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| Tree of Jesse - Artist unknown |
TO CHEW ON: "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
The rich Spirit of the Lord—that Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge "and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord" (AMP) rests on the Jesse branch (Isaiah 11:1). That would be a descendant of David, who was a son of Jesse. We understand this prophecy to be of Jesus.
As we read this list, His early wisdom comes to mind:
"And the Child grew and become strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him" - Luke 2:40.
When His ministry commenced, we recall the visible descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at His baptism - Matthew 3:16.
Throughout Jesus' life, Godly qualities were lived out in Him. My Thompson Chain Bible has a longer (than the Isaiah 11) list of qualities that typified the Spirit of Christ:
- Divine - Isaiah 11:2
- Wise - Isaiah 11:2
- Just and Fearless - Isaiah 11:4.
- Faithful - Isaiah 11:5.
- Tender - Isaiah 40:11
- Quiet - Isaiah 42:2
- Gentle - Isaiah 42:3
- Persevering - Isaiah 42:4
- Liberating - Isaiah 61:1
- Saving - Isaiah 63:1
- Compassionate - Matthew 9:36
- Meek and lowly - Matthew 11:29
- Longsuffering - Luke 9:55-56
- Forgiving - Luke 23:34
- Zealous - Acts 10:38
- Loving - Ephesians 5:2
The exciting thing is that when we become His children, He gives us the same Spirit: "The Spirit of truth … He dwells with you and will be in you" - John 14:7.
His Spirit is life-giving - Romans 8:11.
He guides and leads us - Romans 8:14.
He opens up truth to us and gives insights into the future - John 16:13.
His Spirit gives wisdom (what is needed to enact all the other qualities) that is not only theoretical but also practical. I love how my Bible's notes on wisdom includes this sum-up:
"Biblical wisdom unites God, the Source of all understanding, with daily life, where the principles of right living are put into practice" - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 888.
And so we are brought back to earth with convicting passages like this one from James that describes what Jesus' heavenly wisdom does not and does look like:
"But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual, demonic …. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy" - see all of James 3:13-18.
PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize worldly versus the heavenly wisdom of the Spirit of Jesus. Quicken my will toward instant obedience of Your Spirit's voice. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
