Ken - I have a question. Jesus said He would send the Spirit to be
with the apostles (and us). This happened at Pentecost, and I have known the
Spirit to be active in my life. My
question is: Was the Holy Spirit not a presence previously in the Old
Testament in the lives of men?
In its definition of Holy
Spirit, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
…the Holy
Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to
the completion of the divine plan for our salvation. (2nd Ed., p. 882).
“from the beginning” is
underlined emphasizing that the Holy Spirit was “a presence” even in the Old
Testament.
(1) Ps 51:11: “Do not cast me from your presence or take
your Holy Spirit from me”;
(2) Isa 63:10: “Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy
Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against
them”; and
(3) Isa 63:11: “Then his people recalled the days of old,
the days of Moses and his people—where is he who brought them through the sea,
with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among
them?”
… behold, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came
mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them. (1 Samuel 10:10).
But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord... (Micah 3:8).
In addition, the OT authors
did not have the understanding of the Holy Spirit - or even the Trinity - that
Christ would convey to the apostles, and that the Church Fathers would further
come to understand after pondering Christ’s words. As John records Jesus saying,
"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have
said to you." (Jn 14:26).
While the OT authors may
not specifically reference the “Holy Spirit,” with Jesus’ revelation we can now
read the OT with the perspective that the Holy Spirit was indeed a presence.
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