The Indwelling Holy Spirit

[RickD]

A recent post on another thread got me thinking. Did the Old Testament believers have the indwelling Holy Spirit, as believers do today?

I have my thoughts on this, but I'd like to hear from others before I chime in.

[B. W.]

A recent post on another thread got me thinking. Did the Old Testament believers have the indwelling Holy Spirit, as believers do today?

I have my thoughts on this, but I'd like to hear from others before I chime in.

You'll get an earful on this. Some people will say, yes, they were, but this begs the question that Old Testament (OT) folks somehow were moved by God's Grace to accept Jesus Christ before the appointed time. In other words, becoming righteous comes through obeying all the OT Law's as the means of grace, which led one to Jesus, whom had not yet, gone to the cross to enact salvation. What folks in this camp think that the Holy Spirit indwelt OT people, miss is this - The Holy Spirit - empowered a person to do special tasks in the Old Testament, and to establish matters, in other words finalize God's will. The regeneration work of the Holy Spirit could not come until Christ Jesus came and revealed God's work upon the cross and Resurrection, which dealt sin a mortal blow. Before that, was the OT Law on sin. The requirements of the Law for dealing with sin had to be fulfilled in order for the Holy Spirit to remain in a person to clean them up, inside - out, etc...

New Testament opens the New Birth of the Holy Spirit - that Born Againness. This was not possible in the OT. If so, Jesus would never said anywhere, one must be born again of God's Spirit, because certain OT peoples already were, if the OT people already had the HS indwelling them. Some folks, who are not wise in the ancient Hebrew Language use of a limited vocabulary, misread a words meaning in a mechanical manner, that word meaning is not derived from context which the word is used - but is unchanging and in limited meaning only. They see words - spirit used in Genesis 2 for example and read into it what is not there regarding God breathing into the first man.

They discount the depravity of the human condition and falsely assume all people already have the Holy Spirit. Yet read, Hab 1:13 - "Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?" NASB - this counters that claim that the Holy Spirit dwelt inside OT and all people and thus can be killed by sin in a person. The HS - roots out sin in follower of Christ Jesus - and is not killed by it - he removes it one sin at a time and jesus in John 10:29 says what?

The actual Holy Spirit indwelling involves three things for Born Again folks that the OT people did not have: One - The indwelling ongoing regeneration work; Two - establishment of a person as adopted into God's household with all its inheritances, Three: a never ending empowerment for YHWH's service. Notice the tri-unity of the Work of the HS.

God gave the Law first, to lead us to Jesus, who sends the Holy Spirit (HS) to indwell for regeneration work within a follower of Christ. The issues of sin had to be dealt with first. This establishes such as adopted into God's household, and added in to these three points, empowerment of followers of Christ for YHWH's service on earth where they have been assigned in life.

In contrast the HS, empowered people to do God's will. Recall, in the OT, the LORD dwelt in the Temple, and not in people. Before the Temple period the bible demonstrates that all human beings were anything but holy. If so, why the Flood of Noah?

The Link to the article below Concludes:

Conclusion:
http://jimhamilton.files.wordpress.com/ ... em30-1.pdf

He is with you and he will be in you.

Were old covenant believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit?

No. They did not need to be. God dwelt in the temple. He was thereby with them.

How did old covenant believers become and remain faithful? They became faithful by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, which in the OT is described more as ‘circumcision of the heart’ (cf. Jer. 9:25) than as ‘new birth from above’ (cf. John 3:3). They remained faithful not by the Spirit dwelling in them, but by the Spirit dwelling in the temple (Ps. 73:17), where they longed to be (Ps. 116:18–19).

Further, the Spirit was active through Israel’s prophets (1 Pet.1:11). As the prophets proclaimed God’s word, the Spirit instructed and admonished God’s people (Neh. 9:20, 30). Under the old covenant, the Spirit gave life and was with the people as he dwelt in the temple. Under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life and dwells in God’s people; they are his temple.

Hope this helps...
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[RickD]

B. W. wrote:
Hope this helps...

Yes it helps. I agree with you on this, so you just reinforced my thoughts.


Anyone have a biblical argument from the other side?

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Hope this helps...

Yes, it has helped me. Salvation has always been by faith in God, this I knew. I now understand that the HS didn't inhabit the individual justified by this faith in OT times.

Thanks!

FL

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Anyone have a biblical argument from the other side?

Where is Ultimate777 when you need him?

FL

[PaulSacramento]

A recent post on another thread got me thinking. Did the Old Testament believers have the indwelling Holy Spirit, as believers do today?

I have my thoughts on this, but I'd like to hear from others before I chime in.

I echo BW in his views.
I don't think they did.
The HS is a gift given BECAUSE of Christ's sacrifice and it wasn't possible for the OT people to "have it".
Now, that said, it doesn't mean that they were not under God's grace or that their "inspiration" was any less than those that have the HS now and in the past.
It was God working the same purpose in a different way ( accommodation).