The Spirit of God is far more active in the OT than we may first realize. He is mentioned many times at work in God's creative world, and in the lives of many people. He is not a force, He is personality, a person, One who carries out the work of God the Father.
The word "spirit" in Hebrew is Ruach. In Genesis 1:2 we find Him hovering over the waters of the planet. The word "hover" can be translated "moving, vibrating, fluttering gently" on the surface of the waters. The Rabbis note that "'hover' is a description of the eagle hovering over the young to care for them and protect them. Matter itself is lifeless. The Spirit of God quickens (gives life) and transforms it into material for a living world."
To do the above requires intelligence, planning, and design. He is not simply a Power! He is both omnipotent and energizing in the creative process of creation. He is not inanimate. He is active with creative genius and purpose. He is "the Spirit of God," that is, the Spirit who belongs to, and comes from God.
Jewish scholars have a problem with the doctrine of the Spirit of God. They know He is more than a force, He is personality. The personal pronoun "He" is always used when speaking of His work. This is masculine, not neuter, though the noun is neuter. That is simply the characteristic of the noun itself and does not imply that He is a neuter!
The orthodox Jewish rabbis come right up to the edge in calling the Spirit of God a Person, a living being, not simply a power, a force. In their Genesis commentaries they say "The Spirit is the mysterious, unseen, and irresistible presence of the Divine Being.
It is generally the Spirit of God working out the plan of God the Father with His creatures here on earth. If the Jews admit to the personality of the Holy Spirit, then they admit to the doctrine of the Trinity, and finally the deity of the Son of God. This they do not wish to do!
Psalm 51:11 calls the Spirit "the Holy Spirit," implying His very nature and being special, unique, all righteous, pure, and perfect. Holy is a descriptive of the pure nature of God. He can declare "things" holy for distinct purposes, but in actuality, things cannot be holy unless God calls them so. But the Spirit is a person, and His nature is that of Holiness! From the Hebrew text Genesis 1:2 reads:
"And the earth was nothingness and waste (terrifying) was upon the face of the primeval ocean, and Spirit of God hovered upon the face of the oceans." Water is the womb of life and there is more water observed on earth than upon any other planet observed in space!
—Dr. Mal Couch (3/11)
