Lesson 27
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Part II
by Ruth Mahoney Swaim
The next three gifts to be discussed in this teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are the three gifts of knowing. They are sometimes called the Gifts of Revelation. These three gifts, very often, have to do with guidance and direction in your life.
They are listed 3rd, 4th and 5th in the order of required faith. The faith level required for these next three is higher than the first three gifts which were discussed in Lesson 26. Once the gifts of utterance are operative in your life, it's an easy transition into the Revelation Gifts or Gifts of Knowing.
These three gifts of the Holy Spirit are:
1. Word of Knowledge
2. Word of Wisdom
3. Discerning of Spirits
Word of Knowledge
I Corinthians 12:8
Definition: Supernatural revelation to man of some detail of the knowledge of God. It is the impartation of facts and information which are humanly impossible to know. It is not knowledge that comes through natural ability, observation, study, education or experience. It is knowledge that surpasses the senses of man. It is a fragment or small item of God's knowledge, given to a person by the Holy Spirit.
It gives us certain facts and information through the supernatural revelation of the Holy Spirit. This information was previously unknown to the person, and the knowledge could not be gained by any natural means. It is supernaturally imparted. It is knowledge that is a portion of God's knowledge.
Examples in Scripture:
In the life of Christ we note it in several places in scripture.
John 11:11-14 concerning the death of Lazarus.
John 1:47-50 There are facts about Nathaniel before he ever met him.
John 4:18-20 The woman of Samaria. The exercise of this word of knowledge to her brought about the beginning of a great revival in that area.
John 13:38 concerning Peter's denial of Him
John 6:62 concerning the disciples furtive discussion of his teaching.
Life of Peter: Acts 5:1-11 concerning the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira
Life of Paul: Acts 20:29-31 false prophets in the Ephesian church
Acts 27:23-24 the safety of their journey
In the Old Testament: II Samuel 12:1-14 God revealed to Nathan the transgression of David.
Why is it given?
To uncover sin II Samuel 12:1-10; Acts 5:1-11
To bring people to God John 1:47-50; 4:18-20
To give guidance and direction Acts 9:11
To minister encouragement in periods of despondency I Kings 19:9-18
To impart knowledge of future events Acts 11:27-28
To reveal hidden things I Samuel 10:22
Characteristics of this gift
This gift is supernatural in character and operates by faith. The revelation is received in one's spirit - not in the intellect or emotions. It is not essentially a vocal gift. It may be received quietly within the person's spirit or audibly on occasion and may become vocal when shared with others.
Any spirit-filled Christian who is willing to hear God's voice may experience this gift.
It is an invaluable gift in the ministry of counseling.
Obedient action and response is essential to the continuing function of this gift and it is frequently manifested in conjunction with the Word of Wisdom.
How is it manifested?
It may come in a vision or dream. Hosea 12:10; Amos 1:1; Obadiah 1:1; Acts 10:9-20.
May be a definite impression of the spirit or inner voice. Romans 8:16; John 14:26; 16:13-14
An audible voice. Ezekiel 43:6; Acts 10:13-20;
An angel. Acts 27:22-26; 8:26
May be a quickening of the scriptures. Psalms 119:18; Acts 1;15-23; 15:13-21
It may come while you are talking with someone, counseling or writing a letter or praying.
A note of caution: The fact that something is revealed does not necessarily mean it should be spoken immediately, or even at all. A word of knowledge often comes unexpectedly, and is often for the purpose of prayer concerning what God shows us. It may involve a need in some believers life, family or the local church. The purpose of a word of knowledge is to give the right people the necessary knowledge and instruction to walk fully in His ways.
When the recipient receives such a word he should ask God what he should do with it. This follows into the next gift, the Word of Wisdom.
Word of Wisdom
I Corinthians 12:8
Note: This is the word of wisdom, not the gift of wisdom.
Definition: The gift of the Word of Wisdom is wisdom that is supernaturally given by God. It is not 'a' word of wisdom the 'the' word of wisdom. It is not just a word on the subject at hand, it is 'the' word on it. It is the answer or the solution or the will of God in that situation.
God frequently gives it together with the Word of Knowledge so that believers can know how to apply the Word of Knowledge correctly.
So to put it succinctly, it is the instruction on what to do with the previously given word of knowledge. These two gifts often go together.
For example, when you go to a doctor, he does not give you all the information he has on illness. He gives you the portion which you need for your particular situation. Thus, God who knows all things, 'gifts' to you the particular portion for your particular need at the time. He gives this by the Holy Spirit.
Examples in Scripture:
In the life of Jesus:
Luke 4:3-14 when He was withstanding Satan
Luke 7:22 in answering John's query
Luke 20:22-25 scribes tried to trap Jesus
John 4:9-26 ministry to the Samaritan woman, did not argue her 'pet doctrine.'
Matthew 22:15-22 His answer to the Pharisees.
