Grammar Bites: Does 1 Corinthians 12:11 suggest that the Holy Spirit has a personality?
Can a distributor of gifts be an impersonal entity? Looking at the grammatical and theological implications of the word "it"
One of the many joys of my work is the opportunity to respond to questions about the Greek New Testament from students, pastors, and layfolk. The entries in this series come from questions that I have been asked over the years. My intent is to provide a basic response with reference to the Greek New Testament. These entries will include some technical terms from Greek grammar, but my intent is to provide clarifying remarks for those who are not familiar with those materials. I’ve taken to calling this series Grammar Bites because the entries are focused on smaller bits of text - and because grammar is often frustrating (it “bites” in the slang sense).
A few months ago one of my Greek students wrote me an email asking the following question about the Holy Spirit:
“Several members of my extended family belong to the Jehovah’s Witness movement and we were talking the other day about whether the Holy Spirit is a distinct person or a ‘force’ bestowed by God. While talking we got on the subject of spiritual gifts and just who it is that distributes them. Does 1 Corinthians 12:11 suggest that the Holy Spirit has a personality? Or is God the subject and the Spirit the impersonal means by which he distributes gifts?”
Since my student mentioned the Jehovah’s Witness movement, I was immediately clued in that this question was about the doctrine of the Trinity. Trinitarianism, in brief, is the idea that God eternally exists as three persons: the Father (“God”), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. This concept has been rejected by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, partly on the charge that the word “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible. Trinitarians have responded that, while that argument is technically correct, and that the precise theological language of Trinitarianism was the result of much theological debate in the early church, it is an error to suggest that the concept is un-scriptural.
The reason for this is because the Bible is primarily composed of narratives, poetry, and contextually bound epistles. It is not a collection of systematic theology style doctrinal statements. Theological truth in the Scriptures is revealed in a roundabout way, usually inferred from stories and the worldviews that underlie the texts that we have inherited. “Theology” as a set of doctrines that could be listed in bullet point form with associated proof texts emerged in a far different social setting than the ones to which the Scriptures were originally addressed.
The language that God exists as a Trinity emerged from attempts to clarify Scriptural statements that appeared to point towards the divinity not just of God the Father, but of Jesus Christ (John 1; Rom. 10:9-13; Phil. 2; Heb. 1:3; etc.) and of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:10-11; 1 Cor. 2:9-16; Heb. 9:14; etc.). Careful readers of the New Testament will also note the recurring use of a triune formula where all three persons are appealed to in close context, suggesting a shared divine identity (Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 1:1-4; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 3:14-19, 4:4-6; Tit. 3:4-7; etc.).
Of course, my student was not seeking a theological overview but rather clarification on a particular text. And with that, let’s look at the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 12:11.
1 Corinthians 12:11, According to the Greek Text
The text in question reads as follows in a few different translations:
NIV: All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
NRSVue: All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
ESV: All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
The main area of concern for my student and his family members is whether phrases like “he distributed” and “who allots/apportions” imply that the Spirit has some sort of agency or personality. Let’s look at the Greek text for more information:
πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ἐνεργεῖ τὸ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα διαιροῦν ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ καθὼς βούλεται.
(panta de tauta energei to hen kai to auto pneuma diairoun idia ekasto kathos bouletai)
If I were to provide a wooden translation, I would render the Greek as follows:
“And all these things the one and same Spirit is working, distributing to each individually just as it1 desires.”
A basic element of Greek grammar is that verbs “contain” subjects in their endings. Whereas in English you would need both a verb and a noun/pronoun to have a complete sentence, in Greek you could theoretically have a complete sentence with just a verb. For example, the English phrase “I am speaking” contains three words. In Greek, that same idea is expressed with just one word – λέγω (lego – “I am speaking”).2 And so, if you want to know who is doing an action in Greek, you first must look at the verb. Nouns and other parts of speech provide clarification and emphasis on the subject assumed by the verb.
In the first clause of 1 Cor. 12:11, we encounter the verb ἐνεργεῖ (energei), which has a 3rd Person Singular ending indicating that a “he/she/it” is doing the action. In this case, I take the doer of the action to be an “it” (see above) and so translate the verb as “it is working.” But to whom does this “it” refer? That is where we get some help from nearby nouns. In this verse the key noun is τὸ … πνεῦμα (to … pneuma), or “the Spirit.” Greek nouns have a “case” that indicates their function in the sentence.3 In this verse I take τὸ … πνεῦμα as grammatically in the Nominative case, meaning that it is the subject of the verb ἐνεργεῖ.4
My student wondered if this verse might be read in such a way that God is the subject rather than the Spirit. That is unlikely for several reasons. First, “God” is a bit too far back to be the subject of the verb in verse 11, as he was last mentioned in verse 6 and the verses between 6 and 11 are home to several other Nominative case nouns (referring to the spiritual gifts). In addition, θεὸς (theos – “God”) is a Masculine noun, so he cannot be the subject assumed by the participle διαιροῦν (diairoun) in verse 11, which is grammatically Neuter (more on this below).
The phrase τὸ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα (to en kai to autou pneuma – “the one and same Spirit”) contains the number ἓν (hen - “one”) and an Identical use5 of the pronoun αὐτὸ to refer to the subject as a self, hence the translation “same”. This expression, coupled with the backwards pointing ταῦτα (tauta - “these things”) earlier in the verse, stresses that the very same Spirit that is the means by whom the previously mentioned gifts in verses 6-11 are distributed, is itself at work in their distribution.
