The Holy Spirit In The OT
Is He There?
Throughout all of God’s Word, we can see that our Lord is one God in three persons, which makes up what we call today, the Trinity. And probably the most overlooked member of the Trinity is in fact the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in every believer’s life because He is the very reason we can be saved at all. The NT teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into all truth (John 16:13) and that He is the one who poured Himself out among believers at Pentecost once Jesus had ascended into heaven (John 15:26). However, with all of this work of the Holy Spirit being seen after Christ came, it begs the question, ‘Was the Holy Spirit alive and active in the OT?’ As we go through a study of our Lord today in the OT, we will see that not only was the Spirit of God still a member of the Trinity before all time began, but He was in fact at work just like the Father and Son were. Just as R.C. Sproul tells us, “Throughout the Old Testament, we see the Holy Spirit working also in redemption. The old covenant ministry of the Spirit to gift individuals for service was mainly limited to prophets, priests, and kings, although He regenerated all believers during the old covenant period.” With that in mind, let’s break down the most common ways we see the Spirit of God at work in the OT.
From The Beginning
To start, you don’t have to look far into the OT to see what God’s Spirit was up to. Genesis 1:1-2 says, “1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” Back when God was creating the world itself and every good thing that we see today, we can see that the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. This reveals to us that the Father and the Spirit were working hand in hand during creation and that the Spirit of God brought life and order to the darkness and formless void that we now call Earth. It’s incredible when we compare the OT to the NT and see that even though the covenants were different, God’s Spirit never changed. Just as He is responsible for carrying out the work of the Father to bring life and order to the lost soul in the NT, He is also responsible for bringing life and order to the dark and lost world in the OT. Fulfilling the Father’s will in all of creation is clearly one of the most common attributes that defines the Spirit of God.
It really is a shame when people hear about the Holy Spirit and they only credit His work whenever they read about Him in the NT. This is especially disheartening when the work and power of the Spirit of God is revealed on the very first page of scripture as well. Even before time began, God’s Holy Spirit was alive and ready to fulfill the will of God by bringing life and order wherever He went. As terrible as it is to ignore the work of the Spirit in our own lives during the process of sanctification, it’s just as bad to see all that God had created and all the people that He had used in the OT and assume that the Spirit of God had nothing to do with that either. In fact, that’s the next place in the OT where we can clearly see God’s Spirit at work as well.
God’s People
The Holy Spirit, while not poured out like He was at Pentecost, still led believers to God and was still provident in the lives of those whom God decided to prophesy through. 2 Peter 1:21 tells us, “21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” This passage doesn’t just tell us about prophetic words that came after Christ, but quite literally says, ‘no prophecy was ever made…’ This means that every major and minor prophet that we read about in the OT was led by the Spirit of God in order to fulfill what God had called them to fulfill. Even when we look to the book of Chronicles, a book that covers a large part of the timeline in the OT, we can’t escape how God’s Spirit led people to do the will of God. 2 Chronicles 24:20 says, “20 Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God has said, ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you.’” Just as the Holy Spirit brought life and order to the world, He brings life and order to God’s people, regardless of the testament. You cannot claim to have a word from God if the Holy Spirit is not the one giving it to you and speaking through you.
He works in accordance with the Father and fulfills the will of the Godhead. What about everyone else in the OT though? Did God’s Spirit only lead those who were prophets, priests, and kings? By no means. Look at what Hebrews 9:14 tells us, “14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Yes, this passage is particularly about Christ, but look at what it reveals to us about the nature of the Holy Spirit. We see that the Spirit is ‘eternal’ just as we discussed earlier, and He is the vessel that leads mankind’s conscience to be cleansed from dead works to serve the living God. Make no mistake about it friends, anyone who serves our Lord, whether before Christ or after, can only do so because of the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. I hope and pray that as you continue to read the OT, you will not gloss over the work of the Spirit. May you see just how vital of a role this member of the Trinity plays in scripture, and may that role lead you to gratitude for the work of the Holy Spirit in your own life.
Sources
[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.
[2] The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Ligonier.org. (n.d.). Ligonier Ministries. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/holy-spirit-old-testament
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