“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him …” (Isa. 11:2, NKJV)
In Isa. 11:1-2 the seven manifestations of the seven-fold Spirit of God are listed. What is fascinating is that the very first one that is listed is “the Spirit of the Lord”. One does not expect such a term to be lumped in with this whole, as we’ve always seen the Holy Spirit and the Seven-fold Spirit of God as equal to one another. Yet we’ve started seeing a clear distinction between these two in the previous teachings. Here it is now becoming clear – the Holy Spirit is clearly one part or facet of the seven-fold Spirit of God!
The English word spirit is derived from the Latin, and means to breathe. The words respiration, expiration, and inspiration all derive from the same root word. In Greek it is the word pneuma, derived from the word pneō (“to breathe, to blow” – Thayer). The Hebrew version is the well-known rûach, which according to Strong means: “wind; by resemblance breath”. The basic analogy of the word is simple – just as the natural man cannot live without breath, spiritual man cannot live without the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is the energy force through which God enables His resolutions and brings about His perfect will.
In Joh. 3:8 Jesus explains to Nicomedus that the Spirit is an invisible power, but clearly has a visible manifestation. One cannot see the wind, but through the rustling of the leaves you know that the wind is blowing. Indeed: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The best way of describing this is as that which has energy potential. It can be manifested in various forms, but it cannot be concretely handled.
From physics we know that energy is the capacity to get work done. In Greek it is the word energeia and because energy and work are so often used together, the word is mostly translated (in English) as “working,” as for instance in Eph. 1:19 where it speaks about the functioning of the Spirit as: “the working of His mighty power”. In the next verse Paul says it is the same power that “worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places”. Later Paul writes in Eph. 3:7 that he became a minister of the gospel “according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power”. In the next chapter he explains that the Body of Christ also grows and functions “according to the effective working by which every part does its share” (Eph. 4:16). In addition to this, according to Phil. 3:21 – it is this working (energy) “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body”.
- Selah: Explain the picture above in the light of the teaching.
- Read: 10-12
- Memorise: 11:1-2 (God’s glorious synchronicity!)
