Day #131 - Seven Spirits

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord…”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Waldemar on Unsplash

How well do you have God figured out?

God has given us everything we need to know Him through His holy Word, the sending of His Son Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit to us. But yet there remains a mystery of knowing all of who God is. Christians believe in the Triune nature of God, that He is One God eternally manifest in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While we believe that, we embrace it by faith with a sense of mystery. There is not only a mystery to who the Trinity is but also to the Holy Spirit Himself.

In Revelation 5:6, John describes this scene at the center of the throne of God where Jesus, the Lamb of God, appears as slain. He is said to have seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent into the whole earth. We see here the cooperation between Jesus, the Lamb, and the Holy Spirit who is sent from Jesus into the world.

But what is this idea of the seven spirits of God? Well, 7 speaks of God’s perfection or completion. Seven here is a symbol of the complete and perfect work of the Holy Spirit. This is in harmony with Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus, the Branch, who would have the sevens spirits of God rest upon Him. We see in Isaiah 11 the seven spirits of God, the Spirit of the Lord (one), the Spirit of wisdom (two), of understanding (three), the Spirit of counsel (four), of might (five), the Spirit of knowledge (six) and the fear of the Lord (seven).

The Holy Spirit continues the ministry of Jesus, the Lamb of God or the Branch of God in the earth. The Holy Spirit is perfect and complete and His Person constitutes these seven characteristics. There is a breadth and depth to His work in our lives and in the world. He is not a force or a feeling, He is God. As we get to know the Holy Spirit, we get to know more about all of who God is in our lives.

Holy Spirit, I want to know You. I want to know You as the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord. Thank you for how You continue the ministry of Jesus the Lamb of God in the world and in my life. Fill me up and show me more of who You are. In Jesus name, amen.