Welcome to part 2 in our collection of ‘Who is the Holy Spirit: Pneumatology, Acts, Trinity, & more!’ In this post, we take an arial and up close view on the timeline of the Holy Spirit, how He appears and works throughout the Old and New Testament!

If you haven’t read through part 1, follow the link here to do so first! In our last post we specifically covered the person of the Holy Spirit + You, a comprehensive description on WHO the Spirit of God is, and a complete list of the activities of the Spirit in the book of Acts (Which plugs into our ongoing study and commentary on Acts!).

Bible Overview

In my experience, the best approach to knowing and studying the Trinity, topics, commandments, or characteristics of God is to do a comprehensive Bible overview of that specified subject. This is one of the best ways to understand who God is and what He is communicating with His people. We must see what He has said and done throughout recorded history!

Avoid developing a belief or theological stance if your study is only being backed up by one part of scripture or a theological supplemental book. Not to say theological texts, articles, sermons, or revelation from the Lord directly isn’t valid. We must always start and end with Scripture and that is the filter by which we know what is of God and what isn’t!

Be encouraged to become a courageous and dedicated handler of the Word. exegetically approaching scripture from beginning to end, Genesis to Revelation! So, the best way to know exactly who the Holy Spirit is and to discover His role, we must look closer at all 66 beautifully woven books that make up the Logos (Word), the Bible.

Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

We were created and recreated to have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit just as we were created and recreated to have a personal relationship with the Father and the Son. As we begin to journey through the scriptures, we will start at the beginning, seeing the Holy Spirit engaged in the creation of all things (Gen. 1:1-2).

In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And Ruach Elohim was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2

Ruach Elohim, is the Hebrew transliteration of the English phrase Spirit of God, which has alternatively been interpreted as “Great Wind”. Studied closer, Ruach translates to Breath and Elohim as a name for God. So we see in the first few lines of the Bible, Ruach Elohim, is God, the Spirit of God (Great Wind), who we later see in Genesis 1 is THE force by which all Creation was born. It was by the very Breath of God, that as the Lord opened His mouth to speak, the Spirit of God would literally come upon Heaven and the Earth and bring forth every living creature and being. Breathing Himself, into all of Creation to make everything thats living, alive in Him!

All of the following Old Testament references reveal that namely when the Spirit of God is mentioned, it was always when He “came upon” an individual and enabled him to speak or act on behalf of YHWH. We can recall when the Spirit of God “came upon” the 120 in the upper room at Pentecost or when Stephen and Peter gave their speeches in Acts. They were always enabled by Ruach Elohim! The beauty of the working and role of the Holy Spirit in Genesis to the New Testament Church is that He is the power and force of God.

Throughout the 7 days of creation (Gen. 1), it was by uttering and opening His mouth and the force of Ruach coming upon those plans to CREATE that the breath of life was breathed into ALL of creation, and it was so. Likewise in Acts, we see that followers of Jesus are RECREATED by the Spirit of God and the coming upon them like He once did in Genesis. (Gen. 1:2; Gen. 41:38; Exod. 31:3; 35:31; Num. 24:2; 1 Sam. 10:10; 11:6; 16:15f, 23; 18:10; 19:20, 23; 2 Chr. 15:1; 2 Chr. 24:20)

From Creation to Redemption

From creation all the way to redemption, the Holy Spirit’s ministry primarily in the Old Testament was to anoint and gift unique individuals (prophets, priests, warriors and kings) to advance God’s plan for redemption for Israel and all peoples in the Earth.  The Holy Spirit anointed prophets to speak God’s Word, priests to intercede for the people, and kings to lead Israel against the enemies of God (1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Chron. 24:20; 2 Peter 1:21).

Through this ministry and awakening throughout the Old Testament, ultimately the Holy Spirit prepared and pointed to the coming of Chris Jesus, the Son. The Spirit anointed the Son as our Prophet, Priest, and King to secure our eternal salvation (Heb. 1:1–4; 9:14) (Ligonier).

OT Timeline Examples:

1. The Spirit participated in creation (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Isaiah 32:15).

2. The Spirit gives life to humanity and the other creatures (Psalm 104:29-30

3. The Spirit abides with sinners (Genesis 6:3), connected to His role in convicting people of sin (John 16:8–11).

4. The Spirit came upon certain judges, warriors, and prophets in a way that gave them extraordinary power.

• Moses (Exodus, Deuteronomy)
• Joshua (Deuteronomy, Joshua, & Numbers 27:18)
• Othniel (Judges 3:10)
• Gideon (Judges 6:34)
• Samson (Judges 13:25; 14:6)
• Saul (1 Samuel 10:9, 10)
  •  However, the Spirit later departed from Saul because of his disobedience (1 Samuel 16:14).

5. The Spirit played a prominent role in Old Testament prophecy. 

• David: “the Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2)
• Ezekiel: “the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me” (Ezekiel 2:2).

6. The Spirit inspired holiness in the Old Testament (Psalm 143:10). 
7. Scripture promised that someday God would put His Spirit in His people in a way that would cause them to live according to His statutes (Ezekiel 36:27).
8. The Spirit was SO IMPORTANT in helping God’s people look forward to the ministry of the Messiah. Isaiah 11:1–5 is a preview of the work of the Father, the Spirit, and the Son, who is the Branch of Jesse. The Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to prophesy: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him” (Isaiah 11:2), inspiring God’s Chosen One with wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord, righteousness, and faithfulness. This brings us back to the full cycle to the New Testament, where Jesus is found to be the fulfillment of all of these prophecies (Isaiah 61:1, 2; Luke 4:18, 19)

In the Minor Prophet book of Joel, it is recorded that the Spirit of God would one day be poured out upon all his people in the last days. These people included: young and old, male, and female, slave and free (Joel 2:28–29). This outpouring took place on Pentecost, soon after Jesus ascended to heaven (Acts 2:1–21).

Keep Reading: Holy Spirit in the New Testament

In Christ,

Cosette & David