One of the things I've spent a lot of time thinking about, and studying, over the past few years is the filling of the Holy Spirit. I can't imagine this is a surprise to you-- it's steadily come out more and more in my teaching.
The main reason I studied this, at first, centered around Acts 1:1-8. Let's turn there, and read (NRSV updated no reason):
1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering[a] he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying[b] with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with[c] the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Now, before I say anything else, let's turn to Acts 2:1-4 (NRSV updated no reason):
2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
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In his books, Robert Menzies (a Pentecostal) argues that all the different ways the Spirit is described in Luke-Acts as coming on people basically mean the same thing. The baptism/dunking, and filling, and anointing, and "coming upon" people, are all describing one reality. After reading him, I adopted that as my working hypothesis, and it's interesting just this morning, again seeing the strength of his argument. Acts 1:5, 8; 2:4 are all describing one reality, one occurrence, using three different expressions. In Luke-Acts, to be baptized in the Spirit, is to have the Spirit come upon you, is to be filled. I've been tempted to say that the baptism of the Spirit is describing the first time you are filled with the Spirit, and then after that you can be repeatedly refilled (Acts 4:29-31). But I don't think that's how Acts describes it. Acts 1:5, 1:8, and 2:4 describe the same experience. Plus, Saul's first experience of this is called a "filling" (Acts 9:17). [And complicating it, the actual language of "baptism of the Holy Spirit" is only found in Acts 1:5 and 11:16, as far as I can tell.]
Perhaps if we would translate the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" differently, as the "dunking of the Spirit," that would free us from the baggage attached to the word. We make too much of one word, perhaps. We are dunked in the Spirit, and filled with the Spirit. Two different images.
I think the reason the Spirit is described as coming on people in four (?) different ways, is that each way gives us a true, but partial, picture of what the Spirit does for people. They are images, or metaphors. It's like how we as the church are God's temple, and Christ's body, and the bride of Christ. We are all of those things. All of those things help us understand who we are corporately, in different ways. The dunking, filling, anointing, and being clothed by the Spirit are all one reality, but each points to different things the Spirit does to/for us.
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Maybe four years ago, I met a believer who laid hands on me for my allergies. He rebuked my allergies in Jesus' name, and commanded them in Jesus' name to go. And they left. Now, my healing wasn't instant. It was one of those that's gradual, and progressive. The kind that requires faith, and builds faith. But I knew I was healed, and God, in kindness, let me feel the healing.
That's the kind of experience that changes everything-- how you read the Bible, how you understand God, and faith, and what's possible.
In the days that followed that, one of the main things I thought about was faith. Brother Ferrin had faith, in a way that I certainly didn't. I knew how to pray sounding like I had faith. But I didn't have faith. So that was something I started to work on. One of the pressing questions in my life, became this: How do you grow in faith?
At some point after that, I also realized that he had something else I didn't. He had power. And so I found myself asking, "How do you grow in power? How do you gain access to a supernatural lifestyle?" I didn't want this for myself-- I wanted it for my family, and for the people around me. How could I be as useful, and used, as Brother Ferrin? How did his life, look so much like the lives of the disciples in the early church?
The Bible is a big book. You could try to answer these questions in lots of ways, in lots of places. But I found myself, more and more, reading Luke-Acts. I was familiar with Acts, in particular. I took a graduate-level class on it at a Baptist seminary. But now, instead of reading it as a historical record of the growth of the first century church, I read it as an instruction manual. I read it, basically, like a Pentecostal (Rober Menzies talks along these lines).
Even after studying all of this pretty hard for months, and now years, there were lots of questions I couldn't answer. Lots of things I didn't understand. I was learning a lot, but any time you read the Bible, it's like the more you know, the more you realize you don't know.
But my quest, I guess you could call it, wasn't just theoretical. It's not just about book learning. There were lots of things I learned through experimentation. What will happen, when your lastborn breaks out in hives, and you put your hand on her skin in Jesus' name, commanding the hives in Jesus' name to go? There are people who can sit and talk about those questions, and debate them, for hours. But I kid you not-- the only way to know, is to try.
