A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
EZRA: THE BELIEVER AS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Lesson #09
THE MIND OF GOD WORKING IN YOU
- Memory Verse: Phil 2:5
- Review:
- We have learned that the blueprint of Solomon’s temple is an illustration of the unique workings of the inner man as the temple of the Holy Spirit.
- We have learned that man hides negative feelings, events, guilt, etc. in the hidden chambers of the subconscious part of his soul.
- We have learned that the Holy Spirit wants us to cooperate with God to clean and heal these hidden chambers so as to fill them with the treasures of God.
- The job of healing is accomplished by the Holy Spirit.
- Review:
- Read Rev 3:1
- Read Isa 11:2
- It is the seven-fold Holy Spirit that does this work of cleansing and healing within us.
| Number | The Seven-fold Spirit in Isa 11:2 | Solomon’s Temple |
| #1 | The Spirit of the Lord | Altar of Incense |
| #2 | The Spirit of Wisdom | 10 Tables of Shewbread |
| #3 | The Spirit of Understanding | 10 Lampstands |
| #4 | The Spirit of Counsel | Pillar of Jachin |
| #5 | The Spirit of Might | Pillar of Boaz |
| #6 | The Spirit of Knowledge | Molten Sea & 10 Lavers of Bronze |
| #7 | The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord | Altar of Burnt Offering |
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- Explanation of the working of the Holy Spirit
- #1 The Holy Spirit that lives inside of the believer in Jesus Christ will never leave the believer but abide in him forever. He keeps the door of close communication open between the believer and God.
- #2 The Holy Spirit is the believer’s teacher. It is His job to feed the believer on the Word of God so that he learns the character qualities he will need to live the kind of life God wants for him. As God takes the believer through trials and problems in life, he gains godly wisdom so that Christ is revealed through his life.
- #3 The Holy Spirit gives the believer understanding of the Word of God by illuminating the truth of the Word of God that directly applies to his life.
- #4 The Holy Spirit counsels the believer by showing him the right decisions he should make in his life.
- #5 The Holy Spirit gives the believer might or power so that he can not only make the right decisions but he can do the will of God in his life.
- #6 The Holy Spirit washes the believer by the knowledge of the Word of God so he can walk in holiness.
- Explanation of the working of the Holy Spirit
- #7 The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ in the believer’s life so that he becomes a witness to others who will then have an awesome respect for God and seek to glorify His name in their lives.
- Read 1Cor 2:7,16
- The believer receives the mind of Christ when he is born again because the Holy Spirit that lives inside of him already knows what Christ has in mind for that believer’s life.
- Read Isa 45:3
- Read Mar 4:11
- God wants us to fill the hidden chambers of the soul with the deep secrets and mysteries of God.
- As we fill these hidden chambers of the soul with the things of God, we will know Him better.
- The Three Aspects of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple.
- We can see an illustration of the Holy Trinity in the Ark of the Covenant.
- =1= The ark was like a throne where God, the Father, came down and met with man.
- =2= The lid of the ark was called the mercy seat and represents Jesus Christ, the Son. Man receives mercy through the shed blood of Christ.
- =3= The cloud of the Shekinah glory of God over the ark represents the Holy Spirit.
- Inside the ark were three objects:
- =1= The tables of stone of the ten commandments = the law of God the Father.
- =2= A small vessel of mana = the bread of life of Jesus Christ, the Son.
- =3= The budding rod of Aaron = the fruitfulness of the Holy Spriit.
- The secret significance:
- When a person believes in Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Trinity comes to dwell inside of man’s spirit (the Holy of Holies).
- Read Col 1:26-27 The Mystery of Christ inside of the believer.
- Read Joh 14:23
- When a believer fully believes by faith that the Holy Trinity is living inside of Him, it changes his perspective, his concept of who he is in Christ, and his actions as he lives the out-pouring power of Christ.
- We can see an illustration of the Holy Trinity in the Ark of the Covenant.
- The Three Types of Furniture in the Holy Place of Solomon’s Temple:
- =1= The Altar of Incense (The Spirit of the Lord)
- The altar of incense represents the believer’s intimate communion with God through prayer.
- It is where the heart of man, ignited by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, communes with God.
- At the crucifixion, the veil in the temple (next to the altar of incense) was torn from top to bottom to open the way for man to enter into the Holy of Holies and the presence of God.
- The hot, burning coal from the altar of burnt offering was carried to the altar of incense to ignite the incense.
- The deep significance:
- The offering of Jesus Christ on the cross (the altar of burnt offering) is the basis of effective prayer with God, the Father.
- We come to God through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.
- This is the basis of our prayers.
- Often we hear Christians pray, “Oh God, heal this person because he is such a good Christian and serves you faithfully.”
- =1= The Altar of Incense (The Spirit of the Lord)
This human basis for prayer is falls far short of what God has supplied in Jesus Christ.
A prayer with this basis gives glory to the individual when the glory should go to God.
