full of the holy spirit and wisdom

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13 Bible Verses about The Holy Spirit, Source Of Wisdom

Most Relevant Verses

So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said, “I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think. “I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom. “But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. read more. “The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice.

But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.

Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations. read more. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord , she came to test him with difficult questions. So she came to Jerusalem with a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. read more. When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord , there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon. Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. The king made of the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day. King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested, besides what he gave her according to his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land together with her servants. Now the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that from the traders and the wares of the merchants and all the kings of the Arabs and the governors of the country. King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. He made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners. This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.” read more. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the exiles from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. Just now the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not declare the interpretation of the message. But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Bible Theasaurus

Holy ( 1282 instances )
Source ( 99 instances )
Wisdom ( 377 instances )

Wisdom is the Holy Spirit

What exactly is wisdom? Is wisdom good judgement? Or is wisdom the Spirit of God? The Bible reveals a wisdom that speaks, teaches, and leads her children. The Bible reveals a feminine wisdom. The Spirit of Wisdom longs to be our best friend. Are we willing to acknowledge her?

Foundational Teachings

A theme of “wisdom” runs throughout the Bible;
Wisdom is the God-given ability to discern between good and evil (wisdom is understanding );
Wisdom is a spirit, specifically the Holy Spirit of God;
Friendship with Wisdom must be pursued.

Wisdom is a Person — She is the Spirit of God

Our first step in studying wisdom is to notice that it’s a topic that runs throughout the entire Bible (not just the book of Proverbs). Wisdom first appears in the book of Genesis as Satan, working through a serpent, stalks his prey—Eve. The serpent tells Eve:

“For God knows that in the day you eat of it [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise , she took of its fruit and ate. (Gen. 3:5-6)

However, before Eve ever spied that fruit in the garden and desired what she thought was wisdom, wisdom had already played a significant role in the downfall of Satan. We see the importance of wisdom in the words of Ezekiel as he prophetically reveals Satan’s fall:

I [God] destroyed you, O covering cherub [Satan], from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. (Ezek. 28:16-17)

Wisdom is also spoken of in Job as Job describes the difficult path to finding her:

But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. (Job 28:12-28)

The next big scene with wisdom comes to us from Solomon’s dad, King David, as he impresses upon Solomon the urgent need for wisdom:

Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing ; therefore get wisdom. (Prov. 4:5-7)

Moving ahead to Solomon, we see that Solomon does indeed follow his father David’s advice. He asks God for wisdom. This request so greatly pleases God that Solomon ends up with a jackpot of blessings:

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right , I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.” (1 Kings 3:10-14)

Even the Old Testament Apocrypha exhorts wisdom:

For she [Wisdom] is to human beings an inexhaustible treasure, and those who acquire this win God’s friendship, commended to him by the gifts of instruction. (NJB Wisdom 7:14)

Now skipping forward to the New Testament, we read the parable of the Wise Virgins. Here Jesus describes what heaven is like:

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.” And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. (Mt. 25:1-4, 8-10)

We then notice that God promises us wisdom:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (Jas. 1:5)

This of course is only a partial account of biblical wisdom, but by looking at these few passages you will notice that wisdom is extremely important: Satan’s pride corrupted his wisdom, Eve was drawn to what she thought was wisdom, David cherished wisdom, Solomon asked God for wisdom, God is delighted to give wisdom, wisdom is not found in the land of the living; yet, heaven is full of wisdom. So the questions we must ask ourselves after all this is (1) Why all this hub-bub over wisdom? (2) What exactly is wisdom? To find the answers let’s first look at the two things that wisdom is not.

Wisdom is not the “knowledge of good and evil:”

And the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise , she took of its fruit and ate. (Gen. 3:5-6)

The above verses describe the tree that God forbade Adam and Eve to eat from. However, they did eat thereby attaining “the knowledge of good and evil.” However, they did not obtain “wisdom.” The knowledge of good and evil was not wisdom, but simply the awareness and the acceptance of good and evil into their lives.

