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God is a Spirit as stated in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is described as the Spirit of God. Does this mean that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of a Spirit? How does this relationship work?

I know the Holy Spirit is one with the Trinity - God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I know the Son came in flesh and the Spirit in Spirit. So God and the Holy Spirit are both Spirits with the latter being a Spirit of a Spirit? Bible references:

1 Cor 12:3 - Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by The Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed...

and also

John 4:24 - God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

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    – Lesley
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 16:17
  • also can you reference which scripture you are referring to?
    – depperm
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 16:22
  • I believe all Christians use the Bible in some form or another. I don't think I stated an opinion, I literally derived my statements from the Bible. The Bible states God is a Spirit. the Bible states the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of God. Therefore, my question asks how can an entity be a Spirit of a Spirit? I'm not sure what denomination has to do with this question...
    – NikkiDee
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 16:22
  • God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth - John 4:24
    – NikkiDee
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 16:24
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    Please do not use All Capital Letters; that is considered to be shouting on the internet. Been true for about 20 years.
    – KorvinStarmast
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 23:19

1 Answer 1

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Both of these verses use the same Greek word: pnuema, but in slightly different contexts. The first uses it as a name, the second as a description of essence. The Spirit of God (1 Cor. 12:3) is the man name used of the third person in the trinity whereas saying that God is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24) places the one God in the essential category of Spirit as opposed to within the category of material creatures or gods which must be worshiped within physical temples. Therefore, blueletterbible.org would categorize the first use under the "I." and the second use would fit definition "III."

An analogy would be the use of the word Son. It is one word but with several meanings and potential definitions. I may say: "I have a son" or "You are my son" or I might call you it as a name "Come over here Son!"

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  • Just had a thought: do you think "God is spirit" is positive theology, or negative theology, i.e. a statement that he is not a physical being but without explaining what his essence actually is?
    – curiousdannii ♦
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 0:09
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    I think the connotations from the context implies that at minimum he is omnipresent in a way no material 'god' can be, but it's potentially both, since we often 'describe' God using 'negative' terms like e-ternal, and in-finite which simultaneously tell us that he is beyond analogy and yet at least get us closer to the truth by ruling out false terms (temporally bound and finite).
    – ninthamigo
    Commented May 1, 2020 at 12:25

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