What Are The 7 Spirits of God?
Question: What are the 7 Spirits of God?
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! It is not seven spirit's but rather the seven-fold Spirit, who is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient in a seven fold level of Sovereignty and capacity, and is revealed in certain parts of Scripture to reveal the deeper level of spiritual realm in which God acts according to His will. There is only one Holy Spirit of God, and that is why we differentiate the Holy Spirit with a capital 'S' and our human spirit with a small 's' as a prefix in these words. We cannot cut the Holy Spirit in to seven pieces and say that they are different from one another, but it is the different character capacity of operation in the same person who works to release it separately from one another. It is like a juice vendor supplying different flavor of juices from the same shop. Though each one tastes differently, yet it is produced and supplied by the same person from the same shop (1 Cor 12:4, 11).
The "seven Spirits of God" are mentioned in Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; and 5:6, these shows impeccably that the instruction of Jesus to His Church can only come from and through the Holy Spirit of God (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29,; 3:6, 13, 22; 22:17), though it reaches them through many messengers of the Church who are appointed individually in all churches. Initially the Lord instructs to the 7 churches at the starting time of the Book of Revelation through the Spirit and pleads with them to hear what the Spirit is saying, but later at the end the Spirit and the Bride becomes one in heart and soul in Rev 22:17 and together they call others to respond to their invitation to come and join them in heaven. O what a Beauty! Revelation 1:4 mentions that the seven spirits are before God's throne. Revelation 3:1 indicates that Jesus Christ "holds" the seven spirits of God. This shows that even though the Spirit of God is present in heaven to take instruction before the throne of God as the executive of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit will only respond to the words of Jesus now and His Church which is his body that walk in His will (John 14:14; 16:13-14, 23-24; Eph 1:20; 2:6). Revelation 4:5 links the seven spirits of God with seven burning lamps that are before God's throne. This shows that as much as we are present in the eyes of the Spirit in His godly character, equally we are present before the throne of God, none above or none less than in the eyes of the Spirit.
Revelation 5:6 identifies the seven spirits with the "seven eyes" and "seven horns" of the Lamb and states that they are "sent out into all the earth," where seven Churches are present.
So again Rev 1:4 shows that the seven spirits of God is nothing other than God the Spirit Himself who is before God's Throne, who only now acts through Jesus (Rev 3:1), in His "Seven horn" (Rev 5:6) omnipotence which acts through the Lord Jesus' (i.e.) Lambs character of sacrifice around the world through His Churches (Rev 4:5), in His omniscience of "seven eyes" (Rev 5:6) sees all things around the world through Jesus' (i.e.) Lambs character of sacrifice (Rev 5:6), and instructions of the Spirit is "sent out" by seven fold Spirits of God in to all the earth in His omnipresence to exhibit the same character of the Lamb who is Jesus Christ throughout the seven churches on earth (Rev 5:6; John 1:36-37). So the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of Jesus is seen through the churches on earth through the seven fold work of the Holy Spirit from heaven only. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the conduit who connects Jesus in heaven who is head, to the church on earth which is His extended body on earth, and makes the life of Jesus to flow in all the body parts of Jesus on earth equally and vibrantly.
The number 7 is identified with something being “finished” or “complete,” like in the time of Creation in which God spends six days creating the heavens and the earth, and then rests on the seventh day. Therefore, the seventh day was set apart as holy unto the Lord for all mankind to rest and have fellowship with God, which was also commanded to Israelites of which the template is observed even in the world till today (Gen 1:31; 2:1-2, 3; Deut 5:11-15). 7 is often found in contexts involving completeness or divine perfection (Exo 22:30; 2 Kin 5:10; Jos 6:3-4). It is then used in describing the seven qualities regarding the fullness of the seven fold quantity of the Spirit which will rest upon the Messiah in Isaiah 11:2.
Actually we see the Seven-fold Spirit in Isaiah 11:1-2 where it was prophesied about the future coming of Jesus and how the Spirit of God in His seven fold fullness will act through the life of Jesus Christ, "1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 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." (Isa 11:1-2).
We know that the only human being who had the capacity to hold the completeness of the Spirit of God in all of the seven fold capacity is Jesus who is the Messiah of the whole world. Jesus was sinless, and he was hundred percentage God and hundred percentage man, the only God-Man who ever lived on earth coming from heaven (1 Tim 2:5, 3; 2 Tim 1:10; John 3:13).
When John the Baptist who was the pre-ordained prophet of God, came from the wilderness crying out to repent and receive God's salvation in Christ Jesus, he then at the height of his ministry at the fullness of time baptized Jesus by His voluntary insistence, at that time to every one's eyes and ears God declared and testified that Jesus was the Messiah by the Holy Spirit of God descending in bodily form like a dove upon Him (Luke 3:21-22), at that movement of time God the Father put a seal upon the Messiahship of Jesus through His very own voice that declared Jesus as His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. Thus Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit to the fullness of capacity (Luke 4:1).
