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Transcript 010A
When Did the Holy Spirit First Make Himself Known?
CALLER: At what time did the Holy Spirit make Himself known to the world?
HC: The Holy Spirit made Himself known at creation. We read in Genesis 1:2: "The Spirit brooded upon the face of the waters." The Holy Spirit, who is Eternal God, was already present at creation, and repeatedly we find references in the Old Testament to the Holy Spirit. We find that the Holy Spirit came upon Saul, to qualify him to be a king. We find that He came upon wicked Balaam, to qualify him to speak about blessings from God. And this was back in around the year 1409 BC.
The Holy Spirit spoke through Noah, the Bible says in the New Testament. This was back in 4990 BC. So the Holy Spirit has been present throughout time in the world. He is Eternal God.
Now God the Holy Spirit made Himself manifest in a very special way at Pentecost, back in AD 33, fifty days after the cross, when He began His work, which was actually a two-pronged work. First of all, He qualified every born again believer to be a witness. Beginning at that point in time, every born again believer received that ability, to be a witness. This was not so before that time. Only occasionally God so qualified a person. And secondly, at that time it was God's purpose that the Holy Spirit would bring the Word of God into power, so that it would free men from the shackles of sin. And so we see this very dramatically at Pentecost, when 3000 are saved. The power of the Gospel became manifest in the new and wonderful way that had not been so to the same degree before.