The Spirit's Ministry - Tongues and Prophecy

ho is the Holy Spirit? Scripture clearly states the Holy Spirit is God. One of the best proofs that He is God is found in the book of Acts. In Acts 5:1-4 we are told that a couple in the early church had sold some land they owned, kept part of the money for themselves, had gone to the church leadership, and claimed that they were donating all of the money. Apparently, they wanted to impress the apostle Peter and the church. But it was a lie, and the apostle Peter knew it. So he said,

Amanitas, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. (NASB) Acts 5:3-4

In this passage we want to notice that 1) Peter told Amanitas that he had lied to the Holy Spirit, and that 2) he had lied to God. Peter makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is God.

Jesus also taught that the Holy Spirit is God in Matthew 12:31 when He told the Jewish leaders that they had blasphemed against the Holy Spirit.

Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. (NASB) Matt. 12:31

Blasphemy could only occur against God. The Jews had claimed that the miracles performed by the Holy Spirit through Jesus were the works of Satan. That was blasphemy. Jesus quickly warned them and in the warning tells us that the Holy Spirit is God. Both Jesus and Peter clearly teach that the Holy Spirit is our eternal God.

He Is A Person. The Holy Spirit is our loving God. He is a person and not a thing, not a sterile power, nor a force. This fact was revealed in an incident that occurred during the early church when a man by the name of Simon saw the apostles Peter and John bestowing the Holy Spirit on those who believed or “received the Word of God (Acts 8:14). Simon had been using magic to impress the crowds and desired another “power,” so he asked the following:

. . . Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. (NASB) Acts 8:19

. . . May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. (NASB) Acts 8:20-22

Even His names imply that He is a person and is God. He is called the Comforter, the Living God, the Spirit of Holiness, and the Spirit of Counsel and Might, to name a few. The Spirit counsels us. He comforts us. He is living and is not just inanimate material. The Spirit of God has emotion, a will and intelligence. He is known as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and by many other names. The Spirit is never referred to as “it” but as “He” or “Him” (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26). Scripture reveals that He has emotions like us since He can be grieved (Eph. 4:30) and experiences joy (1 Theses 1:6). He gives gifts as He desires (1 Cor. 12:11; Heb. 2:4), and He speaks (Acts 10:19). He is a person! He is Holy.

Ministry Before Jesus. The Holy Spirit appears in both the Old and New Testaments. He was active in Genesis, during the life of Jesus, during the times of the apostles, after the apostles, and He is active today.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. (NASB) Gen. 1:1-2

He was present and active during the creation. Scripture says that Jesus Christ was also involved in the creation (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16); Heb. 1:2). Both of them were there. After Genesis 1:2, scripture is silent about the Holy Spirit for about 2,500 years. He appears again in Exodus 31:3 when He enables a man, Beatle, to be a skilled craftsman on the tabernacle. This is the first time in scripture that we are told the Holy Spirit filled anyone. Yet we know that the Holy Spirit has been active since the day of creation, motivating men and women to believe in God. Otherwise, how would they believe (John 16:8-11; 1 Cor. 2:12-14)?

Moses’ Seventy Leaders. Later, Moses complained to God that the burden of caring for the Israelites was too great. So God responded by offering help - seventy men to help him lead the people.

The LORD therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring 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 who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you shall not bear it all alone.” (NASB) Num. 11:16-17

God told Moses that He would take a “portion of the Spirit” from Moses and place Him on the seventy men to enable them to help Moses. These men, who believed in God, needed the special empowerment of the Holy Spirit. They were not able to do their task correctly unless the Spirit helped them. It is also clear that the Spirit had been empowering Moses already, even though scripture never records this fact. This suggests that other Old Testament men and women may have been empowered by the Spirit on occasions, but scripture never records those events. It is important to note that we cannot make assumptions when scripture is silent.

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And it came about that when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again. But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was El dad and the name of the other Me dad. And the Spirit rested upon them . . . and they prophesied in the camp. (NASB) Num. 11:24-26

This is a remarkable passage because we are told that after God “took some of” the Holy Spirit from Moses and placed Him on these men, they prophesied. The Hebrew word for “prophesied” is NABBA. It means to “act like a prophet.” The Jewish scholar Mailgram says the following about the meaning of this word:

It is not their speech that marked them as prophets but their behaving in recognizable patterns by which true prophets can be distinguished from pretenders. (Mailgram, Jacob. Numbers. JPS Torah Commentary. Jewish Publication Society, 1990.)

These men acted like prophets and spoke a word for God. It is important to notice that the seventy men did not continue “prophesying” during their ministry because scripture simply states, “they did not do it again” (Numbers 11:25). The Holy Spirit was not continually upon these men. The Hebrew is clear, it was a one time event. They had “prophesied” as an indication that God’s blessing was upon them for the ministry He had given them.