Old Testament understanding of the Holy Spirit and the New

[tonychanyt]

Ge 1:

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God [ruach Elohim] was hovering over the face of the waters.

The Spirit was depicted as God's active presence in creation, bringing order out of chaos.

Genesis 2:

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath [neshamah] of life; and man became a living soul.

i.e., animation power to give Adam conscience, and he became conscious

Psalm 104:

30 When you send forth your Spirit [ruach], they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

The Spirit was associated with God's life-giving power, sustaining creation. The Spirit was an uncreated breath from God.

Judges 14:

6 The Spirit of the Lord [ruach Yahweh] rushed upon [Samson], and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands.

The Spirit empowered Samson with supernatural strength.

The OT understanding of the Holy Spirit (רוּחַ, ruach) was complex and multifaceted. The term ruach could mean "wind," "breath," or "spirit". In the OT, the Holy Spirit was primarily portrayed as God's animation power source or presence at work in the world. Occasionally, we have Is 63:

10a But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit.

Now, the Holy Spirit was more like a person.

Psalm 139:

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?

Ezekiel 36 provided a transition of the role of the OT Spirit with the NT:

26 I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

God's Spirit would be in direct contact with the human spirit.

J 14:

26 But the Helper [Paraclete], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

The Paraclete/Spirit is a helper and a teacher.

After Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, the Paraclete/Spirit would be released to dwell in the human spirit of a believer.

The Spirit unites believers into one body, the Church. 1C 12:

13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.

The Paraclete connects the believers into the Body of Christ.

The Holy Spirit’s roles in the OT and NT reveal a beautiful progression: In the OT, the Spirit is primarily God’s power and presence, active in creation, empowerment, and prophecy. In the NT, the Spirit becomes God's indwelling presence in believers, empowering, teaching, sanctifying, and uniting the Church. This development reflects the fulfillment of OT promises and the deeper revelation of the Spirit’s personalized work in the NT.