But if eating from the tree did not produce wisdom, how can we know what wisdom truly is? To find out let’s look at the one man who knew wisdom well… Solomon. In the verses below Solomon is experiencing a theophany—a physical manifestation of God. “The Lord” has appeared to Solomon in a dream allowing him to ask for anything he wants. Solomon, on the advice of his now deceased father (David), asks for wisdom:

“Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil . For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. (1 Kings 3:9-12)

And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. (1 Kings 4:29-30)

We see through these verses that wisdom is not the awareness and acceptance of good and evil, but rather wisdom is the God-given ability to discern between good and evil (Jesus is the one person who perfectly discerned between good and evil). If Eve had acted with wisdom that day in the garden, she would have rightly judged the serpent’s words and identified his lies. She would have discerned who it was that inspired the serpent to speak, as well as the evil motive behind the words.

Wisdom is not a personified metaphor.

Today’s Christian teaching tells us “wisdom,” as found in the Old Testament, is referred to as a “she” simply because it’s a personified metaphor:

She [Wisdom] calls out to the crowds along Main Street, and to the judges in their courts, and to everyone in all the land: ‘You simpletons!’ she cries. ‘How long will you go on being fools? How long will you scoff at wisdom and fight the facts? (Prov. 1:20)

Personification is a figure of speech. If we personify something then we are representing a thing or an abstraction as a person or by human traits. For example, many people believe Satan is merely personified evil. In this line of thinking there is no actual personality, but rather, evil (the bad things people do) are “personified” into an evil, pointy-tailed man. Regarding wisdom, many Christians believe wisdom is a characteristic (the ability to think with Godly judgment) and the Bible is merely personifying this concept into the image of a woman. After all, the Hebrew word for wisdom is “chakmah” and the Greek word for wisdom happens to be “Sophia.” Because these two words are both feminine , both the Hebrew (Old Testament) and the Greek (New Testament) writers are able to “personify” wisdom as a female. And as many Christians argue, since wisdom is a characteristic—and not a living being—the “she” attributed to her should not be taken literally.

Wisdom – Holy Spirit – Instructs Her Children

For myself, when I first read the book of Proverbs, the one book in the Bible set aside to teach wisdom, I certainly didn’t assume the “she” was literal. I read the book as a sort of guide on how to act and make wise decisions. I, therefore, thought wisdom was “smarts” or “good judgment” and I saw the book of Proverbs as a list of proven suggestions that, if followed, would make me wise: “don’t mix with evil people, don’t speak profanely, don’t be lazy”—all good suggestions for living life as wisely as possible, right? As for the strange way the book of Proverbs made wisdom come alive, describing it with living attributes and a personality—a “she” personality to be exact—well, I did as most people do, I explained it away by saying it was probably just personification similar to the way men refer to sleek sports cars as “she.” For example, God’s wisdom is like a beautiful woman: “all the things you may desire cannot compare with her” (Prov. 3:14). But the “she” certainly wasn’t a reality. But I soon came to a different conclusion. My understanding of wisdom was altered with these two verses…

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility. (Prov. 15:33)

If you seek her [Wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. (Prov. 2:4-5)

I was a bit confused at this point because I had been taught at church that “the fear of the Lord” was a very real understanding that God is alive and that he sees and hears everything—the fear of the Lord was taking God seriously, which I thought I did. But here in Proverbs I read, “The Fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom.” I had never heard this before. The instruction of wisdom? How can wisdom instruct? I understood that I could have wisdom, act with wisdom, learn wisdom, but here in Proverbs Wisdom was the one acting, knowing, and having:

Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things; For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. (Prov. 8:6-7)

For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death. (Prov. 8:35-36)

Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength. (Prov. 8:14)

Suddenly now, as I read the book of Proverbs it was as if Wisdom were in fact really alive. My part was to seek her. And if I did, then I would understand this “Fear of the Lord” stuff. Needless to say, I single-mindedly sought Wisdom like a pirate after treasure. So here I was a stay-at-home mom being led by God into a mystery of Wisdom, while at the same time yearning to know something—anything—about the Holy Spirit of God. I immediately returned to the book of Proverbs for a closer look:

Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city she speaks her words: “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my reproof; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you ; I will make my words known to you.” (Prov. 1:20-23)

In the above, we have “the spirit of Wisdom” crying aloud saying if you would “turn at my reproof” which means “if only you would repent when rebuked.” If you repent then, “I will pour out my spirit on you.”

