Published: February 8, 2026 | Speaker: Mark Freitag | Series: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit 2 - Part 4 | Scripture: Isaiah 63:10-64:1
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This is uh what we began uh looking at specifically in the ministry of the Holy Spirit um in January, last month. um and uh up up to the time of Christ.
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So from creation to the fall to the time of the nation of Israel to the prophets and to um the time that the Messiah
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would come u what the scripture calls uh the fullness of time. uh that uh what the Holy Spirit was doing
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up to that point. And so we talked about the the gift of the of prophecy u and the the privilege of prophecy for us to
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see um the revelation of God through the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit. And then uh the the plan of
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prophecy or the design of of prophecy is the the coming of Christ, the the revelation of the Messiah. Um and what I
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uh was going to do and um as I looked at some notes um realized that yeah, I'm going to stick to that plan. but uh
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couple weeks on from when we would have done it, but a summary of that work uh and so that we we cover quite a bit of of ground um all of the Old Testament um
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in 20 minutes or half an hour here um of what the Holy Spirit was doing from the time of creation to uh the time of the Messiah. And I don't want to rehash
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everything. Um, and I don't even think that's a good word to use, but just to point out that the Holy Spirit was working, that Holy Spirit was um active
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even though um the activity of the Holy Spirit was different from the activity now. um that wasn't the the purpose. And
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yet the Holy Spirit is is revealed in the scriptures to us um and and not hidden but not fully
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um articulated to us, revealed to us, I guess is the better word. Um I came across some notes from months or maybe years ago. Um, how about uh 14th of
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November 2021? November 2021? Um, but uh kind of there's in in the Old Testament uh what
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some of the writers call incompleteness
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yeah, I just lost his first name. uh Sinclair Ferguson Sinclair Ferguson um in his book on the Holy Spirit uses uh five things to describe the activity of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
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Um enigmatic,
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external. And I I think um one it's it's hard to to explain that, but I think those five words kind
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of help us to see that the ministry of the Holy Spirit was different in the Old Testament. And yet it it was there and
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it he was known to certain people. Um, and yet there's a reason why
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his ministry in the Old Testament was different from the New. So I don't want to, you know, go next week we'll we'll move into the Holy Spirit being revealed
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in the New Testament. But again, wanted to do some summary of that enigmatic, sporadic, external, incomplete work of the Holy
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Spirit. Not that there's anything wrong with that. with that. It's just not revealed to us in the Old Testament fully who the Holy Spirit is.
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Um, so Um, so I'm going to label these.
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And we we see that word in the in Genesis, the idea of the the Holy Spirit brooding over the face of the waters, over the um over the earth as it was
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formed. And um this is a quote from uh Benjamin Warfield. Benjamin Warfield. Let there be light. Let there be
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firmament. Let the waters be gathered together. Let the waters and the earth bring forth. Those quotations depended upon the fact that the spirit of God was
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already brooding upon the formless void. Um the the words used the there the the
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brooding and then later
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into creation. Um, I'm I'm fond of the the books by this this title, but all creatures great and small. uh the life of the Holy Spirit.
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Um the source, the originating cause of all the motion, all of life uh originating with the spirit of creation.
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And I'm not going to do alliteration here, but
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but we also see in the Old Testament and uh
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sin. Um while sin worked its way out in the fall of man, um the morality. It It's hard. Um, and I realized last night as I was typing some of these things out
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that I didn't um delve into the meaning of Genesis 6:3 uh deep enough,
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but let me read it and then we'll maybe ask the question. the question. In Genesis 6, he's talking about the Nephilim and the uh the sons of men. And
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it it says, "The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they took wives from themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, and and this is
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a phrase that I'm not sure that I've I fully understand, "My spirit shall not strive with man forever because he also is flesh. Nevertheless, his day shall be
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120 years. Um, without the Holy Spirit, would there have been any rain on the sin? With without the Holy Spirit, would
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there have been w would men have ceased to even care about any type of morality?
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of morality? Um it it seems as if um that God in revealing this in back in Genesis 6 is
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setting us up for the fact that the the Holy Spirit was necessary, that the Holy Spirit was um
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without um well, let me let me read a comment Uh this is from John Owen. Uh for all
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without him is death and darkness in sin. All life, light and power are from him alone. The whole being and welfare of the
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church depended solely on his will and his operations. So he's he's talking already about the New Testament. And so he's not equating Israel with the
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church. He makes that clear in his writing. But what he's saying is that the light, the the power, the the the life that originated here was still
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under his domain as part of the trinity. um that in the the words of promise that
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he goes on and says from him therefore was the word of promise the gifts of property uh prophecy were on the church was founded. So and we've we've talked
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about that but he's saying yeah but there there's an anchor here in terms of the morality the the life of men um in
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the spirit. Yeah, I was just gonna ask whether
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I I'm not sure I can answer that. I guess just still pondering what what this phrase means. The spirit shall not strive with men forever.