This fullness of holding the Spirit of God in seven fold capacity was further described by apostle John as something uniquely given to Jesus because "He speaks the very words of God", and therefore as He is the Messiah, God gives Him the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).
This Seven fold Spirit are seen in details as follows,
The Spirit of the Lord
The Spirit of the Lord came parting the heaven and alighting (Matt 3:16), descending (Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:22), and rested remaining upon Jesus because He was the appointed Messiah of God who is God's only begotten Son of God (John 1:33-34), foretold by Isaiah the prophet as someone who was to come in the fullness of Spirit anointed to preach the gospel to the poor, was sent to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to set free at liberty those people who are oppressed by man made laws and the divine laws which was broken by weakness of the flesh, and finally declare to the whole world the year of acceptance and favor for all humankind by the Lord God the Father in heaven through Jesus and His sinless sacrifice on earth to atone and bring back the lost friendship with God (Matt 1:21). This above prophecy was fulfilled when God testified before the nation of Israel that the Messiah who is His Son had lived a life fully pleasing Him without a spot of sin, has come to them as one among them humbly to take care of them and provide them the spiritual gifts of heaven and eternal life (Luke 4:17, 18, 19, 20-21; John 1:11-13; 10:28; 17:3).
The Spirit of Wisdom
The Spirit of wisdom is a supernatural ability to know what to do at the right moment of time, in order to succeed and bring success in all areas of life. We see in the Old Testament, when God wanted to build a tent for Himself to reside temporarily, He filled certain men like Bezaleel and Aholiab with the Spirit of God, "in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." (Exod 31:2). Even the artisans who prepared the priestly garments were filled with the spirit of wisdom to exactly do it according to God's requirement, and the same God did even to those women who spun yarn of goat's hair (Exo 28:3; 35:26). King Solomon was full of divine Wisdom more than the wisest men who lived during His times, so that all the kings of the earth sought a audience with him to hear from him the wisdom (1 Kings 4:30, 34; 10:23). Now we have Jesus who is more than King Solomon as He is the Creator of him, now are we really longing to have a private audience with him in prayer to hear back the wisdom of his voice and direction for our lives to live abundantly and successfully (Matt 12:42)? Further wisdom was something depicted as a person in the Old Testament, in other words, as somebody and not something. Now we have come to know that the person depicted was none other than Jesus Christ who was to come as the wisdom of God to all humans in its fullness (Prov 4:1-27). Jesus Christ secures us spiritually when we give heed to His wisdom and protect us from the enemy of our soul who wants to steal, kill and destroy all the good things given to us from God (John 10:10).
Because Christ has received the Spirit of wisdom in fullness, He has become our wisdom for now and forever (1 Cor 1:30). Now God has promised all believers, that if they ask with faith in Jesus for wisdom, they will receive it without reproach (Jam 1:5-8). The prayer of Paul the apostle for all the believer is : “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1.17). Now Christ gives us the wisdom of God to build people who are the living stones in the temple of God which God is building, and how to supply the garments of the priest which is salvation and holiness to minister before the throne of God in heaven (1 Cor 6:19; 1 Peter 2:4-5; Heb 8:1-2; 4:16).
The Spirit of Understanding
The Spirit of Wisdom always accompanies with its twin the Spirit of understanding, which means when we know with wisdom what to do at a certain point of time, with understanding we will know how to do it with what we have at hand. Hence, with wisdom in the fullness of measure, the Spirit of understanding is essentially needed to fulfill the task at hand successfully. Jesus learned not in a theological school of his times, yet the wisdom and understanding He had about Scriptures, all the great doctoral pharisees and priest were amazed at the scriptural understanding He had even when Jesus was twelve years old (John 7:15; Luke 2:46-47).
The kings who ruled the nation of Israel like David and his son Solomon had divine Wisdom and understanding to judge people according to the exact requirement of God (2 Sam 14:20; 1 Kings 3:28; 4:29). Zechariah, had understanding in the visions of God (2 Chro 26:5). Even during the times of the Great Bible Teacher Ezra in the Bible who gave great understanding to people about the law of God (Ezra 7:10; Neh 8:8), certain men had great understanding to work "the service of the Levites" in line with the will of God in their times (Ezra 8:16, 18), also Ezra read the law and gave understanding to the people of God and helped them to respond to it in their day to day choices of life to live holy and be pleasing to God (Neh 8:2; 10:28). The Bible says that "the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" (1 Chron 12:32). God says to all believers through His Word, "No matter whether you have got something or not is not valuable at all, until you get understanding to know that to do with what you have." (Prov 4:7, Paraphrased).
