The question of how the Holy Spirit worked in the lives of Old Testament (OT) believers has profound implications for how we understand salvation history. Christians often wonder: Did Abraham, David, and the prophets experience the Holy Spirit the same way we do? If the Spirit could depart from King Saul, should New Testament (NT) believers fear the same? Let’s examine what Scripture reveals about these important theological questions.

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORK IN THE OT

Regeneration in the OT Before Pentecost: Scripture clearly shows OT saints were spiritually regenerated, though the language differs from NT descriptions. Abraham “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6), demonstrating that salvation by faith was operative long before Pentecost. David’s plea in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” reflects his understanding that only divine intervention could produce true spiritual renewal.

The prophet Ezekiel foretold God’s promise: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26), indicating both the necessity and reality of spiritual regeneration in all eras. Without this divine work, no one—whether before or after Christ—could truly believe.

Sanctification in the OT Before Pentecost: The Spirit also worked sanctification in OT believers. We see remarkable examples of godly character in figures such as Joseph, who resisted temptation declaring, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). Daniel maintained unwavering faith despite extreme pressure to compromise (Daniel 1:8, 6:10). The psalmist’s passionate devotion—”Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97)—reflects the Spirit’s sanctifying influence.

God’s command to “be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44) wasn’t merely external but required inner transformation that only the Spirit could produce.

Before Pentecost: Indwelling in the OT—Selective and Functional Where we see the greatest difference between the testaments is in the Spirit’s indwelling presence. In the OT, the Spirit’s indwelling appears selective rather than universal, and often temporary rather than permanent:

• Selective empowerment: The Spirit came upon specific individuals for particular tasks. Bezalel was “filled with the Spirit of God” specifically to craft the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3). The Spirit “clothed” Gideon to lead Israel (Judges 6:34).
• Prophetic enabling: The Spirit came upon the seventy elders to help Moses (Numbers 11:25) and empowered prophets to speak God’s word.
• Royal anointing: Saul and David were anointed with the Spirit for kingship (1 Samuel 10:10, 16:13).

Most significantly, the Spirit’s presence could be withdrawn, as seen dramatically with King Saul: “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him” (1 Samuel 16:14). This reality explains David’s fearful prayer, “take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11)—a prayer no New Testament believer needs to pray.

 

THE NEW COVENANT PROMISE

The OT itself pointed forward to a different, greater work of the Spirit under a future covenant:

• Ezekiel prophesied: “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27).
• Joel declared: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2:28).
• Jeremiah described a new covenant where God’s law would be written on hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).
• Jesus reinforced this anticipation, telling His disciples that the Spirit “dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17), indicating a coming change. John explicitly notes that “the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39), highlighting a fundamental transition point in redemptive history.

 

POST-PENTECOST: THE SPIRIT’S NEW COVENANT WORK

After Pentecost, we see three major differences in the Spirit’s ministry:

Universal Indwelling: The Spirit now indwells all believers without exception. Peter announced, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Paul affirmed, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9). What was once the privilege of select individuals became the birthright of every believer.

Furthermore, the church collectively became “God’s temple” where the Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16), reflecting a corporate dimension largely absent in the Old Testament.

Permanent Indwelling: The Spirit now remains permanently with believers. Jesus promised that the Father would give “another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16). Paul describes the Spirit as “the guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14) and states that believers are “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).

This permanence means NT believers need never pray David’s prayer about the Spirit being taken away. The Spirit’s presence is not contingent on our perfect obedience but on Christ’s perfect work.

Fullness of the Spirit’s Ministry: The NT reveals a greater fullness in the Spirit’s work:

• Greater power for witness: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
• Deeper spiritual understanding: “We have received… the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12).
• More complete fruit: The full fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) reflects the comprehensive character transformation now possible.

 

WHY SAUL’S EXPERIENCE DOESN’T APPLY TO BELIEVERS TODAY

The troubling case of Saul—where “the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14)—does not set a precedent for believers today for several reasons:

1. The Spirit came upon Saul primarily for kingship, not personal salvation.
2. This occurred under the old covenant with its different Spirit-manifestation patterns.
3. The Spirit’s departure reflected God’s rejection of Saul as king, not necessarily his eternal standing.
4. The new covenant explicitly promises permanent indwelling (John 14:16).

Romans 8:9 sets forth the current reality: “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” The indwelling Spirit has become the defining mark of God’s people, not a special gifting for select individuals.

