Is the Holy Spirit God the Mother? Part 3: Biblical Evidence

If the Holy Spirit is God the Mother, why…

1.        Why isn’t the Holy Spirit as Mother explicitly in Scripture?

I would actually argue that, upon studying Scripture, it is explicitly in Scripture, as I will show. Yes, there is not explicit declaration that the Holy Spirit is God the Mother in the Protestant Bible (there is one in the Catholic bible in Solomon’s Wisdom books in some translations), but God declares from the beginning that His image is male and female (Genesis 1-2), father and mother.  The Spirit of Wisdom, which is the Holy Spirit (explained by Isaiah in Isaiah 11:2), is explicitly described as a spirit with feminine

pronouns. This is remarkable given that Solomon lived in a much more patriarchal culture than we do now that would be hesitant to describe the divine as feminine.

Nevertheless, Solomon, the “wisest man in the world”, describes the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, as feminine. How can you get more explicit than that? Perhaps it is not God who has not been clear. Perhaps we have not been able to see what God has put right in front of us in Scripture – not just in Scripture, but right in front of us as we interact with God’s equal image bearers, men and women, on a daily basis – because Satan has deceived us, in part, about who God is. God is not only masculine: God encompasses both masculine and feminine.

Perhaps you think what I am writing does not really matter practically. Perhaps, you consider, “I believe in the equality between men and women, that they are both equally made in God’s image, and I also believe in the Trinity, and I see no disconnect there.” It does matter practically, as I will explain fully in the “Implications” section. Not only does it matter practically, this matters because knowing God and who God is matters. Jesus says this is part of eternal life (John 17:3). If the Holy Spirit is Mother, I do not think She wants to be considered masculine by the Church. Perhaps you think I am being overdramatic by making such a statement. Please do not make that judgment until you read this whole post. Consider, as God reveals Himself as Father, of course he wants us to refer to him as Father and with masculine pronouns – the Church would take issue with suddenly referring to God the Father with feminine pronouns. Let’s not have a double standard when the Holy Spirit as the feminine nature of God is considered.

2.         Doesn’t God transcend biological sex and gender?

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, transcend means “be or go beyond the range or limits of something”. Sex refers to biological differences (chromosomal, hormonal, reproductive), whereas gender refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and expectations associated with femininity and masculinity. As God is Spirit, not flesh, and beyond our human understanding (Isaiah 55:8), yes, He necessarily transcends our human understanding and concept of sex and gender. God is not man; He is Spirit.

However, that does not mean sex and gender are not helpful ways of understanding who God is. If God did not want us to use sex and gender to understand who He is better, why does He reveal Himself primarily as the Father through Jesus in the New Testament? Why does He say from chapter 1 of the Bible that male and female are created in His image – people who have sex and gender? God does not say anything else is created in His image.

If God is Father, who is Spirit, is it crazy to suppose that God may be Mother too in the person of the Holy Spirit?  Am I putting God in a box? God said that male AND female were created in his image.

3.     Isn’t this unbiblical? Doesn’t Scripture contradict the Holy Spirit being Mother?

Where? The male pronouns used for the Holy Spirit in the New Testament could be translated as female pronouns (explained more below). Scripture supports, as will be seen, the Holy Spirit being Mother.

4.     Even if this is true, why does it matter?

A.    Isn’t anything true about God worth knowing and seeking after, as knowing God is eternal life (John 17:3)?

B.    If this is true, wouldn’t this have profound implications for the church, and women in particular? The Church gains a better understanding of how women and femininity are represented – equally – in the Godhead along with men. Women make up over half the Church, but in many churches are only allowed to teach women and children, never men – though one of the Holy Spirit’s primary roles is Teacher! Amidst the debates over that point, if the Holy Spirit is God the Mother, don’t the arguments made by which men only can teach men fall on their face? It is only through the Holy Spirit that men are able to effectively teach, and the Holy Spirit inspired the whole of God’s Word. If this is true, shouldn’t women be able to teach and preach just as men do? Wouldn’t this empower the Church, particularly women, in that more people would be available, ready, and able to teach the Word of God effectively? What if God’s best for His Church is men and women co-laboring together in equal partnership, equally able to access and utilize all the spiritual gifts including leadership, pastoring, and teaching?

I think most of the Church has gone way too far in limiting women from leading, pastoring, and teaching in a way that has handicapped the Church as a whole.

C.     Wouldn’t this make the Church more attractive to non-believers who do not understand why only men would be allowed to teach in a world where in every other sector (at least in the Western world), women can be as fully involved as men? Some think it is backward for the church to function this way. Is it? Maybe we should consider the critique of those outside the Church. The gospel is already a rock of offense. Let’s not make male and female leadership, pastoring, and teaching an unnecessary rock of offense to those who might otherwise embrace the gospel. Let’s give a beautiful picture of what God intended from the beginning: men and women co-laboring together in equal partnership, filled with His Spirit.

D.    Wouldn’t this increase intimacy with the Holy Spirit and joy in the Holy Spirit? If this is truly who “She” is, learning more about anyone increases intimacy with that person. If this is truly who “She” is, joy increases – what a gift to have both a Heavenly Father and Mother!

Biblical Evidence for the Holy Spirit as Mother

A.    Could the pronouns for the Holy Spirit be feminine?

The original Greek and Hebrew give insight to the Holy Spirit as Mother. The Hebrew word for spirit, “ruach”, is feminine. The Aramaic word for spirit, “ruach”, is also feminine, and Jesus spoke Aramaic. The Greek word for spirit, “pneuma” is neuter. The Greek pronoun “autos” means “he, she, or it” (The gender of the Holy Spirit: Deidre Haverelock’s insights, 2017). This means that when people translated the Greek into other languages, they had a choice as to whether to use masculine, feminine, or neutral pronouns to describe the Holy Spirit. Translators chose to use masculine pronouns to describe the Holy Spirit, but: it would not be an incorrect translation to use feminine pronouns. What is more, the translators chose to use masculine terminology for the Holy Spirit even though the word for Spirit is feminine in 2 biblical languages, neuter in 1, and never masculine. Given the Spirit’s personhood and deity and the language designations (twice feminine and once neuter), choosing feminine pronouns is a more natural choice. One may ask why translators have chosen male pronouns historically.

It is important to note, though, that just because the Hebrew and Aramaic words for “spirit” are feminine, this does not prove that the Holy Spirit is feminine. There are feminine or masculine categorizations of words in both languages that do not denote the word being more “masculine” or “feminine”. It is certainly not more correct to translate the pronouns describing the Holy Spirit as male: only looking at the Greek without considering context allows for the translation of feminine or masculine pronouns (The gender of the Holy Spirit: Deidre haverelock’s insights, 2017). Of course, context must be considered in determining whether to use masculine or feminine pronouns for the Holy Spirit.

B.        Does Genesis point to the Holy Spirit as Mother?

Genesis 1:1-2

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Genesis 1:26-27

^“Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,     in the image of God he created him;     male and female he created them.”

In the beginning, who was there before the world was created, according to Genesis 1:1-2? God. And the Spirit of God. Only two persons are mentioned.

God said to someone, “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.” Who was He talking to? The only other person mentioned in Genesis 1 was the Spirit of God, whose characteristics, including oneness with God, were described in section 2. 

God created humans in His image, male and female. Could the Spirit of God be God the Mother? What other option more clearly shows that men and women are made in the image of God?  Part of God must be inherently female since He created them in His own image, male and female –equally represented as an image shows what something looks like exactly.  Even if the Trinity is true, and the Father and the Son are male, the only candidate left for being feminine is the Holy Spirit – who was Eve made in the image of – God the Father… or God the Mother?

