Did Adam have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit before the fall, and how did that differ from us after baptism?
A viewer asks whether Adam had the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in his original state before the fall, and what the distinction is between that and our state after baptism.
Answer
We do not know for sure, to be honest with you, because anything we say toward that end is going to be influenced by what we read in the New Testament, which we then project onto Adam and Eve, and it may not fit. We know that in comparing both Testaments, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost in a very special, continual way for every single believer. Though the Holy Spirit was working in the Old Testament, we have to maintain a distinction between his limited role in the Old Testament and his manifest role beginning at Pentecost, otherwise all the promises Jesus made, that he would send the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth, would be nonsensical. The words 'Holy Spirit' are only used about three times in the Old Testament, so his role is limited until New Testament times. So whatever role the Holy Spirit had with Adam, we do not know exactly what it was, and anything we would offer is all speculation. We do not hear about the Spirit working until places like Exodus, when Bezalel is filled with the Spirit to do something for the Israelites, so it is hard to make a case about the Holy Spirit's role in the Old Testament because you only get glimpses of it.