1 Corinthians 12: 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
Roman 12: 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, [d]in agreement with the faith; 7 or [e]service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
Well, every Sunday that we are studying the Spiritual gifts, I like to begin with some illustration of the importance of discovering your gift, and using it in the church, the world, and your life. In one previous message I used a sport as an illustration. I began by talking about the Olympic event, the decathlon. And it illustrated Spiritual gifts because decathlon athletes have to do well in 10 different sports. They are competing in one event but in 10 sports. But most athletes do not excel at 10 sports. Most athletes pick one sport, and concentrate on mastering one thing. And a church is like that. It does not function well, if one person, or a few people have 10 different jobs. It functions best when each person picks something that they excel at, and gives themselves to doing that well and thoroughly.
Well, in the last month or so, I saw another illustration of Spiritual gifts that I think emphasizes the same point. Denise and I watched a documentary about David Beckham. If you don’t know who David Beckham is or was, he was one of the most successful footballers in the world between 1992 and 2013. For us Americans, that means he played soccer. He is English, and first played on an English team, but eventually won and played in leagues around the world; Spain, Italy, Paris, and even in the United States.
Now, I’m not a soccer fan. But I found the documentary interesting because it went behind the scenes with how teams are put together, and the dynamics and sometimes drama of a player like Beckham who not only played well, but had star power.
And one particular time that Beckham was traded intrigued me. He was playing for the English team he loved from age 17 to 24, and then, because of a falling out with the coach, he was traded to the Spanish team, Real Madrid. But, as the documentary described, the owner of Real Madrid, was more interested in putting together the biggest names in soccer in one team, rather than choosing players for certain positions on the team. Beckham was primarily a right-winger. See, I know little to nothing about soccer, but apparently everyone on the field is playing a position. I thought they just kind of ran around the field randomly. But he had always played the right winger position. Well, when the owner of Real Madrid, brought him to the team, there was already a very famous right winger on the team. So, what do you do? Beckham was moved to another position, and because he was in that new territory, and because he didn’t fit the team dynamic, the great team, began to lose.
Now, that’s a lot about soccer. But it illustrates again a point about the church and Spiritual gifts. God has personally gifted you with certain abilities and inclinations. And you will do your best work, you will thrive and succeed the most, when you are playing the position that you know. Your position on this team is not about who is most popular, or who has done this or that job the longest. It is about who is gifted to do each position using a set of supernatural empowerments from God.
prayer
So today we are actually going to start describing each of the active spiritual gifts. First question; How many active spiritual gifts are there? Well, that depends on who you talk to and how you interpret each of the gifts that are listed in Paul’s letters. It depends on whether you think some of the gifts are passed. You know that we have divided the gifts into sign gifts, speaking gifts, and service gifts. I’ve seen some lists that divide them into temporary and permanent, and they put the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, distinguishing of spirits and prophecy under the temporary gifts. I don’t do that. And part of the reason I don’t is based in how you define each of those gifts. But if we take the list I’ve given you, and remove the sign gifts, and the list of church positions; pastor/teacher, evangelist, apostle, and prophet, we have 12 gifts. They are word of wisdom, word of knowledge, teaching, exhortation, and prophecy, under the speaking gifts. And leadership, administration, faith, distinguishing of spirits, service, giving and mercy under the service gifts.
And I am not going to tell you that I have the list completely correct. Well, you might ask, if you don’t have the list correct, how can we be sure that we have discovered our gift when this is all over? Maybe you left our gift off of the list. Well, that doesn’t concern me for a couple of reasons. Number one, any gift survey you take is just an introspective tool. It is you, looking at yourself. And frankly, as I said at the start of all this, I don’t think that all of the gifts are necessarily listed in these verses that we’ve read. I think these are representative of the gifts of the Spirit.
Think about this. We know that not only do we have a list of Spiritual gifts, we also have a list of the fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness. I think some people are especially blessed in one or more of the fruits of the Spirit. Let me use myself as an example. I’ve been told at school, in church, and at home that I have a very calming presence about me. In other words, my presence, and demeanor, and words, can bring a calming effect to a person, or to a group. At school they call it “chill.” “Mr. Hays is so chill.” Students and teachers alike have said it.
Now, there is no gift of “chill” in the list of Spiritual gifts. But in the fruit of the Spirit there is peace, and patience. Maybe God, as part of the mix of who I am spiritually has mixed a large dose of chill in there. You say, then why isn’t it on the list. Because, as I said before, I think that each of our gifts from God, are a special blend of things made just for us, and for what He wants us to do. And since there have been millions upon millions of Christians, if each of them has a special blend we would need a whole other Bible just to list each gift that God has given.
So, the lists we study are just a tool for you to begin discovering your gift. The greatest tool you have for discovering your gift is to just get busy doing what the Spirit leads you to do. And as you walk in the Spirit, the path before you will become clearer.
So, this is what we are going to do. We are just going to start on this list, picking up with the speaking gifts. Today, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and teaching. These three are speaking gifts. Teaching is obviously a speaking gift. Both of the others contain the word, “word” indicating that you are using words.
