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The Pauline Usage of the Feminine Holy Spirit In Romans Chapter One Addendum
of The Feminine Gender of the Holy
Spirit By Steve Santini February
2018 In the twentieth verse of Romans chapter one, the apostle Paul uses the terms his eternal power and Godhead. The Greek word translated Godhead is in the feminine gender. The implications are deep and far reaching. In the first chapter of Romans, the
Apostle Paul presented his nine epistle treatise revealing the mystery of
Christ and the church by first pairing God, the Father, and the feminine Holy
Spirit.
He wrote: For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans1:20 In the Greek texts the word
translated Godhead is unique. It is
θειότης,
anglicized as theiotes. It is a feminine gendered counterpart of
the masculine gendered theos translated as God throughout the New Testament. In Greek culture during the
times of the early church theiotes was used to designate feminine
divinity in contrast to masculine divinity. Lucian, a contemporaneous Greek
author from southern Asia Minor was familiar with second century
Christianity. In his satirical work entitled The Passing of Peregrinus he included beliefs and practices of a
Christian community in Palestine, the same province in which the Siniatic Palimpsest was written. In another work
entitled Icaromenippus-The Sky Man he listed the gods that were worshipped in his sphere.1 He first listed numbers, dogs, geese and
plane-trees as gods worshipped and then wrote of some who believed in only
one god and concluded by describing the belief of others with a phrase where forms of both the masculine theos
and the feminine theiotes were differentiated as gods by their
grammatical genders and their placements. πρoτον θεoν
επεκάλουν,
τοις δε τα δεύτερα
και τρίτα
ενεμον της θειότητος A literal translation of the phrase would be: a
first god(masculine) named, the others(neuter), the second, and a third place
of the feminine divinity. In the twentieth verse of Romans
chapter one, his eternal power
refers to masculine divinity, or God, the Father. And Godhead, in accordance with the underlying
feminine gendered, Greek theiotes, refers to feminine divinity as the Holy Spirit, or, in other
words, the divine wife, mother and mother-in-law in the family of God. The
Greek conjunction translated and in
the Romans' phrase reading even his eternal power and Godhead reinforces a relationship between
the masculine and the feminine of heaven. In this verse and is the translation of the Greek word kai. By definition kai is a copulative conjunction that
joins one thing to another thing. 2 Luke, the apostle Paul's faithful
companion, also paired the feminine Holy Spirit and the Father in his gospel.
In the first chapter of his gospel he revealed them as the two spiritual
forces that came together to procreate in the womb of Mary the fertile seed
to be named Jesus. And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David: And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall
this be, seeing I know not a man? And
the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:30-35. Luke,
like Matthew, Mark and John, compared the Holy Ghost to a feminine dove in
his account of Jesus' baptism. In the East, including Israel, feminine
doves represented feminine divinity. After the Holy Spirit
had descended in the shape of a dove upon Jesus, a voice came from heaven
that said, "Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." Now when all the people were baptized, it
came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was
opened, And the Holy Ghost descended
in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which
said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. Luke 3:21-22 Later in Luke's gospel record, similar words were
spoken of Jesus at his transfiguration yet this time the associated symbolic
manifestation was a cloud
representing masculine divinity. And it came to pass, as they departed from
him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us
make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias:
not knowing what he said. While he
thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as
they entered into the cloud. And there
came a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son: hear him."
Luke 9:33-35
As his life was waning, Peter likened the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration to the coming of the Lord. When he did he attributed the source of the voice heard on the mount to God, the Father.(2 Pet 1:17) So, accordingly, in this record we
have the Father proclaiming Jesus as his son. And in the earlier baptismal
record we have the feminine Holy Spirit appearing like a dove and proclaiming
Jesus as her son. And in the record of the angel's reassurances to Mary we
have both the maternal Holy Spirit and the paternal God the Father as the
power of the Highest uniting to conceive Jesus in the womb of Mary. The
Romans introductory verse of this study points back to the things that were
made during creation for the understanding of masculine divinity and feminine
divinity: For
the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans1:20 The twenty-sixth through the
twenty-seventh verses of the first chapter of Genesis contain the information
pertinent to the understanding of the things made from the creation that form
the basis of the Apostle Paul's instructions in the first chapter of Romans. And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto
them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:26-28 In
the Hebrew language from which these verses were translated, the word God is rendered in the plural and
should read as Gods.3 So, the scripture requires that, at the
least, there were both a masculine God and a feminine God essential for the
making of mankind in their image as male and female. And those two Gods, in
light of the scope of the subject, would be the Father and the feminine Holy
Spirit. In
the further context, the making of Adam and Eve as souls in the likeness of
these Gods is recorded. And the LORD God formed man of the
dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living soul. Genesis
2:7 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to
fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the
flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man,
made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of
my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man. Genesis
2:21-23 According
to the original Nicene Creed the Holy Spirit came out of the Father. Likewise
Eve came out of Adam, though in the realm of soul rather than the realm of spirit.
