The Person of the Holy Spirit - Table of Contents

ecord is given for the sake of its historic importance and to constitute a living example to later generations. How is
inspiration related to this aspect of Scripture?
As in the case of other types of Scripture, inspiration is first of all selective. In the writing of the Scripture, the writer is
guided to include and exclude according to the mind of God. Inspiration assures that the record is an accurate one, giving the
message of the prophet the character of infallibility. This was true even in the case of the few ungodly men who gave voice
to prophecy and were guided in it by God. The work of inspiration in this particular type of Scripture is similar to that
operative in recording history in the larger sense, in the writing of history, guiding in the selection and statement of the
history, and in the case of prophecy, guiding in the selection and statement of the message and deeds of God through His
prophets. Scripture, it can be concluded that in the main inspiration bears the same characteristics in all kinds of Old
Testament Scripture. In it all the Spirit guided, excluding the false, including all that the mind of God directed, giving to
revelation accurate statement, to history purposeful selection and authentic facts, to providentially guided experience its
intimate record of God dealing with the hearts of His servants, to prophecy, whether a contemporary message or predictive,
the unfailing accuracy that made it the proper standard for faith to apprehend. The work of inspiration was not accomplished
by an impersonal force, by a law of nature, or by providence alone; but the immanent Holy Spirit, working in the hearts and
affairs of men, not only revealed the truth of God, but caused the Old Testament to be written, the most amazing document
ever to see the light of day, bearing in its pages the unmistakable evidences that the hands which inscribed them were guided
by the unwavering, infinitely wise, unfailing Holy Spirit.
V. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Miracles of the Old Testament
A survey of the Old Testament reveals an abundance of miracles of all descriptions accomplished by the power of God. As
in the New Testament, no occasion is found where miracles are subject to explanation, their power being explained by the
immediate agency of God. Two of the three great periods of miraculous works are found in the Old Testament: the period of
Moses, and the period of Elisha and Elijah. The third belongs to the lifetime of Christ and the apostles. The question arises
whether the miracles of the Old Testament are to be ascribed to the Godhead without personal distinctions, or whether the
Scriptures give sufficient testimony to attribute miracles in the Old Testament to the ministry of a distinct Person.
The supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit in creation and preservation has been already considered. An extended ministry
to man himself is also revealed in the Old Testament. In the accomplishment of great wonders in the natural world, however,
can the Holy Spirit be assigned the divine agency? If an answer can be found to this question, it will be based on two lines of
evidence: first, the inference from the work of the Holy Spirit in other particulars; second, the work of the Holy Spirit in
accomplishing miracles on behalf of Christ.
1. Inference from the Other Works of the Holy Spirit.
A clear reference to miracles as being generally accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit is not found in the Old
Testament. The power which effects miracles is usually said to be Jehovah, without distinction as to the Persons of the
Godhead. The work of miracles seems to be the prerogative of each Person of the Trinity severally as well as the work of the
one God. Specific reference, however, is found to some ministries of the Holy Spirit which would lead us to believe that the
Third Person was the agent of miracles in many instances. From the work of the Holy Spirit in creation and providence, it is
clear that He is engaged in a vital work in the material world. The immanence of the Holy Spirit is more prominent than the
immanence of the other Persons, though the attribute, of course, is equal in all three Persons. His work in men both in
prophetic ministry and enablement for all service indicates His intimate relation to events. From these general arguments, it
may be inferred that it would be in harmony with all we know for the Holy Spirit to effect miracles.
Owen, at least, comes to this conclusion, even though the specific arguments are less definite than we might wish: “The third
sort of the immediate extraordinary operations of the Holy Ghost are miracles; such as were frequently wrought under the
Old Testament, by Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, and others; those by Moses exceeding, if the Jews mistake not, all the rest.
Now these were all the immediate effects of the Divine power of the Holy Ghost; for by miracles we mean such effects as