The Seven Spirits of God
- Quin. A
- Nov 12
- 5 min read
Hey there, reader. Allow me to deviate from the Book of Colossians today. In my personal study last week, I read Isaiah 11, which spoke of the coming Messiah. The Prophet Isaiah explained what this coming Messiah would be like. He described the spirits that Christ would embody. Isaiah 11:2 reads:
"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."
The Spirit of the LORD
The Spirit of Wisdom
The Spirit of Understanding
The Spirit of Counsel
The Spirit of Might
The Spirit of Knowledge
The Spirit of Fearing the Lord
I can’t say why this is so intriguing to me. I guess it’s the idea of our perfect Lord having specific spirits– spirits that I wish to attain. Or perhaps it's because I know that the spirits within us is what drives our behaviors... be it good spirits or bad spirits. For example, in Ephesians 2:2, it is written that there is a spirit that operates in those who are dead in their sins. It says they operate in “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” Essentially, they are driven by the devil or demonic spirits.
Today, let’s briefly dive into the godly spirits that Jesus possessed. Firstly, Jesus had the Spirit of the LORD, which is God’s Spirit. When we come to faith in God the Father through Jesus, the Holy Spirit is given us.
Romans 8:17 states that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. The Holy Spirit has the ability to decipher whether we belong to the Lord or not. The Holy Spirit will, as Jesus said in John 16:13, only speak what He hears from God.
We know Jesus possessed God’s Spirit because He only did what His Father commanded Him. Even though Jesus battled with the idea of dying a horrific death, He submitted to God’s plan because He had God’s Spirit. He was on one accord with God the Father. And this is the same Spirit that all believers of Christ have.
We house the Holy Spirit in our bodies as the temples of God. And thank God for His Spirit because without it, we cannot know the heart or mind of God. We cannot know what He wants or desires from us. Only God’s Spirit can reveal to us the things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11 reads “ … no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” So may we possess the Spirit of the LORD so that we can do the things of the Lord.
The next spirit Jesus possessed is the Spirit of Wisdom. Proverbs 3:19 states the Lord founded or established the earth and the heavens by wisdom. The Book of Proverbs pleads with us to attain wisdom. It says that wisdom is crying out in the streets for us to possess her. It is a great revelation to know that God created all the beauty and complexities of the earth and heavens by wisdom. So, if we desire to be creative and to go forth and be productive, we should seek the Lord for wisdom.
The Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom per Proverbs 9:10, which simply means respecting and admiring our Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Of course, the opposite of wisdom is not revering God. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.”
So, to operate in The Spirit of Wisdom, we need to believe in God, as well as respect and admire Him. Jesus did this by always praying to God. He continuously sought the Lord in prayer, which demonstrated that He honored God’s guidance. He did not want to do anything outside of God’s will; therefore, He always leaned into the wisdom that God gave Him. May we do the same.
Reader, today, I will only discuss one more spirit of The Seven Spirits of God. Lord’s will, I will return next week to wrap up the last four spirits. Let’s conclude today’s message with The Spirit of Understanding. It is one thing to have wisdom, but to understand the reasoning behind an idea or situation is something different.
For example, wisdom may tell you that you are beloved by God. But understanding will tell you that you are beloved by God because God is love. You are loved by God because He is patient. You are loved by God not because you are righteous by your own doing but because your sins are covered by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
The Spirit of Understanding gives you the why. It gives you clarity on why something is the way it is. I may tell my daughter that she cannot ride in the car without a seatbelt. Upon her learning this, she may use wisdom to buckle up. But if she had understanding, she’d know she needs to put on her seat belt because her safety is imperative.
By wisdom, Jesus knew He had to suffer on the cross. But understanding told Jesus He had to do it because our sins would have never allowed us to have peace with God. By wisdom we know that we must also suffer and endure through our own trials. But understanding tells us we have to endure so that we can be fortified in the faith. By understanding, we know that suffering makes us more like Christ when we maintain our faith and trust in God despite the hardships.
Suffering produces a steadfast obedience in us– it makes us cleave to God in ways that we may have not done if it weren’t for the suffering. So, may we also possess The Spirit of Understanding so that we may know the why behind certain situations in our lives.
Reader, that’s it for today. May God give us The Spirit of the LORD so that may know and do the things that God desires. May we have The Spirit of Wisdom to spark creativity and produce fruit for the Lord in addition to using wisdom on how to live our lives and carry out our day to day activities. And lastly, may we have The Spirit of Understanding to know the reason behind things in life as God reveals.
I pray this message has blessed you. May God protect and keep you is my prayer. Until next time, take care.
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Sincerely,
Quin Arrington