Precious Holy Spirit

In the Beginning

I felt led to highlight a few specific Biblical ideas about Holy Spirit today as we celebrate Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came and baptized the first disciples and continues that same work to this day.

Genesis 1:1–2 NKJV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The word created is “bara” and means “to form or fashion.” It’s a verb where God is ALWAYS the subject in its standard form revealing that “creating is a divine capacity.” It was originally used for the idea of carving or cutting out implying that creating is similar to sculpting. It applies to both bringing something into existence or fashioning existing matter into something new.

At this moment, the earth was without form, which is tohu in the Hebrew and means formlessness, confusion. The word is hard to describe but it the idea of chaos, confusion and disorder, all things that are opposed to the organization, direction and order that God has demonstrated. The earth was also void or empty, which is bohu in the Hebrew. Tohu and bohu are always together. And the word deep is referring to a primeval ocean.

Now here’s my favorite part. The Holy Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters. Hovering means to “move, hover, tremble.” The picture of it is that Holy Spirit vibrating over the waters just waiting for the first command to be released so He could execute the decrees of God.

Lesson 1: Holy Spirit is just waiting to execute the decrees of God that WE release into the earth!

The Artisans

Exodus 31:1–11 NKJV

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle—8 the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base—10 the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

Bezalel literally means “in the shadow of God” or “in the protection of God.” What’s interesting is Bezalel and the word hovering has a musical connotation. It’s a ringing of a bell, whirring, buzzing. Basically like the vibration created from sound like a musical instrument or voice. I like this idea because Bezalel was in the sound of God. Judah means praise. Prophetically speaking Bezalel is the idea of living in the sound or praise of God, which releases the creative wisdom of God.

The Bible says that Bezalel was “filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship to design artistic works...” You also see in verse 6 that God “PUT WISDOM IN THE HEARTS OF ALL GIFTED ARTISANS.”

Filled means “to fill, to be full, to be complete, to furnish, to satisfy…it can express the state of being in which a certain container is holding to capacity a particular object.” This reveals that Bezalel was the container holding to capacity Holy Spirit during the act of creating the objects for the tabernacle. Along with that came several things:

Wisdom. Skill, experience, shrewdness. It’s expressed as technical capability, and it’s inherent in the created order. God alone knows where wisdom dwells and where it originates according to Job 28:12, 20. But with Jesus Christ, we see that wisdom originates in Him for He is the wisdom of God. Shrewd means “astute and sharp in practical matters.”

Understanding. Insight. It’s associated with both wisdom and knowledge and contrasted with foolishness.

Knowledge. Learning, knowing, discernment, insight, and notion. It’s technical or specific knowledge along with wisdom and understanding. Knowledge also affects behavior.

Workmanship. Work, occupation, business, something made, property, workmanship. It’s used for God’s creative work, for human labor, skilled craftsmanship, and agriculture.

Gifted. Wise, one who is skilled or experienced like in the area of building, craftsmen, metal workers, fabrics, etc.

Lesson 2: Because you are filled with Holy Spirit, you are filled with wisdom and creativity to solve problems, create beauty, learn new things and build community!

Beauty is a by-product of wisdom and holiness. It’s seen in your surroundings, practical matters and things, how you conduct yourself, how you bring form where there was once chaos, and how you interact with others. Where Holy Spirit is, there is beauty, order, and peace.

He Clothed Himself

Judges 6:11–24 NKJV

11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” 15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” 17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.” 19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the Angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. 22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

I love the story of Gideon because he was afraid and hiding because of the Midianites who were oppressing the Israelites and the Angel of the Lord, which is Jesus pre-incarnate, comes to him to call him into his destiny of freeing his nation. And while Gideon is still in a state of seeing things as they were instead of heaven’s perspective, God declares him “A mighty man of valor,” “go in this might of yours,” “have I not sent you?” HE IMPARTED IDENTITY BEFORE THE ASSIGNMENT.

Judges 6:34 NKJV

34 But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.

I love love this verse! The Hebrew literally means, “The Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with Gideon,” which means “He took possession of Gideon.” This is a fascinating idea to me. You’d think it’d be Gideon clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit, but that’s not the idea. Holy Spirit clothed Himself with Gideon to empower him to set His people free! To me it’s just humility.

Ephesians 6:17 NKJV

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

The original language actually suggest the “SWORD WHICH THE SPIRIT WIELDS, which is the Word of God.” Remember Holy Spirit’s executive power is released in the decrees? When you release the Word of God, He uses your decrees as a sword and not just any sword. This sword is “a razor sharp Roman sword used in close combat.” The Holy Spirit is a mighty warrior and our offensive “weapon” to set others free and ourselves!

Lesson 3: The Holy Spirit clothes Himself with us and takes possession of us to release His might through the Word we decree to bring freedom!

Pentecost

Acts 2:1–4 TPT

1 On the day Pentecost was being fulfilled, all the disciples were gathered in one place. 2 Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear! 3 Then all at once a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfed each one of them. 4 They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit and were inspired to speak in tongues—empowered by the Spirit to speak in languages they had never learned!

Pentecost is now associated with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which all of the prophets looked to. In fact, the promise to Abraham was the Holy Spirit according to Galatians. John the Baptist was looking for Jesus to be clothed with Holy Spirit and set Israel free as a nation. He stated that he needed to be baptised by the Lord. But listen to the original idea of Pentecost in the OT.

Deuteronomy 16:10–12 NKJV

10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Pentecost consisted of:

A freewill offering as the Lord blesses you

Rejoicing where He makes His name abide

Remembering that we were once enslaved

A freewill offering is a spontaneous, voluntary gift or favor to a person without any thought of return or payback. It’s the result of an overflow from an abundance within the heart.

Rejoice means to be joyful, to be glad, to gloat. Gloat means “to look at or think about with great or excessive satisfaction.” Obviously we’re not gloating in ourselves but in the DEMONSTRATION OF THE POWER AND WORK OF GOD IN OUR LIVES RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF OUR ENEMY!

Remember means “to recall, to think about, to think on, to acknowledge…the basic meaning indicates a process of mentioning or recalling either silently, verbally, or by means of a memorial sign or symbol.” We are to remember how we were slaves of the world system (Egypt) and how Jesus Christ set us free to freely chose to worship God and minister to Him as bondservants. He saved us, made us into new creatures in His image, filled us with His Spirit, and baptizes us with power. And for those reasons we can rejoice.

Lesson 4: God freely gave us His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and made us the temple where His name abides.

2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 (TPT)

Treasure in Clay Jars

7 We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours.

We are designed to pour out the extraordinary power of God. It’s an overflow! It’s a continually baptism that overflows out of us. We are to demonstrate the power of God. We are to provide evidence of His existence through the presence and power of Holy Spirit. Overflowing requires drinking deeply!

Acts 10:38 NKJV

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

He was baptized with Holy Spirit AND with power—two distinct manifestations of being baptized. I’d suggest that we seek out a greater baptism of power as the people of God!