This changed things immensely. After all, since a spirit is a living entity the writers of the Bible cannot be using personification. Therefore, the “she” attributed to wisdom has purpose and meaning and is not in any way a literary device. Suddenly, it was obvious … there was more to wisdom than I had ever thought. I needed to find Wisdom!

Wisdom is a Person and a Spirit

I have to admit when I first read about wisdom in the book of Proverbs I really did automatically think, as most everyone does, that wisdom is referred to as “she” simply because we feel “she’s” something to be cherished. “She’s” something special. We’re simply being metaphorically affectionate. But what if the “she” in wisdom isn’t a literary device? What if wisdom is a someone? It appears she is someone, at least according to the Bible:

And the Child [Jesus] grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. (Lk. 2:40)

Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. (Deut. 34:9)

She [wisdom] entered the soul of a servant of the Lord, and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs. (Wisdom 10:16)

In the above verses we find Wisdom can dwell not only in humans, but can be passed on to other people through the laying on of hands. In the Old Testament’s case Wisdom is passed from Moses to Joshua (the next Godly leader of the Israelites) through the hands of the previous leader. Not surprisingly, the passing of Wisdom is done in the same manner the apostles filled believers with the Holy Spirit:

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14).

Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. (Deut. 34:9).

The very same method (the laying on of hands) is used to pass on both Wisdom and the Holy Spirit and in both instances the Spirit is passed to other submitted Godly persons–this is further illustrated through the story of Simon:

Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money , saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God . Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.” Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.” (NRS Acts 8:17-24)

Surprisingly, the above verse is spoken about prophetically in both the Old Testament and the Apocrypha—only it is Wisdom to which the writers refer:

Why should fools have a price in hand to buy wisdom, when they have no mind to learn? (NRS Prov. 17:16)

Acquire wisdom for yourselves without money. Put your neck under her yoke, and let your souls receive instruction. (NRS Sirach 51:25-26)

She cannot be bought with solid gold, nor paid for with any weight of silver, nor valued against gold of Ophir, precious agate or sapphire. Neither gold nor glass compares with her, for her, a vase of fine gold would be no exchange, let alone coral or crystal: better go fishing for Wisdom than for pearls! Topaz from Cush is worthless in comparison, and gold, even refined, is valueless. (NJB Job 28:15-19)

holy spirit wisdom, holy spirit mother, woman image of the holy spirit

So the question we must ask is, “Are the prophetic writers, when speaking about Wisdom in the above verses, expressly referring to the Holy Spirit? Obviously they are. After all, Wisdom (the Holy Spirit of God) is so valuable no amount of money can purchase her. Money becomes an insult. Wisdom is metaphorically “for sale;” yet, oddly enough, God gives her “freely”:

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Rom. 5:5)

Even though Simon was a believer and was even baptized (Acts 8:13) the Spirit would not enter him since he did not have a repentant heart (a heart that is turned toward God) A.K.A. a circumcised heart:

For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (NRS Isa. 57:15)

Real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God. (NRS Rom. 2:29)

Simon wanted the Spirit in order to perform magic, tell the future, make money and be honored. He was accustomed to dealing with ordinary spirits and not the Holy Wisdom of God. He did not ask out of humility:

Are there two spirits that indwell followers of Jesus? A spirit of Wisdom (perhaps an angel named “Wisdom”) and a Holy Spirit? No, the scriptures are clear—there is one Spirit:

We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, and we were all given the one spirit to drink. (1 Cor. 12:13)

For through Him [Jesus] we both [Jew and Gentile] have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Eph. 2:18)

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Eph. 4:4-6)

The only difference between Wisdom and the Holy Spirit is in the Old Testament the Spirit of Wisdom was passed just to certain individuals: to Godly leaders of the Israelites (both judges and kings) in order that they may know God’s will; to (artistic) individuals who were required to build God’s tent of meeting (Ex. 31:3), and also to God’s chosen prophets for the purposes of speaking spiritual truths. Such prophets included Saul: “the spirit of God rushed upon him and put him in a prophetic state” (1 Sam. 10:10). And Daniel, “The spirit of God is in you [Daniel] that you may possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.” (Dan. 5:14). And the prophetess Huldah, “She declared to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the Lord, I will indeed bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants’” (2 Kings 22:15-16).