So much for the first clause. The second clause in this verse is introduced by the Circumstantial Participle6 διαιροῦν (diairoun - “distributing”). Since this participle follows the main verb ἐνεργεῖ (“it is working”) and agrees with that verb in person/number, the participles functions in a way to further clarify the action of the verb. In other words, the Spirit “is working” by “distributing” the spiritual gifts. This distribution is given to each individual (ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ - idia hekasto) just as βούλεται (bouletai - “it desires”). The verb βούλεται, like the first verb in this verse, has a 3rd Person Singular ending indicating that a “he/she/it” is doing the action. As above, the most logical subject is “the Spirit,” which fits grammatically with the verb through its agreed person and number. And so, we come to the conclusion of this verse with a statement of will or desire applied to “the Spirit.” I think that should settle the debate enough, although the reality of theology is that debates (even ones that are settled by clear grammatical principles) never truly go away.
A Brief Remark on Wider Contexts
The wider context of 1 Corinthians 12 is also a delightful example of the complexity that lies behind the theological embrace of a Trinitarian view of the Godhead. As mentioned above, oftentimes one will encounter “triune formulae” where you have Father/God, Christ/Son/Lord, and Spirit referred to in close context to one another each seemingly completing the same action (Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 1:1-4; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 3:14-19, 4:4-6; Tit. 3:4-7; etc.). A perfect example of a “triune formula” is located just a few verses earlier in this chapter:
“Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” (1 Cor. 12:4-6, NRSVue)
One might be tempted to assume a division between the Spirit, Lord, and God based on the phrases connected to them. But I think that would be pushing the distinction between “gifts, services, and activities” too far. The point of this statement is that the diversity of giftings bestowed upon the Christian community derives from a singular source – the Spirit, the Lord, and God (the Father). As a result, individuals should not weigh themselves or others more highly on the “holiness scale” based upon the specific spiritual giftings that they receive. As all comes from the same source, all is given for the same purpose – the common good.
Interestingly enough, in this section we also have three uses of “the same ____” language that can be seen in verse 11, each in the Nominative case:
τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα (to de auto pneuma) “[but] the same Spirit”
ὁ αὐτὸς κύριος (ho autos kyrios) “The same Lord”
ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς θεὸς (ho autos theos) “[but] the same God”
This recurring choice of the Nominative case for a noun with an Identical use of the pronoun αὐτὸς suggests that the later reading of τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα in verse 11 as Nominative (rather than Accusative) is the correct choice.
Koine Greek was a language that classified nouns into genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Although noun genders work well for human subjects (Jesus being a “he”, Mary being a “she”), they also apply to non-personal nouns. For example, the “manifestation” (φανέρωσις - phanerosis) in verse 7 is a grammatically female noun whereas the “word” (λόγος) in verse 8 is grammatically masculine. Grammatically, “the Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα) is a neuter noun or an “it”. Of course, in English the neuter pronoun “it” tends to convey the idea of an impersonal entity like a rock or a piece of clothing. Traditionally the masculine pronoun “he” has been supplied for the Holy Spirit as an interpretive choice stemming from the recognition that the Spirit is a person. I have opted for “it” in my translation to adhere as close as possible to the grammatical construction.
Greek verbs have what is known as a stem that remains the same regardless of the subject, and then an ending that changes based on the verb’s subject, voice, tense, etc. In the case of λέγω you have a stem of λέγ plus an ending ω that indicates a 1st Person Singular (“I”) subject is speaking, and it is doing so in the Present tense.
At the most basic level, the noun cases are as follows: Nominative (subject), Genitive (possession or distinction), Dative (indirect object), and Accusative (direct object). The case system is flexible enough that it gets far more complex than that as you learn more about the grammar.
There is some room for debate as to whether “the Spirit” (τὸ … πνεῦμα) is in the Nominative or the Accusative (since τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα could be either – in verse 8 it is Accusative, but that it because it is governed by the preposition κατὰ, which forces its object to occur in the Accusative). However, the most plausible reading is that it is in the Nominative in verse 11. The main reason for this is that we have two active voiced verbs (ἐνεργεῖ and βούλεται, which is a Middle-Formed/Deponent verb and so is active in meaning) plus a Neuter Singular Nominative participle (διαιροῦν) in this verse. Those factors demand an expressed subject and we happen to have in very close context an expression that could be parsed as a Neuter Singular Nominative (τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα).
The pronoun αὐτός when given a definite article and agreeing in its case, number, and gender with a noun, functions as an Identical Use that can be roughly translated as “the same”. So, we might translate τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα as “the same Spirit.” This is one way that the author might stress that a single subject is responsible for multiple actions.
Participles are one of the harder elements of Greek grammar for students to grasp. Briefly put, they are “verbal ideas” where you take a verb and supply it with noun case endings either to create a noun (“the runner” = “one who runs”), to clarify the action of a verb (“responding, he said ______”), or to set actions in a temporal sequence (“after arriving, he went into the building”). The term Circumstantial is a technical way of indicating that a participle modifies another verb by providing background information or clarifying the main action. It is sometimes referred to as an Adverbial use, depending on your grammar.