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Um does he does he mean all men
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whether yeah those those who are not in Christ those who are not in his people um I'm not sure
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Yeah. Um yeah. Um yeah. Um something came up. I don't know um what it was but I remember a phrase that that Chuck used say um that that
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talking about the sin of man is not as are are not as evil as they could be that that there is a constraint
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in the world. uh you know not every man is a Hitler uh or of of that nature uh or of that nature but not of that activity. And there is
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it just seems that um I mean my mind goes when I think of this I go to John 6 uh or 16 um that
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this one of the spirit's job still is to convict the world of sin of righteousness and judgment and uh I
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think there we we see maybe a small revelation of of that uh in the Old Testament there is an interplay mysteriously in
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the Bible between the work of the Holy Spirit conscience. Spirit conscience. Conscience it's not a matter to me at least the Holy Spirit
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entirely restraining entirely restraining as much is as it is the vestigages of the imience.
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even among unbelievers as Paul says in Romans 2 Romans 2 is an arbiter and they they might actually do the works of God or obey the law of God even though they're not under the law simply because they're following a clear
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conscience but when conscience is devoid of the word and of the spirit becomes corrupted and eventually seared and I think that's what we're seeing
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prior to the flood but also the
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Yeah. Is this under the heading of I I took that to be the point is that it's not explained
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in terms that are just okay. I totally get this get this right and I'll try to summarize that at the end. what what I think that means from uh I think it's uh Campbell Morgan
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uh had a statement on that um as well as Warfield. So yeah, uh
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and we've we've had a number of examples uh over the um even the few uh sessions in January, but his method and the character of his work
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uh is there there are four phrases that um kind of come out in the Old Testament uh and and we've had the occasion to read some of these. The the Holy Spirit
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coming upon men uh and in some cases coming mightily upon men um abiding in men and filling men. uh a
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man was filled with the Holy Spirit for a specific work. So um what we see here is that the the Holy Spirit um confirms
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their work. Uh
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and um this is uh Owen again. Some of these people can can put them in terms that I struggle to think of and but once I see the headings it's like oh okay I can I can kind of get what what that is.
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But the work of of men as as we've seen in some cases was political. They they had to govern. They had to rule
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over uh people. So um um let me read this from Owen first and then we'll we'll do these. He's kind of uh heads these by saying the Holy Spirit
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quote improved quote improved through immediate impressions of his power the natural faculties and abilities of the minds of men. So he he
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he took the men as they were, their natural abilities, their character, but he worked through them confirming their work, improving their work uh in uh by
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his power and impression on their minds. So we have the political men ruling and acting in civil government. Um and here's numbers 11. Um, the Lord
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therefore said to Moses, "Gather for me 70 men from the elders of Israel, uh, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring
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them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there and I will take of the spirit which is upon you and will put him upon
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them and they shall bear the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to bear it alone. So um a a political uh working with
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people, governing people um and um again in this whole idea of um the spirit being not fully revealed being
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sporadically used different different men um inigmatic kind of idea. Um, e even Moses even Moses says at one point, you know, I I wish
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that God would put his spirit on on all y'all, everyone. And and so there's even in the Old Testament,
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um there were people who had that longing that that thing that said, "Why can't the spirit be in everyone?" And it, you know, again, kind of pulling
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back the curtain of the New Testament. Isn't that what we're going to see? So, so it's it's not like the Holy Spirit was this total mystery or total unknown.
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There there are some that I've read um or read people writing about other people saying, "Well, the you don't find the old the spirit in the Old Testament." It's like, "Well, what are
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you reading?" Um are are do you have a a Jefferson version where you cut out the Holy Spirit out of the Old Testament? Uh you can't do that. Um he's here and
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there there is this buildup uh expectation. Yeah. expectation. Yeah. To that point even the pagans had a kind of [snorts] of [snorts] I don't know distorted sense of the idea
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of the spirit of the gods. Pharaoh declared, "Oh, the spirit of the gods is in Joseph." Nebuchadnezzar said the same thing about Daniel.
