“A Holy History”

Monday, March 24, 2014

My idea about the Holy Spirit is He started to be part of christians after Jesus’ ascension because Jesus promised His disciples to be indwelt in order for them to do marvelous works in the kingdom.  My question is: what made the Old Testament believers do God's Will if the Holy Spirit was not yet given to them until the New Testament?  What power enabled the early believers in the Old Testament?

Sincerely,
Empowered

Dear Empowered,

The Holy Spirit doesn’t control the actions of every christian; He teaches us through the Word of God.  The Holy Spirit came and gave the apostles the ability to precisely teach, preach, and write down what God intended for mankind to know (see “What The Holy Spirit Does” for further details).

The Holy Spirit has always interacted with mankind, but in the Christian era, He has specifically worked through Jesus, Jesus’ apostles, and prophets (Heb 1:1-2).  The Old Testament prophets also spoke as the Spirit gave them power (2 Pet 1:21).  God specifically said that the Old Testament prophets spoke through the Holy Spirit’s wisdom (Ex 31:1-3, 1 Sam 11:6, 2 Chr 15:1… just to name a few examples).

The Holy Spirit doesn’t force or control the actions of people.  He has given us the words of life that we might choose to do what is right when we read and understand God’s Will (Eph 3:3-4).

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