Or what happens when you have a tough day at work, and your own back is tight, and sore. Can you lay hands on your own back in Jesus' name, and get healed? Very early on, I'd seen God heal two people (Dan and Pat) of crippling sciatic nerve pain. I knew God healed backs. But would He heal mine, like that? Does the laying on hands work like that? There's no Bible verse that answers that. You don't know, until you try.
At first, I started experimenting-- working-- from a place of faith. I'd seen faith modeled. I began to understand what faith looked like. And I grew along those lines, asking God for faith, learning how to truly live "by faith." And what I found is that there is a place of power for Christians, simply through the name of Jesus. Or, you could say, through faith in the name of Jesus. What I realized, eventually, is that faith grows in part by doing.
But at some point, I realized there was something else I was missing. I was pretty sure I wasn't filled with the Holy Spirit. And, as A.W. Tozer says (in How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit), if you aren't sure if you're filled, you're not filled. You can tell. You know. And I was pretty sure I wasn't.
What we see in Acts, is that the baptism, or filling, of the Holy Spirit is essential for ministry. The Spirit gives power, and boldness. The Spirit makes it possible for us to be witnesses across the earth, in the way God commands. And Jesus thinks there's no point doing much in ministry, until you've been filled. You're better off waiting, "tarrying" (to use a Pentecostal expression), and praying, and seeking, than going. Get filled, and then go.
So at that point, my studying mostly shifted topics. How can you be filled with the Spirit? What does the filling do you for you? How does it work?
At this point, I can confidently say that the answers to these questions can be found in Luke-Acts. I can point to specific verses (at least with google search helping me), and give an answer. But at first, I couldn't. I didn't have the mental/spiritual framework to understand it. And I knew I needed help. So I read more books, mostly by Pentecostals/charismatics. It's not that there aren't other books out there-- you can read lots of books, by lots of other people. But if you turn to those books, and those authors, you'll probably find you are reading books by people who have no power. Their books don't tell stories about miraculous healings, or speaking in foreign languages you don't even know. They don't tell stories about raising people from the dead. Those books are written by people who have a form of godliness, but none of the power (2 Timothy 3:5). That, to me, is troubling. It suggests I'm reading something that's going to be at least a little off. That's the kind of thing, I'm trying to claw my way out of.
I figure, the easiest way to tell if someone truly knows what they are talking about, when it comes to the baptism of the Spirit, and the filling of the Spirit, is if healings, and signs, and wonders follow behind them (Mark 16:16-17; again, the defense for the long ending is Nicholas Lunn, The Original Ending of Mark). Those are the people who are worth listening to. Those are the people who, even if they don't get everything right, will point me in the right direction. They'll get me closer. If you want to become like a Brother Ferrin, you need to read books by people like Brother Ferrin. Or, alternatively, spend time with them.
So that's what I've done, and I've learned, and am learning, a lot.
That said, I think there's one thing for sure that some Pentecostals get a little bit wrong. It's not crippling. It's not life or death. But they're a little off. And again, I'm guessing this is some Pentecostals. Not all. (And I'd be curious to know how widespread this is, to be honest).
A number of Pentecostals argue that the baptism/filling of the Holy Spirit is something unique to the NT. They will say that God offers more to us, than He did to the OT saints. That we have something new.
Specifically, some will say that in the OT, the Holy Spirit came "upon" people-- perhaps a bit like a new suit (Numbers 11:25, 29; ; Deuteronomy 34:9-- a key verse-- Judges 3:10; Judges 6:34). Or, like a superhero exoskeleton. So Samson, having the Holy Spirit come upon him, becomes a bit like Iron Man, slaying thousands of Philistines.
