Holy Spirit Gender

 

  Thinking about the genealogy of Christ, caused me to consider the genetics that determines the sex of an individual.  As we learned in high school biology classes, of the 23 pairs of chromosomes (the diploid number) in cells of the normal human body, females contain a pair of XX chromosome and males contain a pair consisting of one X (from the mother) and one Y (from the father).  Sex cells of humans contain only half of the 23 pairs (the haploid number), thus 23 single chromosomes. one of which is the X chromosome.  Cell division in the ovaries of females results in 23 single chromosomes, one of which is the X chromosome. Cell division in the testes of the males results in 23 single chromosomes, half of which contain an X chromosome. While the other half of the male sex cells contain a Y chromosome.  At conception, an ovum with its 23 single chromosomes of which one is an X, unites with a sperm cell with its 23 single chromosomes, one of which is either an X or a Y.  This union of the two sex cells, reestablishes the 23 pair complement (diploid) of the human body cells.  Thus, it is the male contributor at conception that determines the sex of an offspring.

  As scripture clearly teaches, Christ had an earthly mother, Mary. While she was betrothed to Joseph, it became known to him that Mary was pregnant before the marriage was consummated and he considered divorcing her. In a dream, Joseph was told by an angel of God not to divorce her, “for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

  In that Christ was born with normal human characteristics, it is reasonable to assume that his sex was determined by the union of Mary’s ovarian sex cell that contained an X chromosome, with that of a donor sex cell containing a Y chromosome.  In that we know that Joseph was not the donor and scripture reveals the donor to be the Holy Spirit, it is therefore reasonable to conclude that the gender of the Holy Spirit is male.

Some in society do not accept that the Godhead revealed in scripture is male. Some insist that the Godhead is female. All references in scripture that refer to God or the Godhead describe Him/them as male.  The scriptural description of Jesus’ miraculous birth, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, offers support to the notion that the Holy Spirit is of the male gender in that a Y chromosome had to be present for normal human development to occur.         By Mike Sheridan