The Third Person- Part Three
As we continue our trek through the backstory of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, we come upon a man that God calls by name: Bezalel. He’s not only called by name but is filled with the Spirit of God: Ruach Elohim. Why does God choose certain people to fill with His Spirit at specific times? Divine assignments. Not only is Bezalel called by name and filled with the Spirit but also filled with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge for the task before him: build the tabernacle (Ex. 31, 35-39).
As you know, the lower story gives us a physical picture of a spiritual reality and it’s a powerful truth in Bezalel beginning with the meaning of his name, ‘in the shadow of God.’ A shadow is a resemblance or likeness of an object whose light is blocked. Bezalel was a reflection of God due to the infilling of the Spirit. He was literally ‘job-shadowing’ God for the purpose of building Him a dwelling place for His Presence.
Consider this upper story. God has called you by name, He desires to fill you with His Spirit not only for divine assignments but to permanently dwell in your hearts (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16). This longing for intimacy is still on God’s heart today and experienced in our relationship with Jesus by His Spirit.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us … John 1:14a ESV
The dwelling or remaining presence is Jesus tabernacling in your heart and is as real today as it was to the Jewish people in their travels to the Promised Land. This, then begs the question, “What for? Is this just for my personal relationship with Jesus?” Paul would shout a resounding “No!” As wonderful as our relationship with Jesus is, it’s not the end game. God, Who supplies the Spirit of Jesus Christ does so to bring help and deliverance (Gal. 3:5; Phil. 1:19) to His people, the Church. The Spirit supplies us with the necessities (Eph. 4:11-12) of ministry to build up the body of Christ, that’s the purpose of the spiritual gifts. Bezalel experienced His gifts as a foreshadow for the Church. Wonderful.
God doesn’t want us to misunderstand or be uninformed concerning the spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:1) because there’s such a variety of them yet they’re all empowered by the Holy Spirit for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7, 11). He gives them individually as He wills so that the Body of Christ will be nourished and grow (2 Peter 1:5) into a holy temple (Eph. 2:21), dwelling place of God, strong, healthy, and mature.
He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 NLT
Job-shadow God today, ask Him to fill you, and watch what happens.
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