In these cases the Spirit of God can also leave a person as the Spirit did with Saul (Sam. 16:14). In contrast, in the New Testament, the Spirit is promised to any and every believer who turns their heart toward God. God has now reached out to everyone with His promised free gift, bringing to life the words of the prophet Joel as well as the words of Moses:

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)

Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them! (Num. 11:29)

Wisdom is the Spirit of the Living God

Through studying the Bible it becomes clear, Wisdom is not merely “prudent actions” or even “Godly knowledge.” Wisdom is someone—the Spirit of the living God. There are an overwhelming abundance of corresponding characteristics between Wisdom, as described in the Old and New Testament (including the Old Testament Apocrypha), and the Holy Spirit of the New Testament. I encourage everyone to spend time not only studying Wisdom but also seeking for her. After all, far too many of us want the Holy Spirit’s power; not enough of us desire her friendship.

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Stephen: Full Of The Holy Spirit And Wisdom.pdf

2014, African Journal for Transformational Scholarship

The NT book of Acts portrays Stephen as a spiritual leader gifted for a time of phenomenal growth in the early church, with a special gift of wisdom in dealing with tough problems. If wisdom is characteristic of those filled with the Holy Spirit, this story has a message for contemporary African Christianity, encouraging new application of a traditional African emphasis on wisdom and wise rulers for the challenges of our time.

Related Papers

Marc Shimshin

Brian J Tabb

PhD dissertation, London School of Theology, 2013.

Thuita Qutb

ashley E ray

ABSTRACT TRAINING DEACONS FOR MINISTRY AT RIDGEWAY BAPTIST CHURCH, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE Ashley Edward Ray, D.Min. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013 Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Travis S. Kerns The project details the office of deacon as presented in Acts and 1 Timothy. The project seeks to design training processes that develop a biblical understanding and deportment of the office of deacon among deacons in a local church context. Methods include a synergistic approach to training in evangelism, character development, and leadership through service. Chapter 1 presents the purpose, goals, context, rationale, definitions, limitations, and delimitations of the project. Chapter 2 formulates the biblical and theological basis for the local church office of deacon as set forth in the project. The chapter contains an exegesis of Acts 6-7, 1 Timothy 3, and numerous passages related to service and leadership. This chapter proposes that biblical deacons, theoretically, both free pastors for the ministry of prayer and the Word and exemplify Christlikeness to the church in meeting needs, which translates into local church harmony. Chapter 3 examines the scriptural principles of spiritual authority and leadership in reference to Aristotle’s threefold idea of logos, ethos, and pathos. The lives and teaching of Jesus and Paul stand as exemplary patterns for the servant-minded today. Chapter 4 presents the curriculum and practicum administered during the course of the project. Each portion delineates the process so as to enable someone else to provide the same training in another setting. Chapter 5 presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of the project. This evaluation provides changes that could make the project more successful for future implementation. This project demonstrates the nature of the office of deacon and how deacons today can seek to reflect the biblical model.

Gary Gromacki, Th.M., D.Min., Ph.D.

This article examines Paul's use of apostles and prophets in Ephesians (2:20; 3:5; 4:11) and argues that they were foundational spiritually gifted men given to the early church. The views of Grudem and Ruthven on Ephesians 2:20 are presented and critiqued. Since apostles and prophets formed the foundation of the early church these spiritual gifts and offices are no longer needed today for the church. This article was published in The Journal of Ministry and Theology 17.2 (Fall 2013), 5-32.

