How Did the Holy Spirit Speak to the Apostles? In What Form? And How Did God the Father Speak to the Prophets in the Old Testament and Others?

2 minutesread

It is difficult to pinpoint a single method by which God communicated with them. Here are various ways through which God interacted with the prophets and apostles: 1.⁠ ⁠Direct Speech: Sometimes, God spoke to them directly, in a mouth-to-ear manner, as He did with Moses the prophet. This type of communication is seen in Numbers 12:6-8 where God says, “If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings.” 2.⁠ ⁠Visions and Dreams: God often communicated through visions or dreams. This method was commonly used with Aaron and others. In the rebuke to Aaron and Miriam, the Lord explains the difference in His communication with Moses and other prophets (Numbers 12:6-8). 3.⁠ ⁠Divine Appearances: Sometimes, God would appear in a visible form. For instance, He appeared to Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and conversed with him (Genesis 18:9, 23-33). Similarly, He spoke to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6). 4.⁠ ⁠Inner Voice through Revelation: The Spirit of God often spoke to people through revelation, which could be an inner voice or inspiration. Jesus mentioned to the apostles, “For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” (Matthew 10:20). 5.⁠ ⁠Audible Voice: At times, God spoke audibly. In Acts 13:2, we read about the Holy Spirit speaking during a time of worship and fasting: “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” Similarly, the Spirit spoke to Philip, guiding him to join the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:29). 6.⁠ ⁠The Day of Pentecost: On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit manifested as tongues of fire on each of the apostles, enabling them to speak in different languages as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:3-4). This event marked a direct and powerful communication of the Holy Spirit. 7.⁠ ⁠Various Methods in the Old Testament: God communicated in diverse and numerous ways to the fathers by the prophets (Hebrews 1:1). This included speaking through angels, prophetic visions, symbolic actions, and other means. These examples illustrate the various ways through which God and the Holy Spirit interacted with the prophets in the Old Testament and the apostles in the New Testament, showing the richness and diversity of divine communication.

Related Knowledge Base Posts

Title
.