THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE!

Last Sunday, we looked at “The Gifts of God and The Gifts of Christ.” Today, we want to look at “THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!”

1 Corinthians 12:7 says, “But THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT… or THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT…”

In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, the Scriptures listed the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

What are the purposes of the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

1.      To build up the Body of Christ – edification (1 Cor. 14: 4, 12).

2.      To encourage - exhortation (1 Cor. 14:3, 31).

3.      To comfort (1 Cor. 14:3).

4.      To praise God (1 Cor. 14:16   , NIV). The KJV uses "bless" and "giving thanks."

5.      To build yourself up (1 Cor. 14:4   ; Jude 20).

6.      To win people to Christ - evangelism (1 Cor. 14:23-25).

The aim of God is to raise up a strong army that is equipped to do the same works that Jesus did. Spiritual Gifts in operation are a part of that purpose.

Apostle Paul makes it very clear that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are for every believer (1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Cor. 14:31).

It is not God's intention that the Gifts be confined to a "spiritual elite" or to a limited number of "superstars." God intends that every believer manifests Spiritual Gifts. That means YOU!

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are generally divided and listed as follows in the order of their importance:

A) Gifts of the Holy Spirit that Reveal something:

1. Word of wisdom (Gen. 37:5-11; Acts 9:10-16; Acts 21:10-11).

2. Word of knowledge (Acts 5:3, 9:11; 2 Kings 6:9; 1 Sam 9:19-20; Acts 10:9-20; Rev 2 & 3).

3. Discerning of spirits (1 Kings 14:5-6; 2 Kings 6:32-33, 6:8-17; Acts 16:16-18; Ex 13:20-23).

B) Gifts of the Holy Spirit that Do something:

1. Faith - Wonder working Faith or special Faith (Dan. 6:16-17, 19-23; 1 Kings 17:2-6).

2. Working of miracles (1 Kings 2:9-14; Jn. 2:1-11).

3. Gifts of Healings (Acts 10:38; 1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 12:28-30).

C) Gifts of the Holy Spirit that say something:

1. Prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1-5, 14:3).

2. Diverse kinds of Tongues.

3. Interpretation of Tongues.

Looking at the revelation gifts one would ask, “What is revelation?” Revelation is the act of revealing something so that all people can know about it. Revelation speaks of bringing to light that which was formerly hidden [a secret] (Deut. 29:29).

Let us start by considering the gift of the Word of Knowledge. Although the Word of Wisdom is mentioned first, we prefer to study the Word of Knowledge first because it will help us to understand the gift of the Word of Wisdom better.

The Word of Knowledge is a supernatural revelation by the Holy Spirit of certain facts in the mind of God concerning people, places, or things. It is a supernatural impartation, by the Spirit of God, of the knowledge of certain facts in the mind of God.

This revelation concerns either what happened before now (the PAST) or what is happening right now (the PRESENT).

The Word of Knowledge gives one a revelation of anything that can be classified as existing or having existed. The fact of an evil spirit possessing a body could be revealed by the gift of the Word of Knowledge, but the person wouldn’t have a vision of the spirit; he would not discern the spirit.

If the gift of the Word of Knowledge is in operation, you may know that a spirit is present or is involved in a particular situation, but you wouldn’t see the spirit.

The Spirit of God may impart a Word of Knowledge to you to let you know if someone is operating by another spirit and not by the Spirit of God.

Here God gives a person a word or a part of what He knows. A word is a fragmentary part of a sentence; so a Word of Knowledge would simply be a fragmentary part of the entire knowledge or counsel of God. It is used to supernaturally impart to a person a fact of knowledge, which as at that moment is otherwise unknown.