The people who helped Solomon the king to build the temple of God in Jerusalem were filled with wisdom and understanding by God, so that they were able to do all the intricate brass works for the temple of the Lord (1 Kings 7:14). Only a wise son with understanding can build the house for the Lord by the favor of God (2 Chron 2:12), Jesus as the wise Son of God has been sent to us with understanding to build a living eternal temple of God through believing people like us who are living stones (2 Cor 6:16-18). From where could we get wisdom and from which place understanding comes (Job 28:12, 20)? The Bible simply says very accurately, "the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." (Job 28:28). Never forget that without Divine inspiration, we cannot get true understanding (Job 32:8). He who has understanding and wisdom to save souls is wise (Prov 11:30). Jesus now through the fullness of the Spirit of understanding is building His church on earth. So let us get Divine understanding from Jesus to build this eternal temple of God for the Glory of God!
The Spirit of counsel
In the multitude of counselors there is always victory ahead for us (Prov 15:22; 11:14). Counsel is a advice that creates positive expectation of what would be the result of something expected. It is a legal advice that is received from a person who knows the law, to understand how to respond legally for every individual situation to succeed and bring to justice our concern. The Lord has his own legal way to decide which way is right or wrong according to His law. We do not know the Lord's way until we receive the Spirit of counsel to hear what He thinks regarding any situation we face. The Spirit of counsel is the anointing that reveals the Word of the Lord from the Throne of heaven, to understand and know what the Lord is thinking regarding any things in any situation.
For example, Jesus received the counsel of the Lord daily, and this truth was foretold by prophet Isaiah before nearly 750 years before Jesus even came to earth, "4 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away." (Isa 50:4-5). There is a way in which the Lord reveals his counsel each morning day by day to those of His obedient sons who are bond slaves to Him to fulfill His counsel, to these bond-slaves who are zealous to fulfill His will, he opens their ear with a hot iron rod of suffering which will forever seal them to have no will of their own except the Lord's will. To speak the word of counsel to the weary in season is the same gift of God that operates within those who hear the counsel of the Lord.
"But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?" (Jer 23:18). Usually to all the person who waits for the Lord in His presence, He lifts them up in to his counsel and makes them hear Him (Amos 3:7-8; Job 15:8). Always "with the upright is [God's]... secret counsel." (Prov 3:32, YLT). Who can counsel the Lord, or teach him? (Rom 11:34). No one, as God is the one who declares the end from the beginning because history is His Story in reality (Isa 46:10).
In Jesus we are complete, and in faith we too can operate in the fullness of the Lord's counsel just like Jesus did because of allowing God to open His ears by Him submitting to God day by day, moment by moment (Col 2:10). What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived -- the things God has prepared for those who love him--But to us God hath revealed them, by this Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God (1 Cor 2:9-10). In Jesus, we have become God's friends and are not just servants anymore, hence we can come to understand the counsel of God in our lives through the Spirit of Counsel when we seek the Lord and love Him with all our heart to do His will in our lives (John 15:15; Jer 32:19).
The Spirit of Might
The Spirit of Might is something that comes out of the anointing of heaven to fulfill the will of God by His strength and supernatural grace. Not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit saith the Lord of hosts (Zec 4:9). Might is great strength, power or force. God is mighty and therefore His work is done in His might. Therefore the great Man of God Moses prays to God saying, "O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?" (Deut 3:24). When God shows his strength we can rest in Him and enjoy the ride of our life. Do you desire for such a walk with God, Is the prayer of Moses your humble prayer to God?
Our God is the mighty God, with Him is might, He is mighty in work, wisdom and might are His (Jer 32:18, 19; Job 12:13; Dan 2:20). Are we ready to acknowledge the might of the Lord?, without it we cannot prosper in our lives now and forever (Isa 33:13; Job 9:4). God calls all the hosts of heavens [i.e. stars, moons and planets] by their name and not even one of them is missing because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power (Isa 40:26). To those who have no might of their own and are weak in themselves, God increases His strength in them to prove His might through them (Isa 40:30). Are you ready to let God prove His might through your life? Let go and let God reign!!!
As God's "name is great in might" (Jer 10:6), if we seek Him and His Glory sincerely, by letting us know His might through the display of His great works, He will allow us to know His name in the power of His greatness (Jer 16:21). If you have faith in the Lord Jesus and continually lift His name high, automatically the mighty works of God will be revealed through your life as the Spirit of Might rest upon you just like it did upon Jesus (Matt 13:54, 58). When you have lost yourself for the Glory of God, it will cause people to "rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works" that God does through you for His Glory. Those that have “The Spirit of Might”, have the power and strength of God’s Might! Are we able to say in our life, "I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might,.." (Mic 3:8). If we thank and praise Jesus regularly for having given us the Spirit of might (Dan 2:23), He will increase the measure of it and help us walk with "mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God" and help us preach the gospel in power through our lives in all the world (Rom 15:19).
