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I thought this article was excellent in describing the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
ho'-li spir'-it:
The expression Spirit, or Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, is found in the
great majority of the books of the Bible. In the Old Testament the Hebrew
word uniformly employed for the Spirit as referring to God's Spirit is
ruach meaning "breath," "wind" or "breeze." The verb form of the word is
ruach, or riach used only in the Hiphil and meaning "to breathe," "to
blow." A kindred verb is rawach, meaning "to breathe" "having breathing
room," "to be spacious," etc. The word always used in the New Testament
for the Spirit is the Greek neuter noun pneuma, with or without the
article, and for Holy Spirit, pneuma hagion, or to pneuma to hagion. In
the New Testament we find also the expressions, "the Spirit of God," "the
Spirit of the Lord," "the Spirit of the Father," "the Spirit of Jesus,"
"of Christ." The word for Spirit in the Greek is from the verb pneo, "to
breathe," "to blow." The corresponding word in the Latin is spiritus,
meaning "spirit."
(Yet the NT Greek uses the noun pneuma, the OT uses a verb Ruach)
I. Old Testament Teachings as to the Spirit.
1. Meaning of the Word:
At the outset we note the significance of the term itself. From the
primary meaning of the word which is "wind," as referring to Nature,
arises the idea of breath in man and thence the breath, wind or Spirit of
God. We have no way of tracing exactly how the minds of the Biblical
writers connected the earlier literal meaning of the word with the Divine
Spirit. Nearly all shades of meaning from the lowest to the highest appear
in the Old Testament, and it is not difficult to conceive how the original
narrower meaning was gradually expanded into the larger and wider. The
following are some of the shades of Old Testament usage. From the notion
of wind or breath, ruach came to signify: (1) the principle of life
itself; spirit in this sense indicated the degree of vitality: "My spirit
is consumed, my days are extinct" (; also
;
); (2) human feelings of various kinds, as anger (;
), desire (), courage (); (3) intelligence (;
); (4) general disposition (; 5l 17;
;
;
).
No doubt the Biblical writers thought of man as made in the image of God ( f.), and it was easy for them to think of God as being like man.
It is remarkable that their anthropomorphism did not go farther. They
preserve, however, a highly spiritual conception of God as compared with
that of surrounding nations. But as the human breath was an invisible part
of man, and as it represented his vitality, his life and energy, it was
easy to transfer the conception to God in the effort to represent His
energetic and transitive action upon man and Nature. The Spirit of God,
therefore, as based upon the idea of the ruach or breath of man,
originally stood for the energy or power of God (; compare A. B. Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament, 117-18),
as contrasted with the weakness of the flesh.
2. The Spirit in Relation to the Godhead:
We consider next the Spirit of God in relation to God Himself in the Old
Testament. Here there are several points to be noted. The first is that
there is no indication of a belief that the Spirit of God was a material
particle or emanation from God. The point of view of Biblical writers is
nearly always practical rather than speculative. They did not philosophize
about the Divine nature. Nevertheless, they retained a very clear
distinction between spirit and flesh or other material forms. Again we
observe in the Old Testament both an identification of God and the Spirit
of God, and also a clear distinction between them. The identification is
seen in
where the omni-presence of the Spirit is declared, and in
;
;
. In a great number of passages, however, God and the
Spirit of God are not thought of as identical, as in
;
;
;
;
f. Of course this does not mean that God and the Spirit
of God were two distinct beings in the thought of Old Testament writers,
but only that the Spirit had functions of His own in distinction from God.
The Spirit was God in action, particularly when the action was specific,
with a view to accomplishing some particular end or purpose of God. The
Spirit came upon individuals for special purposes. The Spirit was thus God
immanent in man and in the world. As the angel of the Lord, or angel of
the Covenant in certain passages, represents both Yahweh Himself and one
sent by Yahweh, so in like manner the Spirit of Yahweh was both Yahweh
within or upon man, and at the same time one sent by Yahweh to man.
