The holy spirit is God’s power in action, his active force. (Micah 3:8;Luke 1:35) God sends out his spirit by projecting his energy to any place to accomplish his will.—Psalm 104:30; 139:7.
In the Bible, the word “spirit” is translated from the Hebrew word ru′achand the Greek word pneu′ma. Most often, those words refer to God’s active force, or holy spirit. (Genesis 1:2) However, the Bible also uses those words in other senses:
- Breath.—Habakkuk 2:19; Revelation 13:15.
- Wind.—Genesis 8:1; John 3:8.
- The vital, or animating, force in living creatures.—Job 34:14, 15.
- A person’s disposition or attitude.—Numbers 14:24.
- Spirit persons, including God and the angels.—1 Kings 22:21; John 4:24.
These meanings all share the sense of something invisible to humans that produces visible effects. Similarly, the spirit of God, “like the wind, is invisible, immaterial and powerful.”
The Bible also refers to God’s holy spirit as his “hands” or “fingers.” (Psalm 8:3; 19:1; Luke 11:20; compare Matthew 12:28.) Just as a craftsman uses his hands and fingers to do his work, God has used his spirit to produce such results as the following:
- The universe.—Psalm 33:6; Isaiah 66:1, 2.
- The Bible.—2 Peter 1:20, 21.
- The miracles performed by his ancient servants and their zealous preaching.—Luke 4:18; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.
- The fine qualities displayed by people who obey him.—Galatians 5:22, 23.
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 nature 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 heavenly 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.
