The soul and the spirit
are the two primary immaterial parts
ascribed to humanity in Scripture.
Discerning the precise differences between
the two can be confusing.
The word spirit refers only to the
immaterial facet of humanity.
Human beings have a spirit, but we are not spirits.
However, in Scripture, only
believers are said to be spiritually alive
(1 Corinthians 2:11; Hebrews 4:12; James 2:26);
unbelievers are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1–5; Colossians 2:13). In Paul’s writing, the spiritual is pivotal to the life of the believer (1 Corinthians 2:14; 3:1; Ephesians 1:3; 5:19; Colossians 1:9; 3:16).
The spirit is the element in humanity
that gives us the ability to have an
intimate relationship with God.
The word spirit refers to the immaterial part
of humanity that “connects” with God,
who Himself is spirit
(John 4:24).
The word soul can refer to both the immaterial and material aspects of humanity. Humans have a spirit but aresouls. In its most basic sense, the word soul means “life”; beyond this essential meaning, the Bible speaks of the soul in many contexts. One of these is in relation to humanity’s basic selfishness (e.g., Luke 12:19). Human beings have a sinful nature, and our souls are tainted with sin.
The soul, as the life essence of the body,
is removed at the time of physical death
(Genesis 35:18).
The soul, as with the spirit, is the center of many spiritual and emotional experiences (Job 30:25; Psalm 43:5; Jeremiah 13:17). The word soul can refer to the whole person, whether alive on earth or in the afterlife (see Revelation 6:9).
The soul and the spirit are connected, but separable (Hebrews 4:12). The soul is the essence of humanity’s being; it is who we are. The spirit is the immaterial part of humanity that connects with God.
The “seven spirits of God” are mentioned several times in the book of Revelation:
• Revelation 1:4–5, “John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ . . .”
• Revelation 3:1, “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God . . .”
• Revelation 4:5, “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.”
• Revelation 5:6, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
The identity of
“the seven spirits”
is not explicit in these passages, but arriving at the
proper interpretation is fairly straightforward.
The “seven spirits”
cannot be seven angelic beings such as
seraphim or cherubim
because of the context of
Revelation 1:4.
John says
that “grace and peace”
are coming
to the churches from
three sources:
“him who is, and who was, and who is to come”
(verse 4), “the seven spirits before the throne” (verse 4), and “Jesus Christ” (verse 5).
This is a depiction of
the Trinity:
grace and peace are
given by the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
the three co-equal Persons of the
Godhead.
In Revelation 3:1
Jesus “holds” the
seven spirits of God.
In John 15:26, Jesus
“sends”
the
Holy Spirit from the Father.
Both passages suggest the
superordinate role
of the Son
and the
subordinate role of
the Spirit.
In Revelation 4:5 the seven spirits of God are symbolized as seven burning lamps that are before God’s throne. This picture agrees with Zechariah’s vision in which he sees the Holy Spirit symbolized as “a solid gold lampstand . . . with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it” (Zechariah 4:2).
In Revelation 5:6 the seven spirits are the “seven eyes” of the Lamb, and they are “sent out into all the earth.” The seven eyes speak of the Spirit’s (and the Lamb’s) omniscience, and the fact that He is sent into all the earth speaks of His omnipresence.
Once we identify the “seven spirits” as the
Holy Spirit,
the question remains, why are there “seven” of Him?
The Bible, and especially the
book of Revelation,
uses the number seven to refer to
perfection and completion.
John’s vision includes a picture of the
perfect and complete Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 11:2 also references the Holy Spirit using
a seven-fold description:
“The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him--
the
Spirit of wisdom
and of
understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of
power,
the Spirit of knowledge
and of the fear of the LORD.”
The prophecy is that the
Messiah
would be empowered
not by
seven individual spirits
but by the
One Spirit,
described seven ways:
1) The Spirit of the LORD
2) The Spirit of wisdom
3) The Spirit of understanding
4) The Spirit of counsel
5) The Spirit of power
6) The Spirit of knowledge
7) The Spirit of the fear of the Lord
The
”seven spirits of God”
in the
book of Revelation
are thus a reference to the
Holy Spirit
in the
perfection
of
His manifold ministry.