The Holy Spirit Before Pentecost

[Sugar_Ray]

What was the role of the Holy Spirit before Pentecost?

How did it change?

Surely Old Testament figures were guided by the Holy Spirit in their decisions and actions.

Christ breathed the Holy Spirit on the Apostles before his ascension to give them the power to forgive sins.

Christ said that God revealed his divinity to Peter. This must have been through the Holy Spirit.

Did Pentecost bring with it a different level of intensity? Or some change in the role of the Holy Spirit?

Thanks

 

[Lazerlike42]

What was the role of the Holy Spirit before Pentecost?

How did it change?

Surely Old Testament figures were guided by the Holy Spirit in their decisions and actions.

Christ breathed the Holy Spirit on the Apostles before his ascension to give them the power to forgive sins.

Christ said that God revealed his divinity to Peter. This must have been through the Holy Spirit.

Did Pentecost bring with it a different level of intensity? Or some change in the role of the Holy Spirit?

Thanks

The key to understanding this is that the Holy Spirit is God’s active principle in the world. To try to put it very simply, in Trinitarian theology, the Father is God being, the Son is God speaking, and the Holy Spirit is God acting.

For example, consider the creation of the world as explained by Genesis, John, and the Creed. The Father, God in His simple existence, did it through the Son, His spoken word, by the Holy Spirit, His action in the world.

Whenever God does some action in the world, it is the Holy Spirit. Because God can do all sorts of different things in the world, there are all sorts of different dispensations of His Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit was present at Creation, and through the Old Testament, and at Jesus’ baptism, and was given for the power to forgive sins on Easter, and finally was given for the strengthening and the understanding and charisms for evangelization on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit can be given in many different ways and at many different times because each time, it is performing a different action or, to put it somewhat coarsely, it is made ‘available’ to the world for the sake of accomplishing different actions.

 

[dylanschrader]

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is given to constitute the Church fully. The Holy Spirit is now the soul of the Church, animating the Body of Christ.

Just as Christ is present in the world in the world in a new way for all ages in his Church, the Holy Spirit now guides all men to the truth in a more complete way that is only possible after Christ’s death and Resurrection have been accomplished.

 

[Nikhil]

I am not an expert on this but here is my opinion:

After Pentecost what changed is the relationship we have with the Holy Spirit. When Jesus made us his own brothers and sisters, we in turn inherited a unique new relationship with the Holy Spirit. This is something I feel is vastly different from before Pentecost.

At Pentecost the apostles experienced the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. There may well have been prophets in the Old Testament who were blessed with many gifts but clearly there was a new relationship at work.

My 0.02 …

 

[ALLFORHIM]

Hi,

In the OT the HS came in and out of men. That is why you fins men saying Father please dont take the Spirit from me.

In the NT when you accept Christ’s free gift of salvation the HS is in you and stays in you sealed till the day of redemption.It doesnt leave anymore like it use to. I suppose that is part of the new covenant God made with His children(believers)

That is one difference. There may be more Im not sure.