Christ in the Old Testament

Isaiah 44:3

For 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. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 44:1-5 and John 15:1-17

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. He is God, was with God in the beginning and is called the Spirit of God (Gen 1:2). Because he is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son, he shares the same divine attributes in that he is also holy, eternal, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

God tells Isaiah in chapter 44 that He will send the Holy Spirit. This is a prophecy that was fulfilled first on the day of Pentecost following Jesus’ resurrection. However, it is being fulfilled every day since then as well. And not only will God send the Holy Spirit, but he will “pour out” his Spirit.

You’ve heard the saying, “when it rains it pours.” If you’ve ever seen the pouring rain, you know it’s different than regular rain. Regular rain is nice. You can drive in regular rain. You can sit on the porch and watch regular rain. Regular rain is normal.

Pouring rain is frightening. Pouring rain makes you leave the porch and go inside. Pouring rain makes you pull your car off the road. Pouring rain causes flooding. Pouring rain is dangerous. This is what God means when He says He’s going to pour out the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come and go and was only given to a few people for short periods of time. He was not poured out in the people of the Old Testament. However, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all believers. And this time he came to stay.

Jesus said the following things about the Holy Spirit:

• “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63).
• “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
• “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me” (John 15:26).
• “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you” (John 16:13-14).

So from Jesus we can gather that the Holy Spirit gives life. He comes in the name of Jesus. His role is to teach us, remind us of everything Jesus said and to testify about Jesus. He will tell us about the future too. His mission is to glorify Jesus. He is being poured out on all believers so that Jesus will be glorified.

Jesus also said that his words are full of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63). That’s an interesting thing to say. Kind of like Jesus saying that he is truth and that he is wisdom. Jesus isn’t saying that he has truth and wisdom. He is truth and wisdom.

Jesus also says that his words are full of the Spirit. He isn’t saying that his words are about the Holy Spirit. He is saying his words contain the Holy Spirit. He is saying that his words are the Holy Spirit.

The Greek word used for the phrase “they are full of” in John 6:63 is eimi. This is the same Greek word Jesus used a few verses prior when he said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). Strong’s Lexicon says of this word, “It frames the revelation of divine presence, personal identity, covenantal relationship, and eschatological hope that permeate every book of the New Testament.”

This word carries the heaviest weight possible of saying that Jesus words are the Holy Spirit. In the same way that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the Holy Spirit is the word of God that Jesus speaks.

So what does that mean for us? If we are born again by the blood of Jesus, then we have received the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Holy Spirit has been poured out on us. We have the full measure of God’s Spirit living in us. Evidence of this should be that we produce the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

How can we produce more of this fruit? Paul says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). Well what does that mean? How can we keep in step with the Spirit so that we can produce more of his fruit? Don’t forget what Jesus said – his words are full of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus also said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:7-8). There it is! If we want to bear much fruit, we have to put Jesus’ words in us and they have to stay there.

The key to being full of the Holy Spirit is to be full of Jesus’ words. The key to producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit is to immerse ourselves in the word of God. Jesus’ words contain life. If we consume them early and often, we will keep in step with the Spirit and bear his fruit.

Today’s Prayer: Thank you Lord for pouring out your Spirit on me. Help me to soak it in and desire to be in your word early and often everyday.