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- When the believer in Jesus Christ prays, he has immediate access to the Holy Trinity.
- When the believer in Jesus Christ prays, by faith he stands in the throne room of God in secret intimacy with the Almighty God.
- Read Col 2:2 The Mystery of God’s new life ignited in the believer by the Holy Spirit to produce godliness.
- The Holy Spirit ignites God’s love, God’s thoughts, and God’s power together to reproduce the Mind of Christ in the new believer.
- Read 1Tim 3:16
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- =2= The Table of Shewbread (The Spirit of Wisdom)
- There were 10 tables of showbread in Solomon’s temple. The number 10 is the number of testing according to an established standard. (the 10 commandments, etc.)
- Jesus said that He was the bread of life. (Joh 6:35)
- The bread that feeds the believer is the Word of God.
- It is in man’s innermost being where the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and gives man wisdom.
- Wisdom is how to put into practice the truth of understanding that we have gained through the Word of God.
- Therefore, the Holy Spirit not only helps you to understand the Word but He also shows you how to put it into practice in your life.
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He does this by giving the believer His counsel (the bronze pillar called Jachin) and His strength (the bronze pillar called Boaz)
It is not enough to know what we must do to live the Christian life, but we also need the power of the Holy Spirit to do it by making faith choices in our lives.
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- =3= The Lampstand (The Spirit of Understanding)
- There were 20 lampstands in Solomon’s temple.
- Jesus said that He was the light of the world. (Joh 8:12)
- The Holy Spirit gives the believer an understanding of the light of the truth of the Word of God.
- Before receiving Jesus Christ as his savior, the believer did not understand the things of God nor could he understand the truths in the Word of God.
- After receiving Jesus Christ in his heart, the believer now can understand the Word of God. It is a gradual illumination of understanding.
- =4= The Pillar of Jachin (The Spirit of Counsel)
- What most Christians do not know is that God gives the believer counsel in making decisions. The believer is able to discern right from wrong, good from evil by the action of the Holy Spirit inside. He tells the believer what is His will for the believer’s life.
- =5= The Pillar of Boaz (The Spirit of Might)
- With this counsel of right and wrong, the Holy Spirit gives the believer power to make the right decisions in his life because he has a new willpower. He helps the believer do God’s will in his life.
- =6= The Molten Sea and the 10 Lavers of Bronze (The Spirit of Knowledge)
- In Solomon’s temple, everything was washed in the large laver called the molten sea, located in the inner courtyard.
- The priests had to wash away all the blood on their garments and their bodies. They had to get rid of the evidence of sin.
- This is where the believer’s sins are washed when he confesses sin in his life. These are the sins he commits after having received Christ as his savior and having his sin forgiven at that point in his life.
- Read 1Joh 1:9
- In Solomon’s temple, the ten lavers of bronze were located on the lower level of the temple’s inner courtyard.
- The priests washed their hands and feet in these lavers of water.
- This is the soul area where the believer’s life interacts more with the world and takes on the sinful pollutions of the world system that must be removed.
- The Holy Spirit has knowledge of the things hidden in the secret chambers of the soul and brings it to the believer’s conscious mind.
- In this area of the soul is where the Holy Spirit cleans the hidden chambers of all the stored garbage.
- Therefore, the believer needs to continually wash himself in the water of the Word of God to be cleansed of the garbage of the past.
- Read Eph 5:26
- In Solomon’s temple, everything was washed in the large laver called the molten sea, located in the inner courtyard.
- =7= The Altar of Burnt Offering (The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord) in the outer courtyard of Solomon’s Temple.
- The altar of burnt offering is where we exchange our old lives for a new life in Christ. Therefore, the altar represents the cross of Jesus Christ where we were crucified with Him and had our sins forgiven by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
- Read Rom 12: 1-2
- This passage tells the believer that he should continually surrender his life (body) as a living sacrifice to Jesus Christ because we are to walk in the fear (having an awesome respect) of the Lord.
- It is through surrender that we give the Holy Spirit permission to clean up all the areas of our lives so as to do God’s will.
- =3= The Lampstand (The Spirit of Understanding)
HOMEWORK
PROVING THE WILL OF GOD WITH A RENEWED MIND
- Application of The Mind of God Working in You
- What parts of this lesson were extremely meaningful to you that helped you realize the spiritual power that you did not know you possessed?
- How will this new knowledge help you gain victory over some troublesome areas of your past?
- Pray and claim this power by faith to bring victory to your life.
- Preparation for Proving the Will of God with a Renewed Mind
- Read the following scriptures:
- Read Rom 12:1-2
- Read Rom 8:27-29
- Read Psa 139:23-24
- Read Psa 19:12-13
- Read 2Cor 10:5-6
- Read Luk 11:24-26
- Read Gal 2:20
- Read Psa 29:2
- Read 1Joh 5:14-15
- Read Eph 3:19
- Read the following scriptures:
- Memory Verse: Rom 12:2