Now, when we turn to the NT, we still find this kind of language at times (Luke 24:49; this is sort of awkward for Pentecostals; they want to say that there are different "dispensations"). The Spirit still comes "upon" people. But we also read that the Spirit "fills" people. The Spirit doesn't stay on the outside of people, like an Iron Man suit. The Spirit fills people up, and Spirit power flows out of people's insides (which is true; John 7:38). So a number of Pentecostals argue that we live under a new dispensation. The Spirit now primarily fills people, instead of coming upon them. And, they say, in the OT, we never see the Holy Spirit "inside" of people (contrast Genesis 41:38; Exodus 31:3; Numbers 24:18; Deuteronomy 34:9).
Now, perhaps you think all of this is a bit silly. It's just semantics, and word games. But for Christians seeking a lifestyle of partnership with the Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14), and Spiritual power, questions like this are a really big deal. These are the kinds of things you wake up thinking about, and wrestling with. How should we picture the Spirit's work? What exactly should we seek? What exactly is the "promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4)? Has God has given us NT Christians something fundamentally different from the OT? Is it worthwhile spending much time studying the Spirit in the OT, or should we mostly stick to the NT?
In my own journey, there have been aspects of all this that I've just accepted, I don't currently understand. There are lots of things I'm unsure about. And in the meantime, I've compensated by asking God for lots of things, in lots of ways. I've asked God to give me his Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). I've asked that God would send his Spirit upon me, and anoint me for ministry, like He did for Jesus (Luke 4:17-19). I've asked that God would make my hands, his hands (Luke 11:20), and that He would do wonders and signs through me like He did through Jesus (Acts 2:22). I've asked for a lot of things, in lots of different ways. Maybe you could say I'm trying to cover my bases, and make sure I'm not missing out on any of God's blessings. Because all of this is a big deal to me-- I want more of God inside of me. I want a deeper partnership, and fellowship. And I want to be fully used by God. So if God talks about this in lots of different ways, I'm going to pray for it in lots of different ways. I will echo biblical language, and seek to be useful, and used, even if I don't have all the answers.
What I found, just this week, helped me tremendously, in all sorts of ways. Today's passage, Exodus 31, doesn't answer every single question. I'm still fuzzy on lots of stuff. But it cleaned up my thinking quite a bit-- it sharpened it. I can feel things kind of coming together, from a theoretical/biblical perspective. And at this point, I feel a bit sheepish, because I should've known-- if you really want to know how the Christian life works, the OT is a great place to look.
So. Exodus 31:1. And we will start by reading through verse 5:
(1) and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
"LOOK! I hereby call by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
(3) and I hereby fill him with the Spirit of God/Elohim-- with wisdom/skill, and insight/discernment/intelligence/perceptiveness, and with knowledge, and with every [kind of; h/t Christo van der Merwe] craftsmanship--
(4) to devise designs,
to work with gold and with silver and with bronze,
(5) and with cutting stone for settings, and in the carving of trees,
to work in/with every kind of work,
Yahweh here formally commissions Bezalel for the work of building his tabernacle. He picks him out by name to be the head foreman and builder, and he equips him for this service. How?
Yahweh "fills him with the Spirit of God." Yahweh does here, what some Pentecostals say He never does in the OT-- He fills him with the Holy Spirit.
The verse then goes on to explain to us what the significance of this is (the dashed lines, -- , to the right are an elaboration, and this kind of the key here). What happens, when you are filled with God's Spirit?
Here, what it means is that Bezalel receives wisdom, and insight, and knowledge, and craftsmanship.
Now, whenever we see lists like this, we are maybe tempted to try to draw subtle distinctions between the Hebrew words. What's the difference between the words translated here as "wisdom," and "insight," and "knowledge"? We could try to do that, but I don't think it'd end up being very helpful (there is a ton of semantic overlap in meaning among the words). I think God piles up the different Hebrew words here, to help us appreciate what He did to Bezalel. And what God did, basically, is make Bezalel a ridiculously competent contractor.
We live in a day of specialization. People tend to be really good at one or two things. They can get by, probably, in a few others. But those one or two things are their bread and butter. Those one or two things are how they make a living (and I think it's Scott Adams, of "Dilbert" fame, who says-- I'm paraphrasing-- the secret to being successful in life, is being really good at two things).
