Gift of the Word of Wisdom
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 17 hours ago
- 5 min read
Three categories of gifts
1 Corinthians 12:7-10 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
As one can see in the above quoted passage of scripture there are nine listed gifts of the Holy Spirit. As we study the gifts of the Spirit we will see that the nine gifts can be consolidated into three different categories. The reason that they can be consolidated into these categories is because each of the gifts categorized do something similar. The first of the three categories are what we call the revelation gifts. The reason we call them the revelation gifts is because the Holy Spirit reveals something through each one of these gifts. The gifts that fall into this category are; the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and the discerning of spirits. It is this category of gifts that we will be studying in this series. The second of the three categories are what we call the power gifts. The reason we call them the power gifts is because the Holy Spirit demonstrates His power through each one of these gifts. The gifts that fall into this category are; special faith, gifts of healings, and the working of miracles. The third of the three categories are what we call the speaking gifts. The reason we call them the speaking gifts is because the Holy Spirit speaks to the church through each one of these gifts. The gifts that fall into this category are; prophecy, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.
Not the gift of wisdom
Colossians 2:1-3 “For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, (2) that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, (3) in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
In this series we will look at each of the revelation gifts in turn so that we can more clearly understand how each gift operates. The first gift listed as part of the revelation gifts, is the gift called the word of wisdom. Notice that the gift is not called the gift of wisdom, as so many misquote it to be. God is all-wise, and so consequently all wisdom is found in Him. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit confirms this truth to us, when He tells us that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Proverbs 3:19 “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.”
The above quoted passage of scripture teaches us that through His wisdom, God has created all things. And so the reason the created universe operates perfectly, is because it was created by the wisdom of Almighty God. Wisdom is the ability to know what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and why it should be done. And so because God is all-wise, He always knows what to do, how to do it, when to do it and why it must be done.
1 Kings 3:12 “behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.”
One who receives the gift of the word of wisdom however, does not then become all-wise as God is. And one, who receives this gift, does not even become wise like King Solomon was, for King Solomon received a special endowment of wisdom from the Lord. Notice in the above quoted passage of scripture that the Lord said to Solomon, that the gift of wisdom given to him was a once off for a man, never to be repeated again (obviously the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man, is excluded from this).
The purpose of this gift
So then, what is the gift of the word of wisdom? The following analogy will help you to better understand what this gift is. Think of one word in a very large library of books that are filled with trillions of words, and you will get a clearer understanding of the fragment of God’s wisdom that the Holy Spirit imparts to the believer who has this gift. For it is only that one word, that is imparted to the individual who has this gift. And so the word that they are given is very specific, and not general in nature. The words of wisdom that are imparted are also supernatural, in that man in his natural state cannot know what God requires to be done in the situation. As we will also see in this section, when the gift of the word of wisdom is manifested it is required of the one to whom the Spirit is speaking, to be obedient to act on that word. And so unlike the word of knowledge for example, where the individual then decides for themselves what to do, the word of wisdom is a specific instruction given by the Lord as to what He wants the individual to do. This is why, when the Holy Spirit speaks to an individual through the word of wisdom, there will always be some form of confirmation that God will give that individual along with the instruction given. God does that so that the individual will clearly know that the instruction given is from Him. And so as we will see in this section, there are two methods of confirmation that the Lord uses. The first method is that the word of wisdom is manifested together with either another of the revelation gifts (i.e. the word of knowledge and/or the discerning of spirits) or a demonstration of God’s power, i.e. the working of miracles. The Lord normally uses this method when the required action should not be delayed, or if the Lord deems the required action important enough to warrant such confirmation. The second and main method that God uses however is the inward witness. So why is that? The reason is because under the new covenant God leads all of His children using the mechanism of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit (Romans 8:14-16). And so when the Holy Spirit speaks to the individual using the gift of the word of wisdom, the person will recognise that God is giving them this instruction because God would have already been dealing with them in their spirit about the issue being addressed. And so we see that individual who receives the gift of the word of wisdom from the Holy Spirit, then becomes used of Him to impart words of wisdom to others, as the Spirit wills.
Michael E.B. Maher
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