Holy Spirit In The Old Testament

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Pentecost, the birth of the Church, is a defining event in Christianity. Without the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, our Church may not exist. The power of the Holy Spirit propelled the Church outward from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Pentecost is not the first time the Holy Spirit appeared. The Holy Spirit is present in the Old Testament, in the ministry of Jesus and then culminates for all time at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is present in the Old Testament. It is interesting to note that the term “Holy Spirit” is not used in the Old Testament. Terms that are used to describe the Spirit are: Spirit of the Lord, my Spirit, the Spirit, the Spirit of God, the spirit of…(Judgment, fire, justice, …show more content…
In the passage Jesus states, “It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). These words from Jesus come after the bread of life discourse when some of the disciples find it difficult to follow what Jesus has disclosed what they need to do. The bread of life, the Eucharist is life-giving and life-sustaining for the followers of Jesus.
Another representation of the Spirit in the Old Testament is teacher and guide. In Psalm 143:10, the writer pleads, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your kind spirit guide me on ground that is level.” In the New Testament, the Spirit will be a guide for the Apostles once Jesus leaves (John 16:13). Jesus proclaims, “But when he comes, the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you to all truth.”
The Spirit in the Old Testament is the manifestation of God’s presence. Psalm 139 makes this abundantly clear. The Psalm asks “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7). David, the author of this Psalm, is writing about the all-knowing and ever-present God. In addition to God, the third person of the Trinity, the Spirit is mentioned in the Psalm and there is nowhere that the writer can hide from the God or the
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The Apostles will be witnesses for Jesus in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The Christian faith spread based on the testimony of the Apostles to all people, Jews and Gentiles (Kurz, 2013, p. 32). The Apostles walked with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry, through his passion, death and Resurrection and provide firsthand testimony to others (Kurz, 2013, p. 32). History teaches us that all but one of the Apostles were martyred for the

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