Another function of the Spirit is for prophesying (Num. 11:25, 29; 24:2-4; 1 Sam. 10:6, 10; 19:20, 23; 2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Chron. 15:1; 20:14; 24:20; Ezek. 11:4-5; Zech. 7:12). Today the most needful thing among us is prophesying. The practice of prophesying was exalted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. He indicated that prophesying was the excelling gift for the building up of the Body of Christ (vv. 4b, 12). All the verses we have listed above related to prophesying show that it is the most needful function of the Spirit as God in the Old Testament. Even in the Old Testament, prophesying is the most needful function. To prophesy is to speak God, to speak for God, and to speak forth God. We have to learn how to speak God, to speak for God, and to speak forth God.
The brooding Spirit, the striving Spirit, the filling Spirit, and the prophesying Spirit are also the warring Spirit (Judg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14). The warring Spirit is the Spirit who fights against God’s enemy.
In the Old Testament, the anointing of the Spirit is mainly for power (1 Sam. 16:13). But in the New Testament, the anointing is for us to enjoy all the riches of God. Power is one of the many attributes of God. In the New Testament, the anointing brings us all of God’s attributes. In a previous message, we saw the Spirit typified by the compound ointment in Exodus 30. The Spirit as the compound ointment anoints us with all the elements of the consummated Triune God.
First Kings 18:12 and 2 Kings 2:16 both show the function of the Spirit in carrying man. In 1 Kings 18:12 Obadiah, fearing that Elijah would be carried away by the Spirit of the Lord, said, “And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not.” Second Kings 2:16 also refers to Elijah being carried away by the Spirit as God.
First Chronicles 12:18 reveals the Spirit as clothing— “Then the Spirit clothed Amasai...” (lit.). The Spirit as clothing is also revealed in Luke 24:49, where the Lord said, “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” The clothing of the Spirit upon man is man’s uniform, not only for power but also for authority. Policemen wear a uniform, and their uniform gives them the authority. People will obey the orders of someone clothed in a police uniform. If the policeman did not have a uniform, however, who would listen to him? His uniform gives him the authority. When a uniformed policeman tells a person to stop his car, that person will stop. When the disciples were clothed with power from on high, they were clothed with the strongest and highest uniform. They were powerful and full of authority.
The Spirit also has the function of man-creating and life-giving (Job 33:4; Psa. 104:30; Mal. 2:15). Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” This verse refers us back to Genesis 2:7, which says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” God formed man’s body of the dust of the ground. The body of man is not the man himself. When a person dies, we say that he is gone even though his body is still with us. This indicates that a man’s body is not the man himself. After the formation of man’s body, God breathed the breath of life into man. That breathing was the creating of man. When the breath of life was breathed into man’s nostrils, man became a living soul. When the Bible speaks of man, it refers to man as a “soul.” Exodus 1:5 says, “And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls.” Souls in this verse is synonymous with persons. Man is a living soul. The breathing of the breath of life into man’s body was the creating of man, the making of man. This creating goes together with life-giving. The Spirit is a man-creating and life-giving Spirit.