Notably, God’s first commandment to Adam and Eve was to become father and mother. Directly after creating them in God’s image, male and female, in the very next verse, God commands them: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…” (Genesis 1:28). Inherent to God’s image is male and female and fatherhood and motherhood. God is clear on this from the first chapter of the Bible! Yes, God the “Mother” is not explicitly stated in the Protestant Bible at least, but this is more than an argument from inference. Adam and Eve are in the image of God, and they are commanded to have children as the first commandment – to become father and mother. This is God’s image. The phrase “God is Mother” does not need to be explicitly stated for anyone reading Genesis 1 to understand that God’s image is male and female, father and mother. A child could pick up on this. A Christian child confused on the Trinity as God need look no farther than his or her own parents to see a picture of who God is in a way they can understand. We have made God too complicated by making Him 3 male persons in 1. Who God is is simple, so simple a child can understand. God’s image is, according to Genesis 1, father and mother: 2 persons in 1.

Michael Reeves, in his book, “Delighting in the Trinity”, writes, “There is something about the relationship and difference between the man and the woman, Adam and Eve, that images the being of God – something we saw the apostle Paul pick up on in 1 Corinthians 11:3. Eve is a person quite distinct from Adam, and yet she has all her life and being from Adam. She comes from his side, is bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh, and is one with him in the flesh (Gen. 2:21-24). Far better than leaves, eggs and liquids, that reflects a personal God, a Son who is distinct from his Father, and yet who is of the very being of the Father, and who is eternally one with him in the Spirit.” (pg. 37) Leaves (shamrocks), eggs, and liquids are sometimes employed to describe the Trinity. Reeves points to the Genesis story as the best image of God – who God truly is (Reeves, 2023). But if the Genesis story is the best image of who God is (as God maintains in Genesis 1-2 by declaring Adam and Eve to be His image), why isn’t God two persons, male and female? Does the Genesis story point to God being a Trinity or God being two persons, Father and Mother?

Reeves continues, “Believing that God is not lonely, it made perfect sense to say that it is not good to have men alone. As God is not alone, so a human in his image should not be alone. They therefore upheld creation and the physical, femininity, relationship and marriage all as being intrinsically good, created reflections of a God who is not lonely” (Reeves, 2023). Again, as Adam and Eve image God, what does this show about who God is? A single person as biblical unitarians suggest the Bible shows? A triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Trinitarian Christians believe? Or a God in Two Persons, Father, and Mother, in a sort of divine marriage? If only Genesis 1 and 2 was read, which option is best represented in the text?

C.    Does the fact that “God is Love” point to the Holy Spirit as God the Mother?

Deuteronomy 6:4

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^”

1 John 4:8, 16

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

^“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

Deuteronomy 6:4 uses the Hebrew word for “one” describing the Lord being “one”. The word is used almost 1000 times in the Bible in various contexts. One place it is used is in Genesis 2:24 concerning Adam and Eve being “one”. Could this indicate that God the Father is one with the Holy Spirit the same way Adam and Eve are one as male and female, husband and wife, given that they are created in His image?

One definition of God is love. If God is one, and Jesus is not God, what closer more intimate “oneness” relationship exists in the world besides that between a man and woman in a marriage relationship? What other relationship becomes “one” in human relationships – humans created in the image of God? Given this, if Jesus is not God, could the Genesis story point to one God in Two Persons, Father and Mother? As the original image of God, didn’t God intend for them to be an image of Love – who He is? Is it crazy to suppose that, particularly if Jesus is not God, the Holy Spirit could represent the feminine nature of God?

What is more, can love even exist in one person? Reeves in his book argues that God as love must exists as multiple persons. He writes, “Now, God could not be love if there were nobody to love… [if He was one person] God was not loving since all by himself he would have had nobody to love.” (pg. 26-27) Reeves uses this point to show the great different between the Christian God and Allah, who is one person. One title for Allah is “The Loving”, but Reeves asks if this is possible. How can one be loving if there is nothing for one to love? Surely Allah could not have been loving pre-creation. If he is only loving post-creation, Reeves explains, Allah is dependent on his own creation to be loving. This contradicts one of the cardinal beliefs that Allah is dependent on nothing. So, Reeves, states, “Therein lies the problem: how can a solitary God be eternally and essentially loving when love involves loving another?” How can God be loving in and of Himself and yet also not be dependent upon the universe to be Love? (pg. 40-41) The answer lies in God being more than 1 person – He can be eternally loving but not dependent on His creation to be Love. Reeves uses this argument to say God must be triune – but would not this argument work if God is two persons? (Reeves, 2023)

Theologian Gerald Bray says, “God cannot be love unless there is something for him to love. But if that something were not part of himself, he would not be perfect. The Bible does not teach us that God needed the creation in order to have something to love, because if that were true, He could not be fully himself without it. So, Augustine reasoned that God must be love inside himself. In his mind, the Father is the one who loves, the Son is the one who is loved (the ‘beloved Son’ revealed in the baptism of Jesus), and the Holy Spirit is the love that flows between them and binds them together.” (Samples, 2020) Could Bray’s words be true yet refer to a two not three-person God? Fascinatingly, Eve was created from part of Adam. In a very concrete sense, Eve is part of Adam, created by God from his side, and they became one flesh. Bray's language fits with the idea that God is 2 persons in 1, as shown in the example of our first parents.

Satan cannot deceive the Church by feeding us direct lies. He takes what is true and beautiful and twists it. There is truth in the theology behind the Trinity doctrine, particularly the idea that for God to be Love, He must be multi-person. Unfortunately, the Trinity doctrine erases God’s femininity and lifts Jesus to the level of deity, which hurts both the Church and Jesus. Thankfully, God’s Word shows us the deception in the Trinity doctrine and reveals God is 2 persons in 1, with men and women equally represented in the Godhead by the God Christians all agree they reflect and image.

D.    Does the Holy Spirit have decidedly female characteristics?

John 3:6

^“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

^{33 "}For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Luke 7:33-35

The Spirit’s unique role in giving Christian’s new birth indicates femininity, as birth is a decidedly female characteristic. We are not born of the Father; we are born of the Spirit.

Jesus also speaks of wisdom as female in Luke 7:35, that wisdom has children, and Wisdom and the Spirit of God are, at a minimum, closely related.

E.    Are the “spirit of wisdom” and the Holy Spirit the same spirit?

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;  from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,    the Spirit of counsel and of might,    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.”

Isaiah 11:1-3

Isaiah 11 is crystal clear that the Spirit of the Lord IS the Spirit of wisdom. They are one and the same. The Spirit of the Lord is, according to Isaiah – according to God, as this is His Word! – “the Spirit of wisdom” and “understanding” and “counsel” and “might” and “knowledge” and “fear of the Lord”. The Spirit of the Lord is, according to this passage, certainly more than the Spirit of wisdom – but the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, is not less. So, if the Spirit of Wisdom is shown to be a feminine Spirit (as will be shown from the Bible below), even using female pronouns to describe Her in a much more patriarchal culture than our own now, why do we question the Spirit’s femininity? Do we need further evidence? The Spirit’s femininity is NOT implicit in Scripture. I am not making an argument from inference for the Holy Spirit’s femininity. It is explicitly there. Consider the following passages from Proverbs, and later in this post from Wisdom and Sirach, through the lens of Isaiah’s revelation to us: the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of wisdom Herself.

The 7 Spirits of God in Revelation

Isaiah’s description of the Holy Spirit here points to Revelation, where the Holy Spirit is described as the 7 Spirits of God. A note on this is necessary as a significant part of my argument for the Holy Spirit’s femininity is that there is one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4). But in Revelation there are 7 – is this a contradiction?

