Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The Holy Spirit in Old Testament Times

The approximately 100 references to the Spirit of God in the Old Testament give evidence of His working during that period. Not all, however, see these references as indicating the third person of the Trinity. P. K. Jewett, for example, believes that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is never used to indicate “a Person distinct from the Father and the Son,” but rather “the divine nature viewed as vital energy.”

1 Although it is true that the Old Testament does not reveal the doctrine of the Trinity, still it seems to convey the idea that the Spirit is a person, not simply vital energy (). Leon Wood correctly observed that “it is also important to recognize that the matter of the identity of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is not so much a question of what people thought regarding this member of the Godhead as it is what the intention was of God Himself who inspired the writers.”

2 And we do know from the New Testament that it was the Holy Spirit who was at work in Old Testament times (; ).

I. The Spirit’s Work in Creation

A. The Evidence

Seven verses speak of various aspects of the Spirit’s work in Creation. They are ; (?); 27:3; 33:4; ; ; and . Although some feel these are not clear references to the Spirit, there really are no good reasons for not considering them to be (even though in some of these verses translations will use “breath” instead of Spirit).

B. His Activity

The Spirit was involved in the general planning of the universe ().

He was also active in relation to the creation of the stars of heaven ().

The Spirit participated in the Creation of the earth (). The word “moved” (kjv) (found elsewhere only in , “hovers” [nasb] or “fluttereth” [kjv] and , “shake”[kjv]) means that the Spirit hovered over and cared for the yet unfashioned and uninhabited earth.

The Spirit worked in creating the animals () and in the creation of man (; ). Thus the range of His activity included all the basic facets of Creation.

II. The Spirit’s Work in Revelation and Inspiration

That the Holy Spirit was the Agent of revealing and recording God’s message to man in Old Testament times is clearly taught in both the Old and New Testaments.

Peter provides the most inclusive statement on the subject in . Prophecies were not borne by man’s will, but the writers were borne or carried along by the Spirit. The same verb appears in both parts of the verse, indicating that the will of man was not the carrier but rather the Spirit of God was. The men who wrote acted as agents, but their wills did not control or interfere with what God wished to communicate; the Spirit was the One who carried them along.

Specific Old Testament verses like and indicate that the prophets spoke by means of the Spirit.

Furthermore, the New Testament assigns certain Old Testament quotations to the Spirit as their author. When debating the Pharisees, Christ quoted from , which He acknowledged was written by David but given by the Spirit (). Peter quoted from in connection with the replacement for Judas and said that the Holy Spirit foretold this concerning Judas by the mouth of David (). Later Peter also stated that was given “by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David” (). Paul also quoted from the Old Testament and assigned the authorship to the Holy Spirit (28:25–27 from ), and the writer to the Hebrews did the same in two places in that epistle (; ). Clearly, then, these New Testament references indicate that the Spirit acted in giving God’s truth in Old Testament times.

III. The Spirit’s Work in Relation to People

The Spirit’s ministry to people in Old Testament times was not the same as it has been since the Day of Pentecost. Whatever it was, the Lord made it quite clear it would be different after Pentecost. Notice how repeatedly the Lord spoke of the “coming” of the Spirit (who was already present) in His conversation with the disciples in the Upper Room (; , ). This indicates both that the Spirit was at work then and that His work would take on a different character after Pentecost. When the Lord summarized that contrast, He said the Spirit “abides [present tense] with [para] you, and will be [future tense] in [en] you” (14:17). Although there is an alternative reading of the present tense in the second clause (i.e., is in you), most commentators prefer the future tense.

This, of course, delineates the contrast between the ministry of the Spirit at the time the Lord spoke these words and the future ministry after Pentecost. Buswell, wishing to blunt that contrast, translates the en as “among,” making the promise mean that the Spirit would be among the company of disciples. He does acknowledge that it might be construed to mean “in you individually.”3 Many commentators simply seem to be unaware of any distinction being made here. F. Godet’s comment is to the point.

The preparatory operation of the Spirit upon the disciples is expressed by the words: “He dwelleth with you”; and the closer relation into which He would enter with them at Pentecost by: “He shall be in you.” Hence we must be careful neither to read with the Vulgate, menei in the future, He shall dwell in the first proposition, nor with some Alexandrines, esti, is, in the second. The whole meaning of the phrase consists in the antithesis of the present dwelleth (comp. menon in v. 25) and the future shall be. The contrast of the two regimens with you (comp. par˒ humin of v. 25) and in you corresponds exactly with that of the tenses.4

With this contrast in mind, we need to try to delineate and systematize what the Spirit did for people in Old Testament times.

A. The Nature of His Work

Three words seem to explain the Spirit’s ministry to people in the Old Testament.

1. He was in certain ones. Pharaoh recognized that the Spirit was in Joseph (). Likely Pharaoh did not understand this was the Holy Spirit, but later revelation seems to make this clear. The Spirit was in Joshua, which is why God chose him (). The Spirit was in Daniel (; ; ). In these instances the preposition used is beth, “in.”

2. The Spirit came upon some. The preposition used to depict this is al. A number of people experienced this ministry of the Spirit (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ). These included judges, Saul, and the prophets Balaam and Azariah.

3. The Spirit filled Bezalel (; ). This seemed to be a special enablement to lead the craftsmen as they worked on the tabernacle.

B. The Extent of His Work

1. Limited as to people. After God chose Israel to be His people, the Spirit’s work was with that group primarily if not exclusively. Israel, of course, was a spiritually mixed nation with unbelievers as well as believers. Yet the Spirit ministered to the entire nation by being present and guiding the people (; , ). This seemed to be a general relationship. There were apparently closer relationships He had with some within the nation (see above and ).

However, we do not have clear revelation of the Spirit’s ministry outside Israel. may be an exception if the verse means that the Spirit judged mankind for its wickedness in the days of Noah. But the verse may be a warning that the human spirit God placed in human beings would not always abide because mankind would be wiped out in the Flood. Certainly there was no indication that the Spirit convicted the world of sin in Old Testament times (as He does now, ), and no other nations enjoyed His general presence among them as Israel did. As far as the record is concerned, His ministry was to Israel and individuals in Israel.

2. Limited as to kinds of ministry. As stated above, we find no ministry of general conviction, no indwelling and empowering as after Pentecost (), no sealing, and certainly no baptizing (it is still future in ). Regeneration of the Spirit is not mentioned specifically, though some feel that the Spirit was regenerating in the Old Testament because believers give evidence of a struggle within their beings brought on by the presence of both the old and new.

3. Limited as to eternality. The Spirit empowered Samson; later the Lord left him (; ). The Spirit came on Saul and later left him (; ). Apparently there was no guarantee of permanent presence of the Spirit in Old Testament times.

Perhaps I could draw an analogy between the Spirit’s ministry in the Old Testament and grace in the Old Testament. Both were present during that period, but the Spirit who worked in the Old Testament would “come” in new and fuller ministries after Pentecost, just as the displays of grace in the Old Testament were dim compared with grace that flooded the world when Christ came (; ).

1 P. K. Jewett, “Holy Spirit,” in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975), 3:184.

2 Leon Wood, The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 19.

kjv King James Version

kjv King James Version

kjv King James Version

3 J. Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Chrisian Religion (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962), 1:115.

4 F. Godet, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1881), 3:141.

@book{Ryrie_1999,

place={Chicago, IL},

title={Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth},

publisher={Moody Press},

author={Ryrie, Charles Caldwell},

year={1999},

pages={399–403}}