Do the Old Testament teachings indicate that in the view of the writers
the Spirit of Yahweh was a distinct person in the Divine nature? The
passage in
is scarcely conclusive. The idea and importance of
personality were but slowly developed in Israelite thought. Not until some
of the later prophets did it receive great emphasis, and even then
scarcely in the fully developed form. The statement in
may be taken as the plural of majesty or as referring to
the Divine council, and on this account is not conclusive for the
Trinitarian view. Indeed, there are no Old Testament passages which compel
us to understand the complete New Testament doctrine of the Trinity and
the distinct personality of the Spirit in the New Testament sense. There
are, however, numerous Old Testament passages which are in harmony with
the Trinitarian conception and prepare the way for it, such as
;
;
;
;
. The Spirit is grieved, vexed, etc., and in other ways
is conceived of personally, but as He is God in action, God exerting
power, this was the natural way for the Old Testament writers to think of
the Spirit.
The question has been raised as to how the Biblical writers were able to
hold the conception of the Spirit of God without violence to their
monotheism. A suggested reply is that the idea of the Spirit came
gradually and indirectly from the conception of subordinate gods which
prevailed among some of the surrounding nations (I.F. Wood, The Spirit of
God in Biblical Literature, 30). But the best Israelite thought developed
in opposition to, rather than in analogy with, polytheism. A more natural
explanation seems to be that their simple anthropomorphism led them to
conceive the Spirit of God as the breath of God parallel with the
conception of man's breath as being part of man and yet going forth from
him.
3. The Spirit in External Nature:
We consider next the Spirit of God in external Nature. "And the Spirit of
God moved (was brooding or hovering) upon the face of the waters" (). The figure is that of a brooding or hovering bird (compare
). Here the Spirit brings order and beauty out of the
primeval chaos and conducts the cosmic forces toward the goal of an
ordered universe. Again in
, God sends forth His Spirit, and visible things are
called into being: "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and
thou renewest the face of the ground." In
the beauty of the heavens is ascribed to the Spirit: "By his
Spirit the heavens are garnished." In
the wilderness becomes a fruitful field as the result of
the outpouring of the Spirit. The Biblical writers scarcely took into
their thinking the idea of second causes, certainly not in the modern
scientific sense. They regarded the phenomena of Nature as the result of
God's direct action through His Spirit. At every point their conception of
the Spirit saved them from pantheism on the one hand and polytheism on the
other.
4. The Spirit of God in Man:
The Spirit may next be considered in imparting natural powers both
physical and intellectual. In
God originates man's personal and intellectual life by
breathing into his nostrils "the breath of life." In
God is "the God of the spirits of all flesh." In
;
;
, wisdom for all kinds of workmanship is declared to be
the gift of God. So also physical life is due to the presence of the
Spirit of God ();. and Elihu declares () that the Spirit of God made him. See also
and
. Thus man is regarded by the Old Testament writers, in
all the parts of his being, body, mind and spirit, as the direct result of
the action of the Spirit of God. In
the Spirit of God "strives" with or "rules" in or is
"humbled" in man in the antediluvian world. Here reference is not made to
the Spirit's activity over and above, but within the moral nature of man.
5. Imparting Powers for Service:
The greater part of the Old Testament passages which refer to the Spirit
of God deal with the subject from the point of view of the covenant
relations between Yahweh and Israel. And the greater portion of these, in
turn, have to do with gifts and powers conferred by the Spirit for service
in the ongoing of the kingdom of God. We fail to grasp the full meaning of
very many statements of the Old Testament unless we keep constantly in
mind the fundamental assumption of all the Old Testament, namely, the
covenant relations between God and Israel. Extraordinary powers exhibited
by Israelites of whatever kind were usually attributed to the Spirit.
These are so numerous that our limits of space forbid an exhaustive
presentation. The chief points we may notice.
(1) Judges and Warriors.
The children of Israel cried unto Yahweh and He raised up a savior for
them, Othniel, the son of Kenaz: "And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him,
and he judged Israel" (). So also Gideon (): "The Spirit of Yahweh came upon (literally, clothed itself
with) Gideon." In
"the spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah"; and in
"the Spirit of Yahweh began to move" Samson. In
"the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon him." In
we read "the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and
an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him." In all this class of passages,
the Spirit imparts special endowments of power without necessary reference
to the moral character of the recipient. The end in view is not personal,
merely to the agent, but concerns theocratic kingdom and implies the
covenant between God and Israel. In some cases the Spirit exerts physical
energy in a more direct way (;
f.;
).
