THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

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Johnathan Houston
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1 THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT The Third Person of the Triune Godhead is active from the very beginning of Old Testament Scripture. In a previous study, we have already mentioned Him, in Gen. 1:2, And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Therefore, His first appearance was not at Pentecost, and He did not originate with the New Testament Church in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit is eternal and has always been at work. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN CREATION In the same way the Bible refers to the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of God. As with the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit has a separate identity and a distinct Personality and yet, - as also with the Lord Jesus, - is perfectly and completely One in the Godhead. Job declared, 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. 8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. 12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. He is one and the same with the creating God Ps. 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. As God, He created the animals (vv.25,26), and He feeds them (vv.27,28). Their lives end at His command (v.29) and through the sending forth of the Holy Spirit new life is created. Therefore, God s Word tells us the Spirit has always been at work. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN HUMANITY When we think about the Holy Spirit living within us we often use the picture-language of Paul, I Cor. 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are 6:19 know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you II Cor. 6:16 ye are the temple of the living God Eph. 2:19 ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the

2 2 chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. The human body of the believer is the temple in which the Holy Spirit of God literally dwells on this earth. We are not gods, but we are indwelt by Him and He is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:14). However, Paul was not the first to use this analogy, - Elihu had already used it in the Old Testament, Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. In fact, it goes even further back for we discover it to be the foundational basis of man s relationship with God, Gen. 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Man became a living soul because God breathed into him, i.e. through the inbreathing of the breath, - the Spirit, - from and of God. The living breath from God was the breath that became the breath of man. The breath God gave to Adam and the breath He gave to the animals, was it the same breath? Yes, and No! Yes, the air we breathe is the air all living organisms breathe and No, because the breath God breathed into our first parents also contained the further aspect of spiritual breath. In other words, after the Fall and as a consequence of sin, the breath God had originally breathed into Adam would stop at some future time in Adam s life, when he would die physically, - and it also had another aspect where God declared the penalty of sin was also spiritual death, as Paul explains, Rom. 6:23 the wages of sin is death, and Eph. 2:1 you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Adam and Eve were fully aware of this emphasis of spiritual death as well as physical death because God warned the man, Gen. 2:16 Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Obviously, at the very moment of committing sin, they did not die physically, - otherwise they would have dropped dead on the spot, - but God meant they would die physically sometime in their future, but that immediately, - at the very moment of committing sin - they died spiritually. Spiritual death was the immediate punishment and condemnation for their sin, whereas the physical penalty would come later.

3 3 The Spirit was withdrawn from them immediately, and their sin necessitated immediate expulsion from God s perfect presence, Gen. 3:24 24 So he drove out the man. Now At the commencement of creation, - on the sixth day, - it was the good pleasure of God to ordain the special and intimate relationship with the man and woman He created to particularly care for all that He created, - out of all His creation He had a relationship unique with them, 1:26 Let us make man in our image, after our likeness 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. What would have happened if Adam and Eve had not sinned? It is not a waste of time considering this aspect because it gives us some indication of Heaven and the eternal life we shall ultimately enjoy with God. (You will notice the Bible begins and ends with a garden and we can be sure we shall enjoy the Garden of Heaven!) God s purpose in breathing into Adam and Eve was to give them the unique privilege of the most precious intimate fellowship with God in all His glory. God withheld nothing of Himself from the relationship with which He wonderfully blessed them, He spoke to them, He walked with them in the Garden, He blessed their work, and every action they performed was of deep enjoyment to God - among all the orchards in God s beautiful creation Adam and Eve were truly the apple of His eye (Song 2:3). And what does it mean that God made them in His own likeness? How did God the Father refer to the Lord Jesus when He came up out of the water of baptism in the River Jordan? Mt. 3:17 This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. On the Mountain of Transfiguration, how was the Lord Jesus described by the voice out of the cloud? Mt. 17:5 This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Develop the thought a little further What else does the Bible say about the sons of God?! Jn. 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name Rom. 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. I Jn. 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons

