" as a created being, like an angel; better have been those who argue that the personification of wisdom in Proverbs 8 is simply a literary device, without objective reality.
However, if the Holy Spirit is feminine, then the identification is relatively easy: Genesis 1:2 pictures the Spirit of God hovering over the deep, active in creating the world, just as Proverbs describes. Both the Old and New Testament connect the idea of teaching and imparting wisdom with the function of the Holy Spirit (Ex. 31:3; 35:31; Acts 6:3; Ephesians 1:17; Luke 12:12; and John 14:25-26).

• The third benefit of recognizing the femininity of the Holy Spirit is that it explains the subservient role that the Spirit plays. The Bible seems to indicate that the Spirit does not speak for itself or about itself; rather the Spirit only speaks what it hears. The Spirit is said to have come into the world to glorify Christ (See John 16:13-14 and Acts 13:2). In contrast, it should be noted that the Scripture represents both the Father and Son speaking from and of themselves.
• Finally, a feminine Holy Spirit, with a Father and Son as the rest of the Trinity, may help explain why the family is the basic unit of human society.

Other Tasks of the Holy Spirit

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• Enabled Mary to conceive Jesus.

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of
God. (Luke 1:35)

• The Holy Spirit was the author of Scripture

Matthew 5:17, 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21, Act. 2:16

• The Holy Spirit is the interpreter of Scripture

1 Corinthians 2:10-14, Ephesians 1:17
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave birth to the Church as a body of living members of which Christ is the risen, exalted and living Head. (Acts 2:1-4). The foundation of the Church is the death and resurrection of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:20-23; 2:15-16). The "new man" is the Church.
The Holy Spirit possessed and indwelt the church as the temple of God. The Holy Spirit indwells the whole church and individual believers simultaneously (Ephesians 2:19-22; Romans 8:1, 11; John 14:17; 2 Corinthians 1:22).

 R.P. Nettelhorst

 Source: http://www.theology.edu/journal/volume3/spirit.htm

what did the Holy Spirit do in the Old Testament?

what did the Holy Spirit do in the Old Testament? Nine functions (at least) can be listed.

• The Holy Spirit came upon people to empower them for specific tasks (Judges 6:34; 1 Chron. 12:18; 2 Chron. 24:20).
  • interpretation of dreams (Gen. 41:38, Dan. 5:11)
  • special skills (Ex. 31:1-7)
  • prophesy (1 Sam. 10:6, 2 Sam. 23:23, Ezekiel 11:5, 24, Joel 2:28-29)
• The Spirit of God was involved in creating the universe (Gen. 1:2, Prov. 8:22-31, Ps. 33:6, Is. 40:12,13).
• The Spirit gave wisdom (Prov. 8, Is. 11:1-3). mind=ruah.
• The Spirit moved people geographically (Ezekiel 2:2, 3:12-15, 11:24, 37:1, 37:14, 43:5).
• Brings righteousness (Psalm 143:10; Isaiah 4:4).
• Gives life (Gen. 2:7, Job 33:4).
• Sustains life (Psalm 104:10-14, 30).
• Takes life (Is. 40:7; Psalm 104:29; Job 34:14-15).
• The Spirit is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-10). 

Link:  http://www.theology.edu/journal/volume3/spirit.htm

Great Leadership: 28 Leadership Development Recommendations for your Individual Development Plan

Great Leadership: 28 Leadership Development Recommendations for your Individual Development Plan

Receiving Model of Christian Fellowship

Receiving model of christian fellowship from Laurence Yap

Receiving Model

 A. Vision

My dream is to have a church bring us closer to love, peace, hope.

B. Background

The current church model is Giving Model. 

Under this model, the believers are expected to demonstrate their commitment to God.

Believers are expected to

give 1/10 of their income
evangelize to people about Christ
expect to involve in weekly family fellowship
expect to involve in a ministry
expect to involve in Bible study and prayer meeting

They expect to GIVE and God will bless them in return

The results are burn out and tiredness. They lose the joy and the intimacy with God


C. New Approach : Receiving Model

Receiving Model is to let the believers to receive the blessing from God before they give their talent, finance and time to Christian community

Receiving Model emphasis of joy, miracle and freedom and experience the presence of God.

Blessing and joy first. Service secondary. God own the Universe, He does not need our services to enrich the world. The world mission will be fulfilled according to His time His way and His methods.

John 10:10
Prater of Jazbes.


D. Methodology
1-24 months

God - learn the presence of God (Trinity), learn to listen to God;s voice, visualization
Fellowship - Experience the love of brothers and sisters. Zero Expectation
Love offering - Give only after God's financial blessing according to your faith
Evangelism - No need until God instruct you specifically
Ministry - Serve only when God tell you. Usually it is when the love of God overflow in your life
Rules - Only two from Jesus - love God and  love ourselves
Administration - Seek the direction from God. Let God makes the plan

  



 

 

My quest in life is to lead a rich life with focus on getting closer to Holy Spirit and transfer this experience to others

First book I gain this experiec is Letters from Brother Lawrence in his book "The Practice of the present of God".

 His quotes:

Let us think often that our only business in this life is to please God. Perhaps all besides is but folly and vanity.

 In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.

 I wish you could convince yourself that GOD is often (in some sense) nearer to us, and more effectually present with us, in sickness than in health.

 We ought to act with God in the greatest simplicity, speak to Him frankly and plainly, and implore His assistance in our affairs.


Background of Brother Lawrence

 
Brother Lawrence, born Nicholas Herman, a lowly and unlearned man, who, after having been a footman and soldier, was admitted a Lay Brother among the barefooted Carmelites at Paris in 1666, and was afterwards known as "Brother Lawrence."
      
       His conversion, which took place when he was about eighteen years old, was the result, under God, of the mere sight in midwinter, of a dry and leafless tree, and of the reflections it stirred respecting the change the coming spring would bring. From that time he grew eminently in the knowledge and love of GOD, endeavoring constantly to walk "as in His presence." No wilderness wanderings seem to have intervened between the Red Sea and the Jordan of his experience. A wholly consecrated man, he lived his Christian life through as a pilgrim--as a steward and not as an owner, and died at the age of eighty, leaving a name which has been as "ointment poured forth."
      
       Nicholas entered the priory in Paris as a lay brother, not having the education necessary to become a cleric, and took the religious name, "Lawrence of the Resurrection". He spent almost all of the rest of his life within the walls of the priory, working in the kitchen for most of his life and as a repairer of sandals in his later years.
      
       Despite his lowly position in life and the priory, his character attracted many to him. He had a reputation for experiencing profound peace and visitors came to seek spiritual guidance from him. The wisdom he passed on to them, in conversations and in letters, would later become the basis for the book, The Practice of the Presence of God. Father Joseph de Beaufort, later vicar general to the Archbishop of Paris, compiled this work after Brother Lawrence died. It became popular among Catholics and Protestants alike, with John Wesley and A. W. Tozer recommending it to others.
      
       He found a peace in reconciling himself to the thought that this struggle and longing was his destiny. He said his soul "had come to its own home and place of rest." His death in 1691 occurred in relative obscurity, but his teachings lived on in the compilation of his words.
 
My focus with me on Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity.