My study on the Holy Spirit is a work in progress, and my D’rash is not all-inclusive. G-d continues to give me more understanding of His Spirit and how it applies to me and my walk with Him. During my journey with G-d, I have attended many different types of congregations and experienced many different beliefs. I sometimes became confused and overwhelmed. Over the last six years, I have asked G-d exclusively to show me how His Spirit works in the lives of his people.
I feel I have a better understanding but still learning. I think the most important thing I learned over the years is balance—a balance of studying His Word and allowing His Holy Spirit to work through me. So here goes; hope you enjoy it!
As I read this week’s Torah portion, one thing jumped off the page at me: the mention of the spiritual gifts given to, Bezaleel from the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab from the tribe of Dan. In Exodus 31, G-d is speaking to Moses and tells him that He, “God” has chosen these two men and filled them with His Spirit to walk in the gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, and all manner of workmanship. How had I missed that over the last 30 years? God administered the Gifts of the Spirit in the Torah? I had to think back to all the teachings concerning the Holy Spirit in the B’rit Chadasha. I had been taught previously that the Gifts of the Spirit were given first on the day of Pentecost. Yes, the Spirit of God came upon the disciples, his chosen ones that day. It appeared as Tongues of Fire and enabled them to speak in languages that were not familiar. But this was not just a New Testament idea! The Torah uses the same terminology to describe the endowment of God’s Spirit on Joshua and Caleb. In those examples, the Torah compares a person to a vessel; God’s Spirit can fill a human being like water can fill a jar. In Isaiah 42:1 the Lord is speaking of the Messiah saying, “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him.” The term “Holy Spirit” used in the B’rit Chadasha and other first-century writings means the same thing as it does in the Tanach.
So, what does this all mean?
The disciples of Yeshua on that day experienced a second giving of the Torah. That day was the anniversary of the giving of the Torah. They knew the rabbinic legends about the words of fire dividing into seventy languages as they left the mouth of God. Those legends gave significance to the miracles and signs and wonders of the Torah. It’s a connection between His Holy Spirit and His Holy Torah.
How do we, as believers, balance all this? Like a three-legged table!
Let me explain. The legs are representative of: The Giving of the Torah, the giving of the Spirit and The Gospel Message (The Kingdom of God is at hand) I believe we need all three legs to function correctly. The problem is that if you take one leg away, the table will tip over.
Let’s examine a few problems of a three-legged table as it pertains to balancing our spiritual walk.
The Church has the Spirit leg and the Gospel leg, but most of the time excludes the Torah leg. (Wow before my study of Tora h my table was wobbly- Did and saw a lot of weird things. Why is that? Because I was missing a leg-The Torah)
Messianic Judaism has the Spirit leg and the Torah Leg, but is it possible that sometimes we exclude the Gospel leg?
(During the first couple of years of studying Torah I threw the Holy Spirit and Gospel out with the bathwater) Why? Because I was missing a leg to my table.
Maybe these missing legs account for some of the problems and abuses we associate with the Holy Spirit!
I feel we need to balance all three: Torah, Spirit, and Gospel.
I just know that I want to be a vessel unto God. I want him to fill me with His Spirit so I can be the woman of God that He wants me to be. I want to use the Gifts that God has given me to further the Gospel through the study of the entire Bible.
I desire to continue to study the Torah, listen to God’s Spirit, and live out the Gospel of Yeshua.
Don’t be afraid to step out and let the Spirit of God work through you at your job, at home, or in the congregation. Be open to what the Spirit is telling you to do. Why? Because you may be the one that G-d chooses to minister to that person who works with you or the person that is set beside you today or someone standing in line with you at the grocery store tomorrow.
I would love to hear your comments about your understanding of the Spirit of God and how He has worked in your life!
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