Daily With Jesus

The Holy Spirit Revealed: A Journey Through The Old and New Testament.

The only source from which we may determine the true identity and operation of the Holy Spirit is the word of God. It is not strange for many to utter the word, Holy Spirit, however many have only been acquainted with Him by name alone. They have neither understood Who He is nor can experientially define Him. Many more people have erred in their doctrinal standards. They have misinterpreted the definition of who the Holy Spirit is, His power, and His responsibilities in the universal mission of God. They explicitly misrepresent the Holy Spirit in all ramifications, failing to understand that the truth they seek lies on the pages of the infallible word of God. The Holy Spirit is the very essence of our being, embedded in the tapestry of every narrative of the Bible.

When we study through the scriptures having our focus on the activities of the Holy Spirit, we can notice at the very beginning that the first vivid mention of the Holy Spirit was in Genesis 1:2. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” Genesis 1:2. NIV). The presence of the Spirit over the formless, empty, and dark surface of the deep is most revelatory of God’s sovereignty over the infinite, seen, and unseen spaces past and present. As we move further in the scriptures, we see the Holy Spirit in action. God, in His power and glory, formed man out of the dust of the earth. In His image and likeness was man created (Genesis 2). At this point, there was no reference to life in man’s existence. Something had to happen before the man could receive life. The Holy Spirit had a role to play. Being the quickener and the giver of life, the Holy Spirit played His role “…and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7, NIV).  In Genesis 2, the scripture testifies that God formed man from the dust of the ground, but man was lifeless until life came into man by life itself.  God breathed into the nostrils of the lifeless being He formed from dust transferring His Spirit into man. The breath of life which is the Holy Spirit supplied the energy, vitality, and life that caused the created being to become a living being (living soul, KJV). No definition can unveil the fullness of who the Spirit is; however, with all His above duties demonstrated, it is appropriate to define the Spirit here as the quickening agent, the breath, and the giver of life.

Having observed the Holy Spirit’s involvement in the creation process, our focus now shifts towards comprehending His significance in the lives of the saints from the Old Testament. After the fall of man, God chose to Himself a people, Israel, with whom He will demonstrate His love, sovereignty, power, providence, the relationship of a true Father and His children, and an overall glimpse of the life of the kingdom to come. Although “the old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves…” (Hebrews 10:1, NLT). The Spirit of God rested upon God’s people, unlike in the New Testament where the Messiah, Jesus after He was glorified made a way for the Spirit to indwell the New Testament saints.  The Spirit of God rested at His own will on different people at different seasons and for differing tasks in the OT. These were “…men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain….” (Exodus 18:21, NIV). They became instruments under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

The chosen men were ordinary people, incapable of extraordinary tasks until the Spirit of God came upon them and stirred up the gifts of God in them. Saul was chosen as the first King. Before being chosen, he prophesied not. Afterward, “…the Spirit of God came upon him, he prophesied among them. …When all that knew him before time saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, what is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1Samuel 10:10-11, KJV). Conversely, the same Saul was found in disobedience and rebellion during his reign, causing the Holy Spirit to depart from him in 1 Samuel 16 and an evil spirit tormenting him until his abhorrent death in I Samuel 31. This is clear evidence of the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Saul, an ordinary person was incapable of extraordinary tasks until the Spirit of God came upon him and stirred up the gifts of God that propelled him to excellence and glory until he grieved Him out by disobedience and sin.

In the Old Testament, the oil was symbolic of the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was foreshadowing the descent of the Holy Spirit on chosen people. The act of anointing an individual by pouring oil upon his head was a symbolic representation of the Holy Spirit’s descent on the chosen vessel. In many instances in the Bible right after an individual is anointed by the pouring of oil on his head, the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Immediately after the reception of the Holy Spirit, we see spiritual gifts for which the anointed made manifest.  “…Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed (David) in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13, KJV). David became empowered to do exploits killing Goliath of Gath and ultimately becoming king over Israel in Saul’s stead.

