FAQ on the Holy Spirit
Posted by John Reuther on February 9, 2010
A brother wrote and asked me a few questions about the Holy Spirit which I am certain have crossed your mind too.
Q – “Do we have the Spirit in any different way than OT believers who were saved just as we are?” “Do we have him in a fuller sense?” “Is there something better for us under the new covenant other than the fact that we have Him in the corporate sense in the church?”
A – There is only one Spirit of God, though He is called in Scripture the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2, Ex. 31:3, Job 33:4, Isa. 63:10, Matt. 3:16, Rom. 8:9) and the Spirit of Christ (or Jesus – Acts 16:7, Phil. 1:19, 1 Cor. 15:45, Gal. 4:6, 1 Pet. 1:11, Rom. 8:9). Because He is the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son, it is proper to view Him as the unifier of the Godhead, i.e., the third person of the Trinity in whom Father and Son are joined (this is a great mystery!). The Holy Spirit is also the Person of the Godhead who unites us to God in saving faith (Jn. 3:5, Titus 3:5), whether under the Old Testament administration of the covenant or the New. Old Testament believers were saved just as we are. They were justified by faith, as Paul declares in Romans 4, just as we are. And in order to have possessed spiritual life (regeneration), they must have possessed the Spirit. No one can be saved unless he is born from above (Jn. 3), and that is true even under the Old Testament. Recall how David viewed His salvation (Ps. 51:12) as inseparable from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Ps. 51:11). This shows us that Old Testament believers possessed the Holy Spirit. So what is the difference between us and them?
The Spirit of Christ
First of all, believers under the old economy could not have the Spirit of Christ because Christ had not yet come into the world. John 7:37-39 states this emphatically when it says:
“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
This is the main passage to apply to the questions that we are seeking to answer. Here, it seems to me, is the main difference between an Old Testament possession of the Spirit and the New Testament possession of the Spirit. We have the Spirit of the risen and exalted Christ; they did not. So, one might ask, does that mean that they had less of the Spirit than we do? They possessed the Spirit of the living God. Can we say that they really had less of Him than we do? I think not. The Spirit of God is sent out into all the world. He pervades all and fills all who possess Him. We should be careful of thinking of the possession of the Holy Spirit as a quantitative reality. The difference between us and them has more to do with the historical revealing of the Persons of the Godhead, and the works of God accomplished in history through His Son and Spirit, much of which was experienced by old covenant believers by way of hope in God’s covenant promises. John 7:37-39 is a text upon which we can stand very firmly, because it clearly states that the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. This can only mean that the Spirit given was “distinctively Christian” (language of Roland Allen): He was the Spirit of the risen and exalted Christ sent from Heaven. Now the Holy Spirit has always been sent from Heaven – of course. So what is the difference? The sending at Pentecost was the sending of the Spirit of the exalted God-Man Jesus.
Abiding in Christ
Do we have him in a “fuller sense?” the questioner asks. Very much depends here on what is meant by fuller sense. Some have taught, on the basis of the prepositions of Jn. 14:17, that new covenant believers are indwelt by the Spirit, whereas old covenant believers were not. They base this on the prepositions in the following excerpt from Jn. 14:17: “He abides with you and will be in you.” They say that this means that under the old covenant the Spirit was only with the saints; He came upon them and then left them. The Spirit is viewed as more external than internal in this view (more on this in the future), and that the promise of this verse is that the Holy Spirit is now in believers (permanent indwelling).
It seems to me that the main point of Jesus’ words in Jn. 14:17 is that Jesus (the One who abides with them at the time He is speaking thus) is with them, and when He departs and sends the Spirit (Jn. 15:26), the Spirit will be in them. So I do not think that the fuller sense of possessing the Spirit today means that we are indwelt whereas they were not. But we surely do have a fuller possession of the Spirit, and to this second part of the answer we now proceed.
We abide in Christ through the Spirit, meaning that the fullness of the historical revelation of the Persons of the Godhead (first Father and Spirit in the OT; then Son and Spirit in the NT), brings the historical, incarnate God, Jesus of Nazareth, into our hearts, filling us and His body the church. Isn’t it interesting that the teaching on abiding in the upper room discourse (Jn. 15) comes right in between the major revelation of the Spirit in that discourse in chapters 14 & 16 (not forgetting Jn. 15:26!). This teaches us that the fullness of the Spirit = abiding in Christ. This, again, is something that the OT believers DID NOT HAVE.