1 Corinthians 12: 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
Now, what is the word of knowledge? I don’t know about you, but it sounds mysterious. It sounds like you are getting some secret word for God. You are getting some inside information in your ear. And that is how many in the charismatic movement interpret this gift and the word of wisdom. God is whispering something in your ear. Now, I don’t entirely discount that definition. There are instances in Scripture where God gave someone some inside information.
In Acts 5, Peter knew that Ananias and Sapphira were lying about the gift they had given for poverty relief. He just knew. God revealed it to him.
But there are a couple of problems with defining this as some sort of secret knowledge. First, outside of the apostolic age, we don’t find evidence for that kind of secret knowledge going to an individual. Number two, we don’t find evidence that Peter was actively exercising that kind of gift. In other words, he got some supernatural insight about Ananias and Sapphira lying, but we do not see evidence that he is running around the Jerusalem church on Sunday telling everybody some secret God told him about them. And that is what is happening in some charismatic churches. People are claiming to have this gift, and going up to others and telling them, “God told me to tell you this or that.”
So, I think that definition for the word of knowledge is incorrect. Instead, let me offer the definition you find on the gifts list I handed out.
The Word of knowledge can be defined as the Spiritual gift of “observing and arranging the facts of Scripture, categorizing them into principles, and drawing conclusions.” It basically means the ability to understand and interpret the Bible.
Now, I think we all have some measure of this ability from the Spirit. As any Christian reads the Word of God, the Spirit speaks to them. But some people are especially gifted in this area. Now, here is where I want to begin distinguishing the word of knowledge from the word of wisdom. Word of knowledge is the ability to read and interpret the Scripture. The Word of wisdom is applying that Scripture to life.
But let’s dig a little deeper on the Word of knowledge. I think I have a smidgeon of this gift, but not a great amount. Why? Because I think this is the gift of studying the Scriptures deeply to derive meaning. I’ve known people who were experts in the Greek or Hebrew language, somebody has a PhD in cuneiform and Sanskrit. And they love digging into the minutia. They are discovering things. And it can be someone in the church who is just driven to the deep study of the Word of God.
I think my dad was gifted in this way. And let me say this. Sometimes these people, if this is their primary gift may seem tedious to the rest of us. I remember my dad preaching a sermon once where he spent several minutes giving a Greek definition of our word “if.” The word “if” in Greek can have different meanings. It can mean “if” it is true, and it is true. It can mean if it is true and it is not, or it can mean if it is true, and it may or may not be. And then he elaborated on how that impacted the interpretation of a particular passage. It was amazing, but tedious. But we have to have those people. Because we can never take this book for granted. We must never come to the conclusion that we know all there is to know from the Bible. Because when we do that we become lazy about its application. We need people who keep going back to it over and over and pick away at it like an archeologist unearthing an ancient structure. The ability to understand the Bible.
And it is usually, I think mixed with the word of wisdom. Word of knowledge is understanding the Bible, the Word of wisdom is applying it. I often rely on others with the word of knowledge. I study what others have said, and then I take off on application.
Back in the apostolic age, the word of knowledge would have also been the gift of getting specific words from God. The apostles would be the authors of Scripture. But now it is this Spiritual gift of study and interpretation.
So, what is the Word of wisdom?
1 Corinthians 12: 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
What is the definition of the word of wisdom?
I wrote on your paper that the word of wisdom is “locating formerly unknown principles as well as combining known principles of God's Word and communicating them to fresh situations.”
Wisdom is applied knowledge. The Word of God is forever. But cultures, nations, and movements change. So, the word of God has to be constantly applied to new situations.
Again, some in the charismatic movement have made this a gift of spiritual insight into someone else’s life. “God told me that you shouldn’t take that job.” Or you should buy that house.” Or whatever. I’m not saying that other people might no have wise counsel for you. But that’s different than saying, “God told me to tell you not to marry that woman.”
I think that is a misinterpretation of this gift. In the early church, during the age of the miraculous, there could have been that kind of revelatory knowledge. But, the principal use of the word wisdom in Scripture and in the New Testament has to do with applying God’s truths to life.
“The word wisdom, sophia, is such a broad word, don’t confine it only to revelation. In fact, in the New Testament, 12 of the 27 books use the word sophia, and it is seen in five categories. Sophia is seen as an attribute of God; it is seen as intellectual ability; it is seen as the person of Jesus Christ, who is called the wisdom of God; it is seen as proud human wisdom, opposed to God, in James 3; and it is seen – and this is its dominant use – it is seen as spiritual understanding of God’s will. That is the primary use of sophia. Spiritual understanding of God’s will. And I believe that’s exactly what the gift is. It’s the ability to understand God’s will and make an application to obedience. And that’s the way it’s used mostly in the New Testament. To know God’s will and to behave in response to is.”
Do you know where this is used often? In Christian counseling. Someone gifted in this area can talk to someone, or a couple, or family, hear their problems, and connect their problems to God’s Word, and a solution.
