THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD

 Revelation4:5 “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”

Revelation5:6 “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”

In the book of Revelation, the apostle John describes a vision of heaven which He saw when Jesus called him up to see what was going to happen in the last days. Among the many things he saw, John describes being in the throne room of God and seeing a lamb that had been slain (obviously Jesus) and he describes the lamb as having seven horns and seven eyes which we are told are the seven spirits of God.

Earlier he described seeing seven lamps of fire burning before the throne and again we were told those were the seven spirits of God. Obviously both descriptions are of the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. 

However the question to ask is, does that mean there are seven Holy Spirits? Or is the Holy Spirit divided into seven different spirits?

The answer is obviously none of this. For the simple reason that the Holy Spirit as we discussed earlier is a person. Which means that He cannot be divided into different parts or spirits.

Why then is He referred to as seven spirits?

Because He has seven major attributes or characteristics that define Him. Also consider that seven represents completion or fullness. The Holy Spirit is the fulness of all that there is about     God.

So having the Holy Spirit means having all that there is to have. And God the Father gave Jesus the Holy Spirit in all Hs fulness and has also baptized us with the Holy Spirit in all His fulness. 

This is what John the Baptist said when they asked him about Jesus;

“For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.” John3:34-35

Jesus had the Holy Spirit in all His fulness and we also have the Holy Spirit in all His fulness.

What are these seven major attributes of the Holy Spirit?

Isaiah11:1-2 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD”

Spirit of the Lord.

This has also been called the Spirit of Lordship. Basically it is the Holy Spirit’s ministry of convincing, convicting and bringing us under the Lordship of God. It is His revelation of God as Lord and King of all. It is His bringing all people and all things into submission to God as our Lord.

Depending on this ministry empowered Jesus to live, minister and preach with absolute authority. Because the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him and in Him. He could exercise Lordship over all things. We too can operate like Jesus. With absolute authority over all the earth because the Spirit of the Lord is upon us and in us.

Spirit of Wisdom

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom. Wisdom is the right use or exercise of knowledge. It is the ability to discern or judge what is most just, proper and useful in a situation. It is knowing what is the best, most just, most proper, most conducive thing to do or say to obtain success, victory, prosperity, happiness etc.

Smend described it as “the art of reaching one's end by the use of the right means”

The book of Proverbs teaches us that wisdom involves discretion, prudence, sound judgment, dignity, reason, honor, self-control etc.

Spirit of Understanding

Understanding on the other hand has to do with comprehending and apprehending.

Having understanding means having a quickness of intellect, a readiness of apprehension, dexterity in execution among others.

The Holy Spirit functions in us like this. He is our understanding, our comprehension and apprehension of all things. He doesn’t just give us understanding. He takes Hs understanding of all things and makes it our understanding. He gives us the ability to understand spiritual things.

1Corinthians2 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Spirit of Counsel

Counsel has to do with plans, strategy and advice. Counsel is taking knowledge, wisdom and understanding and using them to devise a strategy so as to achieve a desired goal.

 The Holy Spirit is our counsellor. He is the Spirit of counsel. He knows how to get where we are going. And if we depend on Him and listen to Him He will not only tell us where to go, He will show us how to get there. He will give us advice, plans and strategy on what we should do to receive the desired results. He is our counsellor as we have already seen in John14:16

Spirit of Might

Might has to do with power, with force, with strength and with physical exertion and victory. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of might. He has ultimate spiritual and physical power, force and strength. And when we avail ourselves to Him, He is able to function in us with His power and might.

We have several examples of this throughout the Old Testament with the clearest examples of David killing lions and bears with a shepherd rod, Samson doing all the exploits he did and many other great men and women of God.

There is also the clear example of Jesus kicking people out of the temple without any of them retaliating. This was because the Spirit of Might was upon Him. No one would dare fight back. This same ability is available to us today.

Spirit of Knowledge

Knowledge has to do with having information, facts, truths, ideas and any other content that we obtain by learning, experience, observation, study, practice etc.

The Holy Spirit knows all things past, present and future. He is omniscient. He is the Spirit of knowledge. Whatever there is to know He knows. And if we will depend on Him as Jesus did, He will tell us whatever we want or need to know. This is what Jesus promised us;

John16 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Jesus said He would guide us into ALL truth. In John14:26 He said the Holy Spirit will teach us ALL things. There is nothing He doesn’t know and there is nothing He won’t show us if we learn of Him. He is our Teacher. He is the Spirit of Knowledge.

Spirit of the Fear of the Lord

The phrase ‘fear of the Lord’ has nothing to do with being afraid of God. It has to do with having an awesome reverence of God that inspires worship, honor and submission. It is being struck with awe and wonder at the greatness, awesomeness and might of God and worshipping Him. 

In Deuteronomy6:13 and Deuteronomy10:20 Israel is given a commandment to fear God;

“You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.”

When Jesus was being tempted by satan in the wilderness, He quoted this verse to the devil when the devil asked Him to bow and worship it. However, He replaced the word fear with the word worship;

Matthew4:10 “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

The common interpretation of that verse was always that we should be afraid of God. We should give Him space. He is a wrathful, vengeful God etc. this was the interpretation of the religious Pharisees of that time and it is the interpretation of the religious Pharisees of this time.

However, Jesus showed us the correct interpretation of that verse and as a result nullified all other interpretations that are contrary.

He said to fear God is to worship God. And guess what, Jesus was right. Everyone else with a contrary view is wrong!

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. He is the Spirit if worship. He reveals the awesomeness and wonderfulness of God and causes us to worship Him. And this is the worship that God wants. Worship in spirit and in truth. Worship inspired by revelation. Worship energized by the Holy Spirit. If you want to become a true worshipper, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. He is the Spirit of Worship.