Our Extraordinary Endowments

Isaiah 11:2

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 the fear of the LORD.

In this passage, Isaiah was prophesying of the nature of our coming Savior.  The scripture foretold that Jesus would be given extraordinary endowments through the agency of the Holy Spirit.  Because we are indwelled by Jesus Christ when we accept Him as Our Savior, we inherit these same wondrous endowments for ourselves.  The inheritance that we receive is not temporary or occasional.  It is a permanent and enduring influence on our lives.

With our inheritance, we receive three pairs of spiritual endowments to assist us in being holy, pure and wise.  Each pairing is made up of a spiritual gift and the resulting impact of that gift on our lives:

1) We are provided wisdom from which comes the understanding to perceive moral and intellectual truths.

2) We are provided counsel from which comes the might that gives us the direction and the power that we need to carry out the plans that emerge from our spiritual insight.

3) We are provided knowledge from which comes the fear of the Lord which establishes the foundation of our relationship with the one true God, Our Father in heaven.

Let us be mindful of all the gifts that Christ made available for us when He died on the Cross.  Let us seek the fullness of the Spirit of the Lord to overwhelm us each day.  Let us use our gifts to produce great fruit for the Kingdom of Almighty God and bring honor and glory to Our Savior.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wondrous nature that You have given us in Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We pray that the fullness of the Holy Spirit will rest upon us.  We seek Your wisdom so that we may have understanding in all matters.  We seek your counsel that we may become mighty warriors for Your kingdom.  We ask, Lord, that You inspire us to take the knowledge that we have of You and turn it into a reverent awe that changes how we live every moment of our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who gives power to the faint and might to those without strength, Jesus Christ.