A few weeks ago I was reading Revelation when I came across this verse. It confused me because I always hear about the Trinity, but I never hear about the seven spirits of God. It was weird because it sounded like something that people could easily misinterpret in order to make Christianity seem polytheistic. But after some studying, I've come to a new understanding of this verse and of the sevenfold Spirit of God.
I started by going through the Bible and listing a few things that mentioned the number seven:
- seven days - six days of creation and the seventh holy day of rest (Genesis 1:1-2:3)
- seven seals (Revelation 6, 8)
- seven trumpets (Revelation 8-9, 11:15-19)
- seven bowls of God's wrath (Revelation 16)
- Sabbath year (Leviticus 25)
- forgive seventy-seven/seven times seventy times (Matthew 18:21)
- seven angels of the seven churches (Revelation 2-3)
- The number seven is a symbol of perfection. The sevenfold Spirit shows that God's Holy Spirit is perfect, above all else.
- the seven heads of the beast out of the sea (Revelation 13:1)
The devil's number is 666, while 777 is considered lucky or holy and is associated with God in biblical times. Satan always comes second in his battle with God, so each digit of his number must not be higher than or equal to God's number; 666 is the highest number below 777 that does not contain 7, 8, or 9. For this same reason, the beast out of the sea has seven heads, setting himself up as God, but one head must be eliminated because God will not allow His glory or His name to be taken by another. But Satan will restore the seventh head so that it seems that he really is God.After getting back on track, God started to reveal some things to me about the purpose of the sevenfold Spirit. When I first started thinking about the question of the seven spirits, my first thought was that each spirit represented a particular characteristic of God. So when I came across Revelation 5:6, things started falling into place with that assumption.
"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."This led me back to Revelation 2-3 because it seems that seven angels had been assigned to the seven churches. In other words, it appeared that the angels had been "sent out into all the earth." But it wasn't until a friend mentioned Hebrews that the answers started becoming clear.
Bear with me. My thought process through this whole journey was really scattered. When I went to Hebrews, I remembered the verse that talked about the "spirit of sonship." Somehow that made me think of 2 Timothy 1:7 ("For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline"), and from there, I started thinking of different instances where the Bible mentions a spirit of something, and then I expanded to other verses describing certain emotions or attributes that come from God. For example, 1 Corinthians 13:13: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Finally, after throwing around different qualities of the Spirit of God, I narrowed the list down to these seven, which seem to match up with the seven churches in Revelation 2-3:
1. To the Church in Ephesus: The Spirit of Righteousness
These seven spirits together are the requirements to enter heaven, and it is by the Holy Spirit alone that we receive these gifts. That's why they are called the sevenfold Spirit.The Church in Ephesus pursued righteousness to the point of intolerance of anything less. However, in their pursuit of absolute righteousness, they lost sight of their own unrighteousness and their need for a Savior. They lacked humility, which comes from the Spirits of Truth and Love—the Spirit of Truth reminds us of our utter depravity compared to the Lord's utter perfection and holiness, and the Spirit of Love leads us to lift others above ourselves; thus the combination of the two results in perfect humility. It is only through Christ's righteousness that we can be truly righteous, and the Ephesians lost sight of this fact. So God called the Ephesian Church to humility to return to perfect righteousness.2. To the Church in Smyrna: The Spirit of Peace
While the Church in Smyrna faces persecution, the Lord comforts them and gives them peace in knowing that He still cares for them and is in control of everything. In Revelation 2:9 Jesus says, "I know... your poverty—yet you are rich!" Just like Job, even when they are struck with poverty, they remain the richest people in the world because they claim the blessings of God their Father. He assures them that there is no reason to be afraid, and just like the Israelites in Exodus 4:31, the Church at Smyrna takes comfort in that the Lord acknowledges their suffering and in His promise of relief and a better day that is to come.3. To the Church in Pergamum: The Spirit of Truth
Despite persecution, the Church in Pergamum continued to hold fast to the Truth of Jesus Christ. When lies surrounded them, the Church valued the Truth above all else. Unfortunately, Satan had managed to deceive them with some of his lies, convincing them that he was telling the truth. So here Christ calls them out to reject the enemy's lies and return to His Truth, the only Truth.4. To the Church in Thyatira: The Spirit of Love
Another interpretation may suggest that, even though the Church in Pergamum knew the Truth and accepted the enemy's lies as contrary to the Truth, their pursuit of the knowledge of the Truth did not necessarily lead them to act according to the Truth. In other words, as King Solomon proved, the pursuit of wisdom does not inherently equal the pursuit of righteousness. Just because you know the Lord's commands does not mean you will automatically obey them, and this was the downfall of the Church in Pergamum. So Jesus called them to repentance and to add to their pursuit of Truth, the pursuit of righteousness.