And just as Adam and Eve brought forth progeny the Father and the Holy Spirit
had brought forth progeny before the foundations of the earth-their first
begotten Christ and the gods of his Lordship. (Ps 82, 136, Job 38:7, Jn
10:34,35) Who
then are the 'they' who are without excuse in the twentieth verse? The
prior context describes "them" as those that the hold the truth in
unrighteousness. The Greek word, katecho,
translated hold means to suppress.4 For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth
in unrighteousness; Romans 1:18 The
following verse also explains why these who suppress the truth are without
excuse for becoming subject to the wrath of God. Because that which may be known of God is
manifest in them; Romans 1:19a The
word them in the prepositional
phrase in them is in the required
dative case. The Greek dative case points to the location and/or the
instrument. If it emphasizes the location and is a plural pronoun as it is here,
it is to be translated as among.5 With a translation of manifested among them rather than manifested in them, that manifested is
an observable exterior reality rather than an internal unseen reality. This
fact, of an observable reality among them manifesting what may be known about
God, is reinforced by the second clause of the verse. It reads: for God hath shewed it unto them. Romans
1:19b God has shown what can be know of him by making
man in likeness as male and female, each observably different in form and
function. And those that suppress this reality are to be
subjected, without excuse, to the wrath of God. Why? Because that, when they knew God, they
glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they
became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted
beasts, and creeping things. Romans
1:21-23 What then did God do? Wherefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own
bodies between themselves: Who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than
the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. Romans 1:24-25 And For this cause God gave them up unto vile
affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which
is against nature: And likewise also
the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one
toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in
themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they
did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient; Romans 1:26-28 In
translations, a word may have a range of meanings, depending on its context. Theiotes uniquely appears coupled with
theos staging the further context
by which it is antithetically implied that heterosexual relations in a parental setting are those made in the likeness of the gods. More so, this
unique theiotes appears within the
broader scope of scriptures where the feminine Holy Spirit is united with the
Father to consummate the divine will through Christ. In the prior context of Romans chapter
one, it was Paul's gospel of this Christ of which he proclaimed that he was
unashamed. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 Certainly, Paul would be unashamed of a
gospel that unfolds Christ in the unreserved light of God, the Father and the
feminine Holy Spirit. *** When
the introduction of Romans is viewed in the scope of Paul's subsequently
ordered epistles and when the history surrounding the placement of its opening
position in those epistles is considered, understandings can broaden. During
the winter prior to his final appearance before the judgment seat of Caesar,
the Apostle Paul met with his closest leaders to prepare for his defense against
the charges of sedition. (Titus
3:12,13)
When directing Timothy to come to
the meeting in Nicopolis of Macedonia he asked him to bring John Mark, his
cloak, and the parchments. (2
Tim 4:11-13) The parchments were copies of his
epistles that he had written over the years to the churches he had
established. From these copies and those at hand, Paul selected nine epistles
and placed them in an order for instruction in Christian growth. 6, 7 By
this he completed his ministry of grace, fulfilled the sufferings of Christ
and knowingly sent his ascendant gospel forward through the darkened
centuries for fruition during the forthcoming glories of Christ. (2 Thess 2:3, 2
Tim 1:15, 4:10, 1
Pet 1:11) This
nine epistle treatise concluded in Thessalonians with the cleansing wrath of
God ushering in the glories of Christ. Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the
church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We
are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that
your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all
toward each other aboundeth; So that
we ourselves glory in you in the
churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and
tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the
righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to
recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels
, In flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished
with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When
he shall come to be glorified in
his saints
, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony
among you was believed) in that day.
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you
worthy of this calling, and
fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness,
and the work of faith with power: That
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified
in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus
Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:1 - 12 What
was concluded in Thessalonians began in Romans chapter one with the wrath of
God to come upon those who suppress the foundational truth of God the Father
and the feminine Holy Spirit in union. For, the truth of all things, natural
and spiritual, is within the loving, life-giving bond of the Father and the
feminine Holy Spirit. And that bond is in Christ Jesus! For
this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and on
earth is named, That he would grant
you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by
his Spirit in the inner man; That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded
in love, May be able to comprehend
with all saints what is the
breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might
be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that worketh in us, Unto him be glory
in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Apostle
Paul, Ephesians 3:14-21 Footnotes 1. A. M. Harmon, Lucian, Works with an English Translation,
1915, vol. II p 281-3 2. The transposition of the word even for the Greek word te in the text of Romans 1:20 weakens the truth presented in
the phrase and its context. Of its 209 usages in scripture te, is supplied as even only once, here in Romans 1:20.
The majority of its usages are translated as and or both. When te,
is combined with kai as it is in
this phrase, te
aidios autou dunamis kai theiotes, it is translated as both
in other scriptures with the same grammatical form. (Eph 1:10) It is often
used of actions coincident in time. Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar, #2975,
James
Strong, The New Strong's Expanded
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Gk. #5037 3.
James Strong, The New Strong's Expanded
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Heb. #0430 4.
Ibid. Gk. #2722 5. E. W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, appx. p. 149 6. Nathaniel Lardner, THE WORKS NATHANIEL LARDNER, (Euthalius) Vol. 3, p.
39 7. Lewis Foster, The Earliest Collection of Paul's Epistles,
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, p. 50; Ernest l. Martin, Restoring the Original Bible, pp. 379-391 Related Articles The Feminine Gender
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