The Holy Spirit possesses unending dominion and is not limited to kingship. He is in the business of quickening the lives of ordinary people. A perfect example is Bezaleel of Exodus 31. The Lord instructed Moses saying,  “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted. I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee” (Exodus 31:2-6, KJV). These ordinary men and many more were able to do great exploits. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, they did things beyond what their natural abilities could allow them to do. No one knew this fact more than Pharoah when he was acclimated to the wonders God did through Joseph. Joseph interpreted Pharoah’s dream like no other wise man had ever done. Pharoah exclaimed in awe, “…can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides? …Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you” (Genesis 41:38-39, NIV). Joseph, an ordinary Hebrew boy, with an extraordinary Spirit of God resting upon him was discerning, wise, and able to interpret dreams.

The Holy Spirit was the force that caused the OT saints to live out the kingdom life. God was among them through the Holy Spirit, demonstrating to all the surrounding nations what a relationship with Him is like and allowing them to see a glimpse of the life of His kingdom to come where His people will humble themselves under one God, one reign, and one kingdom peradventure these nations will be drawn to Him seeing His glory and majesty. Isaiah captured God’s heart when he said, “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:10, KJV). Consequently, all the surrounding nations feared, beholding the mighty works God did amidst His people. God by His Spirit brought great salvation and life to His people.

Unlike the OT, the Spirit of God does not rest upon the New Testament saints, rather He indwells them. We are enjoying this grace because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The work of salvation has been completed once and for all and has made way for us through the atoning blood of our covenant. We have been reconciled with God the Father.  The curtain that alienated us from the Holy of Holies was torn and by grace we stand before our God through faith forgiven and justified, clothed with the righteousness of Jesus our Savior. 

 Jesus our great High Priest has opened the door. Therefore, we freely “…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16, KJV). The Holy Spirit could not indwell the OT saints. Their earthen vessels were not made ready abode for the Holy Spirit. The final sacrifice was not yet completed. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4, ESV). Their animal sacrifices were but “a shadow of good things to come.”  After the Perfect Sacrifice was offered for sins once and for all, our vessels are made fit temples for the dwelling of the Holy Spirit.  And now, “…we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7, KJV). Jesus opened the prison doors by the power of His sufferings, the blood of our reconciliation and covenant, His death on the cross, and resurrection. Hallelujah!

It is humanly impossible to comprehend fully how the Son of God was subjected to the Holy Spirit. One way to look at this fact is that Jesus came as our example, He took on immortality and yielded Himself to the same human processes He will have us experience. “…He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:7-8, NIV).  Jesus subjected Himself to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to fulfill all righteousness and become the lamb for the sacrifice of the sins and the sins of the whole world. Isaiah 53 tells us that God will have it so, it pleased Him and for our sakes, Jesus yielded and it was set forth that “…the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1, NIV).  

In the life of Jesus, the most unmistakable presence of the Holy Spirit, eye-witnessed by John, was during His baptism. The Trinity appeared before men. John testified, saying, “…I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him” (John 1:32, NIV). And God from heaven declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 2:17, KJV). God’s glory was made manifest in a great and terrible way. There was a convergence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trinity made their glorious and most awe-provoking appearance.  

There is no disputation in the affirmation that the power of the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism. This power was manifested throughout His ministry, miracles, death, and resurrection. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be temptedby the devil” (Matthew 4:1, NIV). Empowered by the Holy Spirit, He defeated satan in the wilderness of His temptations. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17, NIV). The Holy Spirit was never missing in action in Jesus’ ministry. He was the action.

One may wonder why Jesus needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit being God Himself. We must understand as we narrated in the earlier paragraph that He subjected Himself to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:6-8, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. God came in the form of a man on a mission to become the sacrificial lamb of God who will ultimately pay the price for the sins of humanity.

  In Matthew 3 when Jesus came to John in Jordan to be baptized by him, John would not have it so. He protested that he was not worthy to baptize Jesus needing baptism himself. But Jesus gave him a gentle rebuke and said, “…suffer (allow) it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered (allowed) him” (John 3:15, KJV). The message of baptism was part of the message of the kingdom of God preached by John as the forerunner of Jesus, the Messiah of the new kingdom. Jesus would have been found guilty of not obeying His own law if He had not been baptized. For He declared in Matthew 5:17 saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. In John 14, He also told the disciples “…that the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” (John 14:30-31). The prince of this world had to be denied any excuse to accuse Jesus of unrighteousness. The lamb for the sacrifice of sin had to be pure and holy, fulfilling all the law’s righteous requirements as man and God.