My prayer for you is just as apostle Paul prayer over the Ephesian believers, I pray that God would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, so that our thoughts might become inline with the will of God which will empower them to become mighty through God to pull down strongholds of the devil in our mind, which will in turn make us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph 3:16; 2 Cor 10:4; Eph 6:10).
The Spirit of Knowledge
The Spirit of knowledge is the measure of the Spirit that God gives us, to give us a living revelation of Himself not just as a theory in our mind, but as a life flooding out of our soul, oozing out of us a living reality of God living in the midst of us (2 Cor 6:16, 17-18). When we have given God our own life (our own thoughts, emotions and desires that are contrary to His) and lose our life for His sake, in return, He given us His very own life of heaven which is full of peace that passes all our understanding, joy unspeakable and rejoicing that strengthens us in the Lord with His might and Presence all around us and within us (Matt 10:39; 16:25).
Such life in the Spirit of Knowledge takes us to a place in this intimate knowledge of God where we will be able to say like apostle Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20). The Spirit of Knowledge is not a knowledge collected in our mind by our experience of our five senses, but rather it is something imparted and received from the Lord by faith. So the faith sense comes by the Spirit of Knowledge (2 Cor 5:7). When we walk in it, we will also be able to say and mean, to God "though You slay me, yet will I trust You." (Job 13:15) and "[I am] troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [I am] perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed...." (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). This is intimate knowledge of God.
God first loves us and through us He wants to love others, in other words, only when we have the Spirit of Knowledge that God loves us even when we do not feel it, only then through the trial we can come to know that, "when we pass through the waters (of trouble), God is still with us; and through the rivers (of difficulties), they shall not sink us in it forever to be drowned: when we walk through the fire (of death or life experience), we shall not be burned: neither shall the flame set us on fire. Because we have the great I am who is the Lord our God...we were precious in God's sight... and He has loved us." (Isaiah 43:2-4). In short, God proves His Presence and Glory only through the Spirit of Knowledge, so let us ask God and increase in the measure of it by receiving it and experience heaven on earth. Do we love God to intimately know that in every circumstances of our lives, good or bad, to see His face, His hand-print and love to thank Him and praise Him in all circumstances and to rejoice always (Matt 22:37; 2 Thess 5:16-18)? This is what is increasing in the true Spirit of knowledge is! When we abandon ourselves and our bodies to the Lord, knowing that we can't do anything, but simply yield ourselves to Him, and then we watch as He "works all things together for good." (Romans 8:28). When we are operating in this Spirit of Knowledge like Paul, we should and will be able to say, "For me to live is Christ...." (Philippians 1:21).
The great apostle Paul cries out saying, "...I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as rubbish, that I may increase in Christ's intimate knowledge in me as it is in Him of me, so that I may know Him more intimately, and experience the power of His resurrection life working within, and the fellowship of His sufferings revealed to me, being made conformable unto His death within by which He actually experienced life of heaven within Him." (Php 3:8, 10, Paraphrased).
The Spirit of the Fear of the LORD
The Spirit of the Fear of the LORD is the final thing in the measure of the fullness of the Spirit. This Fear of the Lord is a gift that Jesus operated to not fear that causes dread of the Heavenly Father, but rather it was something that made Jesus to honor, revere, trust, love, and submit to His Heavenly Father will in awe, passion and respect for Him. The early New Testament church walked in the same fear of the Lord that Jesus walked (Acts 9:31). This kind of "the fear of the Lord" that makes us do His commandments out of love for Him "is the beginning of wisdom" and "knowledge" that gives us understanding (Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7).
Every one who walks in this gift of the fear of God, their soul will be concerned not to displease God, because he loves Him as a Father, and He loves and pities them as his children (Psa 103:13), they do not want to offend him in anything, but would love to "abide in him" and grow in His Love by keeping His commandments (John 15:4-7; 14:15, 21; 15:10).
The soul that is united with God in His Love will have "the fear of God" which will bear fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, self-control, meekness, long-suffering, faithfulness (Gal 5:23-24). So we who live in the Spirit after being born again, let us learn to walk in unison in the Spirit taking the help of the fear of the Lord (Gal 5:25). "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God." (2 Cor 7:11).
Let us learn to not transgress even one of God's law to break it like Jesus (1 Peter 2:22), instead let us invoke the Holy Spirit just like Jesus did (Heb 5:7-8), that he may generously pour out the gift of the holy fear of the Lord on the people of our day like us to keep us all in His will and away from defilement of our body, soul and spirit (Heb 1:9; 1 Thess 5:23-24).
