The Holy Spirit, Spiritual Gifts, and Discernment — Unit 1: The Spirit in the Old Testament and in Jesus

Key Verse

"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Describe the main ways the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament: in creation, in skilled workers, in leaders, and in prophets.

2. Explain the difference between the Spirit coming "upon" people for a task in the Old Testament and the new covenant promise of the Spirit for all God's people.

3. Show from Luke and Acts that Jesus lived and served in the power of the Holy Spirit.

4. State the question of whether the Old Testament pattern and the life of Jesus are a model for believers today, and give the Pentecostal answer.

5. Explain, in simple words, why Jesus can be both fully God and a man who depended on the Spirit.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the classical Pentecostal tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and Trinitarian. When it says "we" or "our tradition," it means Pentecostal churches that confess the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as one God and hold the Bible to be the inspired and authoritative Word of God.

We believe that the gifts of the Spirit named in the New Testament are given to the church today, and that we should seek them, use them in love, and test them by Scripture. Other faithful Christians disagree with us. We state their views fairly, then give our answer. Scripture says, "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The history of the Pentecostal movement is told in Course 1, and our teaching on Spirit baptism and initial evidence is in Course 2, Units 4 and 5. We will not repeat those studies here, only refer to them.

Why Begin with the Old Testament?

Many Pentecostal pastors know Acts 2 well but pass quickly over the Old Testament. This is a loss. The Spirit of God did not appear for the first time at Pentecost. He is present in the second verse of the Bible. If we know how He worked before Christ, we understand what was new on the day of Pentecost, and what was only the fulfillment of an old promise.

The Holy Spirit is not a force. He is a divine Person, equal with the Father and the Son. The Old Testament does not state the doctrine of the Trinity in full, but it prepares for it, and the New Testament shows the three clearly. We read the Old Testament here as Christians, in the light of Jesus.

The Spirit in the Old Testament

Creation and life

The Bible opens with the Spirit of God "hovering" over the waters (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit is at work in creation, and the Psalms and Job later speak of the Spirit as the one who gives and renews life (Psalm 104:30; Job 33:4). The same Spirit who gives life in creation brings new life in salvation and power in service.

Skill for the work of God

In Exodus 31:1-5, God says He has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, understanding and knowledge, for the work of building the tabernacle. The text speaks of skill with gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood. The Spirit's gifts are not only for preaching or dramatic events. Careful work for the Lord's house may be a gift of the Spirit, as Unit 2 will show.

Leaders and deliverers

In the book of Judges the Spirit comes upon leaders to give them strength and courage for a particular task. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel (Judges 3:10). The Spirit "clothed" Gideon (Judges 6:34). The Spirit came mightily upon Samson (Judges 14:6). In each case a person received power to deliver God's people that he did not have before.

Kings received the same help. When Samuel anointed David, "the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13). In the same chapter we read that the Spirit departed from Saul. David could therefore pray after his great sin, "do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).

Prophets

The Spirit is also the Spirit of prophecy. When Moses chose seventy elders, the Spirit rested on them and they prophesied (Numbers 11:25). When two men prophesied in the camp, Moses wished that all the Lord's people might be prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them (Numbers 11:29). Saul prophesied for a time among the prophets (1 Samuel 10:10). Peter later summed up the whole prophetic tradition: "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). We hold that the Bible is inspired because of this work of the Spirit. When we speak of prophecy in the church today, in Unit 4, we will keep this difference clear: the prophets who wrote Scripture gave us the final authority for faith and life, and no later prophecy stands beside it.

What was missing

The Spirit comes mainly upon chosen individuals: judges, kings, craftsmen and prophets. The experience is often tied to a task. The ordinary Israelite does not normally receive this gift, and Moses' wish in Numbers 11:29 remains a wish. The Old Testament points forward to a better day.

The Promise of a New Day

The prophets promised that God would one day change this. Through Ezekiel the Lord said He would give His people a new heart and put His Spirit within them, so that they would walk in His ways (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant written on the heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Isaiah wrote of the Spirit poured out from on high (Isaiah 32:15; 44:3). Joel foretold that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh, on sons and daughters, old and young, and even on servants (Joel 2:28-29).

Three truths stand out. First, the promise is for all God's people and not only for leaders. Second, the Spirit will change the heart and give power for obedience. Third, the Spirit will give gifts of prophecy and revelation widely among the people. When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost, he said, "this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). Pentecost was the fulfillment of what the prophets had promised.

A fair question about the Old Testament believers

Christians disagree on one point here. Were Old Testament believers born again by the Spirit, or did the new birth begin only after Christ? Most evangelicals say the Spirit always worked in the hearts of believers, since no one has ever come to God without Him. Others stress that the full indwelling of the Spirit, promised by the prophets, began with the new covenant. The classical Pentecostal answer is to hold both truths. We believe that the Spirit worked in the hearts of faithful Israelites, as in the case of David. We also believe that the new covenant brought a new and wider gift of the Spirit to every believer, and that Pentecost opened the way for power and gifts to flow to all God's people.

The Spirit and Jesus

Conceived, anointed and led by the Spirit

The Gospel of Luke begins with the Spirit. Mary is told, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35). Elizabeth, Zechariah and Simeon are filled with the Spirit or moved by Him, and they speak words of praise and prophecy (Luke 1:41, 67; 2:25-27). The Spirit was already at work before the birth of the church.

