Bible Question:
How does the Holy Spirit work differently then and now? There seems to be 3 main schools of thought regarding the working of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament believers as compared to the New Testament believers. I would appreciate your input on this subject. 1. The Holy Spirit came “on” people of the OT, and comes “in” people of the NT and now. 2. The Holy Spirit came temporarily to people of the OT, and comes permanently to people of the NT and now. 3. The Holy Spirit came to small numbers of people in the OT, and comes to all believers in the NT and now. What do you all think? |
Bible Answer: The problem with Option #1………………………… I used to think that the first option was correct. I used to believe that the Holy Spirit came “on” people of the OT, and comes “in” people of the NT and even today. However, Gen 41:38, Num 27:18, Dan 4:8, 5:11-14, Ex 31:3, Ex 35:31, Eze 2:2 and Eze 3:24 all talk about the Holy Spirit being "in" people of the OT. Similarly, Rom 8:9-11, 1 Cor 3:16, Eph 2:22, Eph 3:16-17, 2 Tim 1:14, and James 4:5 all refer to the Holy Spirit dwelling "in" believers after Christ. So it seems the Holy Spirit comes “in” both groups of people. We also know from Num 11:29, Isa 44:3, Isa 59:21, and Eze 39:29 that the Holy Spirit came "on" people of the OT. Similarly, Luke 1:35, Luke 2:25, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:3, Acts 10:44-45, Acts 11:15, Acts 19:6, also speak of the Holy Spirit coming "on" the NT believers. Therefore, it seems that the Holy Spirit came both “in” and “on” people of both the OT and the NT. Thus option #1 appears to be incorrect. |