Lately I have been thinking a lot about 2 Corinthians 3:17, and especially about what this verse teaches us regarding the identity of Jesus. As I see it, the wording of this verse has serious implications relating to the deity of Christ. With that in mind, I would like to ask two Christological questions in this blog post—one aimed at Unitarians (who deny that Jesus is God), and one aimed at Trinitarians (who affirm the deity of Jesus but sharply distinguish between Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as different divine persons).

But First, Some Grammar

In the KJV, 2 Cor 3:17 reads “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” As best I can tell, the KJV is the only English version to translate this verse as “that Spirit.” Almost every other English version I can find translates this phrase as “the Spirit.”¹ And at first glance, the KJV seems to miss the mark: the Greek demonstrative usually translated as “that” is not present in the verse.² That said, although the KJV is a lone voice here, I believe that the KJV’s reading is actually a superior rendering of a nuance present in the Greek text.

The Greek article ὁ / ἡ / τό—the Greek equivalent to our English word “the”—can sometimes be used in a grammatical construction known as anaphora.³ In an anaphora construction, the role of ὁ / ἡ / τό is to bring back up (or point back to) a topic already introduced. To quote Wallace, “The anaphoric article has, by nature, then, a pointing force to it, reminding the reader of who or what was mentioned previously.” Anaphora is not an obscure occurrence; Wallace goes on to say that it is “the most common use of the article and the easiest usage to identify.”⁴

A good way of thinking about this use of ὁ / ἡ / τό is to conceive of it as “the X mentioned earlier.” We see a great example of anaphora in John 4. In v. 10, Jesus tells the woman that he will give the woman “living water” (ὕδωρ ζῶν); in v. 11, the woman asks Jesus where he gets “the living water you just mentioned” (τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ζῶν). Even though a demonstrative is not explicitly present in the Greek text, almost every English version translates the woman’s question as “this living water” or “that living water” instead of merely “the living water.”⁵

The vast majority of versions do this, because the translators realize that the woman is referring back to the living water just mentioned. In situations like this one, it is perfectly legitimate to add the word “this” or “that” to the English translation, so that the reader knows that the biblical author is pointing back to a concept already introduced.

I argue that 2 Cor 3:17 is just such a scenario. When ὁ / ἡ / τό is being used in an anaphora, the first mention of the concept being referenced will usually lack the definite article.⁶ So, if τὸ πνεῦμα is indeed anaphoric (i.e., “that Spirit” / “the previously mentioned Spirit”), we should expect to find an anarthrous use of “Spirit” (i.e., πνεῦμα instead of τὸ πνεῦμα) earlier in the context. And that is exactly what we see here. In 2 Cor 3:17, “Spirit” has the definite article (τὸ πνεῦμα). Earlier in the chapter (v.3) “Spirit” does not have the definite article (πνεύματι). This means that “the Spirit” in v. 17 is pointing back to the same Spirit being mentioned in v. 3. The KJV’s translation of τὸ πνεῦμα as “that Spirit” is therefore superior, because it reminds the English reader to look back earlier in the context to see which Spirit Paul is talking about.⁷

With these grammatical facts established, I can now ask my Christological questions.

A Question For Unitarians

Unitarians deny that Jesus is God. But the fact that “Spirit” is anaphoric in 2 Cor 3:17 poses serious problems for this view.

The “Lord” under discussion in 2 Cor 3:17 is the Lord Jesus Christ—I believe all will admit. Just a few verses later Paul goes on to say, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” (4:5). Throughout the NT generally, and 2 Corinthians in particular, Jesus is repeatedly called the Lord / ὁ κύριος.⁸ The translators of the Geneva Bible glossed “Lord” in the margin of 2 Cor 3:17 as “Christ our Mediator and author of the New Testament.”⁹ Whatever Spirit we are talking about in 2 Cor 3:17, the Lord Jesus Christ is that Spirit.

As I already noted in the previous section, the “Spirit” under discussion is the same Spirit Paul has already mentioned in 2 Cor 3:3—and that Spirit is “the Spirit of the Living God” (πνεύματι θεοῦ ζῶντος). That is the Spirit who the Lord is: Jesus is the Spirit of the Living God.

My question to Unitarians is, how can you deny that Jesus is God when this verse explicitly calls him “the Spirit of the Living God”? The Bible says that God is a Spirit (πνεῦμα ὁ θεός, John 4:24); and the Bible says that there is only one Spirit (1 Cor 12:13, Eph 2:8, 4:4).¹⁰ In the Bible and in common speech, the word “of” often carries the implication of “is”—the way, for example, “the Feast of Pentecost” means “the Feast which is Pentecost.” When we say, “The book of Exodus” we mean “the book that is / is named Exodus.” The Spirit of the Living God is thus the Spirit who is the Living God. Some modern Bible translations apply this logic to the end of 2 Cor 3:18. Whereas the KJV says “the Spirit of the Lord,” the ESV, NET, & NIV say “the Lord, who is the Spirit.”¹¹

2 Cor 3:17-18 is a strong statement of the deity of Jesus Christ. I ask my Unitarian friends again: Since Jesus is that one Spirit of the Living God, how can you deny that Jesus is God?

