Gifts Of The Holy Spirit: The Spiritual Gift Of The Word of Wisdom

The apostle Paul says in the book of 1 Corinthians,
"for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit,"
-1 Corinthians 12:8 (NKJV)

When we study the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paul says that,
"But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:11 (NKJV)

As a christian, we should desire that the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be manifested or shown among the Body of Christ. And to leave it up to the will of the Holy Spirit to use those He pleases.

The Holy Spirit does not use everyone in the same manner. He divides the spiritual gifts to each one individually as He wills. Our job is to maintain an open heart, submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit and let His will concerning the distributing and manifestations of the spiritual gifts be done. If we assume to take control, it will only result in a mess.

Well, not everyone will have all the manifestations of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit because Paul says,
"for to one is given the word of wisdom.. to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,"
-1 Corinthians 12:8 (NKJV)

You can see that not all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to everyone. As a Christian led by the Holy Spirit, let us desire the gifts of the Spirit and to allow the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through the gifts as He wills.

The Gift Of The Word Of Wisdom Is Not The Gift Of Wisdom

There are some Christian who call the gift of the word of wisdom as the gift of wisdom. That is incorrect. We need to call them what the Bible says they are, or we and the people we tell will become confused.

If you call a man a woman, or an orange an apple, you would confuse others. The apostle Paul is not talking about wisdom literally. He is talking about the word of wisdom.

Our dear Holy Spirit has infinite wisdom and knowledge. He knows everything but He does not reveal everything to anyone. The Holy Spirit just reveals a word of what is in His mind.

A word is a part of a sentence. So is the word of wisdom, which is a part of the Holy Spirit's wisdom. It is the gift of the word of the word of wisdom that the Holy Spirit reveals to you and I. Only the part of His infinite wisdom that the Holy Spirit wishes you to know.

Let me illustrate this to you. If you needed some legal advice, you would be calling a lawyer. However, the lawyer would not tell you everything he learnt during his 4 years in university, plus his 10 years of experience in the field, because 99.99% of them does not make sense to you. You would not need them.

The lawyer would just give you a part, or a word of the legal wisdom he has, which fits your particular case. He gives you a "word" of legal wisdom, which is all you need.

Difference Between The Word Of Wisdom And The Word Of Knowledge

The word of knowledge is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. The word of knowledge will tell you the facts, relating to people or things in the mind of God. It is a supernatural revelation by the Holy Spirit.

The word of wisdom will tell you the divine purpose in the mind and will of God. This is also a supernatural revelation by the Holy Spirit.

The difference between these two gifts of the Holy Spirit, gift of word of wisdom and the gift of word of knowledge, is that one speaks about the past while one speaks about the future.

The gift of the word of knowledge tells you about things which has already happened. Things of the past. While the gift of the word of wisdom tells you the plans of God and what is going to happen in the future.

The Spiritual Gifts Of The Word Of Wisdom And The Word Of Knowledge Often Work Together

Regarding the teaching of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we usually separate these two spiritual gifts to deal with them individually. Nonetheless, these two gifts often operate together.

Let me show you in the book of acts how the scrupture actually shows the operations of both of these gifts in Ananias.
"the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias".. "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight".."Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles .. For I will show hiim how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
-Acts 9:10-16 (NKJV)

Here, we can see that both the spiritual gifts of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are in effect. Jesus spoke to Ananias where to find Saul, saying that he is praying and that he had seen a vision. Jesus also told Ananias the exact street, house and the person to go to.

These are all facts. God also revealed to Ananias that Saul has seen Ananias in a vision, that Ananias will come and lay hands on Saul, and will recover from his blindness. This is also a supernatural revelation to Ananias concerning the facts about Saul. This is the gift of the word of knowledge in action.

The other revelation that Ananias recevied was a word of wisdom. In this vision, God revealed His plan and purpose.
"for he is a chosen of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Isreal."
-Acts 9:15 (NKJV)

Also, God said,
"For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."
-Acts 9:16 (NKJV)

Saul, who later was renamed as Paul, indeed suffered for the name of Jesus. He was stoned, left for dead, whipped, shipwrecked. Wherever Paul went, the people would come against him.

This was a vision God has gave to Ananias about Paul's future. This is a manifestation of the gift of the word of wisdom.

Human Wisdom And The Spiritual Gift Of The Word Of Wisdom

Among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the word of wisdom is often confused with the simple wisdom used to deal with the things of life. The gift of the word of wisdom is not the same as the wisdom in dealing with the things of life.

At the early stages of Joshua's ministry, God told Joshua that the key to wisdom and success would be to meditate on the Word of God.
"This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success."
-Joshua 1:8 (Amplified)

You can see that you will gain wisdom and have success in life if you know the word of God and act upon it. However, this wisdom is not the same as the gift of the word of wisdom through the Holy Spirit.

There are Christians who think that the wisdom of Solomon, the wisest man of all history, is the gift of the word of wisdom. But it is not. This is the wisdom give by God to deal effectively with the issues of life.

In the book of James, he said:
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without approach, and it will be given to him.
-James 1:5 (NKJV)

The apostle James is talking about the wisdom to deal wisely regarding the problems and issues of life. It is the wisdom to know how to conduct yourself as a Christian.

This is a general, or natural wisdom to tackle the daily affairs of life. It is given to anyone who asks the Father for it. The Holy Spirit will impart wisdom to you, to make the correct decisions in life, but it is still not the same as the divine revelation of the word of wisdom by the Holy Spirit.

In the book of James, he is writing to Christians, since he started addressing as "My brethren". The apostle said that if any lacks wisdom, let him ask God for it. Meaning every believer who needs it will be given by God if he asks.

It is not the same wisdom as the one spoken by the apostle Paul, "to one is given the word of wisdom.." The word of wisdom is given to one, not all or any. It is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit which is given only as the Spirit wills.

When the Holy Spirit wants to reveal His purposes and plans, He does it through the manifestation of the word of wisdom. This is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which should not be mixed up with the general wisdom that God gives liberally to tackle the issues of life.

Continue To Part 2 Of Gift Of The Word Of Wisdom.

Learn More About The Other Gifts Of The Holy Spirit.

Return From Gift Of Word Of Wisdom, To Holy Spirit Led Christian.