7 in the Bible is a number that refers to fullness, completion, and perfection, so instead of interpreting this as God literally having 7 Spirits, it is better interpreted as referring to the Holy Spirit, who is full, complete, and perfect. Interestingly, Isaiah 7’s description of the Holy Spirit describes Her in 7 ways: the Spirit of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. Isaiah agrees with John’s description of the Holy Spirit in Revelation – one Spirit, but in that one Spirit, 7 “spirits”: of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.

Revelation 1:4-5 reveals that these seven Spirits are before God’s throne. Revelation 3:1 reveals that Jesus has the Holy Spirit, the seven Spirits of God. Revelation 4:5 describes that these seven Spirits of God are seven lamps of fire burning before God’s throne. Revelation 5:6 says that these seven Spirits of God are seven eyes which the Lamb has. These eyes, given that the Holy Spirit is God and they are God’s eyes, are described in Zechariah 4:10 as ranging throughout the whole earth. This points to the Holy Spirit’s all-knowing and omnipresence.

The Holy Spirit is the sevenfold Spirit of God: one Spirit, the feminine nature of God.

Proverbs: Who is the Spirit of Wisdom?

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

    in the markets she raises her voice.”

Proverbs 1:20

^{33 "}The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,     and humility comes before honor."

Proverbs 15:33

²³[Wisdom says] if you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;     I will make my words known to you.

Proverbs 1:23

14 “…for the gain from her is better than gain from silver

    and her profit better than gold.

Proverbs 3:14

Wisdom in Proverbs is female and is desirable, incomparable, and can be sought out. She calls out and judges, instructs, acts, knows, and has wisdom. Wisdom says in Proverbs “surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” Wisdom in Proverbs is at least personified as a woman – that much is clear. But if Proverbs says “surely I will pour out my spirit on you” – Wisdom is not just being personified; wisdom is a literal Spirit, a living entity. Personification, in contrast, is when an idea or thing, something inanimate, is given human attributes and/or feelings as if it was alive and human, having personhood (“Personification in literature: definition & examples). The Spirit of God is not inanimate. The Spirit has inherent personhood, and as such is not being personified.

^{9 “}And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So, the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.” 

Deuteronomy 34:9

“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

Isaiah 11:2

^“And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. ^{14 “}The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ¹⁶ “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 2:14-16

. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:16-17

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

John 14:25-26

^“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”

Ephesians 1:17

^{13 “}For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves^[a] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 12:13

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.”

Ephesians 4:4

^“For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

Ephesians 2:18

God is clear that there is one Spirit of the Lord. In Deuteronomy, Moses laid his hands on Joshua so he would be filled with the “spirit of wisdom” – what Spirit could this be but the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom according to Isaiah 11:2?  Again, a spirit is a living entity, not simply a personification. Further, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:4, and Ephesians 2:18, Paul teaches that there is one Spirit, so the spirit of Wisdom and the Holy Spirit must be the same Spirit as affirmed in Isaiah 11:2. The Spirit of Wisdom is the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs reveals Wisdom is feminine – is that a coincidence? Could this indicate that the Holy Spirit is feminine, according to Solomon, the “wisest of all men” (1 Kings 4:30-31), the writer of Proverbs? God is being explicit in His Word about the nature of the Spirit – we miss it by thinking Wisdom is a personification. We miss it by believing the lie that femininity is not part of God’s nature. 

^“Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” ²⁴ And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Acts 8:14-24

Finally, Acts 8:14-24 also shows that the Holy Spirit is received via laying on of hands, just like in Deuteronomy 34:9 stating that Moses laid his hands on Joshua for him to receive the spirit of wisdom. The Spirit of Wisdom and the Holy Spirit must be one and the same: they have the same characteristics and God proclaims in His Word there is “one” Spirit. Isaiah says they are the same (Isaiah 11:2). (Learn about images of the Holy Spirit, 2017)

F.     Was the spirit of wisdom in Proverbs involved in creation, eternally existing with God?

²² “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,  the first of his acts of old. ²³ Ages ago I was set up,     at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. ²⁵ Before the mountains had been shaped,  before the hills, I was brought forth, ²⁶ before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. ²⁷ When he established the heavens, I was there;  when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, ²⁸ when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, ²⁹ when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, ³⁰     then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, ³¹ rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.”

Proverbs 8:22-31

Proverbs also reveals that “Wisdom” was there when God established the heavens and was beside him as a master workman (creator), daily his delight. Wisdom is a spirit. The only other entity – certainly the only other Spirit - mentioned in Genesis 1 that was there when He established the heavens was the Holy Spirit, Genesis 1:2, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” As 1 Corinthians 12 says there is one Spirit – so the Holy Spirit and Wisdom are one and the same, as affirmed in Isaiah 11:2. Wisdom, who Proverbs explicitly shows to be female, is a spirit and was with God in the beginning. (Is Wisdom a Created Being, 2019)

Again, many Christians interpret wisdom in Proverbs as being personified. This cannot be what is happening with Wisdom in Proverbs, as Wisdom is not an inanimate idea or a thing – wisdom is a Spirit, a person, like God the Father is Spirit and Person.

^23”[Wisdom says] if you turn at my reproof,  behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;     I will make my words known to you.”

Proverbs 1:23

If Wisdom is a spirit that is able to pour out “itself” on the reader, Wisdom is not personification but a Spirit-person like God.

And, again, this Spirit of Wisdom must be the Holy Spirit as the Scriptures testify there is only one Spirit.

(Learn about images of the Holy Spirit, 2017)

Genesis 1:1-2

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

If Wisdom was “possessed” – one with – without beginning – God at the beginning, as a “spirit”, this is not personification. What other Spirit was there in the beginning? If Wisdom, which is a spirit, was there, were there 2 Spirits – The Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Wisdom? Or are they one and the same, as was established by the verses previously? If Wisdom is personified, how was Wisdom able to be beside God as a “master workman”, creating with Him? How was Wisdom able to rejoice before Him, God’s world, and the children of man?

This points to personhood, not personification. The Spirit of Wisdom is a spirit-person, one with God – the Holy Spirit, not a personified thing.

However, there has understandably been some confusion over certain passages that do indicate “wisdom” is something personified as an inanimate object without life. We need to be discerning. There is one Spirit – the Spirit of the Lord, which is called the Spirit of Wisdom (Isaiah 11:2). But, in Scripture “wisdom” does not refer to the Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, in every instance, as will be shown below. When Scripture refers to the Spirit of Wisdom, Scripture is referring the Holy Spirit, as there is one Spirit. When Scripture refers to “wisdom” generically as a quality or ability, something created by God, Scripture is not referring to the Holy Spirit. So, context, which is necessary to understand well any portion of Scripture, is needed.

As will be seen, the book of Wisdom describes the Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, with divine qualities including eternality. Yet, the book of Wisdom also says “wisdom” is created. Is that a contradiction? No. The book of Wisdom is talking about two different things: one, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, and two, the abstract idea of “wisdom” that is not a Person. This could be confusing, but the context shows clearly each time what is being referred to.  (Learn about images of the Holy Spirit, 2017)

G. Other Biblical References to God as Mother

There are many other Scriptures that describe God as Mother. Is God the Father being described in the passages below? How could passages about God being a mother be references to God the Father? Perhaps God is truly 2 in 1, Father and Mother.

1.     In Deuteronomy 32:11, God is described as a mother eagle, “Like the eagle that stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young, God spreads wings to catch you, and carries you on her wings.”