A Question For Trinitarians

Like myself, Trinitarians affirm that Jesus is God. However, Trinitarians distinguish sharply between Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as separate divine persons. But again, the wording of 2 Cor 3:17 would seem to cause problems for this view as well.

Within a Trinitarian framework, it is considered incorrect to equate Jesus with the Holy Ghost. This would be what the Athanasian Creed would call “confusing the persons.”¹² And yet this verse seems to explicitly equate Jesus with the Holy Ghost. As I’ve already noted in the previous section, there is only one Spirit—something also affirmed by the Athanasian Creed.¹³ The Holy Ghost cannot be a different Spirit from “the Spirit of the living God” in 1 Cor 3:3; and that is the “Spirit” who the Lord Jesus is, according to v. 17.

My question to Trinitarians is, how can you say that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are different persons when this verse explicitly calls the Lord Jesus “that Spirit”? If v. 18 is rightly translated as “the Lord who is the Spirit,” as many modern versions translate it, I fail to see how this can mean anything other than “Jesus who is the Holy Ghost.” And lest someone say that such a conclusion is out of step with the rest of scripture, I point out that, right after Jesus promises to give the disciples “another Comforter” (John 14:16), “the Spirit of truth” (v. 17), Jesus says, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (v. 18).

One Greek NT manuscript, codex L (020), contains a textual variant which is relevant to our discussion: instead of reading “where the Spirit of the Lord is,” L reads “where the Holy Spirit is.”¹⁴ This variant is obviously not original; but the mistake is noteworthy. This error seems to imply that the scribe of codex L understood “the Holy Spirit” to be “the Spirit” under discussion in 2 Cor 3:17. The Holy Spirit brings liberty—and the Lord Jesus is that Spirit.

2 Cor 3:17-18 seems to be a strong equation of Jesus with the Holy Ghost. I ask my Trinitarian friends again: Since there is only one Spirit, and Jesus is that Spirit, how can you say that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are separate persons?

Conclusion

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 seems to pose problems both for Unitarian and for traditional Trinitarian conceptions of God. This verse makes a strong statement of Christ’s deity (against Unitarians), while simultaneously equating Jesus with the Holy Ghost (against Trinitarians). From my perspective, the best resolution seems to be approaching this passage from a Oneness understanding—which affirms simultaneously that Jesus is the one God of scripture and that the Holy Ghost is Jesus himself present with believers.

Both Oneness and Trinitarian camps can stand unified in their reading of 2 Cor 3:17-18 as a statement of Christ’s deity. However, from my perspective, Trinitarians over-specify the distinction between Jesus and the Holy Ghost in a way that does not align with the biblical data (at least at this passage)

I invite discussion on this topic both from Unitarians and from Trinitarians.

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Knowing ancient Greek is an indispensable tool for defending God’s truth against false teaching and misunderstanding. After all, it is the language God chose to write the New Testament! If you’re ready gain this valuable skill, visit my website speakingothertongues.com to start learning ancient Greek!

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1. So the NKJV, NIV, ESV, CSB, NASB, LSB, & NET. Some pre-KJV versions, (e.g., the 1541 Great Bible) say “a Spirit.” ↩︎
2. I.e., the relevant phrase in the original Greek says merely τὸ πνεῦμα, as opposed to τὸ πνεῦμα ἐκείνο. ↩︎
3. AKA previous mention. I’ve been writing about anaphora a fair bit lately (see here & here), usually in conversations with Unitarians. I wonder why. ↩︎
4. Daniel Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 218. ↩︎
5. See this version comparison from Biblehub. ↩︎
6. Wallace, GGBB, 217. ↩︎
7. At least one modern English version, the ESV, recognizes the potential of anaphora in 2 Cor 3:17—although it applies the anaphora to “Lord” rather than “Spirit.” In a footnote on this verse, the ESV notes that “the Lord” could also be translated as “this Lord.” A demonstrative is not present before κύριος, but the translators recognize (rightly, I believe) that the definite article in front of κύριος points back to the “Lord” previously mentioned in v. 16. ↩︎
8. See, for example, 2 Cor 1:2-3, 1:14, 4:5, 4:10, 8:9. ↩︎
9. See a facsimile of the 1557 Geneva NT here. ↩︎
10. And before y’all come at me with “the seven Spirits of God” in Rev 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, &5:6—seven is a symbolic number representing the fullness or totality of God’s Spirit. It is an allusion to God’s Spirit in Isa 11:1-2 where the same one Spirit is described with seven attributes. ↩︎
11. Compare CSB, LSB, NASB, RSV, & ASV; Louis Segond’s French translation and Luther’s German translation. ↩︎
12. Athanasian Creed: “Now this is the catholic faith: We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another….And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.” ↩︎
13. The AC again: “Thus there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three spirits.” ↩︎
14. That is, instead of τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου, L reads τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. ↩︎