Even today, when we think about contractors, it still often works that way. You have metal workers, who are welders for a living. You have carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers. It's not that those people can't work outside of their specialty, but the skill level, and speed, goes down. And when you ask someone to work outside of their specialty, you accept that you aren't quite getting what you're paying for.
Now, I say all of that, but contractors often have a wide variety of skills. The main guy who did my roof, Josh Satrom, has a great reputation in Jamestown for doing quality work, in lots of areas. If you want a $30,000 kitchen remodel done, with everything done at the highest quality, he's your guy. He's also your guy, if your roof is sagging, or you're remodeling a basement bedroom, or for just about anything else done around the house. As far as I can tell, he's really good at everything-- and his own dad, who is a great contractor in his own right, told me that Josh is the best roofer in town. When your dad has high respect for your ability, you know you're good.
When I read about Bezalel, I think about people like Josh Satrom, or his dad Bernie, or his brother Bjorn.
Let me back up for just a second. You'll notice this week that we are suddenly in Exodus 31. I'm passing right over the top of Exodus 25-29-- a huge, five chapter section of Exodus. I'm not sure how to teach it, to be honest, so I'm just going to fly over it. But what God is doing, over these five chapters, is making blueprints for his tabernacle. God is planning to live in the midst of his people, in the tabernacle. And He wants him home to be built in a certain way.
So God is the architect. He's the master designer. And God picks out Bezalel to take his blueprint, and make it a reality. Even for a Bezalel, this is a huge job. But God gives him his own Spirit, so that he can pull it off.
Now, at this point, let's try to really slow down, and think about this.
What does it mean, for God to give Bezalel his own Spirit?
You could maybe say, that what God is doing here, is making Bezalel more like God. All of us were made in God's likeness, and image. But when you add God's Spirit to that, you end up with a human even more like God. So this is a way for God to give people even more glory. And we can read verses like this, and ask ourselves, "What is man, that you've made him just a little lower than angels (elohim), and done so much for him, and given him your own Spirit?" (Psalm 8).
But the focus here, I think, runs in a different direction. When God gives Bezalel his Spirit, He does so in order to give Bezalel his own skills and ability.
Let's turn to Proverbs 3:19-20 (h/t William Propp for everything in here):
(19) Yahweh, by wisdom/skill laid the foundations of the earth. ["by wisdom" is focused]
He established the heavens by insight/discernment/intelligence/perceptiveness,
while by his knowledge the primaeval oceans broke open,
while the clouds drop dew.
When Yahweh built the world, He relied on three things: wisdom, insight, and knowledge. The reason the world is so amazing, and carefully designed, is because God has incredible wisdom, insight, and knowledge. It's God's skill in building, that gives evolutionists fits. A world where things fit so intricately, and perfectly, together, has to have been designed by a brilliant God.
So God relied on three things-- wisdom, insight, and knowledge. Now let's turn back to Exodus 31, and reread verse 3:
(3) and I hereby fill him with the Spirit of God/Elohim-- with wisdom/skill, and insight/discernment/intelligence/perceptiveness, and with knowledge, and with every [kind of; h/t Christo van der Merwe] craftsmanship--
When Yahweh fills Bezalel with his own Spirit, He give Bezalel his own skills in craftsmanship. We find the same three words: "wisdom," "insight," and "knowledge." God makes it so that Bezalel can build like God. Or, at least, a lot more like God.
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I couldn't quite figure out how to work this in. But all skilled labor requires God's help (Psalm 127:1; h/t William Propp). Every successful work project, is successful only if God participates, building with the builders. So one way to think about Bezalel, is that God's involvement goes through the roof (to wildly mix metaphors). And this would carry over to church building-- all our efforts to build up the body are only going to be successful, if God builds in and through us (Ephesians 4:12).