Acts 6:1-5 - giving the word of wisdom in church administration
Acts 15:28 - solving a church crisis
Acts 27:23-34 - gave Paul control of situation
This is promised to all His disciples in Luke 21:14, 15
Why is it given?
For growth in the Christian
For direction in your life
For deeper understanding of God
To put into practical application a previous word of knowledge
Characteristics of this Gift
It is not natural wisdom nor wisdom gained from academic achievement or experience. It is not wisdom to understand the Bible.
It is supernatural in character, given as the Holy Spirit wills (I Cor. 12:11)
It is not a gift of wisdom, but the word of wisdom
How is it manifested?
The Word of Wisdom often is given to leaders in counseling others. It may even operate in the human vessel God is using without him/her knowing it.
People often hide their real problems effectively or may be confused. Often the Holy Spirit will impart the word of wisdom to the counselor to bring clarity and direction.
The Word of Wisdom may come by the Holy Spirit speaking within, hearing with the spiritual ears the voice of the Spirit.
The Word of Wisdom is not essentially a vocal gift, but rather a gift of revelation. It is received quietly within one's mind or spirit.
It is often an instruction or word given to us to let us know how to respond to a command of God or to a previous word of knowledge.
Discerning of Spirits
I Corinthians 12:10
Discerning of Spirits is the third of the revelation gifts (Word of Knowledge and Word of Wisdom are the other two).
Definition; Supernatural understanding, given by the Holy Spirit, to discern what spirit is behind what you are dealing with. It may be an evil spirit, the human spirit or God's spirit.
Just the fact of the potential for all three of the spirit realms to be manifest through man makes this gift essential in the church.
This gift is usually more prevalent in those in a position of leadership and seems to almost become a permanent faculty in an individuals life, operating on any occasion where necessity presents itself. This gift is accompanied by a God-given ability to challenge or cope with the spirits.
By this gift we can discern the origin of certain actions, teachings, circumstances, etc., that have been inspired by spirit beings.
Function: It is easy to confuse the work of the spirit of Satan with those of the Spirit of God. Satan always tries to counterfeit the works of the Holy Spirit. Satan is known as the deceiver, the father of lies, and the serpent. All these titles signify the subtle, crafty deceptiveness which he uses to bring about evil whenever he can.
Thus, this gift gives one a supernatural understanding of the nature and activity of spirits, enabling one to distinguish between the divine, satanic and human origin of spiritual activity and reveals the nature of the spirits themselves.
This gift is especially important for missionaries and workers in lands where spiritism, satanism and occultism abound. Sadly, this has also invaded our own country in recent years and has become essential that ministries operate in this gift.
Operation of the gift and scriptural examples:
The most obvious function of this gift is to reveal the presence of evil spirits in the life of people or churches.
However, it also functions to evaluate the source of a prophetic message, a particular teaching, or some supernatural manifestation. The person functioning with this gift will be able to tell whether the source of the message or act is demonic, divine or merely human.
In Acts 16 Paul challenged the spirit which might easily have deceived other servants of God. The girl gave a perfectly true statement when she said 'These men are servants of the most high God, who show to you the way of salvation.' But the spirit speaking was an evil spirit.
You may wonder why an evil spirit would advertise the apostles in that fashion? Because it was of no credit or help to the gospel or its ministers to have such a person following them and undoubtedly causing others to think she was one of them.
Life of Christ:
Matthew 9:4 - Jesus knew the thoughts of the Jews, which involved the spirits of men.
Matthew 16:22, 23 - Christ discerned that Peter's utterance was directly inspired by Satan.
Mark 5:5-13 - Jesus discerned that there was an 'unclean' spirit in the man, that there was actually a whole legion.
Matthew 16:15-17 - Jesus discerned that Peter's utterance was directly inspired by and revealed by God.
Life of Peter:
Acts 5:1-10 - Peter not only operated in knowledge, wisdom and miracles, but actually discerned their spirits. Satan had 'filled their hearts' to lie.
Acts 8:20-23 - Peter 'perceived' that Simon was in the 'gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.'
Life of Paul:
Acts 13:9-12 - Paul saw and revealed the evil in the heart of Elymas.
This gift usually works in close association with the gifts of knowledge, wisdom and faith. It may even involve the working of miracles. It is those people who function with those gifts that usually have the greatest success in casting out demons.
The gift may be given to one with a ministry of mercy and intercession, so that such a person might bear needs before the Lord in prayer on a high level, particularly relating to needs involving conditions of human spirit.
Before closing this section of the lesson, I want to stress to the reader that these gifts are supernatural in origin and supernaturally imparted. They are not based on psychology, experience or research.
In order to minister in these areas, especially discerning of spirits, it is essential that you seek the face of the Lord and know you are being lead by the Holy Spirit. Do not try to invade the areas or spirits of darkness without a sure leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:14).
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