Eliska Havelkova

Summary The present thesis maps the development of the semantic field of the Greek term “ἅγιος”. It is a lexical-theological analysis, which starts linguistically from single lexemes and, in search of the meanings, pays attention also to their contexts resulting in the theological summaries. The starting point is the Old Testament concept of holiness, summarized in Leviticus 10,10, which also delineates the semantic field. In the ten chapters of this thesis, ten of the most representative authors of the New Testament and Apostolic Fathers are explored as to their use of the holiness word-group. This thesis starts with the single occurrences of the terms in their original context and from here, the theology of holiness is drawn, reflected by the use of the words in every single of the authors. Every chapter is divided into two parts, the first describing holiness and the second one dealing with purity. The main questions asked to the text are: First, is the holiness understood as the transcendent quality of God, which, by being near to him, changes believers, or whether, on the other hand, it is a description of holy, i.e. ascetic life. Second, what is the relation of holiness and purity? Is purity presupposition for meeting with the Holy? Third, is there a visible shift in understanding of holiness compared with the Old Testament? How does the author reflect the abandonment of the ritual laws by the Church. Answers to all these questions are drawn from close inspection of development of meaning of the specific terms in their nearest context. Keywords Holy, pure, impure, ritual purity.

The subject of the Holy Spirit has always been very important for the church of Jesus Christ. This is also true for the last few generations of believers. This book is basically a word study. It follows the use of the word "spirit" in the Old and in the New Testament as it points to the Spirit of God. It tries to cover all relevant contexts in an orderly and systematic way. The different bible passages are not only given as references but quoted fully so that the reader can follow the subject through the Bible in the words of the Holy Scriptures. Often the immediate context is included in the quotation to enable the reader's perception of the different meanings of the relevant phrases within their proper setting. Following this overview, it becomes very clear that the Holy Spirit was always very active in the salvation history of God's people. He also took part in creation and is still active in main- taining life on earth. The Holy Spirit is God. He is divine. As members of the New Covenant we can never be too grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.

Brittain Brewer

https://www.swrktec.org/spirit

Herb Swanson

Pneumatology must follow or include the Father and the Son; yet the Spirit is either abused by fraudulent claims or neglected entirely. This study paper attempts to collect all the New and some of the Old Testament verses that witness the Spirit and His work in one convenient place. This, we hope, will enable readers to demythologize the topic for themselves. The Holy Spirit is THE VICAR OF CHRIST ON EARTH; we are His sub-vicars of Christ on earth: we do well to know the task before us.

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From His Presence | Your life can be Heaven on earth | with Jamie Rohrbaugh

The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of Wisdom

The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of Wisdom | by Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.com

Today, we’re continuing our study of the sevenfold Holy Spirit as described in Isaiah 11:1-5. In the last article, we talked about the Spirit of Yahweh . Today, we’re going to talk about the Spirit of wisdom.

As a reminder, our text is:

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist” (Isaiah 11:1-5).

The seven names of the Holy Spirit revealed in this passage are as follows:

The Spirit of the Lord (Yahweh) (name 1);
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding (names 2 and 3);
The Spirit of counsel and might (names 4 and 5); and
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (names 6 and 7).

Let’s look at His name “The Spirit of wisdom.”

Getting to Know the Sevenfold Holy Spirit: A 12-Day Devotional Guide

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Getting to Know the Sevenfold Holy Spirit | A 12-Day Devotional Guide | by Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.com

Did you know wisdom doesn’t mean what you might think it means?

Before I closely examined Scripture on this subject, I used to think wisdom was something like God-given street smarts. (And it is, kind of.) But the vague idea of wisdom that I had was far less powerful than what wisdom actually is.

The Bible talks about wisdom a lot. Think about the first chapters of the book of Proverbs. They go on and on about wisdom! And James 1:5-6 contains one of my favorite Bible promises:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”

Wisdom is clearly important. But what is it?

Wisdom is the Holy Spirit applied to your situation.

The easiest way for me to illustrate this is to show you two passages of Scripture which show the fruit of the Spirit and the manifestation of wisdom to be the same thing.

First, check out what the manifestation of wisdom looks like, from the book of James:

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 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. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 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. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18).

Now check out the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Do you see the similarities? Look at this:

Wisdom is pure. The Holy Spirit, being God, is 100% pure and spotless.
Wisdom manifests peace. The fruit of the Spirit is also peace.
Wisdom is gentle. The fruit the Holy Spirit produces in your life is gentleness.
Wisdom is willing to yield. This sounds an awful lot like humility (and remember that Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death) and meekness (which is power under control). The fruit of the Spirit is self-control.
Wisdom is full of mercy. Jesus is full of mercy, so we know that the Holy Spirit is too, since He is another of the same kind as Jesus.
Wisdom is full of good fruits, and the Holy Spirit demonstrates His fruit continually as well.

