The seven Spirits of God and the seven lamps of fire

Isaiah Chapter 11

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” Isaiah 11:1.

The whole tree was cut down because it did not bear fruit, and only a Branch from the root was chosen.

“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.” Isaiah 11:2.

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him

The Spirit of the Lord contains all the seven Spirits of God and the seven lamps of fire. “Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Revelation 4:5. If we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit as Jesus did, we will get a connection with these seven lamps of fire and the seven Spirits of God. These Spirits are:

1. The Spirit of the Lord

2. The Spirit of wisdom

3. The Spirit of understanding

4. The Spirit of counsel

5. The Spirit of might

6. The Spirit (that gives) knowledge (of the Lord) [Norw.]

7. The Spirit of the fear of the Lord

With each of these Spirits comes a lamp of fire.

When we completely and unreservedly surrender ourselves to God, we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. But that does not mean that we immediately get to know these seven Spirits of God and the seven lamps of fire. We would never be able to bear that. We have to take one step at a time. The Spirit of the Lord hides all of these other Spirits of God from us until we gradually become mature enough to receive them. The same goes for the fire.

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding

Who has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding the minute he or she receives the Spirit of the Lord, or, as we say, the Spirit of God? The Ephesians had received the Holy Spirit of promise as a guarantee. Yet they had not received the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, because that is what the apostle prayed they might receive (Ephesians 1:13–17).

It is chastisement that leads us to wisdom and understanding; it is the first lamp of fire that consumes our foolishness, and the Spirit leads us to this fire. That is why there is so much exhortation and correction. If we reject the chastisement, we will receive neither wisdom nor understanding. The Spirit will be quenched, and our old nature will reign once again. But some people are wise, and they receive:

The Spirit of counsel and might

If we obey God’s counsel and live according to it, we will receive the Spirit of counsel, accompanied by the Spirit of might so that we can carry out His counsel. Not everyone who has the Spirit of the Lord necessarily has the Spirit of counsel and might—only those who listen well and are obedient. That is why you cannot get good counsel from people who have not personally followed the counsel of the Lord, and who have therefore not received the Spirit of counsel. The counsel that your heart gives you by the light of the Holy Spirit is the best counsel. Follow it, and you will receive:

The Spirit which gives knowledge of the Lord

The knowledge of the Lord is incredibly deep, because all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him. They dwell in Him bodily (Colossians 2:9). By this knowledge the Spirit will reveal to us Christ manifested in flesh, justified in the Spirit, etc. The Lord becomes very real to us as our high priest and mediator. The Lord becomes exceedingly great, and that evokes within us:

The Spirit of the fear of the Lord

When the Lord draws near to us, we become meek, but when He is far away, we tend to be arrogant. There is woefully little of the Spirit of the fear of the Lord present among Christians. The Lord is so far away, so people allow themselves liberty for many things. Moses walked with the Lord, and he was the meekest man on earth. “Learn of Me,” Jesus said, “for I am meek and lowly of heart” (Matthew 11:29). He walked before the face of His Father. We, too, are to behold the glory of the Lord as in a mirror and be transformed into the same image from glory to glory (1 Corinthians 3:18). If we do that, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord will rest upon us.

The seven Spirits of God and the seven lamps of fire

All these seven Spirits rested upon Jesus, as did the seven lamps of fire. That is why He had the necessary weight in His spirit to bear the fire and all kinds of trials.

“He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears, but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.” Isaiah 11:3–4. Jesus learned all these things from these seven Spirits of God and the seven lamps of fire.

It is a fire to be corrected when you are foolish. It is a fire to follow the counsel of the Lord when you would rather go your own way. It is a fire to allow the Spirit of the fear of the Lord to be your master and to chasten you. You must have faith and fire in order to forsake your own imagined knowledge and commit yourself to the Spirit who gives knowledge of the Lord.

Think about this, all of you who have begun in the Spirit and now are trying to be made perfect by the flesh.

When these seven Spirits of God and these lamps of fire make their dwelling in us, then the wolf can dwell with the lamb, and the leopard can lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling can live together. The cow and the bear can graze together, and the lion can eat straw like the ox. The nursing child can play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child can put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all His holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:6–9).