Much Blessings.....
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! It is not seven spirit's but rather the seven-fold Spirit, who is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient in a seven fold level of Sovereignty and capacity, and is revealed in certain parts of Scripture to reveal the deeper level of spiritual realm in which God acts according to His will. There is only one Holy Spirit of God, and that is why we differentiate the Holy Spirit with a capital 'S' and our human spirit with a small 's' as a prefix in these words. We cannot cut the Holy Spirit in to seven pieces and say that they are different from one another, but it is the different character capacity of operation in the same person who works to release it separately from one another. It is like a juice vendor supplying different flavor of juices from the same shop. Though each one tastes differently, yet it is produced and supplied by the same person from the same shop (1 Cor 12:4, 11).
The "seven Spirits of God" are mentioned in Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; and 5:6, these shows impeccably that the instruction of Jesus to His Church can only come from and through the Holy Spirit of God (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29,; 3:6, 13, 22; 22:17), though it reaches them through many messengers of the Church who are appointed individually in all churches. Initially the Lord instructs to the 7 churches at the starting time of the Book of Revelation through the Spirit and pleads with them to hear what the Spirit is saying, but later at the end the Spirit and the Bride becomes one in heart and soul in Rev 22:17 and together they call others to respond to their invitation to come and join them in heaven. O what a Beauty! Revelation 1:4 mentions that the seven spirits are before God's throne. Revelation 3:1 indicates that Jesus Christ "holds" the seven spirits of God. This shows that even though the Spirit of God is present in heaven to take instruction before the throne of God as the executive of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit will only respond to the words of Jesus now and His Church which is his body that walk in His will (John 14:14; 16:13-14, 23-24; Eph 1:20; 2:6). Revelation 4:5 links the seven spirits of God with seven burning lamps that are before God's throne. This shows that as much as we are present in the eyes of the Spirit in His godly character, equally we are present before the throne of God, none above or none less than in the eyes of the Spirit.
Revelation 5:6 identifies the seven spirits with the "seven eyes" and "seven horns" of the Lamb and states that they are "sent out into all the earth," where seven Churches are present.
So again Rev 1:4 shows that the seven spirits of God is nothing other than God the Spirit Himself who is before God's Throne, who only now acts through Jesus (Rev 3:1), in His "Seven horn" (Rev 5:6) omnipotence which acts through the Lord Jesus' (i.e.) Lambs character of sacrifice around the world through His Churches (Rev 4:5), in His omniscience of "seven eyes" (Rev 5:6) sees all things around the world through Jesus' (i.e.) Lambs character of sacrifice (Rev 5:6), and instructions of the Spirit is "sent out" by seven fold Spirits of God in to all the earth in His omnipresence to exhibit the same character of the Lamb who is Jesus Christ throughout the seven churches on earth (Rev 5:6; John 1:36-37). So the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of Jesus is seen through the churches on earth through the seven fold work of the Holy Spirit from heaven only. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the conduit who connects Jesus in heaven who is head, to the church on earth which is His extended body on earth, and makes the life of Jesus to flow in all the body parts of Jesus on earth equally and vibrantly.
The number 7 is identified with something being “finished” or “complete,” like in the time of Creation in which God spends six days creating the heavens and the earth, and then rests on the seventh day. Therefore, the seventh day was set apart as holy unto the Lord for all mankind to rest and have fellowship with God, which was also commanded to Israelites of which the template is observed even in the world till today (Gen 1:31; 2:1-2, 3; Deut 5:11-15). 7 is often found in contexts involving completeness or divine perfection (Exo 22:30; 2 Kin 5:10; Jos 6:3-4). It is then used in describing the seven qualities regarding the fullness of the seven fold quantity of the Spirit which will rest upon the Messiah in Isaiah 11:2.
Actually we see the Seven-fold Spirit in Isaiah 11:1-2 where it was prophesied about the future coming of Jesus and how the Spirit of God in His seven fold fullness will act through the life of Jesus Christ, "1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 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." (Isa 11:1-2).
We know that the only human being who had the capacity to hold the completeness of the Spirit of God in all of the seven fold capacity is Jesus who is the Messiah of the whole world. Jesus was sinless, and he was hundred percentage God and hundred percentage man, the only God-Man who ever lived on earth coming from heaven (1 Tim 2:5, 3; 2 Tim 1:10; John 3:13).
When John the Baptist who was the pre-ordained prophet of God, came from the wilderness crying out to repent and receive God's salvation in Christ Jesus, he then at the height of his ministry at the fullness of time baptized Jesus by His voluntary insistence, at that time to every one's eyes and ears God declared and testified that Jesus was the Messiah by the Holy Spirit of God descending in bodily form like a dove upon Him (Luke 3:21-22), at that movement of time God the Father put a seal upon the Messiahship of Jesus through His very own voice that declared Jesus as His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. Thus Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit to the fullness of capacity (Luke 4:1).
