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1 Cor. 12:7-10 "But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
for to one is given the word of wisdom, through the Spirit, to another
the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another the gift of
faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same
Spirit, 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."
The Word of Wisdom is
supernatural revelation, by the Spirit of God, concerning the divine
purpose in the mind and will of God. It is the God-given ability to
receive, from the Holy Spirit, a revelation of what to do about a
particular situation, once you know the facts.
All of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit are supernatural. We cannot figure them out with our human mind
and human reasoning. These gifts operate and function by the power of
the Holy Spirit. They have been given to the body of Christ for
encouragement, comfort and edification.
The word of wisdom is a word
of wisdom, a fragment of God's wisdom. It's not human wisdom that comes
from the human intellect. It’s wisdom that comes directly from God.
The word of wisdom is not a
"gift" of wisdom. It is a gift of the word of wisdom.
The word of wisdom always
speaks of the future.
Let’s look at some of the
purposes of the gift of the word of wisdom and see how these gifts
operated in the New Testament church.
God reveals His purpose and
plan through the word of wisdom:
Acts 16:9-10 - And a vision
appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with
him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen
the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that
the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
The Lord spoke to the Apostle
Paul in a night vision. He saw, by the Spirit, into the realm of the
Spirit.
It’s time for the church of
Jesus Christ to get out of the natural realm and begin to walk in the
realm of the Spirit.
I’m sure that most of you
reading this article are very familiar with the Macedonian call that is
mentioned in the above Scripture. Macedonia was not on Paul’s list of
places to go and preach, nor was it listed on his “things to do list.”
Paul and his traveling team were headed in one direction, but the Lord
intervened and stopped them dead in their tracks. Paul and his
companions were trying to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of God would
not permit them to do so. Thank God for His mighty hand of direction and
protection upon our lives. Thank God that He still speaks, reveals and
supernaturally intervenes on behalf of His people. We might have a
particular plan or strategy all sketched out in our little finite minds,
but God’s plans and strategies are so much better and higher than ours.
Our agendas mean absolutely nothing if they are not God’s agendas.
In Acts 16:10, we see how
Paul and his team immediately responded to the vision that was given to
the Apostle Paul. They didn’t allow human reasoning to kick in and cause
them to walk in doubt or unbelief. They didn’t ask God 101 questions
concerning the vision that was given to Paul. They just responded to the
call! They chose to respond to the supernatural revelation that had been
given to their appointed leader for that particular time. Oh, that God
would cause all of us to respond immediately to the call.
The word of wisdom revealed
God's purpose and plan to the Apostle Paul:
In Acts 9:15-16, the Lord
told Ananias to go and minister to Paul, for he was a chosen vessel of
God. He also said, "I will show him how many things he must suffer for
My name’s sake” (speaking of the future).
The word of wisdom revealed
God’s purpose and plan to Philip:
Acts 8:26-"Now an angel of
the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along
the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
The angel of the Lord gave
Philip specific instruction because He had a divine appointment awaiting
him along the road that went down from Jerusalem to Gaza.
How many divine appointments
have we missed, because we were not listening to the Holy Spirit? How
many times have we been disobedient to the heavenly vision given to us
by God? We could save ourselves a lot of frustration, hassle, trial and
tribulation, if we would only learn to listen and obey the voice of our
Lord.
The word of wisdom tells us
the best thing to do in a given situation:
2 Kings 5:9-10 – Then Naaman
went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s
house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the
Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you
shall be clean.”
Is this the way Naaman wanted
things to happen? Of course not! He wanted Elisha to come to the door
and personally lay hands on him and fix his problem. He didn’t want to
speak to Elisha’s messenger! He wanted to speak to the prophet himself.
He didn’t want to hear what the messenger had to say regarding him
dipping in the Jordan River seven times. How ludicrous! Naaman’s
reaction probably went something like this: “You’ve got to be kidding
me! He wants me to go dip in the dirty Jordan River seven times? Give me
a Pentecostal break! Don’t you have any idea who I am?” Have you ever
had something similar to this happen to you?
Elisha had been given all the
facts concerning Naaman’s leprous condition. God spoke to His prophet
and told him exactly what to do. Why did God choose the Jordan River and
why seven times? Scripture doesn’t give us an answer to this question,
but one thing is certain, God was requiring faith and obedience from
Naaman. He may not have understood why he had to go through this
particular process in order to receive his healing, but because he
finally chose to respond to the word of the Lord by faith and obedience,
his health was completely restored.
The word of wisdom and the
word of knowledge often operate together:
The word of knowledge gives
us the facts, while the word of wisdom shows us what to do with those
facts.
While John was on the Isle of
Patmos, the Lord revealed the present condition of the seven churches to
him. This was the word of knowledge in operation. The Lord also gave
John the word of wisdom, which revealed His purposes and plans for those
churches.
The word of wisdom is used to
warn people of future judgment and peril:
In Genesis chapter six, we
find the story of how the Lord gave specific instruction to Noah
regarding the building of the ark. The Lord told Noah that He was going
to destroy man whom He had created from the face of the earth, both man
and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, because He was sorry
that He had ever made man (word of knowledge). The earth was filled with
violence. After the word of knowledge was given, God then gave Him a
word of wisdom which not only revealed God’s purpose and plan, but it
also warned Noah of the coming judgment and peril. The word of wisdom
saved the lives of Noah and his family.
The Word of Wisdom can be
given by:
1) Audible voice - Moses
received the law.
2) Visions – Acts 16:9 –
Paul’s vision (Macedonian call).
3) Dreams – Gen. 37:5 - The
Lord spoke to Joseph through dreams concerning his own future.
4) Prophecy – Prophets
prophesy future happenings. In Acts 11:27-28, the prophet Agabus
prophesied of a drought (famine) and in Acts 21:10-14, he prophesied to
Paul of some of the things he would suffer.
The word of wisdom is a
wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. The Lord desires to bring forth both
the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom to inform us, instruct us,
and prepare us for future happenings. May the Lord give us greater
understanding concerning His gifts. |