To the Church in Thyatira was given the Spirit of Love, but in their ever increasing desire for love, they lost sight of what true Love is. They allowed the world's definition of love to overtake God's definition, and they forgot that true Love calls for discipline and gentle correction. Like the Church in Pergamum, the Church in Thyatire allowed the world to lead them away from the path of righteousness. While they continued to show God's love, worldly lust had crept in as an addition to their definition of love. And instead of hating the sin and loving the person, they loved the person and condoned the sin, even to the point of allowing the sin to take a hold on their own lives. So the Lord called the Church to repentance and to a remembrance of true Godly Love that rebukes sin as a father disciplines a child.5. To the Church in Sardis: The Spirit of Wisdom
It seems that we in America have fallen in the same way as the Church in Thyatira. We have become apathetic toward the eternal consequences of sin, and we overlook each other's sins in the name of love. Yes, we are to accept each other and love each other despite our faults, but we are not to overlook our sins and leave them unconfronted. We are to encourage each other and lead each other in the pat of righteousness as the Spirit of God directs us.
In Sardis, poor choices were being made, even among the Church. And even though the Church's poor choices seemed to make them prosper, they were still killing themselves. So God gave them the Spirit of Wisdom. Although their earthly wisdom made them prosper, earthly wisdom is nothing in comparison with Godly Wisdom. Only a chosen few had received the Spirit of true Wisdom, and they would find their place in heaven. So the Lord called the whole Church to return to the knowledge of true Wisdom that would save them, rather than earthly wisdom that only brings temporary prosperity.6. To the Church in Philadelphia: The Spirit of Power
In this case power is better interpreted as persistence because even when the Church had little strength, they continued to remain steadfastly devoted to the Lord. But the Spirit of Power does not only consist of perseverance. The Church in Philadelphia also demonstrates boldness in standing firm in their beliefs despite the false teachings forced on them by the members of the "synagogue of Satan." Even with their little strength, the Church was able to stand strong by the Spirit of Power.7. To the Church in Laodicea: The Spirit of Life
The Church in Laodicea is different from all the others in that they have yet to discover and receive the Spirit of Life that has been given to them. They are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold; they are lifeless. The vivacity of Life is not in them, and they remain spiritually dead. The Spirit of Life, of passion for Christ, has already been given them, but we see in Jesus' statement in Revelation 3:20 ("Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me") that, although the gift has been given, it has yet to be received. Only those who open the door to Him, who receive the Spirit of Life, will enter in through the gates of heaven and receive eternal life.
By looking at the seven Churches, we can see the strengths and weaknesses of today's Church. In Ephesus we see our perceived self-righteousness and our need for a Savior, yet we also see the Church's desire to pursue righteousness in all forms. From Smyrna we learn the peace of the martyrs and of the poor and broken, just as we learn the martyr's strength and perseverance from Philadelphia. Pergamum shows us the willingness of modern-day Christians to twist the truth in order to fit their desires, and also their desire to chase the things of this world despite their knowledge of the Truth. But it also shows the Church's unshakable grasp on the Truth among those within the Church who do not conform to the ways of the world. Thyatira, as previously mentioned, shows us the typical American religion of living one's own life without judging others and allowing others to stumble and grope in the dark until they learn for themselves, but it also shows the love that God shared with us and that we are to share with our neighbors. Sardis demonstrates the wisdom of the world and of the Spirit and shows us the difference, so that we can see that only God's wisdom is supreme and can save us. And finally, Laodicea, sadly, seems to be America's model Church, leading so many Christians to be lukewarm and to think that they are true Christians when they really aren't. Like Jesus said to the Church in Sardis, He now calls to us, "You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up!" (Revelation 3:1). But we can take hope in knowing that the Spirit will draw us to fullness in Christ, and that we will receive the blessings the Lord promised to all those who overcome.
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Sorry if this was a little confusing. I just copied my personal notes from my notebook without paying much attention to what I was typing. If I need to do a better job explaining, let me know.
Also, by no means is this the only explanation of the sevenfold Spirit of God. This is just what God revealed to me. I hope this helped someone in some way. If not... well, it was an interesting, thought-provoking journey, so I enjoyed it. And it gave me a better understanding of who God is and what He wants for me, so that's what counts, right?
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