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This leads naturally into verse 4, but let me just say one thing about "wisdom" before we move on. This is a great verse for helping us understand what "wisdom" is, in OT thought. Wisdom, essentially, is skill. If you have skill in wood-working, or tabernacle building, you are a wise builder. If you are skilled with people, you are wise there.
Wisdom is skill, in different areas of life.
So God fills Bezalel with his Spirit, making him a master craftsman, so that he can do this-- verses 4-5:
(4) to devise designs,
to work with gold and with silver and with bronze,
(5) and with cutting stone for settings, and in the carving of trees,
to work in/with every kind of work,
God gives Bezalel a broad competence, across all areas of construction. He won't have any areas of weakness. He won't find himself struggling with something, or at a loss for what to do. He will make perfect decisions, with perfect skill. He will build, using God's talent and ability.
Starting in verse 6, God gives Bezalel a co-laborer, to help him. He will also give Bezalel lots of other people:
(6) while/now, I-- LOOK! I hereby give him Oholiab son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan,
while in the heart/mind of everyone skilled/wise of heart/mind I hereby give skill/wisdom,
and/that they shall make all that I have commanded you (the rest here is NIV):
7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— 8 the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— 10 and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”
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On the three "hereby" verbs in verse 2, 3, 6. These are almost certainly performative speech acts, which in the Hebrew use qatal. God accomplishes this calling and filling through speech. It's not so much a past tense, God letting Moses know what He's already done. It's performative; God hereby picks out these people, and equips them for service, using the classic/typical performative speech act verbs ("calling," "giving").
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Let's start unpacking this, by rereading the second line of verse 6:
while in the heart/mind of everyone skilled/wise of heart/mind I hereby give skill/wisdom,
The people God picks out to build his tabernacle, are already skilled builders. He picks out people like the Satroms. He didn't pick out people like me. I'm the kind of person God would've picked out to carry stuff-- which would still be an honor, don't get me wrong. But I'm not the kind of person who would be allowed too close to a saw or hammer.
So what God is doing here, is taking Satrom-type people, and enhancing their abilities. They start from a high place. They are already skilled workers. And God gives them his own skill, and knowledge, to make them God-like, in their craftsmanship.
Why does God do this?
God is going to make the tabernacle his earthly home. He will dwell among the people. And God wants his home to be built well.
When you're a contractor, you understand that every job requires a balancing act between doing it fast, and doing it right. To make a living as a contractor, you have to gets things done pretty quickly. People are only going to pay you so much, for any particular job. And you're competing with other contractors. At the same time, you're often getting paid because of your skill. Sometimes, you're getting paid more for just your time-- sometimes, people are perfectly capable of doing the work themselves, they just don't want to, or they don't have time. But usually, you're getting paid for your skill.
But sometimes, with a few customers, the price really doesn't matter. It's about perfection. And that's what God is after here.
God appreciates a job well-done. And the job of building the tabernacle, in particular, is something that should be done exceptionally well (Ephesians 4:12). This is the kind of thing, where skill is more important than speed. Where "good enough," needs to mean "perfect."
So that's what Exodus 31 has to say about the filling of the Spirit. God fills Bezalel, and his coworkers, with the Holy Spirit, so that God's tabernacle can be built flawlessly, perfectly.
What can we learn from this?
Today, God isn't building the tabernacle. He's building the church. But, just like in Exodus 31, He's not building it directly. God uses his people, to accomplish his purposes. He equips people, to build the church (Ephesians 4:12).
Each of us have different areas of ministry. God has called each of us to serve him, and the church, in different ways. What God would like to do, is fill each of us with his Holy Spirit, so that we are far better equipped for our ministry.
Now, in the specific ministries God has called us to, we are probably not starting from nothing. Most things we do in life, we do with at least a little skill.
If we work at a church food bank, like Stephen (Acts 6), we are maybe already pretty organized. We have skill in building relationships with local businesses, to encourage them to donate. We have "people skills."
