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Objective

In this lesson, we’ll discover how the Holy Spirit was actively working throughout the Old Testament in the same ways He works today, though with important differences in how He ministered to God’s people.

Key Verse

Job 33:4: The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Introduction

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is most fully revealed to us in the New Testament. But the Holy Spirit was not inactive during Old Testament times—He was powerfully at work throughout those centuries as well.

We have already seen that He was involved in creation when the Spirit of God moved over the waters (Genesis 1:2). In this lesson, we will focus on the Holy Spirit’s work throughout the Old Testament period. We will see the similarities between the Old Testament and New Testament work of the Holy Spirit, while also understanding the important differences.

Here’s what you need to understand: the Holy Spirit does the same work in both the Old and New Testaments, but He does this work in different ways. As we study the Old Testament, we’ll discover that God’s Spirit has always been actively involved in the lives of His people. Here are the main points we will study together:

• The Holy Spirit brings new life to the heart
• The Holy Spirit comes upon believers
• The Holy Spirit gives power to believers
• The Holy Spirit inspires the Word of God
• The Holy Spirit restrains sin in the world

Bringing New Life to the Heart

Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit brings new life to the sinner. This doctrine is more fully revealed in the New Testament epistles, but it was already present in the Old Testament.

John 3:5-8: Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

The Old Testament teaches this truth as well. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again, He seemed surprised that this learned teacher of Israel didn’t understand this concept.

John 3:10: “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?”

Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he should have known this from the Old Testament. If he truly knew the Scriptures, he should have understood that God renews our hearts.

Moses told the Children of Israel that God would circumcise their hearts—a spiritual operation that only God could perform:

Deuteronomy 30:6: The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

We learn from the prophet Ezekiel that this heart transformation is specifically a work of the Holy Spirit:

Ezekiel 11:19-20: I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 36:26-27: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

There is only one way to be saved. People were saved in the Old Testament the same way as in the New Testament—by faith in God’s provision. This means that the Holy Spirit has always done the same work of bringing new life to those who trust in God. (Notebook Moment: How does it encourage you to know that God has been in the business of changing hearts for thousands of years? What does this tell you about His faithfulness to complete the work He begins in us?)

Coming Upon Believers

This is the major difference between the Old and New Testament work of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament teaches that the Holy Spirit comes into the heart of each new believer to live within us permanently. We are His temple.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17: Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon believers for specific purposes. He did not dwell within every believer permanently. Instead, the Holy Spirit gave His presence and power to certain leaders chosen by God for special tasks. These included judges, prophets, priests, and kings.

Numbers 11:17: I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.

Judges 3:10: The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.

Judges 6:34: Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.

1 Samuel 10:6: The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

1 Samuel 16:13: So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

David understood that God’s presence could be taken away from him. After his terrible sin with Bathsheba, he prayed desperately for God not to remove His Spirit:

Psalm 51:11: Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

We see exactly this happening to King Saul when he rebelled against God:

1 Samuel 16:14: Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

This is wonderfully different for believers today. Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to us as a guarantee that He will come back and complete His work in our lives:

John 14:17-18: But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Ephesians 1:13-14: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

However, God did promise through Ezekiel that there would come a day when He would put His Spirit within His people permanently:

Ezekiel 36:27: And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

This promise began to be fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost and continues to be fulfilled every time someone trusts in Jesus Christ.

Giving Power to Believers

We have already seen that the Holy Spirit came upon certain leaders in the Old Testament with power for specific tasks. In the New Testament, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is promised to every believer.

Luke 11:13: If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Ephesians 5:18: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

We clearly see the Holy Spirit giving power for specific tasks in the Old Testament. When God called Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple, He promised that the work would be accomplished not by human strength but by divine power:

Zechariah 4:6: So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

When God called skilled craftsmen to build the tabernacle, He filled them with His Spirit to give them supernatural ability:

Exodus 31:2-5: See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.

We also see the Holy Spirit guiding men of God in the Old Testament just as He does today:

Judges 13:25: And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

This is how the Holy Spirit works in the church today. He gives gifts and equips us to use them to glorify Christ. He gives us wisdom and discernment for life and service. (Notebook Moment: Can you think of times when you sensed God’s Spirit giving you wisdom or strength for a particular situation? How might recognizing His work help you trust Him more in future challenges?)

Moses desired that all God’s people would receive the Holy Spirit. He was looking ahead to the day when this would be prophesied and ultimately fulfilled:

Numbers 11:29: But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

This longing was echoed by the prophet Joel, who looked forward to the day when God would pour out His Spirit on all people:

Joel 2:28-29: And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Peter quoted this very passage on the Day of Pentecost, explaining that what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy:

Acts 2:16-18: No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’

Inspiring the Word of God

The Word of God has always been spoken by the power of the Holy Spirit. This was true throughout the Old Testament period:

2 Peter 1:21: For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Samuel 23:2: The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.

Mark 12:36: David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘

This continues to be true in the New Testament as well. Paul claimed that his teaching was truly the Word of God, given by the Spirit:

1 Thessalonians 2:13: And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

Ephesians 2:20: Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Restraining Sin in the World

The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit holds back sin in the world. From the very beginning, we see the Spirit of God striving against human wickedness:

Genesis 6:3: Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

This striving continues today as the Spirit works against our sinful nature:

Galatians 5:17: For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be a witness to the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The witness of our godly lives is one of the ways the Holy Spirit accomplishes this work:

John 16:8-11: When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

Jesus described His followers as salt and light in the world. When we walk in the Spirit, we display a godly influence that restrains evil:

Matthew 5:13: You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Paul may be referring to this restraining work of the Holy Spirit when he writes about the end times:

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7: And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.

(Notebook Moment: How does knowing that the Holy Spirit restrains evil in the world change your perspective on current events and social problems? What role do you think believers play in this restraining work?)

Conclusion

The Old Testament shows us that God has always worked through His Spirit to accomplish His purposes. From bringing new life to hearts, to empowering leaders, to inspiring His Word, the Holy Spirit has been active throughout history. What we’ve learned should fill us with confidence and expectation.

If God’s Spirit could empower Gideon to defeat armies, give Bezalel skill to craft beautiful works, and inspire David to write psalms that still encourage us today, then we can trust Him to work powerfully in our lives as well. The same Spirit who stirred the hearts of Old Testament believers now lives permanently within every Christian.

This means we should never think of ourselves as powerless or inadequate for the tasks God gives us. When Moses felt unqualified to lead Israel, God assured him, “I will be with you.” When Zerubbabel faced the overwhelming task of rebuilding the temple, God reminded him that the work would be accomplished “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.”

Isaiah 59:21: “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, or from your mouths of your descendants, or from the mouths of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

The God who promised never to leave His people has kept that promise. His Spirit is with you today, ready to give you the wisdom, power, and guidance you need for whatever He has called you to do.

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