Question:  Dear Greg,

            Can you tell me what it means in Revelation when it talks about the seven spirits of God?  My son is confused and says this is a contradiction of the Trinity.  I don’t understand it myself, but I know there is only one God in three persons.  Can you please help us to understand this?

            Thanks,

            Vicki

Answer:  Dear Vicki,

            The confusion appears to be between the definition of “divine” and of “spirit”.  Angels are spirits, but angels are not God. Angels are created, yet they are spirit.  God is uncreated and while he is spirit, spirit does not contain/describe/define the totality of God.  Spirit is one of his attributes or defining qualities.  God is also love—does that mean that the fact that humans can love contradicts the Trinity?

            There is, as you note, only one true God, who is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  These three divine Persons are one, co-equal and co-essential, yet separate Persons.

            The seven spirits of Revelation are angels—ministering spirits, created by the one God of the Bible.  They are certainly not a contradiction of the Triune God.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht