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Friday, September 18, 2026

What is the spirit of wisdom and revelation in Ephesians 1:17? - by GotQuestions.org

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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Gotquestions never quotes the passage all together, instead quoting chunks here and there. Here it is:

Ep. 1:17-20 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms...

Paul covered a lot of ground here, and we see a procession of thought as he builds concept upon concept. We need to understand this as we analyze the verses in order to properly answer the question. But by dividing up the passage and deleting parts of it, Gotquestions misses this development. Gotquestions then compounds the problem by summarily dismissing alternatives (most likely charismatic) to their view. 

We will explain below.
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Question

What is the spirit of wisdom and revelation in Ephesians 1:17? ("Who is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation." We shall not permit Gotquestions to presume their premise.)

Answer

Paul, in his prayers “for saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1, ESV), asks that God “may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (verse 17).

Prior to his prayer for the spirit of wisdom and revelation, Paul reminds the Ephesian believers of the blessings God has bestowed upon them (Ephesians 1:3), their adoption as children through Christ (verse 4), the wisdom and insight they have been given (verse 8), and “the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ” (verse 9). He also reminds them that they have been “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (verses 13–14). Now he desires for them to be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Since Christians receive the promised Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (John 14:17), (This statement is true, but the proof text does not tell us this. Acts 2:38 would be a better choice.)

the spirit of wisdom and revelation that Paul prays for cannot refer to the initial gift of the Holy Spirit. (This also is true, but...)

Paul’s reference could easily be to an attitude or frame of mind (although the NIV and ESV capitalize Spirit, other translations such as the NASB and BSB translate it as “a spirit,” and the NLT simply has “spiritual wisdom and insight”). If not the Holy Spirit, ([???] ...Gotquestions jumps to a errant conclusion. The Bible clearly teaches that the continual filling of the Holy Spirit is necessary [Eph. 5:18], and that we are obligated to discern and conform to the Holy Spirit's leading [Gal. 5:16, 5:25]. 

That is, the ministry of the Holy Spirit continues after salvation [2 Cor. 3:8], thus it is incorrect to assume that the spirit is lower case and not the Holy Spirit.

Further, Paul uses "the Spirit" regarding the Holy Spirit many times [Rom. 2:29, Rom. 7:6, Rom. 8:4, 1 Cor. 2:4, 1 Cor. 12:7, Gal. 3:2, and also in the very same letter to the Ephesians, 3:5, for example.], so it is completely fallacious to use this particular instance in Eph. 1:17 to service Gotquestions' predetermined doctrine.)

then what does Paul ask for in his request for “the spirit of wisdom and revelation”? The key is in the phrase that follows, “in the knowledge of him” (ESV), or “so that you may know him better” (NIV). (Proceeding on with their false conclusion, Gotquestions now seeks to explain away its ramifications.)

Paul had commended the Ephesians for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints (Ephesians 1:15), but now he is asking God to give them a deeper and greater understanding of the mysteries of His character and will, to know Him more thoroughly and intimately. Now that they have the Holy Spirit in their hearts, Paul desires Him to grant them more understanding and greater insight. The “wisdom” is a better understanding of the doctrines of God, and the “revelation” is a clearer picture of the divine character and will. (Undocumented claims.)

In the NLT, the prayer is that believers would have “spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” The AMP translation has Paul asking that God “may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him.” (By this we suppose Gotquestions is advocating for increased doctrinal knowledge and not personal, one-to-one knowledge of God.)

God is infinite, and He can never be fully known by finite creatures. We all need wisdom from above. No matter how far we may advance in our understanding of God, there is an unfathomed depth of knowledge that remains to be explored. Scripture is full of admonitions to grow in our knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:2; Ephesians 4:15). 

Paul outlines some of the mysteries he wants the Ephesians to understand through this spirit of wisdom and revelation. He desires them to grasp “the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance” (Ephesians 1:18). (???What happened to "eyes of your heart may be enlightened?" This seems like a deliberate omission designed to skew the meaning of the passage.

The is supernatural activity, not a simple increase in knowledge.)

This is the hope of eternal life, which Paul refers to as the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, ESV). We inherit the riches of eternal life through Him who saved us and called us to holiness in Christ before time began (2 Timothy 1:9). Paul also prays the Spirit will reveal God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19)—power so great it raised Jesus from the dead. It’s a power that we can only comprehend (Um, no. It's "power for us who believe." Did Gotquestions actually read that part? This power "for us" is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. The command is not to gain knowledge about this power, it is power for us as Christians.)

as we possess the spirit of wisdom and revelation. 

The spirit of wisdom and revelation is not some mysterious blessing given to a special few, (This is an odd and undocumented assertion. No Christian believes that only a special few get filled with the Holy Spirit.)

and it is not the ability to speak as a prophet. (Another odd and undocumented assertion. Gotquestions seems to be refuting ideas that have not been discussed.)

Rather, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to help the people of God understand the things of God more fully and completely. (Gotquestions has done their best to remove the supernatural element to this passage. Thus his explanation comes with an agenda. He's actually not answering a Bible question, he's attempting to explain away doctrines he doesn't like.)


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