Isaiah 11:1-4;
Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed here; 1. The Spirit of the LORD,
2. Wisdom, 3. Understanding, 4. Counsel, 5. Fortitude, 6. Knowledge,
7. Fear of the Lord.
While some Christians accept these as a definitive list of specific attributes, others understand them as examples of the Holy Spirit's work through the faithful. So in other words God will at times bring other gifts to mind as He gifts us in these Spiritual gifts.
1. The spiritual empowerment of the Messiah shall rest upon Him,
2. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
3. The Spirit of counsel and might,
4. The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
A. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him: The Branch that comes from the apparently dead stump isn’t just barely alive. It is full of life, and full of the Spirit of the LORD. We see here that the Messiah has seven – the number of fullness and completion – aspects of the Spirit of the LORD. Also known as the Spirit of Reverence/ Piety: a person will have a deep sense of respect for God and the church. A person with reverence recognises their total reliance on God and comes before God with humility, trust, and love. It is the gift which with the Holy Spirit's leading we will worship and duty to God as our Father. We will always respect our brothers and sisters as we are directed in the Bible, simply because they are God’s procession. The Spirit of the LORD is upon the Messiah. Jesus did not have a false spirit or a deceiving spirit, or even the spirit of a man. The Spirit of the LORD God of Israel rests upon the Messiah. On one occasion Jesus rebuked the disciples saying, you do not know what manner of spirit you are of (Luke 9:55-56). Jesus was of the Spirit of the LORD, and He knew it, He cannot but respect God and His people.
B. Wisdom: The gift of wisdom, will see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise person, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the ups and downs of our lives take on deeper meaning. The matters of judgement about the truth, and being able to see the whole image of God. To see God as our Father and other people with dignity. Being able to see the image of God in everyone and everything everywhere. The Spirit of wisdom is upon the Messiah. Jesus is perfectly wise in all things. He showed this during his earthly ministry, and He shows it now in His continuing ministry in heaven for His people. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Jesus became for us wisdom from God. It isn’t just that Jesus has wisdom; He is wisdom.
C. The Spirit of…understanding is upon the Messiah. Jesus understands all things, and He understands us perfectly. He is perfectly suited to be our sympathetic High Priest in heaven (Hebrews 4:15-16). In understanding, we comprehend how we need to live as a follower of Christ. A person with understanding is not confused by all the conflicting messages in our culture about the right way to live. They allow themselves to be washed with the Word of God and that is in practice. They practice reading the Bible a lot – more than once a day.
D. The Spirit of counsel is upon the Messiah. Jesus has perfect counsel to give us at all times. He has both the wisdom and the understanding to be a perfect counsellor. With the gift of counsel/right judgement, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we have the God given ability to choose to do what is right. A person with right judgement avoids sin and lives out the values taught by Jesus. The gift of truth that allows the person to respond rightly to Christ the Lord. They will study how to make right judgements for their lives as they live in a corrupt world and be an example as a disciple.
E. The Spirit of might is upon the Messiah. Jesus has the power to do what He desires to do. Many people would help us if they could but are powerless to help. Others may have the power to help us, but they don’t care about us. Jesus has both the love and the might to help us. With the gift of might/fortitude/courage, we overcome our fear and are willing to take risks as a follower of Jesus Christ. A person with courage is willing to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or even physical harm and death. The gift of courage allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in doing good and in enduring evil that is put in their way. As we read the Bible we will see that not all people of God were courageous. And yet Gideon was a mighty warrior of God.
F. The Spirit of knowledge is upon the Messiah. Jesus knows everything. He knows our hearts and He knows all the facts. Many times we have made decisions that seemed strange or wrong to others because they didn’t have the knowledge that we have. Jesus has knowledge that we don’t have, so it shouldn’t surprise us that sometimes His decisions seem strange or wrong to us or to others. With the gift of knowledge, we understand the meaning of God. The gift of knowledge is more than an accumulation of facts. It is knowing the Lord Jesus in an intimate way. It is personal relationship with Jesus to be able to disciple fellow brothers and sisters about the deeper things of God so they can grow up to find their spiritual gift and a by-product of this will be joy in the Holy Spirit. This gift will produce hope in believers and fulfillment in the teacher. It will settle the way of our future.
G. The Spirit of…the fear of the LORD is upon the Messiah. Jesus willingly kept Himself in a place of submission, respect, and honour to God the Father. Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe): With the gift of fear of the Lord we are aware of the glory and majesty of God. A person with wonder and awe knows that God is the perfection of all we desire: perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect power, and perfect love. The fear of offending our father, rather than a fear of punishment. Also known as knowing God is all powerful. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) because we are dependent creatures, and He is the infinite, all-powerful Creator. In the Father is all the fullness of God.
Bold I approach the eternal throne knowing my God loves me with all His heart.
Some believe that four of these gifts, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel direct the intellect, while the other three gifts, fortitude/courage, Reverence/ Piety and fear of the Lord direct the will toward God.
In some respects, the gifts are similar to the virtues that is the high moral standards of God, but a key distinction is that the virtues operate through human reason (prompted by grace), whereas the gifts operate through the Holy Spirit;
The man I first heard this message from was a Catholic Priest and seeing him over a few day it was very clear that God had this man in the right place – he was a witness of the gospel to a people in need of it and some of these gifts were seen in him.
Virtues can be used when one wishes, but the gifts operate only when the Holy Spirit wishes. That is why the Holy Spirit gives the gifts to us as the body needs building or people need saving.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11:2-3 present the fullness of Jesus Christ but are found in Christians who are in a state of grace and full of the Holy Spirit. We receive them when we are infused with sanctifying grace, the life of God within us. We respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as if by instinct, the way Christ Himself would. Baptism represents our sins being washed away and we come up from the water to be clothed in a new garment. Putting on the baptismal garment is a visible symbol of the invisible reality of "putting on Christ – we are now no longer our own but Christ’s. We are washed out ready to be filled with the power of God the Holy Spirit.
We
pray that the qualities of Christ take root in us and become our qualities so
that we may become signs of God's presence in the world. Let us pray.
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