We have seen the manifestations of the Holy Spirit from creation to the life of Jesus.  Of particular importance was the advocacy role that Jesus’ presence among His disciples played throughout their walk with Him. Beginning with the call of the disciples narrated in the earlier chapters of the gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus drew them to Himself. None came to Him on his own. All of them were chosen by Jesus, who called them from their various vocations to become the first fruits of them that will follow Him. Furthermore, we see that Jesus gave the disciples power and authority in Matthew 10, Mark 6, and Luke 9. “Then He called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2, KJV). Jesus was their teacher, help, comforter, healer, and so much more than we have illustrated. As the Holy Spirit is to us in our dispensation, Jesus was the disciples’ advocate.

Jesus did not leave the disciples without an advocate. In John 13, Jesus knowing that His hour had come to depart out of this world told His disciples of His impending betrayal and death. The disciples’ hearts were filled with unfathomable sorrow hearing of Jesus’ departure. Jesus knew this sorrow and said to them, “Let not your heart be troubled…” (John 14:1, KJV). He will not leave them without a helper. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:16-18, KJV). The promise of the Holy Spirit was explicitly declared by Jesus for His disciples as witnesses and “…for them also which shall believe on Him through their word” (John 17:20, KJV).

Jesus said, in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” (John 6:44, NIV). How does the Father draw men to Himself? “Jesus acquaints us with great clarity of how men are drawn to God in John 16:7-11, telling us the duty of the Holy Spirit in salvation. He said, “…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 tells us here that “when he comes; he will prove the world to be in the wrong.” To convince someone that they are ‘wrong’(lying) and to get them to accept the ‘right’(truth),’ one must first reveal the ‘right’ (truth)’ to them and explain why the ‘right’ (truth) is ‘right’ (truth) peradventure they have the understanding to grasp the ‘right’ (truth) revealed. The coming of the Holy Spirit reveals the truth and unlocks understanding.

We have mentioned the word truth so much and have attributed the revelation of truth to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we ask, what is truth? There is no truth apart from the truth Himself, GOD. God is truth! God is the origin of Truth. Anything apart from Him is the complete opposite. It is a lie. God created all things in Genesis one through two and pronounced them good. He instituted laws and boundaries in place for each created being. He released His Spirit, the Spirit of truth to remain with His creation and to continue to be the source of truth. Therefore, anything outside the radar of the Holy Spirit is contrary to truth. It is a lie and not from God. Anything that proceeds from God is truth. God is truth! The same God of truth has left us with His word, the Bible.  The psalmist in Psalm 119:160 wrote, “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Jesus also declares “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

 In John 17 Jesus prays for His disciples affirming the Word as truth. “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:17-19). The Bible is the tried, validated, infallible, and inerrant instruction manual for every dimension of life. Everyone who seeks truth must come to truth Himself, God by His Word unveiled by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was the revealer of mysteries unto His disciples. Glory to His name that He has afforded us the same by His sacrificial death and resurrection. Ater He was glorified, God sent us the Holy Spirit, our revealer of heavenly mysteries. Glory to God! “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall he speak: and He will shew you things to come” (John 16:13, KJV). The Holy Spirit being the Spirit of truth, unveils truth in our hearts and udos all the lies of satan we had carried for too long. As a result of the fall of man in Genesis 3, the door was opened to satan by sin giving him the authority to manipulate, lie, and overcome weak, sinful, and depraved humanity. We carry these lies and grope in darkness until the light of the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shines on us.  Drawn by the Holy Spirit into repentance and salvation, darkness gives way to light and the Holy Spirit begins to open our understanding of spiritual realities.

While we reside in our earthly vehicles, mortality has an inherent pull on us. We are not without flaws. Without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, no man can bear witness to the gospel. Jesus promised His disciples and us today that we “…will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on (us); and (we) will be (His) witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV). (Emphasis added). From Pentecost till now, the Holy Spirit continues to empower men and women of faith to bear witness to the gospel boldly. This is our calling, our vocation, our mission, which is the mission of God our heavenly father, to redeem humanity by the gospel of the Kingdom.