God in this passage is hovering over Her children, catching them and carrying them. God is like a mother eagle. So, femininity is inherent to who God is. Specifically mother eagles are like God in how they care for their children.

2.     In Deuteronomy 32:18, God gives birth, “You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”

Birth is an explicitly feminine characteristic. If “the Rock”, which is a reference to God, bore God’s people and gave birth to them, this Rock, this God, is just as much a Mother as a Father. Fathers do not bear children or give birth. So, this verse cannot be referencing God the Father. This is evidence that God is more than just the person of the Father and that God is also feminine – a Mother specifically: “the God who gave you birth”. How can this be anything but a direct reference to the Holy Spirit, who John 3:6 describes as giving Christians spiritual birth? The Holy Spirit is God the Mother.

3.     In Psalm 123:2–3, God is compared to a mistress, “As the eyes of a servant looks to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to you, Lord, until you show us your mercy!”

Interestingly, this verse gives two parallel descriptions of what it means to look at Yahweh: looking to Yahweh is both like looking to a (presumably male) master and like looking at a mistress (clearly female). The Lord God, then, has both masculinity and femininity. God is not only a Father. The Lord is to us both a master and a mistress.

4.     In Psalm 131:2, God is described as One who weans, “But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.”

Calming and quieting yourself before God is described as like a child being with its mother. Why is this? Could it be because mothers are like God – like God Herself? God is Father and Mother. God is our spiritual Mother.

5.     In Job 38:29, God is one who gives birth and has a womb, “Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?” or another translation says “From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?”

Of course, God is the one who created the ice and frost – no on else did. This is God’s point in answering Job: God is the Creator, not humans – not Job. From God’s “womb” comes the ice and frost. Interesting, verse 28 of the same chapter says, “Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?” Again, we see a parallel structure of God being compared to both a father and a mother, just like Psalm 123:2-3. God fathered rain and dew as the Creator. Job 38:28-29 is showing God is both Father and Mother. No one but women have wombs and give birth. Femininity is just an inherent to God as masculinity.

6.     In Hosea 11:3–4, God is described as a mother, “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I who took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.”

While fathers are certainly involved in raising children, children are very close to their mothers, especially during the time they are learning to walk. Mother “lift infants to their cheeks” and only women “feed [infants]” with their breasts, not men. So, God is being described here as a mother. God is not only a Father.

7.     In Hosea 13:8, God is described as a mother bear, “Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and tear them asunder.”

God is like a mother bear in Her love and protection of us. Again, God is not only a Father.

8.     In Isaiah 42:14, God is described as a woman in labor, “For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept myself still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.”

God is like a woman a labor. Masculinity and femininity encompass who God is.

9. In Isaiah 66:13, God is described as a comforting mother, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”  

God comforts like a mother. God does not only comfort as a father. Femininity in inherent to God.

These 9 passages further show that God cannot be only understood as masculine. This is not an accurate biblical picture of who God truly is as both Father and Mother. This also further shows the Trinity is not biblical as the Trinity reveals God to only be masculine as God is 3 male persons according to the Trinity. This also indicates God is more than just “God the Father”. God the Father is a distinct person who cannot be described as giving birth, having a womb, or nursing His children. So, there is more to God, given these passages (and others) than simply God the Father. Motherhood is also inherent to God. This argues for God being understood in 2 persons, a united Father and Mother. Specifically, Psalm 123:2-3 and Job 38:28-29 reveal who God is in a parallel structure where God is described as Father and then Mother. Therefore, these passages provide further evidence about who God is: Father and Mother.

H. The Wisdom of Solomon

The Catholic Bible

The Catholic Bible provides even more evidence of the Holy Spirit as Mother as seen in the feminine Spirit of Wisdom. I personally consider these books to be God’s Word, and my commentary on the passages below demonstrates that.  These books were eliminated by Protestants, headed by Martin Luther, from the Bible over a millennium after Christians agreed on the biblical canon. If Luther’s directive was fully followed, Hebrews, James, and Revelation would have been removed too. These deuterocanonical books are held to be God’s Word by not just the Catholic Church but also the Orthodox Church. So, over half of the Church take these books to be divinely inspired. History also shows these books that were taken out of the Bible were considered to be God’s Word by early Christians in the first 3 centuries, including many noteworthy Church fathers such as St. Augustine, St. Clement, Tertullian, and Origen who quoted and wrote about them as if they were inspired by God (Atkin, n.d.).

At the Council of Rome in 382, the Church decided upon a canon of 46 Old Testament books and 27 in the New Testament. These books make up the Catholic Bible today. This decision was agreed upon by the councils at Hippo (393), Carthage (397, 419), II Nicaea (787), Florence (1442), and Trent (1546). The deuterocanonical books were in the first German translation of the Bible by Luther and in the first King James Version (1611), as well as the first Bible ever printed, the Gutenberg Bible. So, Protestants took out books of the Bible, Catholics did not add (Evert, 2024).

It is poor reasoning by Luther to the Catholic Church to say that the books should be taken out because they are not quoted in the Old Testament, because if this logic was followed, 10 other Old Testament books that Protestants adhere to would need to also be thrown out including Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Judges, Ruth, Lamentations, Zephaniah and the Song of Solomon (Krol, 2021). Absence of a quote in the New Testament does not mean a book is not inspired. What is more, the New Testament does make allusions to the deuterocanonical books. For example, in Hebrews 11:35, 2 Maccabees 7 is alluded to. Additionally, the first Christians used the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which included the 7 deuterocanonical books. New Testament authors quoted freely from this Septuagint with these books – over 300 times (Evert, 2024). 

It is true that early Christians and Church fathers disagree on whether these books were divinely inspired. Some quoted the deuterocanonical books and some did not. Ultimately, however, the canon was decided in the 4^th century and affirmed by the Church as God’s Word for about a millennium before Luther removed certain books (Evert, 2024).

Some Protestants point to a Jewish council in 90 A.D. that rejected the deuterocanonical books as partial evidence that Christians should also reject their divine authority. However, this is a poor argument as this council was led by Jews who were rejecting the Christian faith. They rejected the deuterocanonical books and the whole New Testament as a result of this council. It makes more sense to consider the Old Testament that Jesus and his disciples referred to and read, and that Old Testament included the deuterocanonical books. The Church as a whole rejected this council as a Jewish council after Christ is not binding on Christ’s followers. What is more, that council was only a meeting of European Jews. African Jews, for example Ethiopian Jews, accepted these books as part of the Bible. The argument that “the Jews don’t accept these books” is not a good one, particularly as the same Jews who rejected the deuterocanonical books rejected Christ and the entire New Testament (Atkin, n.d.).

It made sense for the Christians to accept the deuterocanonical books because these books were in the Septuagint, the Greek edition of the Old Testament which the apostles used to evangelize the world (Evert, 2024). There is no evidence the apostles ever rejected these books, and the authors of the New Testament, including Jesus, referred to these books in numerous instances (Admin, 2017). The website “Scripture Catholic” provides tens of examples of this (Admin, 2017). The early Church as a whole accepted these books as the Word of God. The Old Testament with the 7 deuterocanonical books was embraced and passed down by the apostles to early adherents of the Christian faith (Atkin, n.d.) and again, even directly referred to in Hebrews 11:35 by the writer of Hebrews (Atkin, n.d.).

The real reason the books were taken out was because Martin Luther disagreed with the Catholic doctrine taught in them. Again, he also wanted to take out Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation, which the Protestant Church did not agree with him on (Evert, 2024). Additionally, and ironically, some Protestants look to councils like Hippo (383) and Carthage (397) as proof that the New Testament canon is God’s Word, but these same councils affirmed the 7 deuterocanonical books. Protestants should be consistent (Atkin n.d.).

