The Spirit of God or The Holy Spirit – Part 1

The scriptures declare that “no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3). Holy Spirit is a very personal, distinct member of the Trinity (haElohim - [All] the Gods) who lives in the hearts of Christian believers. We celebrate Pentecost, which commemorates the literal descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles – a celebration acknowledging the Triune nature of THE true God. So why is the Old Testament silent about this very important member of the Trinity? Well, the answer, for sure, is that the Old Testament is not silent; it alludes to the Holy Sprit repeatedly throughout.

The Hebrew word Ruach translated as “Spirit” or “wind” or “breath”, occurs some 400 times in the Old Testament, and a quarter of them refer to the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. Certainly, when we remove our God the Father only blinders, we see many more references to the Holy Spirit in the OT. I will discuss these references (Panim or khayyim Elohim or haElohim or Adonee or Shekinah or Oil of Joy) in the coming days. In this section, I will explain the references to the Holy Spirit within Genesis.

Genesis 1:2

“The earth was desolate and uninhabitable, and it was dark on the deep sea, but God's Spirit (Veruach Elohim) hovered over the waters.”

This verse documents the work of the Holy Spirit during the creation – supervising, protecting and even admiring the work of the Word (i.e. Jesus Christ). A strikingly similar event occurs in the New Testament when Jesus is baptized (or recreating his whole creation). Jesus standing in the midst of water and the Holy Spirit hovers in the form of a dove above Him and descends on Him. Of course, God the Father is also present, completing the Holy Trinity.

Genesis 6:3

Yahveh [the Father] said, ‘My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh;

Genesis 41:38

So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God [Holy Spirit] is present?

Here Pharaoh, a pagan king, acknowledges the Holy Spirit. Although we cannot say for sure what Pharaoh had in mind, Joseph would not have been able to interpret Pharaoh’s dream without the help of the Holy Spirit.