Do you see the parallels? If the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the same as the fruit of wisdom, then the Holy Spirit IS Wisdom Personified …

… which is what we see in Isaiah chapter 11, since He is called the Spirit of wisdom. The Holy Spirit IS WISDOM itself. HE is Wisdom. And according to James 1:5-6, if you want Wisdom at work in your life, you have only to ask, and the Father will give Him to you.

Perhaps this is why King David–the most famous king of Israel and the only man in the Bible who was described as a man after God’s own heart–told his son Solomon that getting wisdom was the principal thing.

Think about how huge this is. King David was a man who carried the Presence of the Lord:

He basked in God’s glory night and day.
He prayed and worshipped seven times a day and all day long.
He was the man who set up the Tabernacle of David, where worship and intercession were released over Israel 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for 33 years.
THIS is the man who wrote most of the Psalms, the Top 150 Hit Parade of his time.
This is the man whom God Himself raised up from shepherd to king.

King David knew the Spirit of God intimately, and he taught his son Solomon that wisdom was the principal thing.

Proverbs 4:1-9, written by King Solomon while he remembered his father David’s instructions, tells us this:

Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding; for I give you good doctrine: do not forsake my law. When I was my father’s son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

David’s advice to his favored son was that he should get wisdom–the Holy Spirit Himself, applied to every situation.

Perhaps that’s because if we just have the Holy Spirit, which you do if you’ve given your life to Jesus, He will teach us everything we need to know.

First John 2:27 tells us this:

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”

The anointing is what the Bible calls it when the Holy Spirit sits on you to accomplish a task. So, we know from this passage that the Holy Spirit will teach us concerning all things.

This promise carried me through some very hard times in life.

When I gave my life to Jesus in 2001, I was so hungry. I wanted to learn all I could. I desperately wanted a mentor; someone who would teach me, take me under their wing, and raise me spiritually. But I had no one. There was simply no one in my sphere who operated in the things of the Spirit.

So I cried out to God and lifted this promise, from 1 John 2:27, up to Him. I begged Him to teach me. I threw myself at His feet and demanded that He keep His promise, because I had no one else to teach me. Oh, I could listen to good Christian tapes, and I did; I wore out my Joyce Meyer tapes. But I had no one in person who would care about me and teach me.

But the Holy Spirit cared, and He was true to His Word. He took me under His wing and taught me Himself.

I cried out to God daily for wisdom (and I still do, nearly every day). He helped me every single day. And over time, He changed my life through His teaching.

After a couple of years, I found a good, Spirit-filled church (which is still my church home today), and I began to be taught there as well as I sat under the ministry of the Word. But still, even though sometimes He uses human vessels, it is still the Holy Spirit who teaches. Only He can give true revelation and wisdom.

So do you need wisdom today? Do you need a mentor?

I know it can be hard to want a mentor and not have one. We as the Body of Christ simply HAVE to get better about mentoring on purpose. But ultimately, only the Holy Spirit–not your mentor–can truly give you what you need (even if He uses a mentor for part of it).

Therefore, while I encourage every person to place themselves under godly authority and teaching and mentoring, ultimately, the Holy Spirit is the Mentor you need. So ask Him to fill this role for you. He is the Spirit of wisdom. He WANTS to teach you! He loves you and He doesn’t want you to wander through life with no one to help you. HE is your Helper, and He will teach you all things.

And as you go through life, if you will abide in Him and listen to Him, He will apply Himself to every situation you face in the form of wisdom. You will be able to watch Him at work:

He will show you His will in every situation;
He will show you how to behave and what to do in every situation;
He will help you make right decisions; and
You will see Him work out every situation for your good as you obey Him and operate in His wisdom (His Presence applied to your situation).

Isn’t that beautiful? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom, and He will help you and give you all of Himself applied to your situation.

Does this message speak to your heart today? If so, please leave a comment below and share your thoughts. I love to hear from you!