Given this history, I think my Catholic brothers and sisters are right regarding the canon of Scripture and that Protestants should reconsider Martin Luther’s decision to remove parts of God’s inspired Word.

*For a more detailed defense of the deuterocanonical books, see the book "Case for the Deuterocanon" by Gary G. Michuta. He addresses in depth both Church history (particularly how the vast majority of the early Church fathers believed the deuterocanon to be God's Word) and the biblical references in the New Testament to the deuterocanon. He fully convinced me that those books are God's Word.

How much should we trust the Church?

If you have read section 1 of my blog, "Is Jesus God?", you may think I am not being consistent in my argumentation for the Catholic Bible being God’s Word. After all, I use the argument that we should trust the Church’s decision in councils where this same Church decided Jesus was God. How do we know when to trust the Church and when not to trust the Church? Am I being inconsistent in trusting the Church’s overall decision regarding God’s Word but not trusting the Church’s almost unanimous belief that Jesus is God? Am I forming my beliefs over what I want to be true, picking and choosing?

I think not trusting the Church’s interpretation of who Jesus is is different than not trusting the Church’s decision over what makes up God’s Word.  Ephesians 6 explains the armor of God we have as believers. We only have 1 offensive weapon: the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. My personal opinion is that the Church has been deceived regarding the divinity of Christ, and God allowed that, for reasons I do not understand. Concerning God’s Word, though, the Sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon we have, I do not think God would allow the enemy to tamper with that. He would not leave us defenseless in that way.

I trust God, and I trust God’s Word. I trust God’s character in guiding His Church in what is His inspired Word because our God would not leave us defenseless.  Concerning Jesus’ deity, I see that as different because that was the Church’s interpretation of God’s Word. If we have and know God’s Word, God has given us a way to always seek Him ourselves to see if the Church’s interpretation is correct. I am truly Protestant in the strictest sense: “sola Scriptura” without tradition. While I believe God uses the Church’s interpretation of Scripture and that it is often right, nothing, no tradition or interpretation, is our measure of truth. Only God’s Word is. We should be like the Bereans, always earnestly searching the Scriptures to determine if what is told us, even by our Christian leaders, is true (Acts 17:10-15).

I have to trust something. If I have chosen, which I have, to not fully trust God’s Church, I need help elsewhere… and I find that in God’s Word. If Scripture could also be false, along with human tradition and interpretation, we would be in a sorry state indeed. But I trust God would not allow His Word to be tampered with, even if He would allow misinterpretation of it. How can He not? We are not robots, and we are all fallible and sinful, including our Christian leaders. We are bound to misinterpret. But we can trust the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to ultimately guide us in all truth even as we do make mistakes along the way. And, I believe, we can trust His Word, though we need to be wary of poor and biased translations.

What is more, despite my personal deviation from what is considered orthodox, the truths I have come to embrace: namely, Jesus is not God, the Holy Spirit is God the Mother, and universal salvation is God’s plan for the world, have come from the Church, from my brothers and sisters in Christ. I study history and learn of Christians who agree. I read books by Christians now who agree. Given this, it is not that I do not trust God’s work in the Church: it is that, on some core beliefs of the faith, I disagree with the majority. I never would have been able to embrace those 3 core beliefs myself without the scholarship and faith of those in the minority Church. I believe that God has revealed Himself fully to the Church through His Word and through His people. I do not believe God has in any way abandoned His Church. I do believe that we need to learn from each other to fully see God: to learn from the minority Church.

Given all of this, I think it is very important for Protestants to reconsider the Catholic canon of the Bible. There is truth in those books that, I think, we need. One of those truths is further understanding that the Holy Spirit is our divine Mother. I doubt Luther would have discarded those books if he had agreed with them theologically. I think Protestants have been unwise (I include myself here) to follow, largely, one man’s opinion on God’s Word in spite of the centuries of universal belief that God’s Word has 73, not 66 books. We have been missing out, as all of God’s words are infinitely precious.

The Holy Spirit is God the Mother

Even if you do not consider these books to be divinely inspired, the case for the Holy Spirit being our Mother has, I think, been thoroughly argued and proven in points A-G as synching with Scripture. If you believe the Holy Spirit is God, there is much greater evidence in the Bible and in God’s own creation for the Spirit’s femininity than the Spirit’s masculinity.

However, looking at the Wisdom of Solomon provides a richer understanding that I think our Mother, the Holy Spirit, wants us to have. Moreover, the book of Wisdom, read rightly, leaves the reader with a richer understanding of who the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom is: the feminine nature of God, our Mother. As we dive in, remember that Scripture is adamant that there is one Spirit: the Holy Spirit, which has already been established in points A – G as the feminine Spirit of Wisdom in Proverbs. Again, this Spirit of Wisdom cannot simply be personification because personification refers to the giving of person-like qualities to an inanimate object or an animal. Personification is not used for entities that are alive apart from animals. Wisdom, as Spirit and Holy Spirit, is, then, decidedly not personified but the Spirit of God filled with life.  Personification is not what is happening in Proverbs, as already shown, and personification is not what is happening in the book of Wisdom and Sirach. Again, personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person. God’s One Spirit, as Christian orthodoxy holds, is a person. Discussion of Her is not personification.

Given that I think points A – G soundly prove the Holy Spirit is God the Mother, in my writing from this point on I will refer to the Holy Spirit using feminine pronouns, as I fully believe that is most respectful and true to who She is. What is more, the book of Wisdom and Sirach both refer to Her with feminine pronouns – I am not adding anything to what God has clearly revealed in His Word about who the Holy Spirit is. If that bothers you, why? Why is the divine feminine offensive to you? Is it because it is not in God’s Word, or is it because of your own personal biases? Is your uncomfortableness from the Holy Spirit or a distortion of understanding about the Holy Spirit? These are not easy questions to answer, and despite my confidence in who I believe the Holy Spirit is, I spent a long time in prayer and study before I finally concluded this is who She is. It was not comfortable to me – it seemed “off” to me initially.

But we must let Scripture, not our feelings or biases, dictate what we believe to be true. 

The Wisdom of Solomon 

“For Wisdom is a Spirit that loves mankind, but She will punish a blasphemer because of his words; For God is the witness of his thoughts, The true examiner of his heart, and the hearer of his tongue; Because the Spirit of the Lord fills the world, And He who holds all things together knows what is said.”

Wisdom of Solomon 1:6-7

Here we learn that Wisdom “loves mankind” and “punishes a blasphemer because of his word”. This cannot, again, be simple personification as a Spirit is a living entity, not something inanimate. Does an inanimate object love mankind and punish a blasphemer because of his words? That is nonsense, and Solomon writes Wisdom not nonsense. Which Spirit loves mankind? The Spirit of the Lord of course! This is talking about God the Mother, the feminine nature of God. Does an inanimate “wisdom” “punish a blasphemer because of his words”? No, God’s Spirit punishes blasphemers. This Spirit of Wisdom “fills the world”, as there is one Spirit (stated earlier). The Spirit of the Lord and the Spirit of Wisdom are one and the same.

“For God created man for immortality and made him an image of His own eternity. But death entered the world by the envy of the devil, and those of his portion tempt it.” Wisdom 2:23-24

God made man in His image – which, this passage reveals, is “an image of His own eternity”. This passage directly ties the image of man and woman, God’s image, to God’s own infinity. Something in the marriage relationship between a man and a woman points to God’s infiniteness and eternality. What is more, God created man – so, Adam and Eve – for immortality. God’s initial design for marriage was eternal. Why would God change His mind on something so beautiful, as most Christians believe marriage to be discontinued in God’s new heaven and new earth? If God’s image is a man and woman in unity like God and the Holy Spirit, wouldn’t this image continue for eternity? These questions are addressed in depth later.