In Matthew 26, Jesus, in the last hours before He was arrested by the soldiers to be crucified, took His disciples with Him to Gethsemane to pray.  “And He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with Me” (Matthew 26:37-38, KJV). Jesus went a little further from them and prayed. When he returned, behold the disciples were deeply asleep. Their mortality failed them. “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, what, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:40-4, KJV). Jesus came to them three different times and found them sleeping. They could not keep watch with Him. Their flesh was weak. Of a truth, we need the Spirit to help our infirmities for while we reside in our earthly vehicles, mortality has an inherent pull on us.

We lack inherent strength and are consequently helpless without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29, KJV). The Holy Spirit can be likened to the universal catalyst that activates, empowers, vitalizes, sets in motion, propels, sustains, and stabilizes everything to bring to pass God’s redemptive plan for humanity. Everything He has done, doing, and will do all work together towards bringing to pass the conclusion of the story of our salvation where all things will culminate at the feet of Jesus and man will be restored to God’s original purpose for Him.

 The disciples awaited the gift of the Holy Spirit.  At the appointed moment and in accordance only with the will of the Father, “they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly, there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4, KJV). The disciples were “endued with power from on high.” It was only after the endowment that they were ready to carry the gospel forward with boldness. “…for by (human) strength shall no man prevail,” (1 Samuel 2:9, KJV). It is also written, “…not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zachariah 4:6, KJV).  Their readiness to boldly proclaim the gospel was only fully realized after the endowment.

When we follow the ministry of the disciples, from the reception of the Holy Spirit to their death, we acknowledge that it was God through His Spirit, “…which worketh in (the disciples) both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, KJV). (emphases added). Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, immediately stood among the people and boldly proclaimed Christ and expounded the prophecy of Joel 2 to them, where God promised a time to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh telling them fearlessly that it had been fulfilled right before their eyes. He preached Christ, repentance, and the kingdom of God. Through the inspiration and prompting of the Holy Spirit, we are moved to do the works of the kingdom. The Spirit moves us to preach the gospel, evangelize, love without boundary, have compassion for the perishing, and participate in all aspects of our calling including trials and tribulation as with the early church.

With the dawning of the Holy Spirit, we are no more children under the unrelenting condemnation of our accuser, satan. Our debts are paid! “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1, NIV). We were once under the law, the era of Moses’ law of condemnation, sin, and death. But now because of Jesus, we have been granted access by grace to the promise of a new covenant of God through the working of the Holy Spirit. We have been given the privilege to become sons and daughters of God by adoption. “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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

Indwelt by the Holy Spirit, all who believe in Christ Jesus are empowered to live out the life of the kingdom to come now.  Our souls refuse to be satisfied with anything other than that which pleases our Lord in language, desires, deeds, passion, goals, vocation, and so much more. We live a life that belongs to the future which God has promised them that believe. We live a kingdom-oriented life dead to the world and capable of resisting its lusts and desires.  We “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4) living a life of the kingdom to come that seeks continually to please God the Father. Carrying out God’s mission to depopulate hell through preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming kingdom becomes our lifestyle as we patiently wait for our Lord’s second coming. “And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us” (Romans 8:23, NLT). Although we have not fully actualized this future promised life, we have been granted grace through faith in Christ Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit to experience gloriously a foretaste of the kingdom life to come. Hallelujah!

By the Holy Spirit, we have been adopted into God’s family. As citizens of heaven by adoption, we have become “…together with Christ, …heirs of God’s glory” (Romans 8:17, NLT). We enjoy the privilege of a life of the kingdom graciously by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We are born again, born of the Spirit. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]” (2 Corinthians 5:17, Amplified). We are here in the physical, but are by the Spirit “raised …up together, and made (to) sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: …For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2: 6 & 9, KJV). We are born again, new creatures, born of the Spirit.

The person and mission of the Holy Spirit in God’s redemptive plan are firmly embedded in the narratives of the Holy Scripture. He is the unmistakable force everywhere and in everything that brings to pass God’s salvific plan to save humanity. He is the very existence of all things. He takes the Father’s will and brings it to pass, (John 16:13-15). He is the giver of life and strength, the “Spirit of grace”, our advocate, wisdom and understanding, companion, witness, comforter, giver of good gifts, teacher, helper, the one that quickens and empowers us to do exploits, our intercessor, and so much more. Therefore, we have the power to carry out the great commission of God handed to us by Jesus, “…Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20, KJV). Indeed, the only source from which we determine the identity and operation of the Holy Spirit is the WORD OF GOD.