THE
SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD
Revelation
1:4
- John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and
peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the
seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Revelation
3:1
- And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write;
These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I
know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Revelation
4:5
- 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.
Revelation
5:6
- 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.
The number seven is used throughout
the Bible and symbolizes dispensational fullness and perfection.
Just as the seven churches make up the one Church, so "the seven
Spirits of God" make up the completeness of the administration of the Holy
Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit, although called the seven spirits, are not
seven in number or in nature, but is the one infinite perfect Spirit of God, in
whom there is a diversity of gifts and operations.
THE
SPIRIT OF GRACE
Grace is the unmerited favor of God.
In other words, it is receiving something we do not deserve.
We are saved by God's grace. (Ephesians
2:8-9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not
of works, lest any man should
boast.)
And,
we are sustained by grace. (2
Timothy 2:1
- Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.)
It is only through the grace of God that sinful man has the opportunity
of receiving eternal life. There is
nothing man can do to save himself. We
must rely on God's grace and not our feeble works.
(Genesis 1:2 - And the earth was
without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.) The Spirit was there in the beginning with God and
assisted in producing both physical as well as spiritual life.
(2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new.) Our conversion depends upon what God has already done for
us through Christ Jesus.
(John
14:6
- Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.)
(Romans 8:2 - For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.) It is
through the Spirit that we are set free from the law and given a new life in
Christ.
(Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God;) This verse reminds us that we were all born in
sin. In order to become a child of
God, we must be adopted into His family.
(Romans
8:15 - For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again
to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba,
Father.)
(Galatians 4:7 - Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.) Once we have accepted Christ Jesus is our Savior, we have been spiritually accepted into the family of God. We are no longer servants but sons and heirs with Christ.
Holiness is not drudgery but a positive way of conducting our lives. Holiness is not something we have obtained, it is something we strive for. It is something that requires practice.
The
Spirit judges and burns up all sin to produce holiness.
(Isaiah
4:4 - When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the
daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst
thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.) Jesus set the example for us to be holy.
(Romans
1:3-4 - Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was
made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from
the dead:)
(1
Peter 1:15-16
- But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.)
Did you ever have a time when you did not know how or what to pray?
If you have the baptism with the Holy Spirit, this should be no problem
for you. (Romans
8:26-27 - Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself
maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.)4
The Spirit prays through us and for us. He is divine and always knows the perfect will of God. We can rest assured that He will always pray according to God’s will.
The Spirit is a person of truth just
as Christ is the truth.
(John
14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.)
The power of the truth sets men free.
(John
15:26
- But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send
unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the
Father, he shall testify of me:)
(John
8:26
- I have many things to say and to judge of you: but
he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have
heard of him.)
(John
8:32 - And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.)
We must have the truth. The lack of knowledge or understanding may be
caused by rejection of the truth. What better away to get to the truth than to
seek the knowledge of God? (Hosea
4:6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt
be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also
forget thy children.)
THE SPIRIT OF GLORY
Being reproached for the name of Jesus is proof that the Spirit of Glory
is upon us. When we are reproached
for Christ, the Spirit is glorified. Every
Christian should be happy that they are counted worthy to be reproached for
Christ. (1 Peter 4:14 - If ye be
reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of
God resteth upon you: on
their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.)
No one likes to suffer or be tempted.
Sometimes things come upon us and we feel that our world has crumbled.
At times like that, we should remember
(1 Corinthians 10:13 - There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.)
Stephen was stoned to death. You
cannot suffer or be tempted much greater than that and yet he saw the glory of
God. (Acts 7:55
- But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven,
and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,)
When troubles of this life seemed to get you down, try reading (Romans
8:18 - For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in
us.) That is a Scripture that has seen me through many hard times and
helped me forget about the present and look to the future.
I highly recommend it to everyone no matter what your sufferings may be.
If you read it with your eyes on the future, you cannot help but feel
that your sufferings here are worth going through to attain the glory that God
has waiting for you.
Our
human body has various parts with different names and functions, yet it is one
body and all the functions work together to complete the body.
So the Spirit has various names and functions, yet He is one Spirit,
doing the work of God.