LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
The Difference between the Old Testament and the new testament about the Holy Spirit
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
The Difference between the OT and the NT about the Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came and stayed on the chosen servants sometimes
permanently and sometimes only for a period of time. The Holy Spirit enabled them to do
miracles, wonders and things that man cannot do (e.g. Jdg 3:10; 6:34; 11:29). Refer to Bible
references regarding the indwelling of the Spirit: Ge 2:7; Nu 11:25; Jdg 6:34; Ps 51:11b; Isa
61:1a.
Regarding the work of the Holy Spirit, there are some distinctive points in the New
Testament. First, on the day of Pentecost, the prophecy of Joel 2:28-29 had been fulfilled.
Exalted to the right hand of God, the risen Christ “has received from the Father the promised
Holy Spirit and has poured out” (Ac 2:33). Now the Holy Spirit comes to all believers, not just to
some specially chosen people. Second, in the age of the new covenant, the Holy Spirit's work
especially relates to Christ: Christ's ministry was fully empowered by the Spirit. Now the Spirit
reveals and glorifies Christ (Jn 15:16; 16:14). Third, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit
may dwell in us.
The indwelling Holy Spirit is the best gift that God the Father gave to those who believe in
his Son Jesus Christ (Jn 14:17; Jn 14:23; 1Co 6:19, Jn 20:22). Now in the name of Jesus, the Holy
Spirit lives in the disciples. So they can have intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, they can
hear what he says, they can see what he shows and they can do what the Spirit has been doing
for the glory of God. As the Holy Spirit has come not only on the disciples but also in their
bodies, the Holy Spirit will never leave them or forsake them. Rather, the Holy Spirit is the
deposit in the disciples for the kingdom of God. Ephesians 1:14 says, “who is a deposit
guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the
praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit is God’s seal that we belong to God. “Set his seal of
ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come”
(2Co 1:22).
Promise and Baptism of the Holy Spirit
As we read the Old Testament, we are drawn to two groups of promises that are
inseparably interwoven and yet are not the same. One group of promises is about the Messiah
and the other about the Holy Spirit. Without the Messiah and his work, the Holy Spirit cannot
come to the believers. Without the Holy Spirit, the Messiah’ work would remain only by the Son
of God and no one else can do what he did. Many people assume that John the Baptist mainly
preached the message of repentance. Yet, as we look closer to the four gospels, he mainly
preached the coming of the Messiah and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. According to John 1:29-
34, the Messiah’s main ministry is not only the forgiveness of sins but also the baptism of the
Holy Spirit. So this section is arranged to be: Promises of the Holy Spirit, Baptism of the Holy
Spirit and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Promise of the Holy Spirit
The promises of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament by the prophets before John the
Baptist (Isa 11:2, 32:15, 44:3, 59:21, 61:1-2; Jer 31:33-34; Eze 11:19, 37:14, 36:26-27, 39:29; Joel
2:28-29). The Holy Spirit was promised in the Old Testament. The promise is not only for Israel
but also for all mankind. The Holy Spirit does much more than just empower, he mainly ratifies
the covenant relationship with his people. The Holy Spirit is not only about miracles and
wonders but mainly about new life and personal relationship with God, from which his people
may grow in wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel and fear of God. Since the coming of
the Holy Spirit is a promise, God is bound to send the Holy Spirit and we have right to claim the
promise for the Holy Spirit to come and work in and through us.
There are the promises of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament by John the Baptist and
Jesus. John the Baptist prophesied about the Holy Spirit’s baptism (Mt 3:11; Mk 1:8; Lk 3:16; Jn
1:33). Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit (Lk 24:49; Ac 1:8; Jn 14:16-17, 15:26-27,
16:7-11). In all four gospels as well as at the beginning of Acts, we can see the promises of the
baptism of the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ. In short, Jesus is the baptizer with the Holy Spirit to all
those who love him and obey his words. It was not easy for Jesus to leave his disciples behind.
He knew them and their weaknesses. The task that Jesus left with them was impossible for any
disciple to carry out. But Jesus did not worry about them or their future. Jesus was convinced
that it would better for him to leave them so that the Holy Spirit might come and guide them.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not only for some special people but for all those who believe
in Jesus as the Messiah.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
There are several places that we can see the baptism of the Holy Spirit and its effect on
the disciples in Acts. The baptism of the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church in Jerusalem,
Samaria and more. Luke's accounts in Acts are primarily a historical narrative, a recounting of
the spread of the gospel through the Holy Spirit from Jerusalem to “the end of the earth” (Ac
1:8): Jerusalem – Ac 2:1-4; Samaria – Ac 8:4-8;14-17; Cornelius at Caesarea – Ac 10:1-48, and
Rome – Ac 28:30-31. Now we live after Pentecost, in the age of the new covenant. Since the
Spirit’s baptism is one of the distinctive blessings of the new covenant, it is also a universal
blessing for members of the new covenant (1Co 12:13). The Lord Jesus who is the mediator of
the new covenant and the bestower of its blessings gives both the forgiveness of sins and the
gift of the Spirit to all who enter his covenant (cf. Heb 9:15).
Moreover, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is closely connected to God’s heart to reach out
to the lost world. In Acts, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the power to be the witnesses of
Jesus Christ to everyone and anyone (Ac 1:8). The Holy Spirit is the One who makes the
kingdom of God come upon the earth as it is in heaven through the disciples (Lk 11:2-4).
Therefore the Holy Spirit is not an option for the believers. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is our
birthright as well as absolute for us to live as the children of the kingdom and the workers of
the gospel.
Sometimes the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a seed for great spiritual revival. Yet, we are
to remember that the Holy Spirit is sovereign and there is no formula or set pattern that we can
figure out when, why and how the Holy Spirit is coming. Though there is no equation to receive
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, anyone can pray and seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus
said in Luke 11:9-13, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you…. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask him!”
Now what term is proper to refer to an empowering by the Holy Spirit that comes after
conversion? To answer this question, it is helpful for us to make a distinction between the
baptism of the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit. According to Apostle Paul, Christ baptized us
with the Spirit and caused us to drink of the Spirit, so we all shared in this baptism. “For we
were all baptized by [in] one Spirit into one body –– whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free –– and
we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1Co 12:13). “If anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Ro 8:9).
The baptism of the Spirit is identical with the gift of the Spirit that is given to all members
of the new covenant. While the baptism of the Spirit is a once-for-all gift, we are commanded to
constantly be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). This ongoing experience of yielding to the Spirit is
the key to power for witness and for victorious, godly living (Ac 4:31, Eph 5:19-21). Therefore,
the filling of the Spirit should be repeated and to be continuously maintained and increasingly
appropriated. God wants us to enjoy the fullness of the Spirit that has been made available to
us when we become members of the one church, which dates its beginnings to that glorious
day of Pentecost.
