Ron asks a great question:

Has not fruitfulness, in any and all ages, been caused and enabled by the Holy Spirit, even if He did not permanently indwell all believers before the church age? In any age, if Joe Believer (not big names like Noah, Moses, and Daniel) sought to walk with God, didn’t the Spirit provide the enablement just as effectively as in our age?

The answer requires some speculation since we have no verse that directly indicates the answer.

David is called in Scripture “a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22; 1 Sam 13:14). Abraham is called “a friend of God” (Jas 2:23).

But even ordinary believers like Manoah and his wife–Samson’s parents–are described as pleasing to God (Judges 13). Here are the names of some ordinary believers who lived before the birth of the Church and who are recorded in a positive light in Scripture: Adam, Abel, Enoch, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Esther, Sarah, Rachel, Leah, Benjamin, Uriah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, Elizabeth and Zacharias (John the Baptist’s parents), Simeon, and Anna.

After Judas had departed, the Lord Jesus told the Eleven, “[The Father] will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16-18, italics added). Notice the words “He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Imagine how difficult it would have been for the Lord Jesus to leave the disciples. He would no longer be physically present with them, and they would need another Helper.

Old Testament believers had the help of the Holy Spirit, too. They were able to please God.

But was it harder for OT believers to please God?

See this article by John Samson. He concludes that it was harder for OT believers, but that they were regenerated and indwelt by the Spirit.

AI Overview writes,

According to most Christian theological interpretations, yes, it was generally considered harder for Old Testament believers to please God compared to New Testament believers because the Old Testament relied heavily on ritualistic sacrifices and strict adherence to the Law of Moses, whereas the New Testament emphasizes a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and grace, making the path to pleasing God seemingly more accessible.

Balance is needed here.

On the one hand, Scripture suggests that it is easier for believers today to please God. We have the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have the NT Scriptures. We live after the ministry of Jesus, the cross, resurrection, ascension, and the ministry of the apostles.

On the other hand, OT believers could and did please God, and in some ways, life was less challenging than it is today. The world today is actively opposed to God’s creation mandate. Public schools and the mainstream media are antithetical to conservative Christianity. We live in a world that is arguably worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. Cell phones and social media make it very difficult to focus on that which is pleasing to God.ⁱ

I wonder if the percentage of believers who please God is higher now than in the various dispensations before the Church’s birth. Scripture doesn’t say, but maybe it implies that there is a greater percentage of overcomers today. What do you think? How do you understand the Scriptures in this regard?

If it is easier for us to please God today, and it probably is, then we will be held to a higher standard. “To whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). We know this: God will be entirely fair in judging them and us. He is just. He cannot be unjust.

Keep grace in focus.

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ⁱ I think growing up before cell phones, laptops, and social media has given me an advantage over young people today. I think it is harder for them than it was for someone who grew up in the fifties and sixties. And I think it was probably easier for my sisters who grew up in the forties and fifties, before we even had television in our house!