The Tabernacle as a Type of the Kingdom and the Believer, and What It Means to Walk in the Spirit

The tabernacle that God instructed Moses to build was not simply an architectural project. It was a pattern, a spiritual blueprint that God used to communicate something profound about how He dwells with His people and how His people are to approach Him. Hebrews 8:5 tells us that those who served in the tabernacle did so as "the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."

The tabernacle is a type of the Kingdom of God, and it is also a type of the believer. That means when you study the tabernacle, you are not just studying ancient history. You are studying yourself. You are studying the structure of how God intends to move through you and in you.

Consider the layout. There was the Outer Court, where the sacrifices were made and the initial work of cleansing took place. There was the Holy Place, where the priests ministered with the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense. And then there was the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber, where the presence of God rested over the Mercy Seat. No one entered there casually. No one entered without blood. No one entered without reverence.

When you reach the Holy of Holies, you are in the presence of God. Spiritually, if we are truly walking in the Spirit, then we should be able to hear God, follow God, and allow Him to lead us. But notice the word "if." Not every believer is walking in that place. Not every minister is functioning from the innermost place of God's presence. Many are still operating from the Outer Court, saved, yes, but not yet walking in the fullness of what God has made available.

Hebrews 10:19-22 makes this available to every born-again believer: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

Jesus has made the way. The veil has been torn. Access to the Holy of Holies is no longer restricted to one high priest once a year. Every born-again son of God can enter. But entering requires something: a true heart, full assurance of faith, a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, and a body washed with pure water. These are not casual conditions. They require intentional pursuit of holiness, ongoing self-examination, and a genuine desire to live in the presence of God.

And 1 Corinthians 3:16 reminds us: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" You are the holy tabernacle. The sole purpose for the coming of Christ was to provide a holy habitation for the Father to live in. If you are born of God, then you are that holy tabernacle.

To be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man means the Holy Ghost has enabled the soul, given it ability, power, and strength. He has worked a miracle. "He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:17). This means the soul has received all the attributes of the Spirit to which it is joined. Galatians 5:25 says, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." The implication is that we have the ability to walk in all the attributes of the Spirit. That must be at the center of your belief.

Walking in the Spirit is not a mystical experience reserved for a few special saints. It is the normal Christian life. It is what the tabernacle points to. It is the life God designed for every one of His children. Romans 8:14 declares, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." And John 16:13 promises, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth."

The Holy Spirit is not silent. He is not hidden. He is dwelling within you, ready to lead, ready to guide, ready to bring you into the fullness of the Kingdom assignment God has prepared for you. The question is not whether He is speaking. The question is whether you are walking closely enough to hear.