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Yeah. Even they had a distorted sense of Yeah. God spit.
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Oh, yes. Sorry. I feel like there's a difference between this Genesis 6 and the death of Christ on the crossborn of a new creation. I mean the spirit is a lifegiving force. He was giving life
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to people to people and then when he said my stri
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and when the testament speaks of the spirit speaks of it at specific times it's not it is not in their minds that
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is an impression I believe and I believe that's why the pagans sort of demonstrated that with their god like
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god like creations within their own minds but it's different it's totally different because Christ was made alive by the spirit and we too made alive.
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Yeah. Yeah. Um since you bring that up, I'll I'm going to read this from uh Warfield. Um
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he says, "The elements in the doctrine of God, which above all others needed emphasis in Old Testament times were naturally his," meaning God's unity and
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his personality. his personality. He reveals the whole truth and I think he's referring here to Hebrews 1. But in diverse portions and in diverse manners
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and it was incident to the progressive delivery of doctrine that the unity of the Godhead should first be made the firm possession of men and the trinity
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in that unity should be unveiled to them only afterwards. only afterwards. The old dispensation was a preparatory one and must be strictly conceived as
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such. There is a difference and there's meant to be a difference. Uh as again my understanding is the Holy Spirit given
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in the Old Testament or revealed in the Old Testament as we read it was not meant to be revealed without Christ. Um as we read from uh the scripture, the
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New Testament says uh the spirit of prophecy is the spirit of Christ. It's revealing him. Um and that's where we want to move and what happened. What was
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the difference in the New Testament? So yes, using that that word as a as a difference. Um difference. Um he comes yes again the sporadic use or
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the uh selective use. Not every man was was gifted. Uh not everyone had the Holy Spirit come upon them or come upon them
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in the same way um for different things. So yes, there is a difference and there's meant to be a difference. Um so
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uh men made to accomplish special tasks or uh special designs. Uh Judges chapter 11. Now the spirit of the Lord came upon
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Jeffa. So um and then later in the passage he crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them. and the Lord gave them into his hand. Um, just
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using Jeffa to to route out the the sons of the the Ammonites uh when they needed to be
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to be taken out of Israel's way. Um,
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this is Owen's heading, but it's the idea. Um, and you know where we're going to go with this one. Uh, the idea of bodily strength and power to do something. We're going to go to Judges 15 and uh
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to Samson. Um when he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him, and the spirit
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of the Lord came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire and his bonds dropped from his hands.
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Just the the power, physical power of the Holy Spirit um in Samson at that
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an enhancing of natural gifts. Um again Moses, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, "See, I have called by name Bezel, the son of Yuri, the son of her of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him
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with the spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and
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in bronze, and in the cutting of stones, for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. Um
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craftsmanship. Um God selected Bezel whether he had uh some training in all of those various things. Uh the woodworking, the stone
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setting, the cutting, gold and silver handling that. Um, we don't really know, but apparently um
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his the gifts, whatever he had were definitely enhanced for the work of uh fitting outfitting the temple or the tabernacle. And then the one that we've spent most
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of January on um is gifts is gifts of uh prophecy
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Um Noah uh in Peter uh second Peter Noah is called a preacher of righteousness uh proclaiming the word. Um
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and this is uh yeah okay I actually have it here. Second Peter chapter 2. God preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others when he
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brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. Um he the spirit prepared a man to proclaim even after the flood and
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uh the judgment um there were was a man prepared.
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I want to make a distinction. Um, I I want to because that's where my thinking is right now. When when we read these things, the spirit came upon men or in in the
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case of numbers 11 that I read the spirit who is upon you to me that's the best I can say right now it's
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different from different from the spirit will be in you um the the work
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again I I think the the warfield is right in that the the revelation of the Old Testament is is aided by the Holy Spirit, but he
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become fully known in in the work of the Trinity. It's to reveal who God is and the to set the stage for the coming of
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the Messiah. So I think within with Moses um whether he had something more but not
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quite what we have. I think what you're saying is the coming of Christ could not be a lot of other Right. Right. because He's called the
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the spirit of Christ. Uh I mean I went through the other night and just looked at all the names of the Holy Spirit and there's about 60 of them. Um and we need to try to understand,
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okay, he's a spirit of power and he's spirit of godliness, but he's also the spirit of Christ. So there has to be that connection. Um James, I saw James
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hand first, then Chuck.