God can take those skills, that starting place, and enhance them by filling you with his Holy Spirit. [FWIW, I'm pretty sure one of the spiritual gifts tests specifically says this isn't what God does]. He can make it so that your church food bank runs like clockwork, and so that people are touched, and blessed, by God as they go through the lines.
Or, perhaps your area of service is a teacher. If that's you, you probably aren't starting from nothing. I know a few teachers who are comfortable working in the biblical languages, who have had formal, graduate-level academic training, who have areas where they taught with considerable skill. But those teachers, after God filled them with his Holy Spirit, found themselves working on a much higher plane. They found they were able to craft their messages in half the time, or less. They made better interpretive decisions. They maybe went from saying five kind of stupid/wrong things every week, to one or two. Or even none, on a good week. They were better at shaping their messages in a way that leads to actual change. People were suddenly far more convicted about sin, or far more encouraged, or challenged, or strengthened. People found themselves refreshed, and renewed, and ready for another week of serving God. What happened to those teachers, is that God gave them skill in crafting their messages, and He gave them power in proclaiming them.
And even if those teachers didn't immediately tell anyone about being filled with the Spirit, the people they taught very quickly figured out that something changed, in a good way. Within a couple weeks, people were openly talking with one another about that pastor or teacher.
You can tell, when people are filled.
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Now, there's a flip side of this for teachers, in particular. If one way of thinking about the filling of the Spirit, is that God enhances ability, then that puts some responsibility on teachers. The Spirit takes what you have, and enhances it.
Without trying to sound mean, or judgmental (and I'm not naming names), it's pretty clear in reading some Pentecostals, that God doesn't lead them into all truth (that's a misreading of John 16:13) apart from careful study. A number of Pentecostals have an incredible anointing/filling, but they lack skill in teaching the Bible. They don't have enough of a base to make good exegetical decisions. They aren't starting off as Satrom-type people, and their writings are filled with kind of silly misreadings.
There is still something to be said for understanding how words get their meaning (James Barr, Semantics of
Biblical Language), for understanding Greek/Hebrew grammar and syntax, and for understanding things like Discourse Analysis (Steve Runge, Discourse Analysis of the Greek New Testament). And there's something to be said for buying commentaries by people who have spent decades studying any particular biblical book.
God often seems to work with what He has, as in Exodus 31, and the "enhancing" doesn't mean that teachers don't have to work hard at becoming more like a Satrom.
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So this is what I've decided, after wrestling with Exodus 31: When God gives his people his Holy Spirit in the OT, it's exactly the same as when He gives people his Spirit in the NT. The ways God talks about giving his Spirit in the OT, are the same in the NT. The Spirit "fills" people (Genesis 41:38; Exodus 31:3; Acts 2:4). The Spirits "comes upon" people (Numbers 11:17; 24:2; Acts 2:3). The Spirit "rushes into" people (Judges 14:6, 9; 1 Samuel 16:13; Acts 2:2). The Spirit "anoints" people (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:19). All of that's the same, and when we read the OT stories about OT saints serving God, in the power and skill of the Spirit, we can see ourselves.
Now, one of the many interesting things about all of this, is the results of being filled differ from believer to believer. Sometimes, the filling of the Spirit is directly connected to power. In the OT, Samson would be perhaps the (tragic) model for this. In the NT, it'd maybe be Phillip (Acts 8:4-8).
Other times, the filling is connected with skill, and wisdom. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, and being wise, often go hand in hand (Genesis 41:38-40; Acts 6:3) because the Spirit gives you skill in different areas of life (and that's one of the key things I learned this week).
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The other thing I could unpack, but I'm already trying to do too much, is that the filling isn't just about becoming skilled in ministry. Spirit-filled people become more skilled, in whatever they specialize in (Genesis 41:37-40).
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So I think when we compare the OT and the NT, we see that a broad similarity in how the filling of the Spirit works, and what God accomplishes through it.
