“And 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.” Isaiah 11:2
Dear Ones:
When Isaiah wrote, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever” (Is. 40:8), there was the declaration by God that there would never be any variableness, or change, in the truth of His word. Civilizations would rise and fall, philosophies would multiply, and knowledge would increase, but NOTHING would change the truth of His word. It is the same with regard to His person…”…there is NO variableness or shadow cast by turning.” (James 1:17) This fact is the bedrock for all faith in Christ, in God, according to constant reality and effect of the truth, especially with regard to those who truly believe. In our consideration of the Spirit of God that came to “rest upon Him,” (Christ), we are brought face to face with the same Holy Spirit. It is that Spirit that moved upon the waters at creation, the same Spirit that came upon David at his anointing. It is that same Spirit that came upon the disciples at Pentecost. And it is the same, unchanged and unaltered Spirit, that lives in the heart of each believer. The question then becomes, with regard to this knowledge of the truth, “Do we trust Him to BE to and in us what Scripture declares Him to be, not only with regard to His nature, but with respect to His ministry, His work, in the great perspective of always glorifying Christ?”
The specific revelation of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit is given to us that we might grasp His characteristics of wisdom, understanding, might, knowledge, and “the fear of the Lord.” Why? It is because we have NEED to know Him in this manner. The question then becomes: “How then can we know Him?” In the first of two great prayers by the Apostle Paul for the Ephesian church, we see and understand that he KNOWS who the Spirit of God is, and God’s way, so that this Spirit of God can be fully operative in the heart and life of the believer. Thus, he prays: “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, MAY GIVE UNTO YOU the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Christ).” (Eph. 1:17) He goes on to specifically pray for the ministry of the Spirit of God, the opening of the eyes of the understanding, receiving the knowledge of the hope of one’s calling, and grasping the knowledge and reality of the “riches of the glory” of God in the saints. There is one other aspect of this “revelation” of the truth of the Spirit, specifically as it applies to His ministry to, and in, believers: “…(to see, understand, and grasp) what is the EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF HIS POWER TO US-WARD WHO BELIEVE.” (v. 9) What is Paul’s methodology here? He has taken the immutable, unchanging, truth of the Spirit and that of His ministry to the believer, and called upon God according to it, so as to bring that blessed reality to fruition in the life. By prayer and faith, he is bringing down the blessing of God from heaven, and His throne, so that the blessings of the kingdom, the immeasureable riches of Christ, should be actually manifested on this earth.
Dear Father, blessed Giver of every good and perfect gift, Thou has given to us a child, a son, to pay for our sin and guilt. We come to Thee to ask Thee, that in the greatest possible measure, we might be given this Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, that we should see and know the greatness of Thy Son, and the blessing of knowing Him. Give us a vision of Thy power to us-ward who believe, and grace to believe Thee for it, that we should live by it for Thy glory and honor. We thank Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad