Please help me understand the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit in the new testament. I have studied and am a bit confused over this. My pastor is determined to call him the Holy Spirit, and yet the “Spirit” like a dove descended on Jesus, and then there is the fruit of the “Spirit” yet the gift of the Holy Ghost … see what I mean? I have I believe some understanding but would encourage your input.
No one knows exactly why the King James translators chose to use the term Holy Ghost 88 times and Holy Spirit 4 times in the New Testament. All the other major translations use Holy Spirit exclusively, and both terms come from exactly the same Greek words.
Since in our time, the word ghost usually calls to mind an apparition, or visual representation of a dead person, and since the Holy Spirit is not now nor has He ever been dead, most prefer to use Holy Spirit when referring to the third person of the Trinity.