Before Jesus died on the cross, did the Holy Spirit exist? And if so what role did he play?
This question actually goes on a bit more too, and gets more specific:
Also, in the Old Testament, it states a lot that God said he had to come down and check out what was going on.
With Adam and Eve he came to walk with them and to ask them what was wrong.
The Tower of Babel it says that God has to come down to see what was going on.
Why is this? Does the Holy Spirit do this job for God now since the Holy Spirit lives in all of Gods children?
YES He did exist before Jesus!
Actually, the Holy Spirit is 1/3 of God, and is co-equal with the Father and Jesus. And the Bible shows us in MULTIPLE places that God has been around since the beginning of time:
Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
We see Him in the Old Testament, in:
Genesis 1:2 - Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Job 33:4 - The spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Ezekiel 2:1-3 - He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
He comes when He wants to do what He wants with whoever He wants to use. He shows up selectively and temporarily, when He wants to… It was not universal, and it was not permanent.
But that shifts in the New Testament when Jesus died on the cross, defeated death, and was resurrected. Through salvation, we are cleaned inside and out, and can therefore not just connect with God, we can BE with God.
John 14:15-17
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Old Testament - the Holy Spirit came ON them
New Testament - the Holy Spirit is IN us
