(Revised 3/26/2023)
September 25, 2021- I previously posted an article about the spiritual gifts manifested through the Holy Spirit. While my articles concluded with the spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues, I also did an article on the discernment from the spirits of that gift. In that last article, I spoke about this article: the Seven Spirits of God.
From a prophecy in Isaiah 11:1-2, we learn about God’s spirits. Here they are:
The Holy Spirit
The spirit of wisdom
The spirit of understanding
The spirit of knowledge
The spirit of counsel
The spirit of might
The spirit of the fear of the Lord
In that same passage, Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah, by stating that a branch will come from Jesse, and the spirits of the Lord will rest upon Him (Isaiah 11:).
Who is Jesse?
The Holy Bible references Jesse a few times, but we do not have an in-depth description of his character. However, in 1 Samuel 17, we are told that Jesse was living in Bethlehem, Judah, and was an Ephrathite (mentioned in Genesis 35:16-19 as Ephrath, where Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.) You must understand that Jesse was from the house of Judah.
Why is the house of Judah important? Because Judah was given a blessing from his father, Jacob: "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise: Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies: your father's children shall bow down before you." (Genesis 49: 8). (Words have power, my brothers, and sisters.) In the days of the prophet known as Samuel, God told Samuel that He was sending him to Jesse to anoint one of his sons, but Samuel was concerned. He told God that if King Saul heard of this, he would kill him. God tells Samuel to bring a cow as a sacrifice. Samuel did as the Lord commanded.
Samuel met Jesse, and he began consecrating Jesse and his sons. God told Samuel one by one that this was not the one and told him not to look at them for their physical appearance because the Lord does not "see as man sees: for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16: 7).
Eventually, God tells Samuel that David is the one and he is the youngest. David kept the sheep when Samuel arrived, so he was the last to be consecrated. When Samuel anointed David, the Holy Bible says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:13).
Isaiah's Prophecy Revisited
David was anointed, and the Holy Spirit was upon him, but he still did not have all the other spirits mentioned in Isaiah's prophecy. To the extent of my knowledge, no one in the Holy Bible or on this earth has the seven Spirits of God except one: Jesus Christ! Hallelujah! Do not believe me? Check out John's vision in the Book of Revelation Chapter 1. John said that he saw seven golden lampstands and the son of Man with seven stars in His right hand.
Jesus told John that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the lampstands are the seven churches. Jesus tells John to write and send what he tells him to the churches. In Chapter 3 of Revelation, Jesus Christ says, "And to the angel of church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars'...". (Revelation 3:1).
Read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you will find cases where these spirits were manifested in Jesus Christ. Think about the time when John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ. The Holy Bible says that when He immediately came out of the water, He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him (Matthew 3:16). Hallelujah!
When Jesus Christ went to the Mount of Olives, He went to the temple and preached. Mary Magdalene was brought to Him by the scribes and the Pharisees. She was caught in an affair with one of the Pharisees. Testing Jesus to accuse Him of something, they said, “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:5). The Holy Bible tells us that “But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.” (v. 6).
(OPINION: What Jesus wrote on the ground will always be unknown. It is funny that Christians spend time thinking about this but don’t involve themselves with the big picture of the Holy Bible, which was in the same sentence, Jesus).
They put pressure on Him to answer them. Eventually, Jesus told them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Stooping down, Jesus returned to writing on the ground. From the elders to the youngest, the scribes and the Pharisees left one by one.
Tell me, did Jesus Christ show counsel (which is "sound advice" (Job 26:3)) when He told the accusers of Mary Magdalene to cast the first stone if they were without sin?
When Satan tempted Jesus, did Jesus Christ not demonstrate knowledge (to know the difference between good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17 and Proverbs 1:29)? At the same time, did Jesus Christ not show fear of the Lord, wisdom, and understanding?
According to the gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ knew how He would die (Luke 9:31), and He still let Judas Iscariot betray Him and turn Him in. This is fear of the Lord; because of that, your sins are forgiven, and you can now pray directly to the Lord, our Father! Hallelujah! Before that, you needed to sacrifice something by going to a priest, who would pray for you. Praise God!
Might is to serve God without fear (Luke 1:74). We should not fear what society says or thinks or what our coworkers, classmates, teachers, and mentors say or think. Learn through Jesus Christ. He came to us to fulfill the Laws and Prophets but never disobeyed God. Jesus wasn’t afraid to cast out demons, heal people, or do all the miracles that He did. Even unto His death, Jesus continued these miracles though He knew that many would be led astray in His last hour on earth. We should have a manner and characteristics like Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Messiah
Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Messiah. Jesus Christ is the one that Isaiah spoke about in Chapter 11. Hallelujah!
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.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
11 It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. 13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them. 15 The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.
Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash
My brothers and sisters in Christ, if you are reading this article through the end, I believe that God loves you and wants you to turn away from your sins and come to Him. Hallelujah! If you are not a believer, pray this prayer with me:
God, I confess that Jesus came in the flesh and blood, paid the price for my sins, died on the cross, rose on the third day, ascended to the heavens, and sent the Holy Spirit to help me understand Your ways. For that, I accept Jesus Christ as my savior and Lord, and I welcome the Holy Spirit in my life. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen!
Please get in touch with me if you find inspiration from what I'm writing and want to learn more about Christianity, God, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit. I will be rejoiced to hear from you.