(2) Wisdom for Various Purposes.
Bezalel is filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom and in understanding to
work in gold, and silver and brass, etc., in the building of the
tabernacle (;
); and the Spirit of wisdom is given to others in making
Aaron's garments (). So also of one of the builders of Solomon's temple (;
). In these cases there seems to be a combination of
the thought of natural talents and skill to which is superadded a special
endowment of the Spirit. Pharaoh refers to Joseph as one in whom the
Spirit of God is, as fitting him for administration and government (). Joshua is qualified for leadership by the Spirit (). In this and in
, Joshua is represented as possessing the Spirit
through the laying on of the hands of Moses. This is an interesting Old
Testament parallel to the bestowment of the Spirit by laying on of hands
in the New Testament (;
). Daniel is represented as having wisdom to interpret dreams
through the Spirit, and afterward because of the Spirit he is exalted to a
position of authority and power (;
;
). The Spirit qualifies Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple (). The Spirit was given to the people for instruction and
strengthening during the wilderness wanderings (), and to the elders along with Moses (,
). It thus appears how very widespread were the
activities of the redemptive Spirit, or the Spirit in the covenant. All
these forms of the Spirit's action bore in some way upon the national life
of the people, and were directed in one way or another toward theocratic
ends.
(3) In Prophecy.
The most distinctive and important manifestation of the Spirit's activity
in the Old Testament was in the sphere of prophecy. In the earlier period
the prophet was called seer (ro'eh), and later he was called prophet (nabhi').
The word "prophet" (prophetes) means one who speaks for God. The prophets
were very early differentiated from the masses of the people into a
prophetic class or order, although Abraham himself was called a prophet,
as were Moses and other leaders (;
). The prophet was especially distinguished from
others as the man who possessed the Spirit of God (). The prophets ordinarily began their messages with the phrase,
"thus saith Yahweh," or its equivalent. But they ascribed their messages
directly also to the Spirit of God (;
;
,
;
). The case of Balaam presents some difficulties (). He does not seem to have been a genuine prophet, but rather a
diviner, although it is declared that the Spirit of God came upon him.
Balaam serves, however, to illustrate the Old Testament point of view. The
chief interest was the national or theocratic or covenant ideal, not that
of the individual. The Spirit was bestowed at times upon unworthy men for
the achievement of these ends. Saul presents a similar example. The
prophet was God's messenger speaking God's message by the Spirit. His
message was not his own. It came directly from God, and at times
overpowered the prophet with its urgency, as in the case of Jeremiah ( ff.).
There are quite perceptible stages in the development of the Old Testament
prophecy. In the earlier period the prophet was sometimes moved, not so
much to intelligible speech, as by a sort of enthusiasm or prophetic
ecstasy. In 1Sa. 10 we have an example of this earlier form of prophecy,
where a company with musical instruments prophesied together. To what
extent this form of prophetic enthusiasm was attended by warnings and
exhortations, if so attended at all, we do not know. There was more in it
than in the excitement of the diviners and devotees of the surrounding
nations. For the Spirit of Yahweh was its source.
In the later period we have prophecy in its highest forms in the Old
Testament. The differences between earlier and later prophecy are probably
due in part to the conditions. The early period required action, the later
required teaching. The judges on whom the Spirit came were deliverers in a
turbulent age. There was not need for, nor could the people have borne,
the higher ethical and spiritual truths which came in later revelations
through the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and others. See
;
;
;
;
;.
;
.