I am so glad that some have this gift. Because I am limited in this area. Let’s take an example. We know that Scripture says certain things about marriage and divorce. And as a preacher, I can use the gift of the word of knowledge to apply those truths, in general, to life. But, I tell you what, sometimes people can come in for marriage counseling, and for the counselor it is like trying to unscramble an egg. I mean, their stories sound like that old song, “I’m my own grandpa.” I married this one, then divorced, married that one, then separated, lived with this one, we have his, hers, ours for children. And the question to the counselor is “how do I get back to God’s perfect design for marriage?” My answer to them, “I don’t know, good luck.” But there are people gifted in the specific application of the Word of God.
An expository preacher would also have a certain measure of this gift. They take the Word of God and study the commentaries, read from all those who have the gift of knowledge, and out of that, draw the applicable principle to living.
But the Word of wisdom and knowledge are not limited to the “professional” positions. One believer can minister to another believer. A parent can instruct their children with the application of the Bible to their schoolwork, their relationships, their respect for authority.
And we need to also know that these two gifts are designed to minister to each other. I may have the gift of the word of wisdom, applying the Word to life. But I am very careful about interpreting Scripture. I might read something in Scripture that I think is a truth I’ve never heard. I use my limited scholastic abilities to be sure I am understanding the Greek or Hebrew text. But I also do another step. I search commentaries to see if my insights can be found anywhere else. Am I twisting the text? I rely on people with the gift of the word of knowledge.
And people with the gift of the Word of knowledge also depend on those with the Word of wisdom. You know, you’ve all met people who have so much Bible knowledge, but they don’t have enough wisdom. A teacher can get that way. They are trying to drive through all the deep study they’ve done, then someone in their class pipes up and talks about how that truth applies to their life. “I’m not going to get to all my notes.” They help each other. You may have a friend who can tell you exactly where passages on forgiveness are in the Bible, and another friend who can say to you, “Now, this is what you should do, because the Bible says you should forgive, you need to go to that person, and x, y, and z.”
That brings us finally to the third gift; teaching.
Roman 12: 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, [d]in agreement with the faith; 7 or [e]service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
Now, you’ll notice that we moved out of 1 Corinthians into Romans. I am not following the lists in the order of how they appear. I am following the order of your lists. And I chose to put teaching here because I believe it is a Speaking gift closely related to the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom. Practically every teacher has to have some measure of those two gifts. Here is the definition of the teaching gift.
The gift of teaching is laying down in a systematic order the complete truth of a doctrine and applying it incisively to life.
Well, you might ask how teaching is different than the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom. I think it depends on whether it is a singular or an ongoing event. A person may have the gift of the Word of Knowledge, or Word of wisdom, and they may use it to counsel people, or encourage people. But they are not necessarily teaching an ongoing class. And I have known people, who don’t teach regularly, but they got some new insight into Scripture, so they shared it in one session, or 3 or 4 sessions.
But I think the passion of the Spiritual gift of teaching is to systematically cover an entire subject, or book of the Bible. They don’t just want their students to get one lesson. They want to help them understand an entire truth. The word for teaching is
“didask from which we get “didactic.” And what does that mean? Basically it is... It is a formal, systematic training. It is used, for example, of training a choir over the weeks and the weeks until finally they have mastered what they have been trained to learn and they are ready to perform. The gift of teaching is the function of systematically training people, taking them from one point to another systematically. It can refer to a teacher in a seminary or a Bible college or a Sunday school teacher. It can refer to someone who disciples a person one-on-one, someone who carries them from point A to point B to point C or whatever. It is the ministry of leading someone along in the systematic understanding of the teaching of the Word of God.” It is the gift of breaking down a topic into its component parts, and understanding what is most important.”
Sunday School is designed to do that. And that's what we're called to do in Matthew 28, go into all the world, and it says make disciples of all men, teaching them, didactically, systematically instructing them in an increasing understanding of the Word of God, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
It is a very important function of the church. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, "The things you've heard from me among many witnesses," "The same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also." You teach them, they'll teach others.
I believe the primary role of a pastor is to be a systematic teacher of the Word of God, to feed his people systematically the Scripture, to thoroughly interpret the Bible. That's Bible exposition.
So, we’ve covered three gifts; the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and teaching. So what do you do if you feel like you have one of these gifts? Do what Paul says;
Roman 12: 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, [d]in agreement with the faith; 7 or [e]service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
In other words, if you have the gift of prophecy, then proclaim, if you have the gift of service, then serve, if you have the gift of teaching, then teach. You might reply, but all the teaching positions are full at our church. Well, find someone to teach. Teach your family, teach at a home Bible study, lead a study at your work.
The same holds true for the Word of knowledge and the Word of wisdom. If God draws you into a deep study of Scripture in which you are gaining insights into the meaning of the Word of God, He intends for you to share it somewhere. If your mind goes to the application of the Word of God, He wants you to help guide others.
Start somewhere. Create a blog. Build a Facebook group. Start a podcast. Use our facilities for a discipleship group.
Now, let me counsel you. Remember that all of the gifts minister to each other, and they regulate each other. That’s why God put us in a body. That means that you need to exercise your gift precisely, diligently, and with great care. For example, if you feel that you should be a Christian counselor, do your research, get training or licensing that is required, and study the Word. The same holds true for all the gifts. If you are going to do it, do it well, and correctly.