The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Part 10

of our study of the Person & Work of the Holy Spirit

Welcome!

√ We’ve pretty much exhausted Ephesians 4 & Romans 12.

Let’s look at another section of scripture which deal with the different gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I Cor. 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:

I Cor. 12:2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

I Cor. 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

I Cor. 12:4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

I Cor. 12:5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

I Cor. 12:6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

I Cor. 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

I Cor. 12:8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

I Cor. 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

I Cor. 12:10 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.

I Cor. 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Intro

√ Word of Knowledge

√ Word of Wisdom

The Word of Knowledge

√ Our text mentions some additional gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I Cor. 12:8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

The gift of the Word of Knowledge refers to the God-given ability to know facts about a person, a situation, or a spiritual truth, that could not have been known by human means.

In other words, God gives you information that you could not have possibly have known by human revelation.

Some examples from the Bible:

Ex. Jesus

Joh 1:48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

And…

Joh. 4:16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."

Joh. 4:17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, `I have no husband,'

Joh. 4:18 "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."

Ex. Peter’s confession that Jesus is Messiah

Mat. 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Mat. 16:17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

So, the Word of Knowledge is exercised when the Holy Spirit provides information to someone about the condition, or situation of another person.

√ The purpose of the gift

Couple of purposes:

To serve as a divine “wake-up” call – sort of like God sending a little reminder to you that He knows what’s really going on in your life and while you may be fooling everyone else you’re not fooling Him! (ex. Nathanael & Woman at well).

To encourage the believer; in a course of action or in a time of trail of confusion (ex. Ida)

√ Using the gift

Interestingly it can happen consciously or unconsciously!

When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well He was aware of the situation at her home.

When preaching or teaching the gift can be operated unconsciously by the pastor!

Ex. Pastor Chuck and the guy from Lido island.

Most pastors are very careful not to target their messages – if you get hit between the eyes you better listen up – it’s the Holy Spirit speaking to you!

Ap. Can be used in a one-on-one situation, or during a believers meeting.

√ Different than prophecy in that it is simply a statement of facts, whereas prophecy is a proclamation from God.

Ex. Nathan’s confrontation with David.

Word of Knowledge = facts regarding David’s sin

Prophecy = God’s judgement of David’s sin

The Word of Wisdom

√ The next gift is similar too, and often used with the Word of Knowledge, it is the Word of Wisdom.

I Cor. 12:8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

The Word of Wisdom is that God-given ability to rightly apply knowledge. Specifically, the ability to use knowledge for the work of the KOG in the preaching and defense of the Gospel.

It is not the same as wisdom that is obtained through study, or our own effort. Rather, it is divinely inspired – it is a gift.

√ Purpose of the gift

Answering those who oppose the Gospel.

Ex. Jesus’ promise to those who are persecuted.

Mat. 10:18 "You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

Mat. 10:19 "But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;

Mat. 10:20 "for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

We find the gift demonstrated a number of times in the Book of Acts – even as Jesus had promised in Matthew 10.

Peter & John

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Stephen

Acts 6:9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen.

Acts 6:10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

Defending the faith

Part of our responsibility as believers is to be able to tell others why we believe the Gospel.

Peter exhorts us to…

I Pet. 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Like Stephen, no matter how ready you and I are to answer folks questions, there are many occasions in which we simply cannot be prepared.

It’s then that we need the gift of the Word of Wisdom!

Ap. When sharing your faith you’re going to come up against all sorts of intellectual opposition, spiritual opposition, and self-will.

You need God’s wisdom to be able to get to the heart of the individual and to dismantle the opposition.

Ex. Jesus – when the religious leaders tried to trick Him with questions.

Luk. 20:39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."

Luk. 20:40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

Daily living

I think it’s safe to say that there are many decisions which we face on a daily basis for which we need God’s Wisdom!

No specific verse to guide us.

Ex. Who should I marry? Should I take this job? How do we address this issue in the church?

The Lord promises to grant us wisdom in those times if we will…

Ask Him

Wait for the answer

Jam. 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Ap. Pray for the gift of Word of Wisdom – some folks will receive gifts for specific decisions, others will receive the gift for wisely leading the Church.

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