Ultimate Power
The third difference between us and them is that the possession of the Spirit is the fullness of power. Paul characterizes the period of the Law as a time of powerlessness in Rom. 8:3. “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh……” See also Acts 13:39, Heb. 10:1. But this insufficient power was not because the Spirit of God in the OT was weaker. May we never think such things! It was because Christ had not yet come! The people of Israel needed Christ. The world needed Christ. We need Christ, and His Spirit!
The power that distinguishes us from OT saints is power for evangelism (Acts 1:8). Secondly, it is power for the production of the fruit of righteousness (Gal. 5:22-23). Paul’s teaching on the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 is saying that the fullness of the Spirit = the production of the fruit of the Spirit. This is a major advancement and development over the law which, of course, is still the abiding rule of life for believers today.
So the promises of Jesus in the upper room speak of the continuation of Jesus’ ministry to the disciples, yet in a permanent way. The Spirit is “another Paraclete just like me,” says the Lord. He was leaving them, but He would not leave them as orphans, He would come to them. He himself came to them in His Spirit. The teaching of Jesus concerning the Holy Spirit in the upper room discourse is the most important to grasp for understanding both the work of the Spirit and the relationship of Jesus to the Spirit. And here again we see the fullness of the new covenant age with regard to the possession of the Spirit. The Spirit works in the same way in the old and the new covenants. But because He is the Spirit of Christ and because He continues the work that Jesus began during His incarnation, there is more activity, more certainty, and more efficacy. We have more than OT believers had, though our salvation is THE SAME.
The most important thing, whenever we are speaking about the differences between the old covenant and the new covenant with regard to the Holy Spirit, is to explain the historical revelation of the Trinity in history and how the Spirit who was sent after Jesus was exalted, (sent on the day of Pentecost), was the Spirit of God sent by both the Father and the Son (Jn. 14:26; 15:26), who is now the Spirit of Jesus Himself, who said “I will come to you.” Please write if you have any questions!
John Reuther – Pastor, Covenant Baptist Church, Lumberton, NJ – Reformed Baptist Seminary, Taylors, SC.
9 Responses to “FAQ on the Holy Spirit”
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February 10th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
This was very helpful! Thanks for your labors.
February 10th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
Jesus be with you!
I agree totally with Ultimate Power #1 but not with #2, and I might add that the NT believer has more written revelation for the Spirit to work powerfully with. But, could you give biblical support for Ultimate Power #2.
Thanx,
OA
February 10th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
It seems from your post that OT believers did not have the power of the spirit in the production of the fruit of rightuosness specified in Gal 5, is that right?
February 10th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Hello Oskar – In this second point about ultimate power, I am simply saying that the Spirit of Christ who is in us is the ultimate blessing given to sinners, producing a type and kind of fruit that matches this unique privilege (which the OT believers did not have). In this article I am trying to be careful to assert that believers in the OT – 1.) possessed the Holy Spirit of God, 2.) were indwelt and filled by the Holy Spirit of God, 3.) possessed the righteousness required by God in all ages.
First of all, Gal. 5 is certainly unique to the NT as far as a description of fruit goes. The OT has references to fruit-bearing, the most notable one is Ps. 1:3 – “yields his fruit in his season, and in whatever he does he prospers.” Another (comforting to many of us!) is Ps. 92:14 “still yields fruit in old age.” The fruit of wisdom is “better than gold” (Pr. 8:19), and “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life” (Pr. 11:30). Isa. 45:8 is, in my estimation, one of the grandest OT texts concerning the fruit of righteousness – “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it.” Here we find one of those Gospel promise passages which indicates that when the Messiah comes, there will be much fruit (see also Isa. 11:1, 37:31).
When I use the phrase “ultimate fruit” I am simply referring to the final stage, the fulfillment stage, of the kingdom of God inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and His Spirit on the day of Pentecost. So I do not deny the presence of fruit of righteousness in OT believers, but when compared with the outpouring of power and fruit in this age of the Church, we see a vastly greater power/Power at work, the power of the Spirit. I mentioned the weakness of the Law as expressed in Rom. 8:3. So the period of the Law is contrasted with the age of the Spirit in numerous texts. What does this mean practically? It means that we have greater power: the indwelling Christ and His Spirit.
