Who are the 7 Spirits of God?

Copyright (c) 2007 Jon Straumfjord

The 7 Spirits and the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) act in complete unity with neither preference nor compromise. If we hope to obtain anything from the Lord we must approach Him in complete agreement and unity with His very nature, and since the 7 Spirits comprise the very nature of God Himself, we must approach Him in complete unity with the 7 Spirits of God. But Who are the 7 Spirits of God? Before we can answer the question of Who They are, we are unfortunately forced to first answer the question of Who They are not.

Some people have taken Isaiah 11:1-2 as being the one verse in the Bible that talks about the identity of the 7 Spirits of God:

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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. (NKJV)

If we look carefully at this passage we notice first of all that one of these Spirits is called "The Spirit of the LORD," however by definition each of these would be spirits of the Lord. Second, wisdom, understanding and counsel are all basically the same thing, so the best we could possibly obtain from this passage is 4 spirits, not 7. Lastly, the passage is basically talking about a single Spirit that would rest upon Jesus Christ, namely the Holy Spirit, which is exactly what this passage is really talking about. It doesn't discuss the 7 Spirits of God at all!

So Who are the 7 Spirits of God? They are: the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2), the Spirit of Truth (John 15:26), the Spirit of Wisdom (Ephesians 1:17), the Spirit of Holiness (Romans 1:4), the Spirit of Faith (2 Corinthians 4:13), the Spirit of Love (1 John 4:8), and the Spirit of Prophecy (Revelations 19:10). The other two Spirits mentioned in Scripture are the Spirit of Glory (1 Peter 4:14) which refers to the 7 Spirits of God collectively, and the Spirit of Grace (Hebrews 10:29) which refers to the Holy Spirit.

Each of the 7 Spirits is infinite in Her scope: infinite Life (hence the need for eternal residences: Heaven or Hell), infinite Truth (more than could ever be known by all the created beings throughout all time and space put together), infinite Wisdom (complete omniscience: there is at least one solution to every problem or question), infinite Holiness (there is only one perfect attitude and action for every situation that is ultimately acceptable), infinite Love (everyone is ultimately on the Lord's heart in every second of every day of every year of every millennium, and He continually seeks the well-being of every individual without compromising any other individuals), infinite Faith (everything is possible), and infinite Prophecy (the Lord is always seeking to communicate with everyone at all times). These 7 infinite Spirits collectively comprise the very nature and character of the Lord God simultaneously.

If you can begin to grasp the sum total of the infinite influences of these 7 Spirits, you have a glimpse into the character of the living God. If you find these concepts difficult, or even impossible to grasp, remember that God is infinite, and you are not. Each of us, and even all mankind put together, are finite in nature. The finite will never fully comprehend the infinite. It is absolutely impossible. However, the more we do comprehend and apprehend of the full nature of God Himself, the better we can relate to Him and obtain the blessings we desire.