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Okay. Yeah. No, it's a good u good way to phrase that. Yes, Chuck.
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right? However, we slice it right the Holy Spirit.
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Okay. Yeah. Thank you, Aaron. As far as examples of scripture, I'd like to point out that out that there are the examples are given
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together and each example on its own is going to serve a different purpose. The reason why Moses or Solomon may or may seem a third because the intent of their
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exemplary life is different than the intent of the life of Saul. Soul serve as a contrast where God removed his his love and his spirit from
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him. Solomon serves a very different purpose as showing us God's intention to raise up one whom from whom he would not remove his love. Yeah. Yeah.
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Yeah. Yeah. So the examples need to be taken together. No one of them is explained. Right. And yet and yet you you hear in David Psalm 51, take not thy holy
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spirit from me. There is there's an urgency there. There's a there's a a depth there in in his spirit uh his spirit u that reveals something to us
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about the coming of when the spirit would be coming in men be given to men. Um so yes uh that you
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didn't see in Saul. Yeah. Um, let's see if we can see if we'll finish 0.1 here.
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Um, the people were fighting for the land, trying to understand uh where they're supposed to live, how they're supposed to live, uh what they're supposed to do, and
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The Holy Spirit was involved in these things. I I put this from um Hegi chapter 2. Um he says, "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son
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of Sheliel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehoshed, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying, "Who has left among you who saw this temple in its former
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glory? And how do you see it now? Does it seem to you like nothing in comparison? But now take courage, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Take courage also, Joshua son of Jehosedac
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the high priest. And all you peoples of the land, take courage, declares the Lord, and work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts. As for the promise which I made to you when you
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came out of Egypt, my spirit is abiding in your midst. Do not fear. Um there was times when
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they just needed to be reminded that I'm I'm working there's there's a back yeah three or four years ago when
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we were looking at this um the the the idea of uh the presence of the Holy Spirit or the imminence of the Holy Spirit um
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is is still again it's a theme that will be fully expanded in the New Testament but the people had to be reminded that
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I'm I'm with you in a in this sense that that you know be be comforted do not fear I haven't left you alone
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um and so they had this the spirit of strength or if we the spirit of hope. Um even even in those times
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the the people and I hope if I want to read all of this again there's there's so much in here but the people
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the people had passed into apostasy. They were in exile and the God has to remind them
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of not only who he is and his promises, but um but um that they had um this is Isaiah uh three. They rebelled and grieved his
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Holy Spirit. Therefore, he turned himself to become their enemy. He fought against them. Then his people remembered the days of old of Moses. Where he is is
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where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put his holy spirit in the midst of them? Who caused his
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glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? Who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name. Who led them through the depths.
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Like the horses in the wilderness, they did not stumble. As the cattle which go down into the valley, the spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So you led your people to make for yourself a glorious
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name. There there times when of just hopelessness or forgetfulness or sin. Um where the
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people needed to be reminded that the there's the spirit is there. the spirit is hasn't left. Who who is the one who
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gave the spirit? Who is the one who put your holy spirit in the midst of you? Have you forgotten these things? Um and so they needed those reminders. They
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needed those signs of of of hope. Um words of hope and and u courage.
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the Holy Spirit would come in the fullness of time. Um, he would he would in the New Testament, we'll see that he still broods over the motions of men,
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the the kingdoms that come and go. He still brings a conviction of sin to the world. And he still does
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have times of wisdom come confirming the service of of men.
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conflict. He's still a spirit of of hope amid the world that lives. Um, one author says it's this is just times of
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decadence. Um, I think of them as times of independence from God where self-fulfillment is what people seek. You hear people
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saying, "Well, I'm I'm seeking after something spiritual." They're seeking after self affirmations. They're not seeking after God. And yet the Holy
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Spirit will still be a spirit of life, a spirit of conviction, a spirit of service, strength, and hope. And that's
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what we see in the New Testament in all of its glory and what we will endeavor to seek out.
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um the little bit of time that I have left, I I'm going to read some more from um this is just three of the authors that I have looked at over the years, but um
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just um just um some people can just say things more poetically, more um interestingly, I
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guess, than than I can say them. So, I'm going to read some quotes here. here if you'll allow me. This is uh G. Campbell
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Um this is speaking of the Holy Spirit. He lit the horizon with the glow of approaching day. approaching day. He spoke to ears that listened,
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revealed to eyes gazing, gave a dim forhadowing of the glories of the coming days of fullness of spiritual
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Um perhaps thinking of uh standing on the beach waiting for the sun. That's what we like to do when we go down to Edisto is get out there
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before the glow is coming over the water and you you see a small glow of the approaching day. You don't see the full
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glory where you you can't even look anymore. That's coming. The Holy Spirit's work in the Old Testament was to give um and this is not this is not a
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put down at all to say a dim foreshadowing of the glories of the coming days. That was not his purpose in the Old Testament um
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until the son of righteousness would arise with healing in his wings but giving something to tell us of the coming power and glory.