“Wisdom is brilliant, She never fades. By those who love Her, She is readily seen, by those who seek Her, She is readily found.

¹³ She anticipates those who desire Her by making Herself known first.

¹⁴ Whoever gets up early to seek Her will have no trouble but will find Her sitting at the door.

¹⁵ Meditating on Her is understanding in its perfect form, and anyone keeping awake for Her will soon be free from care.

¹⁶ For She herself searches everywhere for those who are worthy of Her, benevolently appearing to them on their ways, anticipating their every thought.”

If “wisdom” was simply a personification, could she really “anticipate those who desire her by making herself known first”? Could “wisdom” “herself search everywhere for those who are worthy of her, benevolently appearing to them” and “anticipating their every thought”? Can any personified thing or idea actually do that? Only a person can “make Herself known first.” Only a person can “search everywhere for those worthy of Her” and “appear” to those people and “anticipate their every thought”. We understand the concept and idea of wisdom. The concept and idea of wisdom cannot do what I just listed. If Solomon’s intent is to personify, what can he possibly mean by the personification of wisdom making itself known first? The personification of wisdom searching everywhere for those worthy of it? The personification of wisdom appearing to people and anticipating their every thought?

The idea and concept of wisdom we understand in reality does the opposite of what Solomon is suggesting: it does not make itself known – we have to seek wisdom. Wisdom does not seek us; we have to work to grow in wisdom. The idea and concept of wisdom, as we understand it, does not appear to us and anticipate our every thought! Personification is not in view as a legitimate explanation of this passage.

Moreover, when considered with other passages in the book of Wisdom which categorically state this Wisdom to be the spirit of Wisdom – and so the Holy Spirit, combined with a background knowledge of Proverbs’ insight on Wisdom, it is evident that this Wisdom is the Spirit of Wisdom, and so, the Holy Spirit.

This interpretation fits with what Solomon is saying about Wisdom. Wisdom “never fades” – who never fades but God? God is “readily seen” and “found” by those who love God and seek God (Jeremiah 29:11-14). God appears to people first to those who desire God. God searches everywhere for those worthy of God, appearing to them. Only God anticipates a person’s “every thought” – this speaks to omniscience, a quality only God has. Solomon is not simply describing Wisdom in terms of being a person – Solomon is giving the qualities inherent to God to Wisdom.

Solomon continues,

¹⁷ “For Wisdom begins with the sincere desire for instruction, care for instruction means loving Her,

¹⁸ loving Her means keeping her laws, attention to Her laws guarantees incorruptibility,

¹⁹ and incorruptibility brings us near to God;

²⁰ the desire for Wisdom thus leads to sovereignty.”

Solomon’s affirmation of the divinity of Wisdom continues. Which laws guarantee incorruptibility? Only the Law of God – which Solomon explains here is Wisdom’s Law too. Who wrote the Law? Who was the author of God’s Holy Scriptures?

The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Wisdom. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy every came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”  The Holy Spirit inspired the Scripture – God’s Law, which is literally called “Her Law” by Solomon. This is further described by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” “Moved” and “inspired” carry similar connotations. These men were moved by the Holy Spirit, by God Herself, to write the Scriptures. The Bible is authored by the Holy Spirit, the Divine Feminine.

If this is true, why do most churches forbid women from teaching or preaching God’s Word – Her Word – to both men and women? This is a complex but very important question that will be addressed later. God’s ideal, though, for men and women is equal partnership. This is evident in Scripture and in who God is, as we are created in “Our” image, male and female.

The Wisdom of Solomon continues,

²¹”If then thrones and scepters delight you, monarchs of the nations, honor Wisdom, so that you may reign forever.

²² I will tell you what Wisdom is and how She came to be, And I will hide no mysteries from you; but I will search her out from the beginning of creation and make her knowledge clear. I will not pass by the truth,

²³ Blighting envy is no companion for me, for envy has nothing in common with Wisdom.

²⁴ In the greatest number of the wise lies the world's salvation, in a sagacious king the stability of a people.

²⁵ Learn, therefore, from my words; the gain will be yours.”

Verse 22 seems to say that Wisdom did not always exist: “She came to be”. Does this mean Wisdom is not God – is not the Holy Spirit? Solomon makes clear that he will fill his readers in on Wisdom’s origin in the course of his book. Given the weight of evidence in favor of Wisdom’s divinity, it is wise to continue to read for better understanding of what Solomon meant by “came to be”.

So, Solomon continues in chapter 7 verse 7,

“Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the Spirit of Wisdom came to me.⁸ I preferred Her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with Her.”

The Bible is clear that the Spirit of Wisdom is the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2). Solomon calls on God, and God’s Spirit comes to him. Wealth is nothing as compared to God’s Spirit.

Solomon, the “wisest man in the world”, endowed with God’s own divine wisdom, considers the Spirit of Wisdom to be feminine. Why do we not take God at His Word? His Spirit is feminine. Femininity is part of – half of – God’s image. The language used by Solomon is not implicit, but explicit, complete with feminine pronouns – lots of them.

^9 “Neither did I liken to Her any priceless gem, because all gold is but a little sand in Her sight, and silver will be accounted as clay before Her.¹⁰ I loved Her more than health and beauty, and I chose to have Her rather than light, because Her radiance never ceases.”

The Holy Spirit – the divine feminine of God – is better than wealth, health, and beauty. Her radiance never ceases – Whose radiance never ceases? Only the immortal God.

^11 “All good things came to me along with Her, and in Her hands uncounted wealth.¹² I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom leads them; but I did not know that She was their Mother.¹³ I learned without guile and I impart without grudging; I do not hide Her wealth,¹⁴ for it is an unfailing treasure for mortals; those who get it obtain friendship with God, commended for the gifts that come from instruction.”

Wisdom 7:1-14

“All good things” came with Her, according to Solomon. His reference to “all good things” would include people. These good things are “led” by Wisdom. While inanimate objects can be led, people are way more often described as led, so these “good things” refer in part, most likely, to people. Solomon clearly states this in Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” So, a “wife” is in the category of “all good things” that Solomon is referring to.

I say this not to emphasize the goodness of marriage but to demonstrate that this incredible passage states explicitly that the Holy Spirit is God the Mother. “ALL good things” came to Solomon with Her, and he rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is the One who leads ALL these good things… and he did not know – what I suppose he knows now upon writing – that “She was their Mother”. Wisdom is the Mother of “all good things”. Wisdom is, by nature, a Mother – of not some, not most, but ALL good things. This fits perfectly with John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  We are naturally born of our human mother and supernaturally born of our divine Mother, the Holy Spirit.

Not only is Solomon, the wisest man in the world, explicitly clear in his feminine pronouns of the Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, to indicate the divine feminine, he also explicitly uses the word “Mother” to describe this Spirit. This Spirit is Mother of ALL good. Christians have both a Father and Mother. Amazingly, this is not a truth God gave post-Christ. God revealed Himself as Father and Mother in the Jewish Bible – God has revealed this truth to us from the beginning.

A last note: the language here is very similar to the language about the Holy Spirit in Acts when Simon the sorcerer wants to buy the Holy Spirit from Peter. Peter harshly rebukes him as the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, cannot be purchased (Acts 8:18-23). This is further evidence that the Spirit of Wisdom and the Holy Spirit are the same.

^16 “For both we and our words are in His hand, as are all understanding and skill in crafts.¹⁷ For it is He who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;¹⁸ the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,¹⁹ the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,²⁰ the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals, the powers of spirits and the thoughts of human beings, the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;²¹ I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,²² for Wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.”

