Thinking in ancient Hebrew is not something many of us even think about, never mind practice. Why would I even mention such a thing? The reasons are twofold: 1. We Westerners think in the abstract. We love adjectives and a good writer perfects the use of them. Then we have those often-quoted salutations of “Have a nice day”, etc.

By contrast, the ancient Hebrew would never say, “Have a nice day”. Why, because it would not mean anything. ‘Nice’ is an abstract word. The Hebrew might say, “May the wind blow at your back,” or “May you find a wheelbarrow full of money on your way home”, etc. In ancient Hebrew, if one could not ‘see’ it, ‘touch’ it, ‘smell it’, ‘taste it”, or ‘hear’ it, then one was not talking about anything real. Ancient Hebrew is a concrete language. It is not about anything like “omnipresent’ or ‘omniscience’. Rather, it is about ‘presence’ and ‘knowledge’. The “omnis” are about the god of philosophers, not the God of the Bible.

Now, let me turn to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a very appropriate translation that the church has used from as early as I know. I am not interested in changing that in any way. At the same time, the Spirit of Holiness is also an equally appropriate translation. The meaning is the same. If it is the same meaning, then why would I even mention it?

I do so in an attempt to stick to the concreteness of Hebrew and in my mind, ‘the Spirit of Holiness’ is more visible to me. I do not see the Holy Spirit but I certainly see the Spirit of Holiness. For many years my wife and I have volunteered for an organization called “Joni and Friends” which sponsors summer camps for family with children with special needs. When I watch the unfathomable amount of love and care given to these families, I can ‘see’ the Spirit of Holiness. When they end their week with a talent show and those with special needs entertain, and the audience cheers them on, I can ‘hear’ the Spirit of Holiness. As I tell my fellow volunteers, I don’t think the early church would sing the hymn “I know He lives, He lives within my heart”. Rather, they would sing, “I know He lives; I am looking at it and hearing it.”

In my church, I benefited from people coming to our aid as our home was flooded from Hurricane Helene. I watched members of the church collecting and distributing food, water and supplies for those in need. The list goes on and on and there is no need for me to mention it further.

What I am saying is this: God is Spirit, and we tend to see that in the abstract. With my Hebrew glasses on, I am suggesting to you that the Spirit of Holiness / Holy Spirit is very visible and very concretely real.

by Dr. Frank Leeds III

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