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He goes on and says yet there was no direct present actual demonstration of the spirit to the nation. They didn't see it in the entire nation. They saw it in
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selected individuals. They saw it sporadically. They saw it at various times. It was uh mentioned to him them by the prophets. Um but it was not a
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direct demonstration in this in the nation of Israel. But he goes on to say, "The spirit was the sanctifier of individual lives,
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embodying every virtue, ensuring perpetual victory, subjecting every thought to the obedience of Christ." That's where he's he's heading.
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that spirit of God who within the mystery of the deity is the consciousness of God and the revealer of that deity to man. Um he is the spirit
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of revelation. He is the spirit of uh life, the spirit of giving us uh that insight and foreshadowing of the glory
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and power to come.
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um from him therefore was the word of promise and the gifts of prophecy where on the church was founded and whereby it was built. From him was revelation and
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institution of all the ordinances of religious worship. From him was that communication of gifts and gracious abilities which any persons received for
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the edification, rule, protection and deliverance of the church. All these things were wrought by that one. And this is quoting from 1 Corinthians 12.
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One and the same spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually just as he wills. So he's saying that here was
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the spirit revealing through the prophets, through the promises in the word, through uh the beginnings of our
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institution of the ordinances of religious worship, religious worship, communicating the gifts that were to come to be graciously given. Um, and I
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guess what stuck in my mind was him uh not so much going on to what we see in the New Testament, how he distributes those gifts, but
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just the thought again from reading some who um who um don't see the spirit in the Old Testament. It's one and the same spirit.
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And Paul is saying one in the same spirit in the realm of of the church and specifically at Corenth. But can't we also extract that back? It's one in the
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same spirit same spirit from the beginning. Not not um he's not a different spirit in the Old Testament, but he's one in the same spirit in the
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in the Old and the New. And yet that again that purpose was different. Um Owen responds and I I couldn't really
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find the him quoting from Jewish writing, but apparently at the time of the building of the
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second temple, the Jews had some kind of or maybe right after that um and I don't know if it's still their their thought, but that that the Holy Spirit ceased to
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to be the Holy Spirit after the second temple um that that somehow um the the gift of the Holy Spirit
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ceased. And Owen responds and says there is no truth to their observation. For there were afterwards special revelations of the Holy Ghost granted
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unto many, as unto Simeon and Anna, and others constantly receive of his gifts and graces to enable them unto obedience
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and fit them for their employments. For without a continuence of these supplies, the church itself must absolutely cease.
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without the Holy Spirit working, he he's saying that the the church wouldn't be and and and the the work of the spirit did not cease, didn't stop. It was
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different after, but it did not stop. There was a continuence. And uh finally, these words from uh Benjamin Warfield.
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Benjamin Warfield. Um, and this is um, let me I'm going to repeat one sentence and then read. The old dispensation was a preparatory one and must be strictly conceived as
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such. But the object of the whole dispensation was only to prepare for the outpouring of the spirit upon all flesh. He kept the remnant safe and pure, but
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it was purely or primarily only in order that the seed might be preserved. This was the fundamental end of his activity. Then it is not that his work is more
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real in the new dispensation than in the old. It is not merely that it is more universal. It is that it is directed to be different. Let us pray. Our
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heavenly father, we do thank you for the word, the revel revelation of the the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit and the revelation as we see in the
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coming of Christ, the revealing of the son of God, his work, his death on the cross, his
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burial, his resurrection and his rise to be in glory. And we thank you for your plan. We thank you for these things as we strive to
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understand them. We strive to appreciate them. And we know that without the Holy Spirit, we we would not see them. We would not realize them. We would not
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understand them fully. And so we ask, Father, that we would continue to seek, to ask, to knock, that you would give us wisdom, you would give us faith, you
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would give us the grace to walk ahead and continue to seek you. And we ask, Father, that you would use these things to to build your church, to
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to make us prepared as your bride to meet you and to glorify you in all things. We ask in Christ's name. Amen.