What's different in the NT, is that this filling is for every faithful disciple of Jesus. That's the promise of Joel 2-- that the Spirit will be poured out on all of God's people (Acts 2:17). We can all be Bezalel, in our own specific areas of calling, and ministry. God will give us his own skill, and understanding, and craftsmanship. Sometimes, this enhances skills we already had. Other times, maybe, God gives us abilities that are new-- charismatic giftings like prophecy, or words of knowledge, or healings. [Not sure how I'd tie spiritual/grace gifts to this yet].
The filling looks different in every believer, because God is a master craftsman, building his church through a variety of people, and a variety of gifts. Sometimes, it's more about skill (Acts 4:13; 6:3). Sometimes, it's more about power (Acts 1:7-8).
But we should all be filled.
If what I've said this morning is truth, then there is one last question we need to figure out.
How can we be filled?
I'm not sure there's one way to answer that, but this is the path I took:
(1) Humble yourself, and admit if you aren't filled. If you're not sure if you're filled with the Spirit, you aren't (h/t A.W. Tozer, How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit).
One of the things that really bothers some Christians, is the idea that other Christians have something they don't. They hear stories about God speaking to others, or appearing to others, or giving others visions, and they kind of just mentally reject those stories. If God doesn't do it for you, He probably doesn't do it for anyone else. Maybe, He does it for Christians in Africa. You hear stories about God working in Africa. But certainly, He doesn't do it for the Christians around you.
If that's your mentality, you need to break free from it. You have to ditch that, to be filled. Admit that some Christians have something you don't. Admit that you haven't received everything God would like to give you.
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Other people, who struggle more with feelings of inadequacy or inferiority, might think that God simply won't fill people like them. That's the kind of thing that's only for other more important, better, special Christians. So step #1 for those people, might be breaking free from that. But for me, pride was the thing I needed to be stripped of.
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(2) Hunger and thirst for God, his kingdom, and his righteousness. God fills hungry people. He doesn't fill people who are content. He doesn't fill people who have accepted that they will always live a compromised lifestyle, in partial slavery to Sin.
(3) Understand that being filled with the Holy Spirit will probably cost you (Tozer is really helpful here). There are things in your life, right now, that you currently enjoy. Things that are important to you. And once you're filled, how you feel about those things might change. Your life might look really different.
(4) Ask God to fill you. Luke 11:5-13 (NRSV updated no reason):
5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for[e] a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion? 13 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[f] to those who ask him!”
Jesus encourages you, be persistent in asking God for the Holy Spirit. The filling is something you "need" (verse 8), to accomplish your calling and service. So keep asking, keep knocking, and God will eventually give his Holy Spirit to you.
So these four things, are basically how the filling of the Spirit was presented to me. And when I became convinced of the truthfulness of all of this, I humbled myself. I repented. And I asked God repeatedly, for maybe two weeks, to fill me with his Holy Spirit. I knocked on God's door for quite a while, pretty hard, before He answered.
And for me, God answered it when I was driving down the road. I can still point to the spot. And that moment, has been one of the moments that has changed my entire life.
Now, let me say just one last thing before we close. The filling of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time thing. It seems to be more of an every-day thing. Every day, we ruthlessly cut out areas of compromise in our own lives. Every day, we hunger and thirst for righteousness. Every day, we admit that our own skill is not enough to accomplish God's purposes. And every day, we seek a fresh anointing, a fresh filling, to better serve God.
Translation:
(1) and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
"LOOK! I hereby call by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
(3) and I hereby fill him with the Spirit of God/Elohim-- with wisdom/skill, and insight/discernment/intelligence/perceptiveness, and with knowledge, and with every [kind of; h/t Christo van der Merwe] craftsmanship
(4) to devise designs,
to work with gold and with silver and with bronze,
(5) and with cutting stone for settings, and in the carving of trees,
to work in/with every kind of work,
(6) while/now, I-- LOOK! I hereby give him Oholiab son of Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan,
while in the heart/mind of everyone skilled/wise of heart/mind I hereby give skill/wisdom,
and/that they shall make all that I have commanded you (the rest here is NIV):
7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— 8 the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— 10 and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”