A difficulty arises from statements such as the following: A lying spirit
was sometimes present in the prophet ( f.); Yahweh puts a spirit in the king of Assyria and turns
him back to his destruction (); because of sin, a lying prophet should serve the people (); in Micaiah's vision Yahweh sends a spirit to entice Ahab
through lying prophets ( ff.); an evil spirit from Yahweh comes upon Saul (;
;
). The following considerations may be of value in
explaining these passages. Yahweh was the source of things generally in
Old Testament thought. Its pronounced monotheism appears in this as in so
many other ways. Besides this, Old Testament writers usually spoke
phenomenally. Prophecy was a particular form of manifestation with certain
outward marks and signs. Whatever presented these outward marks was called
prophecy, whether the message conveyed was true or false. The standard of
discrimination here was not the outward signs of the prophet, but the
truth or right of the message as shown by the event. As to the evil spirit
from Yahweh, it may be explained in either of two ways. First, it may have
referred to the evil disposition of the man upon whom God's Spirit was
acting, in which case he would resist the Spirit and his own spirit would
be the evil spirit. Or the "evil spirit from Yahweh" may have referred, in
the prophet's mind, to an actual spirit of evil which Yahweh sent or
permitted to enter the man. The latter is the more probable explanation,
in accordance with which the prophet would conceive that Yahweh's higher
will was accomplished, even through the action of the evil spirit upon
man's spirit. Yahweh's judicial anger against transgression would, to the
prophet's mind, justify the sending of an evil spirit by Yahweh.
6. Imparting Moral Character:
The activity of the Spirit in the Old Testament is not limited to gifts
for service. Moral and spiritual character is traced to the Spirit's
operations as well. "Thy holy Spirit" (); "his holy spirit" (); "thy good Spirit" (); "Thy Spirit is good" () are expressions pointing to the ethical quality of the
Spirit's action. "Holy" is from the verb form (qadhash), whose root
meaning is doubtful, but which probably meant "to be separated" from which
it comes to mean to be exalted, and this led to the conception to be
Divine. And as Yahweh is morally good, the conception of "the holy (=
Divine) one" came to signify the holy one in the moral sense. Thence the
word was applied to the Spirit of Yahweh. Yahweh gives His good Spirit for
instruction (); the Spirit is called good because it teaches to do God's will (); the Spirit gives the fear of the Lord (); judgment and righteousness ( ff.); devotion to the Lord (); hearty obedience and a new heart ( f.); penitence and prayer (). In
there is an intense sense of guilt and sin coupled with
the prayer, "Take not thy holy Spirit from me." Thus, we see that the Old
Testament in numerous ways recognizes the Holy Spirit as the source of
inward moral purity, although the thought is not so developed as in the
New Testament.
7. The Spirit in the Messiah:
In both the first and the second sections of Isaiah, there are distinct
references to the Spirit in connection with the Messiah, although the
Messiah is conceived as the ideal King who springs from the root of David
in some instances, and in others as the Suffering Servant of Yahweh. This
is not the place to discuss the Messianic import of the latter group of
passages which has given rise to much difference of opinion. As in the
case of the ideal Davidic King which, in the prophet's mind, passes from
the lower to the higher and Messianic conception, so, under the form of
the Suffering Servant, the "remnant" of Israel becomes the basis for an
ideal which transcends in the Messianic sense the original nucleus of the
conception derived from the historic events in the history of Israel. The
prophet rises in the employment of both conceptions to the thought of the
Messiah who is the "anointed" of Yahweh as endued especially with the
power and wisdom of the Spirit. In
a glowing picture is given of the "shoot out of the
stock of Jesse." The Spirit imparts "wisdom and understanding" and endows
him with manifold gifts through the exercise of which he shall bring in
the kingdom of righteousness and peace. In
ff., the "servant" is in like manner endowed most richly
with the gifts of the Spirit by virtue of which he shall bring forth
"justice to the Gentiles." In
ff. occur the notable words cited by Jesus in
f., beginning, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" etc. In
these passages the prophet describes elaborately and minutely the
Messiah's endowment with a wide range of powers, all of which are traced
to the action of God's Spirit.
