The Seven Spirits of God

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
Rev 1:5  and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Rev 1:6  and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

What are these seven spirits?

This is a tricky phrase that only the Apostle John uses and only in the Book of Revelation.  He uses it three other times (Rev 3:1; Rev 4:5; Rev 5:6) and each time it refers to the Holy Spirit.  There are two possible reasons why John chose to refer to Him in this way.

1 – Seven is the number of perfection

Through out the Bible in general and Revelation in particular the number seven is used to symbolize perfection or completeness.  Beginning with the seven days God took to create the universe, through the seven pairs of clean animals on the ark, to the seven times blood had to be sprinkled on the altar for atonement; time and time again we see the number seven pop up.  In Revelation alone John uses the seven motif many times including the seven churches in Ch 2-3, seven stars, seven lampstands, seven angels, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowl judgments.  This is one of the reasons John gives a warning about adding to are taking away from anything in the book because to do so would mess up the groups of seven he has included.  So John may be highlighting the fact that the Spirit of God is perfect and in every respect, God.

2 – The Spirit has a seven-fold ministry

John may have also been referencing Isaiah 61:1-2 where the Spirit of God is shown empowering His servant to perform seven important tasks.  He brings good news to the poor, binds up the brokenhearted, proclaims liberty to the captives, frees those who are bound, proclaims the year of God’s favor, proclaims the day of God’s vengeance, and comforts those who mourn.

Whether John meant both of these possibilities or just one or the other, it is clear that John meant for us to see these “seven spirits” as the Holy Spirit.  We see here that the Spirit of God is always before the throne while simultaneously working out the will of God on the Earth.  Nothing created can be in two places at once, only the omnipresent God can do this.  John is showing us that the Spirit of God is the third person of the Trinity, completely God but not all of God.  The Spirit is fully God yet only one member of the Trinity, ever before the throne and always working on the Earth and in the heart of every believer.  The Spirit of God is God but He always points us to the Son and the Father as the objects of our worship and adoration.

We also have access to the throne of God if the Spirit of God is in us.  We can pray for the blessings of God through the power of the indwelling Spirit and in the name of the Son and one day we also will be before the throne of God in both body and spirit worshiping the Triune God.

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