How to Operate in the 7 Spirits of God Through
Spiritual Exercise and SPIRIT-GYM TRAINING
Video coming soon. Read video notes:
The mission of the 7 Spirits of God is to mature the body of Christ and train each member to function in the fullness of God.
How can we practically, through spiritual exercise, partner with and engage all 7 Spirits of God to develop our full capacity in Christ?
Before we cover how to engage the 7 Spirits of God through different spiritual exercises, let’s first identify them and what their function is in our lives and in God’s broader scheme of things.
In Revelation 4:5 it is written:
“…Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.”
~ Revelation 4:5 NKJV
These 7 Spirits are the 7 operations of the Holy Spirit which are named in Isaiah 11:
“1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 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 11:1-2
This is a prophecy about Jesus Christ. He is the branch that grew from the line of David, Jesse’s son. This prophecy states that He will be like a tree and that the 7 Spirits of God shall rest upon Him. This points back to the lampstand found in Exodus 25:31-40. This lampstand was made to be symbolic of an almond tree with 7 branches and with 7 flames resting upon it.
But, what does this have to do with the 7 Spirits of God in our lives?
The 7 Spirits of God in Our Lives
Jesus is the true almond tree that the lampstand symbolises. The word for tree in Hebrew, ets, can also refer to a vine or a bush. Jesus was the real tree of life that was found in the garden of Eden and the real burning bush from which Moses heard God’s voice. In John 15, Jesus says that He is the true vine.
In verse 5 of John 15, Jesus says that His disciples are the branches that grow out of Him. In Revelation 1:20, Jesus says that the 7 lampstands which John saw in His vision are the 7 churches which are in Asia.
If we put all this together, we see that the lampstand represents Jesus the vine, the branches represent individual disciples, and a lampstand with its branches together represents a local expression of the church.
Before we can answer the question regarding what the function of the 7 Spirits is in our individual lives, we need to ask: What is the corporate function of the 7 Spirits of God?
The Corporate Function of the 7 Spirits
Ephesians 2:19-22 says that believers are corporately being built together into a holy temple for God to dwell in. In Zechariah 4, we see that the 7 Spirits of God are related to the building of God’s temple.
Zechariah sees a vision with a lampstand with seven lamps and asks the angel what these are. The angel’s answer in verse 6 is: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” The answer is, these seven lamps are the Lord’s Spirit.
The prophecy continues and says that Zerubbabel will finish rebuilding God’s temple. Zerubbabel will finish the rebuilding, not with his own strength but with the help of the 7 Spirits.
At the end of the prophecy, in verse 10, it again speaks of the seven Spirits: “… For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” In Revelation 5:6, the 7 Spirits of are also characterised as eyes.
The function of the 7 Spirits of God is to rebuild God’s temple. As we said, Ephesians 2 reveals that the church is the true temple of God. The church is both the temple with Jesus as our foundation and the lampstand with Jesus as our vine. The 7 Spirits are busy developing and growing us so that we will bear much fruit, and they are building us up together to become the house of God.
But, what is the significance of the number 7 in God’s rebuilding process?
The Significance of the Number 7 in God’s Process
Many scholars agree that Genesis 1 is the account of God’s creation of the world as His cosmic temple. God made the world into a functional and habitable cosmic temple in six days.
On the seventh day, He sat down on His throne and rested as the King that ultimately rules over everything, including the steward rulers that He made on the sixth day.
The first thing that happened in the account of creation is that the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. As God then proceeded to speak, His Spirit moved to bring about what He spoke.
The 7 days of creation week points to the 7 moves of the complete operation of God’s Spirit to bring about God’s ultimate goal: to build up and inaugurate His cosmic temple.
God moves in 7 phases, with His 7 Spirits, to complete His mission.
Before we can finally get to how the 7 Spirits operate in our lives and how to engage the 7 Spirits through different spiritual exercises, we need to first determine their representative colours to determine the sequence in which they operate.
The Sequence of the Operation of the 7 Spirits
We said in the first video of our last days ready series that the 7 days of creation week act as the blueprint for the 12 stages of our spiritual growth. These 12 stages take place in 7 overarching phases according to the 7 days. Each of the 7 Spirits are responsible for one of the 7 phases in our spiritual development.
In the fifth video of our last days ready series, we covered how the 7 colours of the rainbow matches with the 7 days of creation week. If you match the 7 Spirits of God with the symbolic meanings of the 7 colours, you find their representative colour and the day of creation week with which they correspond:
Now, following this sequence, how do the 7 Spirits of God operate in our lives?
How the 7 Spirits Operate in Our Lives
In his greeting and introduction, John writes in Revelation 1:4-5:
“4 John, to the seven churches which 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, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness…”.
~ Revelation 1:4-5 NKJV
He mentioned the eternal Father God, the source of all things, first. Second, he mentioned the seven Spirits who are before God’s throne, who operates to execute God’s will. Third he mentioned Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the faithful witness who only testifies of the truth. This shows how the triune God works together.