Interestingly, the passage begins with “He [God the Father] gave me…” knowledge, and lists of the things he learned, but he ends with Wisdom was the One who taught him.

This is a beautiful example of the partnership between God and Wisdom, His Spirit: God gives “unerring knowledge of what exists” and Wisdom teaches him. They partner together to educate Solomon.

“The fashioner of all things” indicates that the Holy Spirit is the Creator of all things along with God, which fits with everything the Scriptures have said about the Spirit of Wisdom. Wisdom is not the fashioner of some things, but ALL. That characteristic is only one that God has – Wisdom is, then God.

“There is in Her a Spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, ²³ beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.²⁴ For Wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of Her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.”

This Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, is God Herself. How wonderful to learn from Solomon more about who She is! The Spirit of Wisdom, God the Mother, is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all… how amazing our God! The Spirit of Wisdom is the Holy Spirit, God Herself. She is pure and pervades and penetrates ALL things.

Again, and again, Solomon shows he is not personifying Wisdom but describing the Holy Spirit, God Herself, as many of these qualities are uniquely divine (i.e. all-powerful, overseeing all).

^25 “For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into Her.²⁶ For She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of His goodness.”

Other passages describe the Holy Spirit as the breath of God. For example, Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.” God created by the Holy Spirit – the “breath” of His mouth.

Verse 26 refers to Her as reflecting and mirroring God. The Holy Spirit and God the Father are united, one, and so closely connected they appear to be one person – though they are 2 unique persons. Unitarians are firm on their position of God due to the many singular pronouns throughout Scripture describing God. God is only 1 person, they argue.

But could this be because God is 2 persons in 1 with such unity despite their distinctness that they are truly one? Singular pronouns are appropriate – The Lord IS one (Deuteronomy 6:4) – God the Father and the Holy Spirit are always perfectly one, working together.

Perhaps the best way to understand this is: God is 2 persons, God the Father and God the Mother. “The Lord” – “Yahweh” refers to them both (Deuteronomy 6:4). When the Lord reveals to Moses who He is in Exodus 3:14 and the Lord says, “I am who I am”, why does He have 2 “I ams”? Could that refer to 2 persons? Could God have been saying He is 2 in 1? “I am God the Father. I am God the Mother”. This is who God is. Not 1 “I am” – 2 “I ams”.

^27 “Although She is but one, She can do all things, and while remaining in Herself, She renews all things; in every generation She passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets;²⁸ for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with Wisdom.²⁹ She is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior,³⁰ for it is succeeded by the night, but against Wisdom evil does not prevail.”

Wisdom 7:22-30

Further, in verse 27, this Spirit of God can do all things, renew all things… She enters into souls to make them friends of God and prophets. If there was any doubt as to if this “wisdom” is simply personified, this passage shows that the Spirit of Wisdom is the Holy Spirit, God Herself. There is no confusion. The Holy Spirit is the One who enters into souls to make them friends of God and prophets.

This Spirit is more beautiful than the sun and stars and superior to light. Evil cannot prevail against Her. How amazing our God!

“She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and She orders all things well.

^2 "I loved Her and sought Her from my youth; I desired to take Her for my bride, and became enamored of Her beauty.³ She glorifies Her noble birth by living with God, and the Lord of all loves her.⁴ For She is an initiate in the knowledge of God ,and an associate in His works.”

It continues to be clear that Solomon is describing God Herself – She lives with God, and God loves her. She is God’s association in His works – She, then, is His partner, His feminine counterpart, His spouse!

Yet here again, we read “She glorifies Her noble birth”. Is this a contradiction? How could the Holy Spirit have a birth yet also be eternal God? She has the qualities of God – but She was born? Came into being? How can this be?

This is addressed later.

^5 “If riches are a desirable possession in life, what is richer than Wisdom, the active cause of all things?⁶ And if understanding is effective, who more than She is fashioner of what exists?⁷ And if anyone loves righteousness, Her labors are virtues; for She teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more profitable for mortals than these.⁸ And if anyone longs for wide experience, She knows the things of old, and infers the things to come; She understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles; She has foreknowledge of signs and wonders and of the outcome of seasons and times.”

The verses continue – Wisdom is the active cause of all things – of course that can only be referring to God as Creator – so She is God! The feminine nature of God. She is the “fashioner of what exists” – so, She created it. She knows all things, according to verse 8 – the things of old, and she knows what will come – who can this be but God Herself? There is no doubt in these rich passages of Scripture that this Spirit is both feminine and fully divine. How wonderful of God to be our Father and Mother!

^9 “Therefore I determined to take Her to live with me, knowing that She would give me good counsel and encouragement in cares and grief.¹⁰ Because of Her I shall have glory among the multitudes and honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young.¹¹ I shall be found keen in judgment, and in the sight of rulers I shall be admired.¹² When I am silent they will wait for me, and when I speak they will give heed; if I speak at greater length, they will put their hands on their mouths.¹³ Because of Her I shall have immortality, and leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me.”

Who lives with God’s people, dwelling in them, but the Spirit of God! This Wisdom is the Holy Spirit, who gives good counsel – the Counselor clearly talked about by Jesus in the book of John. Who gives immortality but the Spirit of God? According to the New Testament in particular, it is only because the Spirit lives in us that we have eternal life. This Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, God Herself – as only God can give immortality! – is described here.

^14” I shall govern peoples, and nations will be subject to me;¹⁵ dread monarchs will be afraid of me when they hear of me; among the people I shall show myself capable, and courageous in war.¹⁶ When I enter my house, I shall find rest with Her; for companionship with Her has no bitterness, and life with Her has no pain, but gladness and joy.¹⁷ When I considered these things inwardly, and pondered in my heart that in kinship with Wisdom there is immortality,¹⁸ and in friendship with Her, pure delight, and in the labors of her hands, unfailing wealth, and in the experience of her company, understanding, and renown in sharing her words, I went about seeking how to get Her for myself.”

In God Herself we find rest, companionship with Her and life with Her is free of pain and full of joy. “Kinship” indicates “relationship” – in relationship with Wisdom – not an inanimate personification – there is immortality. A “concept” of wisdom does not give immortality! God does. God has a feminine AND masculine nature that give life.

^21 “But I perceived that I would not possess Wisdom unless God gave Her to me—and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift She was—so I appealed to the Lord and implored him, and with my whole heart I said:

‘O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy, who have made all things by Your word,² and by Your Wisdom have formed humankind to have dominion over the creatures you have made,³ and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,⁴ give me the Wisdom that sits by Your throne, and do not reject me from among your servants.⁵ For I am your servant the son of your serving girl, a man who is weak and short-lived, with little understanding of judgment and laws;⁶ for even one who is perfect among human beings will be regarded as nothing without the Wisdom that comes from You.”

We learn more about God the Mother. She belongs to God… she is the gift of God. Which is exactly how the Holy Spirit is described in the New Testament. The Wisdom that sits by God’s throne – because they are one, like a husband and wife, in partnership. This also points back to how the 7 spirits, together the Holy Spirit, in Revelation are described as by God’s throne. God is consistent; His Word does not contradict.

^7 “You have chosen me to be king of your people and to be judge over your sons and daughters.⁸ You have given command to build a temple on your holy mountain, and an altar in the city of your habitation, a copy of the holy tent that you prepared from the beginning.⁹ With You is Wisdom, She who knows your works and was present when You made the world; She understands what is pleasing in your sight and what is right according to your commandments.¹⁰ Send Her forth from the holy heavens ,and from the throne of your glory send Her, that She may labor at my side, and that I may learn what is pleasing to You.”