Who Is the Holy Spirit?
How Do You Get the Holy Spirit?
Getting to Know the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit Is Generous!
The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of Yahweh
The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of Understanding
The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of Counsel
The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of Might Is On Your Side
The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of Knowledge Gives Life-Changing Revelation
The Sevenfold Holy Spirit: The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord

Jamie Rohrbaugh is an author and speaker who teaches people to manifest victory in every facet of life. She believes that you have a God-given destiny of righteousness, peace, power, wealth, and joy in God, and that these things are freely available to you through personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jamie's work has been featured on YouVersion, The Elijah List, Charisma Magazine, Intercessors for America, iBelieve.com, Spirit Fuel, Crosswalk.com, and other outlets. Her podcast, Take Your Territory with Jamie Rohrbaugh, is available on iTunes and Spotify.

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38 comments.

Great words from you Jamie. They are inspired, I’m sure, by the Holy Spirit himself. God bless you Jamie! 🙂

Thank you so much for reading, Rafael-Olivier. I pray Papa would bless you exceedingly today!

Thanks so much for this words have changed my mindset surely they have answered my long time questions. You are a blessing

Thanks Jamie for your Holy Spirit inspired insights.

Thank you, Eric! Good to hear from you! We miss you around here. Hope all’s well for you and yours. 🙂

Thank you very much very helpful God Bless

The Holy Spirit is the best teacher. He really took me under His wing. If we learn from Him, and teach as He does how wonderful that would be. He even forms our prayers when we don’t know what to pray.

What an encouraging message! Thank you so much! Just as you have suggested I am going to ask the Holy Spirit to teach me and guide me in the path of wisdom. 🙂

Praise GOD! I was searching for something, but I didn’t know what until now. Thank you for the motivation and inspiration. I’m going through some troubling times right now, but I’m not letting that stop my journey in getting to know GOD for myself. I don’t have anyone to really talk with and share with, so I get excited when I hear from you. May GOD always bless and keep you, and thank you.

THANK YOU!! I really needed this right now, because I’m in a place where I feel I need a mentor are a “midwife” lol! But I had to realize that they can only take me so far, and I have to go seek the truth from the truth himself!! So I thank you cause I thought I was the only one feeling this way.

You’re definitely not the only one feeling that way. I think mentoring in the Body of Christ is something we need to get soooooo much better and more proactive at. We’ve got to wrap our arms around the sons and daughters of all ages and raise them up! But you’re right; ultimately, only the Holy Spirit can do the work; and if we have no one else, if we will go to Him, He will be more than sufficient at it. He’s the best Mentor there is. 🙂

This is what I mean when I tell you how your blog is an answer to prayer. I was just like you when I came into the full Gospel: hungry for mentoring that goes beyond the usual Americanized/homogenized version of the Christian life. I found your blog one Saturday morning and it was like finding a life-giving spring. I went from post to post, amazed that someone was writing on topics that no one else covers, from a Spirit-filled standpoint! And it was another woman who just happens to write & teach in a down-to-earth, personal, enjoyable way! So you’ve been that mentor for me. I also watch a lot of Charis Bible College teachings (Andrew Wommack), along with Todd White, Bill Johnson, and Damon Thompson (he periodically preaches revivals at our church down here). But your blog is right there at the top of my favorite teaching and learning sources. My boys and I are currently going through this series on the Holy Spirit together. They’re homeschooled and your teaching series are one of our favorite things to do together in the mornings. Your teachings are simple enough to understand that I can use them for 8 and 12 year old boys. They both still use the “flow” prayer that they learned from your 21 Days to the Manifest Presence of God series, which they loved doing last year.

Hey, I know I already responded to you on Facebook, but I just got the internet for a moment (been out in the woods for days) and read this comment again and I am still thrilled! Yes, I love Bill Johnson and Damon Thompson too. Not real familiar with Andrew Womack or Todd White, although I’ve seen Todd White minister and it’s awesome. But I’m so thrilled that Papa has used this blog to be a blessing to you and your family. That just makes my whole week. 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know!

This is my first time reading your message!and it’s been awesome. Thank you

Thanks for reading! Great to meet you!

