The role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is much like His role in the New Testament. When we talk about the role of the Holy Spirit, we can discern four general areas in which the Holy Spirit works: 1) regeneration, 2) indwelling (or filling), 3) restriction, and 4) empowerment for service. Evidence of these areas of the Holy Spirit’s work is as present in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament.
The first area of the Spirit’s work is in the process of regeneration. Another word for regeneration is “rebirth,” from which we get the concept of “being born again.” The classic proof text for this can be found in the Gospel of John: “Truly I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). This begs the question: what does this have to do with the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament? Later in his dialogue with Nicodemus, Jesus has this to say to him: “You are a teacher of Israel… and do you not understand these things?” (John 3:10). What Jesus was saying is that Nicodemus should have known the truth that the Holy Spirit is the source of new life because it is revealed in the Old Testament. For example, Moses told the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land that “the Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6). This circumcision of the heart is the work of the Spirit of God and only He can carry it out. We also see the theme of regeneration in Ezekiel 11:19-20 and Ezekiel 36:26-29.
The fruit of the regenerating work of the Spirit is faith ( Ephesians 2:8 ). We now know that there were men of faith in the Old Testament because Hebrews 11 names many of them. If faith is produced by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, then this must be the case with the Old Testament saints who looked to the cross, believing that what God had promised regarding his redemption would be fulfilled. They saw the promises and “received them from afar” ( Hebrews 11:13 ), accepting by faith that what God had promised, He would also fulfill.
The second aspect of the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament is indwelling or infilling. This is where the main difference between the roles of the Spirit in the Old and New Testaments becomes apparent. The New Testament teaches the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers ( 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ; 6:19-20 ). When we put our faith in Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. The Apostle Paul calls this permanent abode the “guarantee of our inheritance” ( Ephesians 1:13-14 ). In contrast to this work in the New Testament, the indwelling in the Old Testament was selective and temporary. The Spirit “came upon” Old Testament people like Joshua (Numbers 27:18 ), David ( 1 Samuel 16:12-13 ), and even Saul ( 1 Samuel 10:10 ). In the book of Judges, we see the Spirit “coming upon” the various judges that God raised up to deliver Israel from his oppressors. The Holy Spirit came upon these individuals for specific tasks. The indwelling was a sign of God’s favor on that individual (in the case of David), and if God’s favor left an individual, the Spirit would depart (eg, in the case of Saul in 1 Samuel 16 :14 ).). Finally, the Spirit that “comes upon” an individual does not always indicate that person’s spiritual condition (eg, Saul, Samson, and many of the judges). So, while in the New Testament the Spirit only indwells believers and that indwelling is permanent, the Spirit came upon certain individuals in the Old Testament for a specific task, regardless of their spiritual condition. Once the task was completed, the Spirit presumably departed from that person.
The third aspect of the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament is His restraint from sin. Genesis 6:3 would seem to indicate that the Holy Spirit restrains man’s sinfulness, and that the restraint can be removed when God’s patience with sin reaches a “boiling point.” This thought is repeated in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8, when in the end times a growing apostasy will signal the coming of God’s judgment. Until the predestined time when the “man of sin” (v. 3) is revealed, the Holy Spirit restrains Satan’s power and will release him only when it suits his purposes to do so.
The fourth and final aspect of the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament is the granting of the capacity for service. Much like the way spiritual gifts operate in the New Testament, the Spirit would gift certain people for service. Consider the example of Bezalel in Exodus 31:2-5 who was gifted to do much of the artwork associated with the Tabernacle. Furthermore, recalling the selective and temporary indwelling of the Holy Spirit discussed earlier, we see that these individuals were gifted to perform certain tasks, such as ruling over the people of Israel (eg, Saul and David).
We could also mention the role of the Spirit in creation. Genesis 1:2 speaks of the Spirit “moving over the waters” and supervising the work of creation. Similarly, the Spirit is responsible for the work of the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), since he is bringing people into the kingdom of God through regeneration.
In general, the Spirit performs many of the same functions in Old Testament times as it does in this current age. The main difference is the permanent indwelling of the Spirit in believers now. As Jesus said regarding this change in the ministry of the Spirit: “But you know him, because he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).