4 4 of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. You see, in the perfection of God s creation Adam was a son of God in similar perfect and privileged harmony as the Son of God. And also, his body became the temple of the Holy Spirit when God breathed the breath of Heaven into His body. In order words, at the very beginning, both Adam and Eve were in absolute sinless, faultless, stainless, unblemished, pure, perfect and righteous harmonious fellowship with the holy and eternal God! There was no sin even threatening to break the bond, - the relationship was as perfect as perfect could be! Yes, when God created them they were in complete oneness with Him, - they were of one mind with Him, on every aspect of morality they were in agreement with Him, and everything about them mirrored God. They were in total obedience to the command, Be ye holy; for I am holy (I Pet. 1:16). And, - to develop this thought further, - they enjoyed a conscious and wonderful relationship with God in each of the Persons of the Trinity. Adam and Eve understood and knew the Father, Son and Holy Spirit personally. When God said, Gen. 1:26 Let us make man, each of the Persons of the Trinity entered into an intimate relationship with our first parents. Some people think the Holy Spirit was placed within them with limited capacity, and that both Adam and Eve had to develop the relationship with God but no, there is no mention of anything that had to be developed in their relationship with God, - their relationship with God was perfect from the very outset because it was all initiated by God. Yes, if it had been something of God and something of Adam and Eve but it wasn t, - it was all totally of God. Before God breathed into them full and complete life in the Holy Spirit, they were dead! A beautiful creation, but lifeless! And the life in their body was all of what God did, and nothing of them! When God breathed and the Spirit of God entered him, he became a living soul, - the Spirit of God being the very giver of life, both physical and spiritual. One of the aspects of the false body of doctrine known as Arminianism is that, - somehow, through your own efforts, - you work to achieve a higher level of spirituality, - you start off somewhere low and through your own means you deepen and strengthen your ability.

5 5 However, - not a bit of it! - for when God s Holy Spirit breathes into you, He breathes into you that which is perfect and to which you can add no further degree of perfection because it does not need it! God breathed the Holy Spirit into Adam and Adam enjoyed his first breaths of pure and perfect fresh air. Arminianism is a false gospel that makes man feel he is better than he truly is and that he is capable of more than he truly capable. No, all the glory belongs to God for God made man perfect and breathed His perfect Breath into him. You will notice in the Genesis account that He spoke to no other part of His creation but man, and to no other part did He give the special blessing, Gen. 1:28 God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And when God created man, His work of creation was finished and His judgment upon it all was, v.31 God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. God s Word allows for no desperate theory of evolution nor any of man s fallen philosophizing! When God created man He put into place the special relationship He planned and the life, the breath, the air God s pinnacle of creation breathed came from the Holy Spirit of the living God! CONCLUSION Sadly, when sin entered the relationship was broken. All the privileges of the perfect relationship with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit came to an end. The Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the human heart as the consequence of sin. Man died. When the Holy Spirit withdrew, the evil spirit of sin took His place and causes the sinner to walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2). The human heart is never without a master, - either God is the Master or the devil, - the throne of heart is never unoccupied.

6 6 The image of God, in which Adam was created, was replaced by the total corruption and depravity, - sin ruled man. Where once man had been a friend of God, in close and intimate fellowship, following the entrance in of sin man became a stranger and an enemy. In fact, you can read this into Gen. 5:3, And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image. Yes, Adam s sons and every child born ever since was begotten in Adam s fallen likeness and fallen image Everyone of them was born in sin, and shapen in iniquity. Everyone had to die because everyone of them had been begotten in the likeness and after the image of fallen Adam. But, praise God, such is the love He has that He had already a plan whereby the Holy Spirit would again be restored to His people, the people of Sovereign Grace. It is only through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit that men and women, boys and girls would be caused to come to Christ and be saved. When God begins the process, the Holy Spirit Himself comes to the spiritual corpse of the sinner and shows the sinner their sin and their need of the Saviour. When He began to work with us we were caused to recognise how far short of God s glory we fell and we were made to see how our sin punished the Lord Jesus instead of us, and He guided and irresistibly directed us to the feet of our Saviour, and we believed and were born again and became the sons of God, in accordance with His eternal plan. Through grace, God restored the relationship which had been lost through the sinful Fall of man. As God began the relationship in the garden of Eden, He again brought into being the work of the new creation, II Cor. 5:17 if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. It is indeed a much greater work that we could ever imagine, it is not a doctrine of man because we would never have thought of it! It is a completed work all of God, and it is graciously made effectual to us through the Holy Spirit. Consequently, at every stage of our salvation, He ultimately is our perfect Testimony, Rom. 8:16 The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM (Phil. 3:10) The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology)

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM (Phil. 3:10) The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology) The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is another foundational doctrine of our faith. It is absolutely fundamental to our salvation,