8. Predictions of Future Outpouring of the Spirit:
In the later history of Israel, when the sufferings of the exile pressed
heavily, there arose a tendency to idealize a past age as the era of the
special blessing of the Spirit, coupled with a very marked optimism as to
a future outpouring of the Spirit. In
reference is made to the Mosaic period as the age of the
Spirit, "when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit abode among you." In
the Spirit is to be poured out on Jacob and his seed; and
in
a Redeemer is to come to Zion under the covenant of
Yahweh, and the Spirit is to abide upon the people. The passage, however,
which especially indicates the transition from Old Testament to New
Testament times is that in
,
which is cited by Peter in
. In this prophecy the bestowal of the Spirit is extended
to all classes, is attended by marvelous signs and is accompanied by the
gift of salvation. Looking back from the later to the earlier period of
Old Testament history, we observe a twofold tendency of teaching in
relation to the Spirit. The first is from the outward gift of the Spirit
for various uses toward a deepening sense of inner need of the Spirit for
moral purity, and consequent emphasis upon the ethical energy of the
Spirit. The second tendency is toward a sense of the futility of the
merely human or theocratic national organization in and of itself to
achieve the ends of Yahweh, along with a sense of the need for the Spirit
of God upon the people generally, and a prediction of the universal
diffusion of the Spirit.
II. The Spirit in Non-Canonical Jewish Literature.
In the Palestinian and Alexandrian literature of the Jews there are
comparatively few references to the Spirit of God. The two books in which
the teachings as to the Spirit are most explicit and most fully developed
are of Alexandrian origin, namely, The Wisdom of Solomon and the writings
of Philo.
In the Old Testament Apocrypha and in Josephus the references to the
Spirit are nearly always merely echoes of a long-past age when the Spirit
was active among men. In no particular is the contrast between the
canonical and noncanonical literature more striking than in the teaching
as to the Spirit of God.
1. The Spirit of Josephus:
Josephus has a number of references to the Holy Spirit, but nearly always
they have to do with the long-past history of Israel. He refers to 22
books of the Old Testament which are of the utmost reliability. There are
other books, but none "of like authority," because there has "not been an
exact succession of prophets" (Josephus, Against Apion I, 8). Samuel is
described as having a large place in the affairs of the kingdom because he
is a prophet (Ant., VI, v, 6). God appears to Solomon in sleep and teaches
him wisdom (ibid., VIII, ii); Balaam prophesies through the Spirit's power
(ibid., IV, v, 6); and Moses was such a prophet that his words were God's
words (ibid., IV, viii, 49). In Josephus we have then simply a testimony
to the inspiration and power of the prophets and the books written by
them, in so far as we have in him teachings regarding the Spirit of God.
Even here the action of the Spirit is usually implied rather than
expressed.
2. The Spirit in the Pseudepigrapha:
In the pseudepigraphic writings the Spirit of God is usually referred to
as acting in the long-past history of Israel or in the future Messianic
age. In the apocalyptic books, the past age of power, when the Spirit
wrought mightily, becomes the ground of the hopes of the future. The past
is glorified, and out of it arises the hope of a future kingdom of glory
and power. Enoch says to Methuselah: "The word calls me and the Spirit is
poured out upon me" (En 91:1). In 49:1-4 the Messiah has the Spirit of
wisdom, understanding and might. Enoch is represented as describing his
own translation. "He was carried aloft in the chariots of the Spirit" (En
70:2). In Jubilees 31:16 Isaac is represented as prophesying, and in 25:13
it is said of Rebekah that the" Holy Spirit descended into her mouth."
Sometimes the action of the Spirit is closely connected with the moral
life, although this is rare. "The Spirit of God rests" on the man of pure
and loving heart (XII the Priestly Code (P), Benj. 8). In Simeon 4 it is
declared that Joseph was a good man and that the Spirit of God rested on
him. There appears at times a lament for the departed age of prophecy (1
Macc 9:27; 14:41). The future is depicted in glowing colors. The Spirit is
to come in a future judgment (XII the Priestly Code (P), Levi 18); and the
spirit of holiness shall rest upon the redeemed in Paradise (Levi 18); and
in Levi 2 the spirit of insight is given, and the vision of the sinful
world and its salvation follows. Generally speaking, this literature is
far below that of the Old Testament, both in moral tone and religious
insight. Much of it seems childish, although at times we encounter noble
passages. There is lacking in it the prevailing Old Testament mood which
is best described as prophetic, in which the writer feels constrained by
the power of God's Spirit to speak or write. The Old Testament literature
thus possesses a vitality and power which accounts for the strength of its
appeal to our religious consciousness.