This fullness of holding the Spirit of God in seven fold capacity was further described by apostle John as something uniquely given to Jesus because "He speaks the very words of God", and therefore as He is the Messiah, God gives Him the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).
This Seven fold Spirit are seen in details as follows,
The Spirit of the Lord
The Spirit of the Lord came parting the heaven and alighting (Matt 3:16), descending (Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:22), and rested remaining upon Jesus because He was the appointed Messiah of God who is God's only begotten Son of God (John 1:33-34), foretold by Isaiah the prophet as someone who was to come in the fullness of Spirit anointed to preach the gospel to the poor, was sent to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to set free at liberty those people who are oppressed by man made laws and the divine laws which was broken by weakness of the flesh, and finally declare to the whole world the year of acceptance and favor for all humankind by the Lord God the Father in heaven through Jesus and His sinless sacrifice on earth to atone and bring back the lost friendship with God (Matt 1:21). This above prophecy was fulfilled when God testified before the nation of Israel that the Messiah who is His Son had lived a life fully pleasing Him without a spot of sin, has come to them as one among them humbly to take care of them and provide them the spiritual gifts of heaven and eternal life (Luke 4:17, 18, 19, 20-21; John 1:11-13; 10:28; 17:3).
The Spirit of Wisdom
The Spirit of wisdom is a supernatural ability to know what to do at the right moment of time, in order to succeed and bring success in all areas of life. We see in the Old Testament, when God wanted to build a tent for Himself to reside temporarily, He filled certain men like Bezaleel and Aholiab with the Spirit of God, "in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." (Exod 31:2). Even the artisans who prepared the priestly garments were filled with the spirit of wisdom to exactly do it according to God's requirement, and the same God did even to those women who spun yarn of goat's hair (Exo 28:3; 35:26). King Solomon was full of divine Wisdom more than the wisest men who lived during His times, so that all the kings of the earth sought a audience with him to hear from him the wisdom (1 Kings 4:30, 34; 10:23). Now we have Jesus who is more than King Solomon as He is the Creator of him, now are we really longing to have a private audience with him in prayer to hear back the wisdom of his voice and direction for our lives to live abundantly and successfully (Matt 12:42)? Further wisdom was something depicted as a person in the Old Testament, in other words, as somebody and not something. Now we have come to know that the person depicted was none other than Jesus Christ who was to come as the wisdom of God to all humans in its fullness (Prov 4:1-27). Jesus Christ secures us spiritually when we give heed to His wisdom and protect us from the enemy of our soul who wants to steal, kill and destroy all the good things given to us from God (John 10:10).
Because Christ has received the Spirit of wisdom in fullness, He has become our wisdom for now and forever (1 Cor 1:30). Now God has promised all believers, that if they ask with faith in Jesus for wisdom, they will receive it without reproach (Jam 1:5-8). The prayer of Paul the apostle for all the believer is : “The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1.17). Now Christ gives us the wisdom of God to build people who are the living stones in the temple of God which God is building, and how to supply the garments of the priest which is salvation and holiness to minister before the throne of God in heaven (1 Cor 6:19; 1 Peter 2:4-5; Heb 8:1-2; 4:16).
The Spirit of Understanding
The Spirit of Wisdom always accompanies with its twin the Spirit of understanding, which means when we know with wisdom what to do at a certain point of time, with understanding we will know how to do it with what we have at hand. Hence, with wisdom in the fullness of measure, the Spirit of understanding is essentially needed to fulfill the task at hand successfully. Jesus learned not in a theological school of his times, yet the wisdom and understanding He had about Scriptures, all the great doctoral pharisees and priest were amazed at the scriptural understanding He had even when Jesus was twelve years old (John 7:15; Luke 2:46-47).
The kings who ruled the nation of Israel like David and his son Solomon had divine Wisdom and understanding to judge people according to the exact requirement of God (2 Sam 14:20; 1 Kings 3:28; 4:29). Zechariah, had understanding in the visions of God (2 Chro 26:5). Even during the times of the Great Bible Teacher Ezra in the Bible who gave great understanding to people about the law of God (Ezra 7:10; Neh 8:8), certain men had great understanding to work "the service of the Levites" in line with the will of God in their times (Ezra 8:16, 18), also Ezra read the law and gave understanding to the people of God and helped them to respond to it in their day to day choices of life to live holy and be pleasing to God (Neh 8:2; 10:28). The Bible says that "the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do" (1 Chron 12:32). God says to all believers through His Word, "No matter whether you have got something or not is not valuable at all, until you get understanding to know that to do with what you have." (Prov 4:7, Paraphrased).
