Page 20 - Pneumatology - Student Textbook

All in all, the Spirit performs much of the same functions in Old Testament times as He does in this current
age. The major difference is the permanent indwelling of the Spirit in believers now. As Jesus said regarding
this change in the Spirit’s ministry, “But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17)
(https://www.gotquestions.org/Spirit-Old-Testament.html).

The meaning of the Hebrew word ruach (spirit)

The Hebrew ruach means “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit.” The corresponding Greek
word is pneuma. Both words are commonly used in passages referring to the Holy
Spirit. The word’s first use in the Bible appears in the second verse: “The Spirit of God
[Ruach Elohim] was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2). In Genesis 6:17 ruach is
translated “breath of life.” Genesis 8:1 uses ruach to describe the “wind” God sent over the earth to recede
the Flood waters. Altogether, the word ruach is found almost 400 times in the Old Testament.

Often, when the Old Testament talks about the “Spirit of the Lord” or the “Spirit of God,” the word for
“Spirit” is Ruach. Use of ruach as “spirit” when not linked with God usually is in reference to the human
spirit. This can mean the actual spirit of a human (the immaterial part of humans akin to the soul) or to
one’s mood, emotional state, or general disposition. Ruach as “breath” or “wind” can be a reference to
literal breath or wind, or it can take on a figurative meaning such as in the idiom “a mere breath.”

God’s Ruach is the source of life. The Ruach of God is the One who gives life to all creation. We could say
that God’s Ruach has created every other (non-divine) ruach that exists. All living creatures owe the breath
of life to the Creative Spirit of God. Moses states this truth explicitly: “God . . . gives breath [ruach] to all
living things” (Numbers 27:16). Job understood this truth as well: “As long as I have life within me, the
breath [ruach] of God in my nostrils” (Job 27:3). Later, Elihu tells Job, “The Spirit of God has made me; the
breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).

God used the phrase Ruach Yahweh in His promise that the Messiah would be empowered by the Holy
Spirit: “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:2; see also Isaiah 42:1).
This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus; at His baptism in the Jordan River, John saw “the Spirit of God
descending like a doveand alighting on him” (Matthew 3:16) (https://www.gotquestions.org/meaning-
ruach.html).

The Old Testament Promise of the Indwelling Holy Spirit to the
Church

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit—the pouring out of God’s Spirit to fill and
indwell people—was prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled at
Pentecost (Acts 2). This event was predicted in the Old Testament: in Isaiah
44:3 God said to Israel, “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out
my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” The Holy Spirit is pictured as the “water
of life” that saves and blesses a dying people. On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted another prophecy as
being fulfilled: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men
will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour
out my Spirit in those days. . . . And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:28–
29, 32).

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