Word of Knowledge
Audio version
The Word of Knowledge is not the following:
It isn’t natural knowledge we obtain by education, reading,
studying or seeking in the natural realm. Some people are naturally more
knowledgeable than others and some are gifted in knowledge. They are
able to retain knowledge and store it up within them more so than
others. Although I believe this is a natural gift bestowed by our
creator, it is not what is referred to when we speak of the “word of
knowledge".
It is not being able to read people’s thoughts or using
divination or fortune telling. On the contrary, soothsaying, wizardly
and witchcraft are forbidden by the scriptures. If we see someone
claiming to exercise the gift of knowledge or any gift of the spirit for
the purpose of reading minds or exalting one’s self in the minds of
their followers, run away. This is not the gift of the spirit.
I repeat,
the gifts of the spirit lead us closer to understanding the will, mind
and purpose of God, it does not make us
superior to or a lord over our fellow believers. It is never used to
control other believers or even unbelievers.
It is not guesswork, cheering people up, and being positive. We’ve all
met bubbly people who are so full of faith and just ready to believe God
for anything that you give them a prayer request for, and according to
them, it is done. Although God will honor any prayer of faith, this is
not the “gift of knowledge”, they may be just those that practice
exhortation and comfort. They like to cheer people up. I love
these kind of people but this is not the gift of knowledge we are
speaking of in 1 Corinthians 12.
It is not just knowing all about God or understanding the bible.
Some bible commentators, teachers and theologians really seem to know
their stuff and I believe they are gifted and probably gifted from God
but still as good as that is, that is not the “word of knowledge” that
is listed as one of the nine gifts of the spirit.
It is not a gift of just knowing about everything. Some people
are gifted in knowing things. We call them smart. There are "A" students, well
educated and very knowledgeable even in the things of the spirit but
this is not the word of knowledge even if the gift comes from God.
What is the Word of Knowledge?
A divine gift at the will of the Holy Spirit giving someone
certain facts from the mind of God. It is only a few words and it is
supernatural. It can be given by someone who is not very knowledgeable
in the natural realm. In other words the person doesn’t have to be
naturally gifted in wisdom or knowledge. This gift is supernatural. It
is spontaneous and it is not planned ahead of time. We can’t just decide
before coming to church that we are going to receive a word of
knowledge. It is according to the will of the Holy Spirit and not our own
will.
How it is given:
a) Still small voice of the Holy Spirit at
the right time. This is the most common way to receive a message from
the Lord. We must be in a state of readiness and attune to the Holy
Spirit. I doubt if anyone could possibly receive a word of knowledge or
any other gift if their minds was on a football game or they haven’t
prayed for days on end. Of course I don't want to limit God so I would
guess that in disparate situations, someone could receive divine knowledge
in an emergency situation even if they haven't been praying for a while
but it is better to be prayed up and ready for God to use us at any
time.
b) Dream – God does speak to some by dreams
according to the book of Joel. I will not limit God in any way, for He
spoke by dreams in the Old and New Testament.
c) Audible voice of the Holy Spirit- This
way is less common but again, I will not limit God to my own experience.
Jesus spoke to the apostle Paul when he was on his way to Damascus, so
its possible to hear audible voices. This is where discernment is needed
for there are many other voices that we can hear besides God’s voice.
d) Revelation- We call this revelation
knowledge. This most of all requires discernment. Revelation means
something unveiled. God would supernaturally open up someone’s
understanding of a certain scripture for instance that they did not
understand before. Revelation knowledge will not contradict the already
written word but may give us a clearer understanding of the word.
It reveals facts about a person, condition, thoughts,
circumstances that are not possible by our own natural minds.
a) God may reveal to us that someone is
going to be healed of a certain condition
b) He might reveal to us that a person is
in need of groceries or money to pay a bill.
Note: This gift is not for gossip or to just reveal people’s secrets. It
is for the spiritual good of the body of Christ for edification and
spiritual growth or to convince a lost person that they need the Lord.
