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of spiritual gifts is always tied to the “body of Christ” metaphor for the Church (Rom. 12, Eph. 4,
1 Cor. 12).
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Such a concept is foreign to the Old Testament. The uniqueness and newness of
the Church apparently casts the gifting work of the Spirit in a different light.
However, there are at least three threads of similarity with the New Testament that can be
traced with respect to the Old Testament concept of what might be called the giving of gifts.
First, Old Testament people are sometimes referred to as gifts given by God (Num. 8:19; 18:6).
In the Numbers passages, God declares the Levites to be a gift to Aaron and his sons for the
purpose of serving as priests to the nation. However, nothing is said about how God has gifted
them as individuals. The Holy Spirit is not mentioned. They are merely separated unto the
task of priestly service. However, the idea of people as gifts is used by Paul in his teaching
about spiritual gifts in Eph. 4:8 where he quotes from Psalm 68:18, "When he ascended on high,
he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men" (NASV). In the context of
Ephesians, the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ (Church), and the giving of grace to individuals
are all in view (4:1-7). Paul's analogous application of the Psalm passage lists the men given as
gifts to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers (4:11). None of these are
specifically in view in the Old Testament passage. Paul's appropriation of the idea, however,
shows there is a similarity in the Spirit's work in relation to the giving of men as gifts to the
people of God.
l
Second, there are several Old Testament examples of God's Spirit coming upon Old
Testament saints to empower them to carry out specific tasks.
li
For example, the Holy Spirit is
said to come upon various men in the book of Judges such as Othniel (3:10), Gideon (6:34),
Jephthah (11:29), Samson (13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14). The Spirit apparently endows each leader
with abilities to lead the tribes against various oppressors like the Midianites and Philistines.
For each man, the particular empowerment of the Spirit, while involving leadership, may be
somewhat different. In the case of Othniel and Jephthah, the references are general with no
specifics cited. In Gideon's life the Spirit may have given courage that went beyond his normal
human ability. The Samson account yields the most detail as the Spirit comes upon him to give
him supernatural physical strength. At least in Samson's case, this is not a permanent ongoing
ability but one that comes and goes. Eventually, it is taken away by God due to Samson's
wickedness.
Likewise, the Spirit of God comes upon certain men to grant extra insight and ability in
the area of building. In Exodus 31:3-6 Bezalel and others were filled with the Spirit of God for
the purpose of possessing wisdom, knowledge, and skill in craftsmanship as the Tabernacle, its
furniture, garments, and utensils were to be made.
lii
Here the Spirit energizes natural skills with
a specific event as the focus rather than ongoing living.
In addition, the Spirit of God is said to come upon men who have an administrative or
kingly function to assist them in that function. Examples would be the leadership of Moses
(Num. 11:17; Isa. 63:10-12) and Joshua (Num. 27:18; Deut. 34:9) as well as the reigns of King
David (1 Sam. 16:13) and King Saul (1 Sam. 10:6, 10; 11:16; 16:14).
liii
In these cases the
ministry of the Spirit appears to be an ongoing day by day enablement for each individual's
purpose in God's plan. In this it may differ from the example of the Judges. However, the
example of Saul's declension and loss of the Spirit in this capacity shows the potentially
temporary nature of this work of the Spirit (1 Sam. 16:14). While the empowerment shown is
similar to later Church operations, the permanence of the Spirit's presence in the latter case
contrasts with this Old Testament example (see discussion above concerning the indwelling of
the Spirit).