Male and Female within the Godhead: Referring to the Holy Spirit as "She"




5: But now I go my way to him that sent me[1] and none of you asks me Where do you go 6: But because I have said these things to you sorrow has filled your hearts 7: Nevertheless I tell you the truth It is to your advantage that I go away if I go not away parakletos[2] will not come to you but if I depart I will send[3] her[4] to you 8: And when that one is come the same will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment 9: Of sin because they believe not on me 10: Of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more 11: Of judgment because the prince of this world is judged 12: I have yet many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now 13: Howbeit when ekeinos[5] the Spirit of truth is come the same will guide you into all truth for she shall not speak of herself but whatever she shall hear that shall she speak and she will shew you things to come 14: Ekeinos shall glorify me for the same shall receive of mine and shall show it to you 15: All things that the Father holds are mine therefore said I that she shall take of mine and shall show it to you


[1] This verse cannot be used to establish hierarchy within the Godhead, as complementarian leaders claim, Jesus is the Prince of Peace who is also the Everlasting Father (Father of Eternity) Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah 9:6 is just one of many verses that establish Jesus’ identity as YHWH (Jehovah)—Almighty God himself.

[2] Parakletos G3875 Summoned; Called to one’s side; Called to one’s aid; One who pleads another’s cause before a Judge; Advocate; A pleader; Counsel for defense; Legal assistant; In the widest sense a helper, succorer, aider, assistant (Thayer).   

[3] Again, it is ludicrous to assume from this statement that, within the Godhead, Jesus ranks above the Holy Spirit in a military-like hierarchy. Within the Being we know as the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is referenced, in scripture, as being God himself Acts 5:3-4

[4] The Greek word, parakletos is a masculine noun that can refer to advocates in general whether heavenly or human (and in the culture of Ancient Greece, Advocates were always male), but it is universally agreed that the parakletos, in this verse, is a reference to the Holy Spirit. In the Torah, The Holy Spirit is always referred in the feminine, as RUWACH, e.g., “And Ruwach Elohiym fluttered over the face of the waters…” 

[5] Ekeinos can be translated as she, he, it, etc.. There is no textual basis for translating the Greek word, ekeinos, as “he,” in reference to the Holy Spirit—who is consistently referred to (in the Pentateuch/Torah) as feminine. This awkward fact is one reason complementarians are desperate to prove a non-existent hierarchy within the Godhead.

Jocelyn Andersen is best known for her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence.  She is also editor of the Hungry Hearts Online Bible Commentary  For more information about her work, visit her website at www.JocelynAndersen.com

Her study entitled, Trinity Marriage and the Godhead, (Volume 1 of the God Women Ministry series) examines and refutes the theory of hierarchy within the eternal Godhead. 

 
Untranslated words in JOHN CHAPTER 16 (additional commentary pending for this chapter)
Ekeinos G1565 The one there; That one; That thing or time; Used of persons, things, times somewhat remote from the speaker (Thayer)  
Parakletos G3875 Summoned; Called to one’s side; Called to one’s aid; One who pleads another’s cause before a Judge; Advocate; A pleader; Counsel for defense; Legal assistant; In the widest sense a helper, succorer, aider, assistant (Thayer)  
Theos G2316 Deity; god; The reason the word, Theos, is largely left untranslated in this commentary, is to put to rest erroneous teaching that the word must be prefaced by the definite article “ho” (meaning “the” or “of”) in order to be translated as referring to Yahweh (Jehovah). In fact, most New Testament scripture references to Theos are not introduced using the definite article, “ho,” but even in those cases, it is clear when Almighty is or is not being referenced—especially in the case of John 1:1, where John, a Jew who would never commit blasphemy by calling anyone who was not YHWH “A” god. When John called Jesus “God,” he was specifically stating that Jesus is YHWH [Yahweh].

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