In Chapter 2, we see Jesus is walking among the golden lampstands. He is witnessing to them, speaking the truth in love to them, correcting them. Just like in Genesis 1, when God spoke and the Spirit moved to bring about what He spoke. Jesus as God’s faithful witness is now speaking, and the 7 Spirits are moving in the churches to bring about what Jesus is speaking.
In Revelation 5:6, the 7 Spirits are called the 7 horns and the 7 eyes of the Lord. As fire, the 7 Spirits are burning, purifying, and drawing out the oil of His presence from within the believer. As horns, they are nudging, prompting, convicting, and sometimes even bumping the believer awake. As eyes, they see everything and they create an awareness in us of what God sees and of what His conscious thoughts are.
The 7 Spirits of God are constantly working in our lives to build us up into the temple of God.
Now for our final question: How do we engage these 7 Spirits through spiritual exercise?
Engaging the 7 Spirits of God
As the 7 Spirits operate in our lives, we need to yield and respond to them.
The 1st operation of the Holy Spirit is Centring by the Spirit of the Lord.
He works in our lives to centre our life’s focus and attention on Jesus Christ. We practically engage with His centring through Level 1 spiritual exercises. Level 1 consists of adoration of His presence exercises.
The 2nd operation of the Holy Spirit is Orienting by the Spirit of Wisdom.
He works in our lives to orient our will towards denying ourselves and following Jesus in everything we do. We practically engage with His orienting through Level 2 spiritual exercises. Level 2 consists of submission to the lordship and headship of Christ exercises.
The 3rd operation of the Holy Spirit is Posturing by the Spirit of Understanding.
He works in our lives to posture our attitudes and lifestyle according to God’s Word. We practically engage with His posturing through Level 3 and 4 spiritual exercises. Level 3 consists of meditation on God’s Word exercises, and Level 4 is cultivation of fruit exercises.
The 4th operation of the Holy Spirit is Aligning by the Spirit of Counsel.
He works in our lives to align our life’s intent to pursue God’s eternal purpose. We practically engage with His aligning through Level 5 and 6 spiritual exercises. Level 5 consists of conformation to the image and blueprint of Christ exercises, and Level 6 is anticipation of times and seasons in Christ exercises.
The 5th operation of the Holy Spirit is Conditioning by the Spirit of Might.
He works in our lives to condition our faculties to serve God in every circumstance. We practically engage with His conditioning through Level 7 and 8 spiritual exercises. Level 7 consists demonstration of faith in faithfulness towards God to the world around us exercises, and Level 8 is cooperation with the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit exercises.
The 6th operation of the Holy Spirit is Cherishing by the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.
He works in our lives by causing us to cherish the life of Christ in others. We practically engage with His cherishing through Level 9 and 10 spiritual exercises. Level 9 consists of consideration of the needs of others in Christ exercises, and Level 10 is valuation of the expression and spread of Christ’ spiritual DNA exercises.
The 7th operation of the Holy Spirit is Bonding by the Spirit of Knowledge.
He works in our lives by causing us to bond through the Spirit to the life of Christ in others. We practically engage with His bonding through Level 11 and 12 spiritual exercises. Level 11 consists of accommodation of the diversity of the Father in others exercises, and Level 12 is communion with Christ and one another in Christ exercises.
Growing in Grace
You might initially struggle when you first start engaging with each of the 7 Spirits of God. However, the more you do these exercises, the more the Spirit for that level will envelop and take over your life. Soon you will start to naturally operate in that Spirit.
For instance, when you start fully aligning with and yielding to the Spirit of Understanding, He will take over and give you spontaneous supernatural understanding and insight into events in real time.
The spiritual exercises are God’s means through which you align yourself with each of His 7 Spirits. The correct mindsets through which the Spirit operates don’t exist in you yet. These mindsets are the conduits thought which His power and insight flow.
Wrong mindsets hinder and stop the flow of the Spirit in your life. The exercises develop these mindsets.
The Importance of Journeying Together
It is not likely that you will function in each Spirit in equal measure. This is why the lampstand refers to a local body of believers – a local church – and not to individuals.
As we said, Jesus is the vine and the members of His body are the branches. Each branch of the menorah also symbolises different members with different gifts and functions in His body.
We were not called to all function in equal measure in all the Spirits of God. This is an inaccurate teaching that’s embraced by many in the body of Christ today. The only exception in scripture is the two witnesses in Revelation 11; they as individuals are called lampstands.
You will only be able to function in the full measure of the 7 Spirits of God within a group of believers with all the gifts that function together.
We highly encourage those of you who want to continue with this training to invite fellow believers to journey with you. Get a training partner or start your own small group and do the exercises together.
SPIRIT-GYM TRAINING was developed as a resource for the body of Christ. You can access the full training for free on our website. However, we require of those who are able to sow a monthly amount of their choice. Visit spirit-gym.com to gain access to the notes and practical exercises which are not available publicly.
Whether you are an individual or group of friends who want to go deeper with God, a small group, a house church, or a 5-fold ministry equipper that wants to see the body of Christ fully trained – we want to partner with you to make this happen.
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