The people who helped Solomon the king to build the temple of God in Jerusalem were filled with wisdom and understanding by God, so that they were able to do all the intricate brass works for the temple of the Lord (1 Kings 7:14). Only a wise son with understanding can build the house for the Lord by the favor of God (2 Chron 2:12), Jesus as the wise Son of God has been sent to us with understanding to build a living eternal temple of God through believing people like us who are living stones (2 Cor 6:16-18). From where could we get wisdom and from which place understanding comes (Job 28:12, 20)? The Bible simply says very accurately, "the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." (Job 28:28). Never forget that without Divine inspiration, we cannot get true understanding (Job 32:8). He who has understanding and wisdom to save souls is wise (Prov 11:30). Jesus now through the fullness of the Spirit of understanding is building His church on earth. So let us get Divine understanding from Jesus to build this eternal temple of God for the Glory of God!
The Spirit of counsel
In the multitude of counselors there is always victory ahead for us (Prov 15:22; 11:14). Counsel is a advice that creates positive expectation of what would be the result of something expected. It is a legal advice that is received from a person who knows the law, to understand how to respond legally for every individual situation to succeed and bring to justice our concern. The Lord has his own legal way to decide which way is right or wrong according to His law. We do not know the Lord's way until we receive the Spirit of counsel to hear what He thinks regarding any situation we face. The Spirit of counsel is the anointing that reveals the Word of the Lord from the Throne of heaven, to understand and know what the Lord is thinking regarding any things in any situation.
For example, Jesus received the counsel of the Lord daily, and this truth was foretold by prophet Isaiah before nearly 750 years before Jesus even came to earth, "4 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away." (Isa 50:4-5). There is a way in which the Lord reveals his counsel each morning day by day to those of His obedient sons who are bond slaves to Him to fulfill His counsel, to these bond-slaves who are zealous to fulfill His will, he opens their ear with a hot iron rod of suffering which will forever seal them to have no will of their own except the Lord's will. To speak the word of counsel to the weary in season is the same gift of God that operates within those who hear the counsel of the Lord.
"But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?" (Jer 23:18). Usually to all the person who waits for the Lord in His presence, He lifts them up in to his counsel and makes them hear Him (Amos 3:7-8; Job 15:8). Always "with the upright is [God's]... secret counsel." (Prov 3:32, YLT). Who can counsel the Lord, or teach him? (Rom 11:34). No one, as God is the one who declares the end from the beginning because history is His Story in reality (Isa 46:10).
In Jesus we are complete, and in faith we too can operate in the fullness of the Lord's counsel just like Jesus did because of allowing God to open His ears by Him submitting to God day by day, moment by moment (Col 2:10). What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived -- the things God has prepared for those who love him--But to us God hath revealed them, by this Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God (1 Cor 2:9-10). In Jesus, we have become God's friends and are not just servants anymore, hence we can come to understand the counsel of God in our lives through the Spirit of Counsel when we seek the Lord and love Him with all our heart to do His will in our lives (John 15:15; Jer 32:19).
The Spirit of Might
The Spirit of Might is something that comes out of the anointing of heaven to fulfill the will of God by His strength and supernatural grace. Not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit saith the Lord of hosts (Zec 4:9). Might is great strength, power or force. God is mighty and therefore His work is done in His might. Therefore the great Man of God Moses prays to God saying, "O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?" (Deut 3:24). When God shows his strength we can rest in Him and enjoy the ride of our life. Do you desire for such a walk with God, Is the prayer of Moses your humble prayer to God?
Our God is the mighty God, with Him is might, He is mighty in work, wisdom and might are His (Jer 32:18, 19; Job 12:13; Dan 2:20). Are we ready to acknowledge the might of the Lord?, without it we cannot prosper in our lives now and forever (Isa 33:13; Job 9:4). God calls all the hosts of heavens [i.e. stars, moons and planets] by their name and not even one of them is missing because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power (Isa 40:26). To those who have no might of their own and are weak in themselves, God increases His strength in them to prove His might through them (Isa 40:30). Are you ready to let God prove His might through your life? Let go and let God reign!!!
As God's "name is great in might" (Jer 10:6), if we seek Him and His Glory sincerely, by letting us know His might through the display of His great works, He will allow us to know His name in the power of His greatness (Jer 16:21). If you have faith in the Lord Jesus and continually lift His name high, automatically the mighty works of God will be revealed through your life as the Spirit of Might rest upon you just like it did upon Jesus (Matt 13:54, 58). When you have lost yourself for the Glory of God, it will cause people to "rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works" that God does through you for His Glory. Those that have “The Spirit of Might”, have the power and strength of God’s Might! Are we able to say in our life, "I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might,.." (Mic 3:8). If we thank and praise Jesus regularly for having given us the Spirit of might (Dan 2:23), He will increase the measure of it and help us walk with "mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God" and help us preach the gospel in power through our lives in all the world (Rom 15:19).
