Holy Spirit: Intro
September 8, 2024Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "Holy Spirit: Intro." Here's a video of the message.
At the outset of his message, Patrick mentioned that the Hebrew (OT) word for spirit is ruach (רוּחַ) and the Greek (NT) word is pneuma (πνεῦμα). Both mean wind or spirit.
The Greek (NT) word for holy is hagios (ἅγιος) and the Hebrew (OT) for holy is qadosh (קָדַשׁ). Again, both mean about the same, including the notion of "set apart by or for God."
Interestingly, this Spirit is mentioned right at the very beginning of the Bible, Genesis 1:2b, "and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."
In the Old Testament, the phrase is most often translated as "Spirit of God" or simply "Spirit," though "Holy Spirit" is used as well, just not nearly as often (for an example, see Psalm 51:11, "Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me").
So, where am I headed with this? If we look at some of the uses of the term "holy spirit" or "Spirit of God" or just "holy" or "spirit" in the Old Testament (OT), do we learn anything more about what it means or includes?
The Hebrew ruach is mostly translated as wind or spirit. Far less often it is translated as blast, breath, mind, courage, temper, and more. As for qadosh, it's almost always translated as "holy" (set apart for/by God).
GotQuestions.com suggests that the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was four-fold: regeneration, indwelling (or filling), restraint, and empowerment. For the details, read, "What was the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?"
We've already pointed out that the Spirit participated in Creation (Genesis 1:2). That's also mentioned, tangentially, in Job 26:13 and Isaiah 32:15.
Ruach is the "breath of life" breathed into Mankind at Creation (Genesis 2:7).
The Spirit strives with mankind while on this Earth (Genesis 6:3, "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.'") God instructed Moses to use people in whom the Spirit lives (Numbers 27:18, "And the Lord said to Moses: 'Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;'")
The Psalmist asks for the Spirit's leadership in Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!"
God was clearly guiding Balaam in Numbers 24:2, "And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him." P.S. Balaam needed all the help he could get, even from a talking donkey!
In Exodus where instructions are given for the building of the Tabernacle, God's spirit is placed in the artisans and builders, Exodus 31:1-5, "The Lord said to Moses, 'See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.'"
Here's another spirit "power" vested in the craftsmen, Exodus 28:3, "You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood."
Even Pharoah used the phrase, Genesis 41:38, "And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?" Joseph did things that Pharoah apparently thought could only have come by the power of God.
It seems the Holy Spirit can be shared as here when God speaks to Moses. Numbers 11:17, "And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone." "Bear it" is handling the Israelites and all their complaining.
Sometimes, the spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Wisdom, as in Deuteronomy 34:9, "And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit of Wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses."
It becomes clear that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is about action. About doing something or stopping something. About causing you to do something or stop doing something. Physics has a term for such things: force. A force is "any action that tends to maintain or alter the motion (behavior) of a body or to distort (change) it." A force can cause, change, or stop an action. Force, in physics, is described (mathematically) by both the magnitude of its strength and the direction in which it moves something.
So... May "THE Force" be with you!
Bonus
Justice Versus Compassion
It is an interesting balance: justice versus compassion.
It is helpful in such discussions to understand the difference between macro issues and micro issues. Prager often talks about the difference between macro and micro application of moral issues.
Macro has to do with civilization- and society-level issues. Public issues, you might say. Micro has to do with one-on-one or one-on-a-few type issues, more personal or private. For example, cussing in private and cussing in public lead to very different consequences or fallout so issues should be treated differently in the macro (public) than in the micro (private).
Exodus 23:1-9 has an interesting set of laws that includes "do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd. And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit." Those would pervert the justice that must reign at the level of society/civilization - the macro level. If you feel compassion toward the poor person, you can administer compassion at the micro level, e.g. YOU help the poor man who just lost the case with some kind of support, gift, etc.
So, justice prevails at the macro level and compassion prevails at the micro level.