The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-12, titled "Questions and Answers--Part 40."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. Copyright 2001 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

Answer

That’s a very good question. There seems to be an awful lot of confusion about that issue because we make too much of a point of the New Testament saint’s relationship to the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe that it is possible for any person, any time, to experience a relationship with God apart from the Holy Spirit-I don’t care what dispensation you’re talking about or what era. The Spirit of God is the agent by which God moves into the heart of man.

So, I believe that Old Testament saints were given new life by the Spirit-that the Spirit of God did come upon them. I believe also that the Spirit of God sustained that new life. When Jesus says, “He has been with you, He shall be in you,” He is not saying that you, prior to this point, didn’t have the Holy Spirit; you did. He was with you. That’s the only way anyone could have a relationship with God.

You remember back in Genesis 6, way back then, God sent the flood to destroy the world and He said this: “My spirit will not always strive with man.” Even then, the Spirit of God was striving with the unconverted and the unbelieving to bring them to the knowledge of the true God. And they were rejecting the strivings of the Holy Spirit. You also will be reminded that John the Baptist, who really was an Old Testament prophet, was filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb.

So, it is evident that the Spirit of God led the believers-and you can show a number of places in the Old Testament where that was true… There were also special anointings of the Spirit for prophetic work and leadership, but I believe there was regeneration in the Old Testament. There was new life. I believe that new life was dispensed and imparted by the Spirit and sustained by the Spirit.

Well, again, now you’re back to what Jesus said in John’s Gospel when He said, “He has been with you, He shall be in you.” One difference was the gifts of the Spirit, a very unique manifestation of ministry. But, you don’t want to make too much out of that and say by it that, for example, the Spirit came and before that He wasn’t here.

You have the same problem at the other end of the line. People say, “Well, after the rapture, the Holy Spirit will be taken out of the world.” No. It never says that. All it says is “the One who restrains will no longer restrain” which means that whatever restraining work the Spirit of God does on sin in society, He will stop doing. Still, people will be converted, and the only way they can be converted is by the agency of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit functions in bringing God into a relationship with man, through all of human history! Now, what unique nuances occur within the church you can find out by starting in Acts, chapter two, and just following the pattern.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
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