A real manna, heavenly word from heaven.I can truly relate to all the words that you shared. Been through the same situation as you did, and received the same revelation just as you did. 100% accurate. The Spirit of God is really awesome. ?

Thanks. I have really learnt something new; that wisdom is the Holy Spirit applied in every situation. Also I had always known that the Holy Spirit is our guild and counselor but I had never asked Him to “Be my personal Mentor”. Thanks. Really grateful

Thank you, Truly was a blessing to me very powerful words, touch me because i had the same hunger for more of God seem like I just can’t get enough. Bless you for sharing!!!!

God has put me in a position where he is going to bless me in order for me to fund his kingdom work. When this is fully manifested I will support your ministry. It is a blessing and it is the heart of God in written form.

Read this and it is so full of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I pray he opens up more and more depth as you walk with the Holy Spirit

I’ve been impacted by the simplicity of the text and direct delivery of your insight. I have learnt from you today what the Holy Spirit has been teaching my mind “keep your messages simple when you share The gospel with others”. Now I have not just learnt about the topic I was studying but, I’ve also learnt a good analytical format for delivering my sermon as a young Public Speaker. Thank you!

The Holy Spirit ministered this exact words to me in my heart so I wanted to study in-depth and understand what he truly meant when I came across this. I Thank God for a blog like this and I thank you sir for allowing God to use you mightily. To him be p Praise and Glory. Amen.

I’m so sorry I didn’t read the author’s name before posting the comment… Thank you Ma (not Sir)

Hmmmmm….one of yhr best article I have read so farabout the Spirit of Wisdom. Hod bless you for this piece. I pray for more of God’s grace upon you

Sorry for my typos. I guess I was too excited to post

Thank you for this Spirit filled message, it blessed my life. Seeing Wisdom in a different light as to what i believed it was. God continues to bless you.

Hello, from Philippines. Thank you for these revelation that comes from the Lord. I’m studying about the gifts Paul talking in 1 Corinthians. I want to know more about Him. His seven fold Spirit. Thanks for this. Right revelation at the right time ^^. God bless. Godspeed.

Great Godly insights on Wisdom! I’ve been a born again believer for over 40 years and I’m yesterday years old just learning about the sevenfold Holy Spirit. Your teaching is some good, tasty “meat”. The tie-in to the Fruits of the Spirit was eyes-of-the-heart opening. I look forward to reading and learning on the other 6. May God continue to bless you and this ministry✝️💜

Wow! What an exquisite exposition of the Word! Now I know better. My quest for deeper understanding of the Wisdom from Above got me searching, and the Holy Spirit Himself directed my heart here. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you so much for putting this message up for free! God bless you… I am grateful for people like you I got so much revelation just from this

This is powerful. I am going to use this in my teaching today

Thank you for this message. it has really blessed my life today and create a taste for more of the Spirit of Wisdom in my life. Remained Bless, David from Lagos, Nigeria.

I am Blessed the more being reminded and applying what has been taught here. Blessings to you and yours.

You are a blessing to the Kingdom of God, and all those that come across you. Thank you so much for taking the time and writing this. Thank you for the love of God that is in your heart, your love for people, and obedience to the presence of God moving upon you to share this truth. I am a student of the Holy Spirit, but today my definition of wisdom has empowered me. Of course, it’s the work of the same Spirit that dwells in us. Thank you. God bless you.

I’m Mike from Uganda, thank you for this explanation as it has greatly widened my understanding of the Holy Spirit. I had a hard time differentiating between the Spirit of Wisdom and the Holy Spirit, I actually thought there was “some other spirit” God gives called the spirit of wisdom, but after going thru this article, I’ve been Greatly Blessed…..I thank God for this Blog and I believe it Will reach many more people in the same state I was in, Amen.

This is really awesome, it’s a blessing to me personally

I Have been very blessed and encouraged. The message has been presented in expressions and explanations that really made an impact on. God bless you, Jamie, for availing yourself

Wow…this is wonderful. I know a little about the 7 spirits of God, buh little did I know that Wisdom was the Holy Spirit himself! The good Lord bless you sir. I’d love to get this book