At the Jordan, when Jesus was baptized and was praying, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove (Luke 3:21-22). John the Baptist had said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). Luke then tells us that Jesus, "being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness" (Luke 4:1). After the temptation He came back "in the power of the Spirit" to Galilee (Luke 4:14).

The sermon at Nazareth

In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read from Isaiah 61 and said that the passage was being fulfilled that day. The text begins, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," and tells of good news for the poor, freedom for captives, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus tells us the source of His ministry. He preaches, heals and frees people because the Spirit is upon Him. Peter's summary in our key verse says the same. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power, and so He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.

Jesus also explained His casting out of demons in the same way: "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matthew 12:28). The kingdom of God comes with the power of the Spirit. This will matter greatly in Units 5 to 7, where we study healing and deliverance.

Through death and resurrection

The Spirit was also at work in the cross and the resurrection. The letter to the Hebrews says that Christ offered Himself to God "through the eternal Spirit" (Hebrews 9:14). Paul writes that the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and that the same Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies (Romans 8:11).

Jesus as the One who gives the Spirit

The Gospels show a second truth. Jesus is not only the man filled with the Spirit; He is the One who gives the Spirit. John the Baptist said that He would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16). In the upper room Jesus promised another Helper, the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17), and He said it was good for His disciples that He go away so the Helper could come (John 16:7). After His resurrection He breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). Christians read this verse in different ways. Some see a preview of Pentecost; others, including many Pentecostal teachers, see the disciples receiving new life before the later empowerment. Either way, He told them to wait for the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5), and He said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Luke's two books are therefore joined. In the Gospel, the Spirit comes upon Jesus and He ministers in power. In Acts, Jesus pours out the same Spirit on His disciples, and they continue His work. The Pentecostal scholar Roger Stronstad has argued that Luke deliberately shows this parallel. The Spirit who empowered Jesus for His mission empowers the church for hers.

Questions That Others Ask

Question 1: Why did Jesus need the Spirit if He is God?

This is a serious question, and a pastor should be able to answer it simply. The church confesses that Jesus is truly God and truly man, one Person with two natures. The Bible shows Him hungry, tired, praying, and growing in wisdom (Luke 2:52). As a man He lived in dependence on the Father and the Spirit. This does not make Him less than God. It shows that the Son took our humanity fully, and that He lived a human life in the way God intends all humans to live, in obedience and in the power of the Spirit.

Nothing in the Spirit's work on Jesus lowers His deity. It shows the unity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit in salvation.

Question 2: Is the pattern for us, or only for Jesus and the apostles?

Some scholars, including the Pentecostal scholar Gordon Fee, urge care in drawing doctrine from stories alone. Luke's accounts, they say, show what the early church experienced, and they should not become rules for every believer. We read that caution with respect.

Our answer has three parts. First, we agree that narrative should be read with care, and that doctrine must rest on the whole of Scripture. Second, the New Testament teaches directly that the promise is for all believers. Peter said, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39). Third, Jesus Himself told His followers to expect the Spirit's power and to continue His work. He said that those who believe in Him would do the works that He did (John 14:12). The pattern of Jesus is therefore not just history. It is also our calling. We do not claim His sinless perfection or His unique work as Savior, but we do ask for His Spirit.

Question 3: Is the Spirit only a source of power?

No. The Spirit who anointed Jesus for healing is also the Spirit of wisdom, holiness and justice (Isaiah 11:2-4), and He led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested. Power without character brings harm. Unit 9 returns to this theme.

Pastoral Application

A pastor in a small town leads a church that loves to pray for the sick. A new believer, a retired schoolteacher, asks him, "I understand that Jesus healed the sick. But He was God. Why should I think the Spirit does these things through ordinary people like us?"

First, he thanks her for a good question. Second, he opens Acts 10:38 with her. He points out that Peter does not say Jesus healed because He was God and had the power built in as a possession. Peter says that God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power.

Third, he turns to Acts 1:8 and 2:39 and shows that the promise of the same Spirit was given to the church.

Fourth, he is careful about what he promises. He tells her that we do not control the Spirit, and that the Lord heals as He wills. We are asked to pray in faith, to love the person who is sick, and to leave the result with God. Unit 6 will say more about this.

Finally, he prays that she will be filled and used by the Spirit.

Summary

The Holy Spirit is a divine Person who works from creation onward. In the Old Testament He gave life, skill for the tabernacle, strength to judges and kings, and words to prophets. His work often came upon chosen individuals for a task. The prophets promised a day when God would put His Spirit within His people and pour Him out on all flesh. Jesus was conceived by the Spirit, anointed at the Jordan, led and empowered by the Spirit in His ministry, and raised by the Spirit. He is also the One who baptizes in the Spirit and who promised power to His disciples. Questions about His deity and about whether His pattern is for us are answered by the church's faith in His two natures and by the direct promises of Scripture. The Pentecostal church receives the Spirit's gifts with gratitude, tests them by the Word, and keeps power joined to holiness and love.

Further Reading

• Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence (1994).

• Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (1996).

• Roger Stronstad, The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke (1984).

• Wayne Grudem, ed., Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views (1996).

• Jonathan Edwards, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741), a primary source.

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