God the Holy Spirit: The Third Person of the Trinity

In Nehemiah 9:19, 20 and 9:29, 30 Nehemiah says that God's Spirit sought to teach Israel the way of life. The Spirit called Israel to obey God's commandments by which a man could live. This is similar to the sancitifying work of God the Holy Spirit in the New Testament as well.

In Psalm 106:32, 33, and Isaiah 63:10, Israel's relationship with God's Spirit was rebellious. God's Spirit will not continue to strive with rebellious men forever. Just as in the days of Noah God's Spirit would not always strive with men, but would stop their rebellion by bringing an end to their lives; yet, so long as God's covenant remained with the land, there were always some who retained His Spirit and obeyed His will.

In Numbers 27:18-20 God's Spirit was given as a sign of office, as well as an empowering for the task that was given, such as 2 Samuel 23:2. Here David claims that the words of the Spirit were on his tongue. A parallel passage would be Matthew 10:19, 20. These verses read, "But when they hand you over, don't worry about how or what you should speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, because you are not speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you." So, in both Testaments God's Spirit speaks His Word through God's people.

God's Spirit also empowered His prophets to proclaim their message. Micah noted this in Micah 3:8. Micah said, "But as for me, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin." Micah had not just been commissioned and informed by God's Spirit; the prophet had also been empowered and emboldened by the Spirit. Other prophets who knew the Spirit's filling were Ezariah, Jehaziel, Zacharias, Jehoiada, Daniel, and perhaps Balaam. All of these fillings were in some way types or foreshadowings of the coming Messiah. Both Isaiah verses 1 and 2, and Isaiah 42:1 promised that God would pour out His Spirit on the coming deliverer. In Isaiah 61:1, this coming one spoke for Himself saying, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners." Christ was the anointed One, not Isaiah. In Luke 4:18-21, Jesus read these words in a synagogue and declared that they had been fulfilled in Him. As Isaiah's promises were fulfilled, the New Testament bore ample witness to the Spirit's importance in Christ's life.