What was the relationship of the Holy Spirit to Old Testament believers, such as Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, and the disciples of Christ before Pentecost? It is clear that believers before Pentecost, both in the Old and New Testaments, lacked the fulfillment of the promise of the Spirit. Their relationship with the Holy Spirit was therefore, in some manner, incomplete. Even the disciples who were with Christ, looked forward to the coming of the Parakletos, the Comforter (John 14-16). He was going to do much in them and through them.

Special Offices In The Old Testament⤒🔗

When we carefully consider the relationship between believers and the Spirit of God before Pentecost, we will find this to be even more comprehensive and profound than we may have thought. First of all, we read that there were certain people who were especially filled with the Spirit of God. This was often to enable them to fulfill a special calling or office, such as a king, priest or prophet. Moses received the permanent indwelling of the Spirit. Later, the seventy elders received the Holy Spirit to equip them for their task. Joshua, even before he was appointed to be Moses' successor, was a man in whom dwelt the Spirit (Num. 27:18).

Othniel (Judg. 3:9-11) received the Spirit to be equipped to be judge over Israel. The Spirit of God came upon men such as Gideon, Jephthah and Samuel. We read of David that after he was anointed (1 Sam. 16:13), "the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward." As far as we know, David's relationship to the Spirit was continuous until his death. David himself testified that "the Spirit of the LORD spoke by him, and God's Word was on his tongue" (2 Sam. 23:2).

There was an abiding indwelling of the Spirit of God in the men who were called to special tasks in the Old Testament. Moreover, there were also specific instances when the Spirit of God came upon these people in a special manner to enable them to face a crisis and bring deliverance (e.g. Samson), or to speak a special word of the Lord (e.g. Elisha, Ezekiel). We may conclude therefore, that before Pentecost, those with a special calling of God had an abiding presence of the Holy Spirit and further­more, received additional outpourings of God's Spirit to enable them to perform specific tasks as circumstances required.

Believers Before Pentecost←⤒🔗

But what about the ordinary believers in the Old Testament, who were not called to a special task? Was God's Spirit also continu­ally present with them? Many times, the prophets referred to the Spirit of the Lord, who is with His people Israel to give them rest, to deliver them, etc.

The Spirit worked faith in the Old Testament believers, as explained in Hebrews 11. The Old Testament believers pleased God by their faith (Heb. 11:5,6) and were made righteous by faith (Heb. 11:7). They lived by faith. That would have been possible only by the special abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit lived in them, working faith. This is confirmed by 2 Corinthians 4:13, which is a quote from Psalm 116:10: "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak". This shows that the same Spirit of faith worked in the Old Testament believers as in the New Testament believers.

If we look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament before Pentecost, we see believers filled with the Spirit. For example, there were Elizabeth, Zacharias, Simeon, Anna, and of course, John the Baptist, who was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15). Of Simeon it is said that the Holy Ghost was upon him. The picture we receive is that of the Holy Spirit's abiding presence.

Jesus' Disciples←⤒🔗

The disciples of the Lord Jesus had forsaken all to follow the Lord. Flesh and blood had not revealed this to them, but God the Father in heaven. The disciples confessed that Jesus was the Messiah. Faith was present in them, worked in them by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, however, they were slow to understand and needed the future filling of the Spirit, as the Lord Jesus explains in John 14-16. It is important to note that the Spirit was present with them before Pentecost, but that He also had to come upon them more fully. "The Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:17).

After Pentecost←⤒🔗

What is the relationship of the Holy Spirit to believers after Pentecost? To answer this question it is important to consider various passages of the New Testament.

In John 14-16 we read of the coming of the Parakletos, the Holy Spirit. Emphasis is laid here on the threefold relationship of believers to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. What Jesus is saying here is that through the coming of the Holy Spirit believers will be led into a new and fuller relationship with the Triune God. Not only will the Holy Spirit dwell in them – that was already the case before Pentecost – but also now, the Son will live in them and they will abide in the Son. They will have communion with God the Father, who will be their Father in Jesus Christ. They will be adopted as children of God.

The relationship between believers and the Lord after Pentecost will be far more intimate and personal than before. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the Lord Jesus Christ will be with them and in them. They will abide in Him. That is why in John 15, the parable of the vine and the branches is imbedded in the discourse of the coming of the Holy Spirit. With the coming of the Spirit there is a deeper level of communion between the believer and the Triune God. Paul speaks about "the mystery which had been hid for ages, but now is made manifest: Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:25-27).

Receiving the Spirit means to be indwelt by Christ and to be adopted as sons of God. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit will last forever. It is a permanent indwelling. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" (John 14:16). It is to be understood as the Holy Spirit coming in the place of the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit would be poured out upon the church and He would stay with the church, while the Lord Jesus would return to the Father.

The Fullness of the Spirit←⤒🔗

Another aspect of the coming of the Spirit would be His revelation of Christ. He would show the disciples and all believers the glories and beauties of Christ. For proof, see for instance John 16:12-14: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: ... He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." At the time Jesus spoke these words, the dis­ciples could not yet understand these matters regarding Christ, but it would be made clear to them by the Holy Spirit. By the coming of the Spirit their knowledge of Christ and the actual indwelling of Christ in their hearts would be much greater and the communion with Christ would be much deeper.

After Pentecost, abun­dance and breadth of fullness would characterize the relationship of the Spirit to believers. Isaiah referred to a time when God's Spirit will be freely poured out and when God adopts His children from among many people: "I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel" (Isa. 44:3-5).

This new relationship is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that they will be His people and He will be their God in a much richer and fuller way than under the Old Testament dispensation. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit would usher in an intimate relationship with the Triune God.

The Blessings of The Spirit←⤒🔗

The indwelling of the Spirit would above all be characterized by love. Romans 5:1-5 speaks of blessings given to the believers. They are justified by faith, have peace with God, have access to God by faith, and rejoice in hope. This is summed up in verse 5: "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

The significance of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to assure us that we are children of God. This is the most important purpose of the Spirit's indwelling fullness. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Rom 8:14-16); see especially verse 15: "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father"

This corresponds with Galatians 4:6: "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father"

The fact that believers belong to God and are adopted by the Spirit as His sons and daughters has countless effects. The Holy Spirit will one day deliver them from the corruption of physical death (Rom. 8:11). Through the Spirit they are called to mortify the deeds of the flesh, precisely because they are children of God (Rom. 8:13,14). The Spirit also works the assurance of faith (Rom. 8:16, 17). The love of God, predestinating the believer to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29) is the ultimate cause of their sonship. The indwelling of the Spirit is the effectual cause of this child-Father relationship. Out of this flow forth all the riches of the abiding presence of Christ and the Father and the assurance of His everlasting love and life everlasting.