The objection
The Greek word pneuma is neuter; moreover, the Spirit has no personal proper name. Speaking of a third divine person seems to be a later interpretation.
1. Grammatical gender does not determine personhood
In German, “das Kind” is neuter, although a child is a person. Correspondingly, grammatical gender and the nature of the being designated must also be distinguished in Greek. The neuter pneuma does not mean “impersonal thing.” The same usage can refer to personal spirits, for example in Hebrews 1,14.
The reverse error helps the doctrine of the Trinity no more: A masculine pronoun does not by itself prove personhood. Where the Spirit is called paraklētos, “Advocate,” that antecedent is grammatically masculine. Matching masculine pronouns are no necessary breach of grammar that could be explained only by the Spirit's deity.
2. What the Advocate does matters more than the ending
John 14,26 expressly identifies the Advocate as the Holy Spirit and says he will teach the disciples and remind them of Jesus' words. John 15,26 distinguishes his testimony from the disciples'. John 16,13–15 describes his hearing, speaking and glorifying the Son.
The justification of his personhood lies in this consistent presentation. It remains valid when a pronoun is grammatically neuter and needs no disputed claim about grammatical exceptions. Exegesis should interpret the strong context rather than overburdening a weak individual observation.[1]
3. A person needs no proper name on a human pattern
“Father” and “Son,” too, are initially relational designations. They distinguish persons without functioning like human first names. “Holy Spirit” designates the Spirit as God reveals him. The absence of an additional name no more proves impersonality than does addressing the Father as “Father.”
Thomas observes that the Spirit's designation is formed differently from the familiar human relational pair Father–Son. For him, this entails no lesser reality of the person. Our language has no immediately corresponding creaturely model for every relationship within God.[2]
4. The baptismal formula connects designation and personal relationship
Matthew 28,19 names the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit under the one name into which people are baptized. This context does not place the Spirit beside two persons as an impersonal aid. He belongs to the revelation of God, to whose authority and fellowship baptism points.
The question of the Spirit is therefore decided by God's statements about him: whom he sends, what he knows and wills, in what relationship he stands to Father and Son. The grammatical gender of his designation does not replace this examination.
Biblical texts in context
Sources and further study
- Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian FaithPp. 313–315: personal predicates of the Spirit. The argument here does not rely on a supposedly grammatically impossible pronoun.
- Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiaeI, q. 36, a. 1: the particular designation “Holy Spirit.” The later addition to 1. John 5 also cited there is not used here as scriptural evidence.