My prayer for you is just as apostle Paul prayer over the Ephesian believers, I pray that God would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, so that our thoughts might become inline with the will of God which will empower them to become mighty through God to pull down strongholds of the devil in our mind, which will in turn make us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph 3:16; 2 Cor 10:4; Eph 6:10).
The Spirit of Knowledge
The Spirit of knowledge is the measure of the Spirit that God gives us, to give us a living revelation of Himself not just as a theory in our mind, but as a life flooding out of our soul, oozing out of us a living reality of God living in the midst of us (2 Cor 6:16, 17-18). When we have given God our own life (our own thoughts, emotions and desires that are contrary to His) and lose our life for His sake, in return, He given us His very own life of heaven which is full of peace that passes all our understanding, joy unspeakable and rejoicing that strengthens us in the Lord with His might and Presence all around us and within us (Matt 10:39; 16:25).
Such life in the Spirit of Knowledge takes us to a place in this intimate knowledge of God where we will be able to say like apostle Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20). The Spirit of Knowledge is not a knowledge collected in our mind by our experience of our five senses, but rather it is something imparted and received from the Lord by faith. So the faith sense comes by the Spirit of Knowledge (2 Cor 5:7). When we walk in it, we will also be able to say and mean, to God "though You slay me, yet will I trust You." (Job 13:15) and "[I am] troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [I am] perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed...." (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). This is intimate knowledge of God.
God first loves us and through us He wants to love others, in other words, only when we have the Spirit of Knowledge that God loves us even when we do not feel it, only then through the trial we can come to know that, "when we pass through the waters (of trouble), God is still with us; and through the rivers (of difficulties), they shall not sink us in it forever to be drowned: when we walk through the fire (of death or life experience), we shall not be burned: neither shall the flame set us on fire. Because we have the great I am who is the Lord our God...we were precious in God's sight... and He has loved us." (Isaiah 43:2-4). In short, God proves His Presence and Glory only through the Spirit of Knowledge, so let us ask God and increase in the measure of it by receiving it and experience heaven on earth. Do we love God to intimately know that in every circumstances of our lives, good or bad, to see His face, His hand-print and love to thank Him and praise Him in all circumstances and to rejoice always (Matt 22:37; 2 Thess 5:16-18)? This is what is increasing in the true Spirit of knowledge is! When we abandon ourselves and our bodies to the Lord, knowing that we can't do anything, but simply yield ourselves to Him, and then we watch as He "works all things together for good." (Romans 8:28). When we are operating in this Spirit of Knowledge like Paul, we should and will be able to say, "For me to live is Christ...." (Philippians 1:21).
The great apostle Paul cries out saying, "...I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as rubbish, that I may increase in Christ's intimate knowledge in me as it is in Him of me, so that I may know Him more intimately, and experience the power of His resurrection life working within, and the fellowship of His sufferings revealed to me, being made conformable unto His death within by which He actually experienced life of heaven within Him." (Php 3:8, 10, Paraphrased).
The Spirit of the Fear of the LORD
The Spirit of the Fear of the LORD is the final thing in the measure of the fullness of the Spirit. This Fear of the Lord is a gift that Jesus operated to not fear that causes dread of the Heavenly Father, but rather it was something that made Jesus to honor, revere, trust, love, and submit to His Heavenly Father will in awe, passion and respect for Him. The early New Testament church walked in the same fear of the Lord that Jesus walked (Acts 9:31). This kind of "the fear of the Lord" that makes us do His commandments out of love for Him "is the beginning of wisdom" and "knowledge" that gives us understanding (Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7).
Every one who walks in this gift of the fear of God, their soul will be concerned not to displease God, because he loves Him as a Father, and He loves and pities them as his children (Psa 103:13), they do not want to offend him in anything, but would love to "abide in him" and grow in His Love by keeping His commandments (John 15:4-7; 14:15, 21; 15:10).
The soul that is united with God in His Love will have "the fear of God" which will bear fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, self-control, meekness, long-suffering, faithfulness (Gal 5:23-24). So we who live in the Spirit after being born again, let us learn to walk in unison in the Spirit taking the help of the fear of the Lord (Gal 5:25). "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God." (2 Cor 7:11).
Let us learn to not transgress even one of God's law to break it like Jesus (1 Peter 2:22), instead let us invoke the Holy Spirit just like Jesus did (Heb 5:7-8), that he may generously pour out the gift of the holy fear of the Lord on the people of our day like us to keep us all in His will and away from defilement of our body, soul and spirit (Heb 1:9; 1 Thess 5:23-24).
Much Blessings.....
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