It is not our imagination, assumption or what we call gut feelings. This
is supernatural.
So why do we need this gift?
To do the will of the Holy Spirit. No one knows who needs what,
when and where like the Holy Spirit. He needs to be allowed to work
among us freely using as many as are available.
To bring the lost to Jesus Christ. Notice that Jesus instructed
His disciples not to go and preach the gospel until they were endued
with power from on high. They needed the Holy Ghost in order to preach
the gospel and teach all nations as Jesus told them to do before He
returned to heaven. Without the Holy Spirit there would not be anyone
saved or born again for He is the one that convicts of sin and draws
that sinner to Christ. The more power of the Holy Spirit that we have
among us, the more souls will be saved. He needs faithful vessels that
are willing to be used of the Holy Spirit and not trust in their own
strength, their own knowledge, training or education or their own
charisma.
To confirm the written word. This cannot be emphasized enough.
The Holy Spirit will draw people to Jesus Christ and He will never
contradict the written word.
To edify the body of believers. Once believers find the Lord and
are born again by the Holy Spirit, they will constantly need edified.
They will need to be discipled and they will need to continually grow
spiritually. They will need to learn about the gifts of the spirit and
how to be fruitful in the body of Christ. If they do not get the word
taught to them,
the edification of the spirit and the fellowship of other believers,
they will not be fruitful and will not be occupying until the Lord comes
like we are supposed to do.
Bible Examples
-
Acts 10: 9-17 When Peter receives a Word of knowledge as he was
on the house top praying.
-
Acts 9 11-16 – God reveals to Ananias that Paul had become a
praying person and was in need of baptism and healing.
-
Acts 21:11 – when Agabus warned Paul that he would be bound and
sent to the Gentiles.
I’m sure there are other examples in the bible but I want to leave open
this part for others to search the scriptures and find other examples
for the gift of knowledge.
One thing I want to bring out. All Spirit filled believers can be used
of God in any of the gifts of the spirit although we usually see one
person major in one or two and not all nine. The gift though is not
theirs as an individual but it belongs to the whole body of believers.
This is an area in which we cannot limit God to our own understanding.
He may give one of us a word of knowledge and then use someone else the
next time He works in that manner. Our part is to yield, to be ready and
be available to the Holy Spirit by being spiritually alert.
Another point to remember. We are never to allow the prophet or the one
God uses the gift to reveal something to us as a group or as an
individual, to control us. We are responsible to God ourselves.
If someone reveals something to us and it is truly from God, we still
have a responsibility to pray and be directed by God ourselves and not
rely on the person that originally gave us the word from the Lord.
This is important to remember. We need to confirm if the message
is from the Lord before we take action.
If the word was a warning or that
something bad is to happen, it is okay to pray, intercede and ask God to
change the outcome or to do His will in the matter. That may be why the word was given to get us
to take action and avoid a bad situation.
These things are not
given so when it comes to pass, it proves that a certain person used of
God is a great person that has a right to take over and control our
lives. That is not the reason for the gifts of the spirit. That
person is only a messenger or vessel of the Holy Spirit. God is
still the one in charge. Jesus is still the head of the church.
The Holy Spirit is still the director not the person He uses.
I will give an example of God using me this way once
many years ago. I was in a bible study group and someone asked us
to pray for her friend who was in a bad car accident and not expected to
live. I'm not the type that encourages people with positive words. I
never say things that might turn out to be false. Yet, for some reason,
I spoke up and said that her friend was going to be okay. I saw one
person look at me like I was nuts. I normally would never say anything
like that but this was spontaneous and different. A couple of weeks went
by and I worried a little that I was mistaken. However, God had mercy on
me and I saw the lady at church. She came up to me and told me her
friend was okay and survived. What a relief that was. I figured out
later that it was a word of knowledge given at the right time. DC
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