The Holy Spirit was active in both the Old Testament and the New Testament as well as today. From the very beginning we are able to see the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1:2 the “Spirit of God” was moving over the face of the waters.” In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was active in multiple ways; one was regeneration. In Ezekiel 36 God talks about putting his spirit within the people of Israel. So even though this act was future, the Israelites were able to experience regeneration. The Holy Spirit also indwelt certain people throughout the Old Testament (Num. 27:18; 1 Sam. 16:12-13; Judg. 6:34; Judg. 14:6). The primary action of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was to be the motivation behind prophecy. The Old Testament prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit to prophesy the “word of the Lord.”
The Holy Spirit has many different ministries. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us life in regeneration. Until we are born of the Spirit, we are still flesh. The Holy Spirit also aids in conviction. He acts as a divine prosecutor. The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (Enns). Illumination is another ministry of the Holy Spirit. Without this illumination, we would be unable to understand anything about God. Illumination helps us to rightly understand the Word of God when we study it. John 14:16 tells us that God will give us a “Helper” who will indwell us forever. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is for all believers. The Holy Spirit also seals us to preserve us until glorification occurs. The primary significance of our sealing by the Holy Spirit is security (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30) (Barackman). The sealing occurs at salvation. John 14:26 helps us to see another act of the Holy Spirit is teaching. He teaches us by revealing certain information to us when we need to know it. The Holy Spirit also fills us. This involves being influenced and guided by the Holy Spirit. We must do our part and rid our lives of sin so that the Holy Spirit can effectively and fruitfully lead us.
On Wednesday night we will be focusing on a few different ways in which the Holy Spirit works.
The first way in which the Holy Spirit works is that He empowers. He does this in two ways. First, he gives life. The Holy Spirit has a role in giving and sustaining the lives of creatures and humans. He also gives believers new life at their regeneration (John 3:6-7; 6:63). Second, He gives power for service. We see in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit empowered Samson (Judges 13:25) and David (1 Sam. 16:13) as well as many others. In the New Testament we see the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22), and we see the disciples empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Second, the Holy Spirit purifies. First, the Holy Spirit does an initial cleansing work in our lives, helping us make a decisive break with the patterns of sin that were in our lives before (Grudem). Second, the Holy Spirit works in our lives to produce the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Third, the Holy Spirit reveals. The Holy Spirit guides and directs God’s people. He helps to reveal the will of God in our lives. Scripture talks about our “being led” by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18) and walking according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16) (Grudem). The Holy Spirit also helps to assure us that we are children of God (1 Jn. 3:24, 4:17; Rom. 8:16). He teaches and illumines. God has given us the Bible and He has provided the Holy Spirit to help (illumine) us understand what it means.