Wisdom knows God’s words and was there when he made the world. She understands God. She is currently seated at “the throne of your glory”.

^11 “For She knows and understands all things, and She will guide me wisely in my actions and guard me with Her glory.¹² Then my works will be acceptable, and I shall judge your people justly, and shall be worthy of the throne of my father.¹³ For who can learn the counsel of God? Or who can discern what the Lord wills?¹⁴ For the reasoning of mortals is worthless, and our designs are likely to fail;¹⁵ for a perishable body weighs down the soul, and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind.¹⁶ We can hardly guess at what is on earth, and what is at hand we find with labor; but who has traced out what is in the heavens?¹⁷ Who has learned Your counsel, unless You have given Wisdom and sent your Holy Spirit from on high?¹⁸ And thus the paths of those on earth were set right, and people were taught what pleases you, and were saved by Wisdom.”

Amazing. Wisdom, the feminine nature of God, knows and understands ALL things! She guides wisely and is full of glory. We only have counsel if God gives us Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, to give us wisdom. People were saved by Wisdom. God is the Savior: Wisdom is God Herself.

“Wisdom protected the first-formed father of the world, when he alone had been created ;she delivered him from his transgression,² and gave him strength to rule all things.³ But when an unrighteous man departed from her in his anger, he perished because in rage he killed his brother.⁴ When the earth was flooded because of him, Wisdom again saved it, steering the righteous man by a paltry piece of wood.

⁵ Wisdom also, when the nations in wicked agreement had been put to confusion, recognized the righteous man and preserved him blameless before God, and kept him strong in the face of his compassion for his child.

⁶ Wisdom rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing; he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities. ⁷ Evidence of their wickedness still remains: a continually smoking wasteland, plants bearing fruit that does not ripen, and a pillar of salt standing as a monument to an unbelieving soul.⁸ For because they passed Wisdom by, they not only were hindered from recognizing the good, but also left for humankind a reminder of their folly, so that their failures could never go unnoticed.”

Wisdom is a protector, deliverer, strength-giver for ruling all things, savior, preserver – Wisdom, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, is God Herself.

^9” Wisdom rescued from troubles those who served Her.¹⁰ When a righteous man fled from his brother’s wrath, She guided him on straight paths; She showed him the kingdom of God, and gave him knowledge of holy things; She prospered him in his labors, and increased the fruit of his toil.¹¹ When his oppressors were covetous, She stood by him and made him rich.¹² She protected him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him; in his arduous contest She gave him the victory, so that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything else.”

Wisdom, God Herself, rescues, guides, shows the kingdom of God, gives knowledge of holy things, prospers in labors, increases the fruit of his toil, stands by us, protects us, keeps us safe, and gives victory.

^13 “When a righteous man was sold, Wisdom did not desert him, but delivered him from sin. She descended with him into the dungeon,¹⁴ and when he was in prison She did not leave him, until She brought him the scepter of a kingdom and authority over his masters. Those who accused him She showed to be false, and She gave him everlasting honor.”

Wisdom, God Herself, is with us, delivers us from sin – is powerful, gave the scepter of a kingdom and authority over Joseph’s master, and gave him everlasting honor.

^15 “A holy people and blameless race Wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors.¹⁶ She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord, and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.”

Again, this talk of entering the soul of a servant of the Lord – this is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit delivered the people from slavery – She did the wonders and signs.  The Holy Spirit is the One who enters the souls of the saints.

^17 “She gave to holy people the reward of their labors; She guided them along a marvelous way, and became a Shelter to them by day, and a starry Flame through the night.¹⁸ She brought them over the Red Sea, and led them through deep waters;¹⁹ but She drowned their enemies, and cast them up from the depth of the sea.²⁰ Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly; they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name, and praised with one accord your defending hand;²¹ for Wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute, and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.”

The Wisdom of God – the Feminine Spirit of God – Herself – She guided them! She was a shelter and flame. She brought them over the Red Sea and led them through deep waters – She delivered from the Egyptians. If there was any confusion over whether the Spirit of Wisdom is God, these verses put it to rest: she is described as doing exactly what Yahweh did in Exodus.

These verses are further witness to the divine partnership of God between God the Father and the Holy Spirit, God the Mother.

“For Your immortal Spirit is in all things. For this reason You correct little by little those who fall away, and You remind and warn them of the sins they commit So they may be freed from evil and believe in You, O Lord.”

Wisdom 12:1

God’s Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, is explicitly called “immortal” in this verse. How can God’s Spirit be “immortal” if earlier in two separate verses, Wisdom is described as “coming into being” and being “born”? God’s Spirit cannot be immortal and have been born at the same time, surely?

This may be difficult for us to understand in part because God is outside of time. The idea that Someone could be eternal and “come into being” is a mystery: a mystery that has been believed for centuries by those who hold that Jesus is God. The concept of being “eternally begotten by the Father” is a similar concept.

We are presented with 2 seemingly irreconcilable truths in the Bible:

1.     The Holy Spirit is eternal.

2.     The Spirit of Wisdom was “born”, or “came into being”.

In considering God, was there a time when just God the Father existed without the Spirit? Based on Scripture, no. The Father and the Holy Spirit are both described as eternal. However, Scripture does specifically refer to the “Spirit of Wisdom” as some thing that was “born” and “came into being”. Perhaps Scripture is showing that while God’s Spirit eternally existed, the Wisdom of that Spirit “came into being” at some point in history – perhaps, at creation. This does not mean the “Spirit of Wisdom” did not eternally exist, this simply means that that “wisdom”, which was already there, “came into being”  - was “birthed” – when the Spirit created the world. It is not that the Spirit did not have wisdom before, this just means the Spirit did not utilize the wisdom She had until creation – THAT was when Her wisdom was “birthed” and “came into being”. She, though the Spirit of Wisdom, eternally existed. Her wisdom was not fully realized, it did not “come into being”, until creation.

On another note, Wisdom 13:5 says, “For from the greatness and beauty of created things The Creator is seen by analogy,” so Solomon even encourages us to look at created things to gain a better understanding of our Creator.

Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, male and female. The Creator is best seen in what He specifically said He created in His image: male and female. A man and a woman in a marriage relationship is an analogy, an image of God by which we can better understand who God is. This is further evidence that God is Father and Mother, not a 3-person male Godhead of Father, Son, and Spirit.

“A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle and skillfully strip off all its bark, and then with pleasing workmanship make a useful vessel that serves life’s needs,¹² and burn the cast-off pieces of his work to prepare his food, and eat his fill.¹³ But a cast-off piece from among them, useful for nothing, a stick crooked and full of knots, he takes and carves with care in his leisure, and shapes it with skill gained in idleness; he forms it in the likeness of a human being,¹⁴ or makes it like some worthless animal, giving it a coat of red paint and coloring its surface red and covering every blemish in it with paint;¹⁵ then he makes a suitable niche for it, and sets it in the wall, and fastens it there with iron.¹⁶ He takes thought for it, so that it may not fall, because he knows that it cannot help itself, for it is only an image and has need of help.¹⁷ When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children, he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing.¹⁸ For health he appeals to a thing that is weak; for life he prays to a thing that is dead; for aid he entreats a thing that is utterly inexperienced; for a prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step;¹⁹ for money-making and work and success with his hand she asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength.

Wisdom 13:11-19

Consider the difference between a lifeless object or idea and the Spirit of God as described in this passage compared to the multiple other passages examined. This is further proof that the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Wisdom, is not personified but is a Person – God the Holy Spirit Herself.