OLD TESTAMENT

Old Testament

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

Introduction

Old Testament, Christian name for the Hebrew Bible, which serves as the first division of the Christian Bible. The designations "Old" and "New" seem to have been adopted after C.A.D. 2oo to distinguish the books of the Mosaic covenant and those of the "new" covenant in Christ. New Testament writers, however, simply call the Old Testament the "Scriptures."

Body: Discussion and Analysis

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is defined as the abiding and on-going work of the Holy Spirit of God, in which he resides within the believer to bless or to judge each, as determined by the standard of God's covenant and will. This is to be distinguished from God's omnipresence and his work in the physical realms, or even in his occasional presence when he was 'with' one such as Ishmael (Gen 21:2o), which does not carry the full benefits of his presence as it did, for example, with Isaac (Gen 26:3), the person of promise. Once again we must ask: If the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit enabled Old Testament persons to believe, as most appear to readily agree, how were these old covenant saints maintained and established in their faith if they were not indwelt by God's Spirit? Does not Scripture teach that it is the work of the Holy Spirit that frees us from the power of sin (Rom 8:1-17)? Did not the apostle

Paul emphasizes that same power in Galatians 5:16-25? If so, how then were men like Enoch, Noah, Joseph and Job able to live righteous lives? The requirement for righteousness is just as strong in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament, for the apostle Peter quoted from Leviticus 11:44 in 1 Peter 1:15-16 to prove that we should be as holy as the Lord is.

There is nothing in Scripture that suggests that New Testament believers were enabled to live on a higher plane or to experience holiness and righteousness more than their Old Testament counterparts. The answer that many give is that the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of these old covenant individuals was to be found in the fact that God himself dwelt in the tabernacle and then in the temple. This linkage is made usually because believers in the New Testament are said to be the temple and dwelling place of God (1 Cor 3:16). But will that suffice as and answer to this problem; even if it is assumed that the locale of God's presence was formerly limited to the place of worship in the Old Testament, but it is now universal in the lives of all who believe? We do not think it will suffice. Attention must be given to the question: how many new things appear in the 'New Covenant' and will that covenant supersede the older Abrahamic-Davidic Covenant? It is to that covenant, then, that attention must be ...