 

THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

The biblical survey reveals both continuity and discontinuity in the Spirit’s work:

• Continuity: The same Holy Spirit has always been active in believers’ lives, regenerating and sanctifying God’s people in all eras.
• Discontinuity: The mode, scope, and permanence of the Spirit’s work changed dramatically at Pentecost.

The differences reflect God’s progressive revelation and the unfolding of redemptive history. While salvation has always been by grace through faith, its administration has varied according to God’s covenant purposes.

 

CONCLUSION: BEFORE PENTECOST

OT believers certainly experienced the Holy Spirit’s work in regeneration and sanctification. However, they did not enjoy the universal, permanent indwelling that characterises the new covenant. The Spirit’s work with them was often selective, temporary, and functional rather than the birthright of every believer.

This difference doesn’t diminish the spiritual reality of OT saints, but it does highlight the tremendous privilege we have as new covenant believers. As Peter emphasised, the prophets “were serving not themselves but you” in anticipating the fuller revelation that was to come (1 Peter 1:12).

What they glimpsed from afar, we experience in fullness—the abiding presence of God’s Spirit, permanently dwelling us, His people. Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift!

 

BEFORE PENTECOST: RELATED FAQs

Did John Calvin distinguish between the Spirit’s work in OT and NT believers? Calvin affirmed the Spirit worked in both testaments but acknowledged a significant difference in degree, writing in his Institutes: “The Fathers were actual partakers of the same grace as ourselves… [but] they had only a slender taste of what we enjoy in full.” Contemporary Reformed theologian Sinclair Ferguson elaborates Calvin saw a quantitative rather than qualitative difference—the same Spirit, working the same graces, but with greater fullness and permanence after Pentecost.

• How does covenant theology explain the change in the Spirit’s ministry? Covenant theologians like Herman Bavinck and Geerhardus Vos explained the substance of salvation remained constant while its administration changed. Vos specifically noted the Spirit’s activity in the OT was “anticipatory and preparatory,” while O Palmer Robertson describes the new covenant as “the same in substance, different in administration.” Modern scholar Michael Horton adds the Spirit’s work moved from “external and periodic to internal and constant” as the promises became reality.
• What did Jonathan Edwards teach about the Spirit’s work in OT saints? Edwards wrote the Holy Spirit operated on OT believers “more as an extrinsic, foreign agent,” while in NT believers the Spirit dwells “as a vital principle.” He maintained the salvation of OT believers was genuine but described the OT as “a time of night, wherein the church was not yet come to her light and liberty.” Contemporary theologian Sam Storms points to Edwards’ distinction between the Spirit working on versus working in believers as especially insightful.

Was the Pentecost event the fulfillment of OT expectations or something entirely unexpected? The Reformed consensus holds the Pentecost was the anticipated fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, not an unexpected development. John Owen described it as “the great promise of the Old Testament,” while Herman Ridderbos called Pentecost “not the beginning of the Spirit’s work in redemptive history but its culmination.” Richard Gaffin adds the Pentecost represents “the epochal transition” in the Spirit’s covenant ministry, fulfilling rather than contradicting the expectations shaped by the prophets.

• How should we understand OT language about the Spirit “coming upon” people? The language of the Spirit “coming upon” individuals (1 Samuel 10:10, Judges 14:6) reflects temporary empowerment for specific tasks, not the permanent indwelling for sanctification promised in the New Covenant. Abraham Kuyper distinguished between the Spirit’s “extraordinary operations” in the OT and His “ordinary” indwelling work in all NT believers.
• Could OT believers resist or quench the Holy Spirit as NT passages warn against? While Stephen accused his hearers of “always resisting the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51), this referred primarily to resisting the Spirit’s prophetic message rather than His sanctifying work. John Murray observed “the paucity of reference to the Holy Spirit in the consciousness and confession of Old Testament believers is itself proof of the difference in administration.” DA Carson notes OT believers could resist the Spirit’s conviction through prophetic voices, but lacked warnings about grieving the Spirit within them.

Did the Spirit’s work differ among various categories of OT figures (kings, prophets, priests)? Reformed scholars generally recognise distinct patterns in how the Spirit operated in different OT offices. Willem VanGemeren notes prophets received the Spirit for speaking God’s word, kings for leadership and judgement, and craftsmen for skill and wisdom—patterns not uniformly applied to ordinary believers. Bruce Waltke observes priests notably lack explicit references to Spirit-empowerment, suggesting their work relied more on established ritual than charismatic gifting. Iain Duguid argues these distinctions pointed forward to Christ, who would unite all these offices in His person and extend their spiritual reality to all believers.

 

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