3. The Spirit in the Wisdom of Solomon:
We note in the next place a few teachings as to the Spirit of God in Wisd.
Here the ethical element in character is a condition of the Spirit's
indwelling. "Into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter: nor dwell in
the body that is subject unto sin. For the holy spirit of discipline will
flee deceit, and will not abide when unrighteousness cometh in" (The
Wisdom of Solomon 1:4 f.). This "holy spirit of discipline" is evidently
God's Holy Spirit, for in 1:7 the writer proceeds to assert, "For the
Spirit of the Lord filleth the world," and in 1:8,9 there is a return to
the conception of unrighteousness as a hindrance to right speaking. In The
Wisdom of Solomon 7:7 the Spirit of Wisdom comes in response to prayer. In
7:22-30 is an elaborate and very beautiful description of wisdom: "In her
is an understanding spirit, holy, one only, manifold, subtle, lively,
clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is
good, quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good, kind to man,
steadfast, sure," etc. "She is the brightness of the everlasting light,
the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness,"
etc. No one can know God's counsel except by the Holy Spirit (9:17). The
writer of The Wisdom of Solomon was deeply possessed of the sense of the
omnipresence of the Spirit of God, as seen in 1:7 and in 12:1. In the
latter passage we read: "For thine incorruptible spirit is in all things."
4. The Spirit in Philo:
In Philo we have what is almost wholly wanting in other Jewish literature,
namely, analytic and reflective thought upon the work of the Spirit of
God. The interest in Philo is primarily philosophic, and his teachings on
the Spirit possess special interest on this account in contrast with
Biblical and other extra-Biblical literature. In his Questions and
Solutions, 27, 28, he explains the expression in
: "He brought a breath over the earth and the wind
ceased." He argues that water is not diminished by wind, but only agitated
and disturbed. Hence, there must be a reference to God's Spirit or breath
by which the whole universe obtains security. He has a similar discussion
of the point why the word "Spirit" is not used instead of "breath" in Gen.
in the account of man's creation, and concludes that "to breathe into"
here means to "inspire," and that God by His Spirit imparted to man mental
and moral life and capacity for Divine things (Allegories, xiii). In
several passages Philo discusses prophecy and the prophetic office. One of
the most interesting relates to the prophetic office of Moses (Life of
Moses, xxiii ff.). He also describes a false prophet who claims to be
"inspired and possessed by the Holy Spirit" (On Those Who Offer Sacrifice,
xi). In a very notable passage, Philo describes in detail his own
subjective experiences under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and his
language is that of the intellectual mystic. He says that at times he
found himself devoid of impulse or capacity for mental activity, when
suddenly by the coming of the Spirit of God, his intellect was rendered
very fruitful: "and sometimes when I have come to my work empty I have
suddenly become full, ideas being, in an invisible manner, showered upon
me and implanted in me from on high; so that through the influence of
Divine inspiration I have become greatly excited and have known neither
the place in which I was, nor those who were present, nor myself, nor what
I was saying, nor what I was writing," etc. (Migrations of Abraham, vii).
In Philo, as in the non-canonical literature generally, we find little
metaphysical teaching as to the Spirit and His relations to the Godhead.
On this point there is no material advance over the Old Testament
teaching. The agency of the Holy Spirit in shaping and maintaining the
physical universe and as the source of man's capacities and powers is
clearly recognized in Philo. In Philo, as in Josephus, the conception of
inspiration as the complete occupation and domination of the prophet's
mind by the Spirit of God, even to the extent of suspending the operation
of the natural powers, comes clearly into view. This is rather in contrast
with, than in conformity to, the Old Testament and New Testament
conception of inspiration, in which the personality of the prophet remains
intensely active while under the influence of the Spirit, except possibly
in cases of vision and trance.
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