Module 4 · Lesson 13
The Spirit of God in the Old Testament
Breath, presence and power: what does the Old Testament say?
15 minutes
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“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job 33:4)
- Look closely at how the Old Testament names the Spirit
- Learn what the Hebrew word ruach means
- See how Scripture connects the Spirit with God’s presence
- Face the strongest objection and test it
- Handle a difficult verse (Isaiah 48:16) honestly
Start with a question When you read “the Spirit of God” in the Old Testament, who do you picture? Is it a separate being, a third person in a committee, or something else? Let’s not guess. Let’s read what is actually written and let the Bible define its own terms.
The wording Notice the words used. In Genesis 1:2 it says:
“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” It says “the Spirit of God.” It doesn’t say “God the Spirit.” The Spirit is described as belonging to God: His Spirit, the Spirit of the LORD, the Spirit of Elohim.
Search the Old Testament. Does any verse speak of “God the Holy Spirit” or call the Spirit “Elohim”? Or is the Spirit always described as God’s? Keep that question in mind. It’s the first of several observations about the wording.
What does ruach mean? The Hebrew word for “Spirit” is ruach. It also means breath and wind. Now compare two creation texts:
“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” (Psalm 33:6) “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) The Hebrew word is the same: ruach. In one it’s translated “breath,” in the other “Spirit.” And Job says: “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job 33:4) The two lines say the same thing in two words, a standard feature of Hebrew poetry. Notice also what Jesus did after the resurrection: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” (John 20:22) He breathed. The Spirit and the breath are connected again. So the creation account can be read this way: God spoke, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and His breath, His Spirit, went out with His word. The Spirit is not a separate entity; it is the life-giving breath of the Creator.
The Spirit and God’s presence “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:2) Whose word is in David’s tongue? “His,” the LORD’s. The Spirit of the LORD speaks, and it’s the LORD’s word. There is no second speaker introduced. “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:11) Look at the pair: “thy presence” and “thy holy spirit.” David uses them in parallel. And Psalm 139:7 does the same: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” So in these texts, God’s Spirit is how God is present. Where His Spirit is, He is.
The Spirit and the anointing The same Spirit rests on God’s chosen servants:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.” (Isaiah 61:1) “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:2) “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him.” (Isaiah 42:1) At Jesus’ baptism the promise was fulfilled: “he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him” (Matthew 3:16).
Jesus Himself pointed to these promises when He read Isaiah’s words in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:18–21)
And this is how Paul and Jesus describe what was happening: “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:19) “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? ... the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10)
In these verses, how is God present in Jesus? Through whom does He act?
The strongest objection
“But the Spirit is spoken of as being vexed or as teaching. Doesn’t that mean it’s a person? ‘But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit’ (Isaiah 63:10). ‘Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them’ (Nehemiah 9:20).”
Look at how Scripture speaks of the spirit of an ordinary person:
- Pharaoh’s “spirit was troubled” (Genesis 41:8).
- Ahab’s wife asked, “Why is thy spirit so sad?” (1 Kings 21:5).
- Jesus “sighed deeply in his spirit” (Mark 8:12) and “was troubled in spirit” (John 13:21).
In all of these, a person’s spirit is troubled, saddened or sighs. Scripture doesn’t say the person’s spirit is a second person beside them. It means that person themselves is affected. In the same way, when God’s Spirit is vexed, God is grieved.
Being vexed, or instructing, is what any person’s spirit does. It does not show a separate Person. Module 7 follows this through the whole New Testament.
A difficult verse: Isaiah 48:16 “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.” (Isaiah 48:16) Read in the KJV, this can sound like two senders: the Lord GOD and His Spirit sent the speaker. But translators differ on how the Hebrew should be read:
- “...and now the Lord God has sent me, and given me his spirit.” (Bible in Basic English)
- “...and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and His Spirit.” (Young’s Literal)
- “...and now the Lord God has sent me, and given me his spirit.” (Bible in Basic English)
The Hebrew grammar can be taken either way, so honesty requires that we don’t build a doctrine on this verse alone. But look at the context: the speaker seems to be the one sent on a mission.
Jesus and the apostles say it again and again: the Father sent the Son.
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:4–6) “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9–10) “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” (1 John 4:14)
Sent, and given the Spirit. That is consistent with the second reading. It is at least a possibility that fits the pattern.
- The Old Testament speaks of the “Spirit of God,” never “God the Spirit.”
- The Hebrew ruach means breath, wind and spirit.
- The Spirit and God’s presence are placed in parallel (Psalm 51:11; 139:7).
- The same Spirit rested on God’s servants, including the Messiah.
- A spirit being vexed or instructing doesn’t, by itself, prove a separate person.
- Isaiah 48:16 can be read two ways, so we don’t base a doctrine on it.
- The Old Testament never presents the Spirit as a third being called God.
- In my own Bible, what words follow “Spirit” in the Old Testament? (“of God,” “of the LORD”?)
- What does the pairing of “breath” and “Spirit” say about how I’ve pictured the Spirit?
- How do I handle a verse like Isaiah 48:16 that can be read two ways?
Job 33:4
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Now the fourth fact. The Old Testament speaks of two Beings, both called LORD. Who are they?