In another study I recently completed, I compared the Decalogue, the Beatitudes, and the Fruit of the Spirit as ethical standards of righteousness. Here are a few portions of the section on the fruit:
“The Fruit of the Spirit as given to Paul is the culmination of all that Moses and Jesus previously gave to us in the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. Paul’s doctrine of the Spirit is the unfolding of the baptism, filling, and fullness of the Spirit. When he displays the fruit of the Spirit, he is revealing the powerful work of the Spirit in the production of the ultimate blessing of godliness and righteousness. The Decalogue emphasizes obedience to the standard, the Beatitudes emphasize the character and blessedness of the citizens of God’s kingdom, and the fruit of the Spirit emphasizes the perfecting grace of God in our lives and the production of the good fruit of righteousness. That is just how important it is for us to live by the Spirit! We MUST produce fruit, much fruit, good fruit!
The promise of good fruit was highlighted by the Lord Jesus in the upper room when He gave His disciples His fullest explanation of the work of the Holy Spirit in preparation for His official coming at Pentecost. John 15, the very center of that discourse, speaks of abiding in Christ and bearing fruit. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8).”
So using the phrase ultimate power is simply a way of highlighting the fullness which we have in the Spirit (by virtue of the historic revelation of Christ and the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost), which OT believers did not have. They bore fruit – yes. It was fruit of righteousness – yes. But it was not fruit from Christ and His Spirit. To have fruit from Him in these last days is (I can’t think of what else to call it but….) ultimate fruit!
February 12th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Thank you John for taking all that time and effort to answer but I need to emphasize that I don’t agree for the following reasons:
1. Lets say for a moment that it is true, that in the NT the Holy Spirit’s fullness is ultimate [more], but how do you prove the relationship with the fruits? I can see a relationship with the gifts (1 Cor 12:4,13), but not with fruits.
2. The only extra power of the Spirit that I see in the NT differentiated from the Spirit’s work in the OT is the one related with the gospel of the kingdom being proclaimed throughout the whole world which you mention as ultimate power #1.
Finally, just because I don’t agree, doesn’t mean that I am right, so please send me your comments.
Jesus be with you.
February 15th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Oskar,
It appears to me that you’re struggling with accepting at a conceptual level the idea that the NT believer is likely to be holier or more sanctified than an OT believer by virtue of the new phase of the Spirit’s ministry under the New Covenant. I don’t think you’re having difficulty seeing this at a corporate level. Certainly, the Age of the Spirit has resulted in a New Covenant Community that produces the kind of fruit that the Old Covenant Community failed to produce. But when we think of the piety of men like Abraham and Moses and David, it’s difficult for us to conceive of the sanctification of NT believers rising much higher with some exceptions, of course, like, say, Peter, Stephen, and Paul.
On the other hand, if we tie the Spirit’s sanctifying work to special revelation (John 17:17) and if we grant that under the NT era we have much more special revelation than those under the OT era, then it’s possible, I think, at least at a theoretical and conceptual level, that a NT believer’s sanctification and fruit-bearing could potentially exceed that of the OT believer.
Your servant,
Bob Gonzales
February 15th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Thanks Dr. G. That’s helpful – And I would add Oskar, that based on John 7:37-39, the Spirit of the risen and exalted Christ had not yet been given in the OT, because Christ had not yet been raised (John 7:37-39 is really the crux of the matter), and if it is so that the Spirit of Christ, poured forth after the exaltation of Christ, is in us, then the fruit of the Spirit will be fruit growing distinctively in union with Christ. That is a far “better” (using the theology of Hebrews) reality for us, and surely the issue of fruit is no little part of that. JR
February 16th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Hi there, it seems to me that the argument of ultimate power ushers us in to a higher level of accountability due to the enormous grace endowed to us by the Holy Spirit as opposed to the OT believers. Ours is more complete in terms of a completed gospel covenanted by the blood of Jesus. Much is really given to us and therefore as our Lord Jesus said much is also required in terms of God’s expectations as to how much of the fruit of the spirit is produced in us even as how much of the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit are manifesting through us. I believe the production of the spirit is the qualitative foundation of the Ultimate Power section of this article. The higher the qualitative foundation the stronger will the spiritual gift expression to a point of being supernaturally miraculous. We might as well take note of the level of accountability that God is aiming at us in our time. It seems like God is telling us what’s taking you so long so I could do another “parting of the Red Sea” in your time? Ultimate power is real when it is unleashed.
February 19th, 2010 at 11:59 am
These are sobering thoughts you are presenting brother! Power, privilege, and accountability. Thank you for contributing to the discussion.