Look at some biblical examples of the Word of Knowledge:

i) Jesus received the Word of Knowledge regarding the woman at the Well (Jn. 4:7, 9-10, 13-19, 25-26). Jesus asked this woman to go get her husband. When she said that she didn’t have a husband, Jesus told her that she was right about that. That she has had seven husbands, and the man she was living with right now, isn’t her husband (Jn. 4:17-18). Jesus knew that by the inward revelation – the Word of Knowledge. He used this gift to bring this woman to salvation.

ii) In the Island of Patmos, John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and Jesus appeared to him in a vision (Rev. 1:10-20).

The Word of Knowledge might come in the form of a vision. As was the case with Apostle John, Jesus revealed to him in a vision the state [condition] of the churches in Asia Minor, as recorded in the Book of Revelations 2 and 3.

Jesus revealed to John by His Spirit the spiritual condition of the churches in Asia Minor. That was a Word of Knowledge in manifestation.

iii) Apostle Peter received a Word of Knowledge concerning Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-4). Here the Word of Knowledge was used to expose corruption in the church.

It would have been alright if this couple had sold their property and given only half of the money to the church, but they lied about it so as to get the same praise that Barnabas received. They kept part of the money for themselves but said that they were giving the entire money to the church.

The entire transaction was revealed to Peter through a Word of Knowledge. Ananais’ wife Sapphira came in and the same thing happened to her. And both of them fell dead the same day.

iv) Concerning Ananias, Acts 9:10-12 says, “Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 11 So the Lord said to him, "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 [this is present; what is happening right now]. 12 And in a vision he has seen [this is past tense] a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight."

This Scripture speaks of what is happening right now: 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.

Here the Word of Knowledge came to a layman through a vision. Ananias wasn’t an Apostle, as was John. He wasn’t a pastor, evangelist or teacher. The Bible calls him a disciple. He was simply a member of the church at Damascus.

Ananias couldn’t have known in the natural that in a certain house on a certain street, a man named Saul was praying at that moment. Ananias couldn’t have known that Saul has had a vision in which he had seen a man called Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him that he might receive his sight. Ananias couldn’t have known this any other way except by supernatural revelation of a certain fact in the mind of God. He knew it by the Word of Knowledge.

v) The Word of Knowledge can also come in the form of a trance. In a trance God spoke to Apostle Peter in the town of Joppa of what is happening in the present (Acts 10:9-19).

Apostle Peter received a supernatural revelation – “Behold, three men seek thee” (Acts 10:19). Peter had no idea that three men were looking for him. He had fallen into a trance and had seen the vision of the sheet descending out of heaven. While Peter was thinking about what that vision meant, the Holy Spirit told him that three men were looking for him. The men were already standing at the gate. Peter had no way of knowing that these men were at the gate except by the Spirit of God.

Sometimes the Word of Knowledge comes by an “inward revelation.” It can also come by an audible Voice, by the Spirit of God speaking to you. It can also come in the form of a dream. It may also come through tongues and interpretation of tongues, or through the gift of prophecy. Or an angel might come to deliver a Word of Knowledge to you. A Word of Knowledge may also be accompanied by a Word of Wisdom.

Interpretation of tongues is not usually the vehicle through which the Word of Knowledge manifests itself in public assemblies, except perhaps through the ministry gift of diversities of tongues (1 Cor. 12:28). This is because the ministry gift of diversities of tongues is more closely related to the office of the prophet.

vi) The gift of the Word of Knowledge was also in manifestation in the Old Testament. It was used to recover lost property. When Saul was out looking for the father’s donkeys that had either strayed or were stolen, someone said to him, “Why don’t you go ask Samuel? He would know where they are” (1 Sam. 9:3, 5-6, 15-16, 19-20).

Samuel had a Word of Knowledge for Saul concerning the missing donkeys. In 1 Samuel 10:2 Samuel said to Saul, “When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?"' (NIV)

Samuel also received a Word of Knowledge concerning Saul. Here the Word of Knowledge helped to discover a man in hiding. Although Samuel had already anointed Saul to be king over Israel, when the time came to reveal him to Israel as king, Saul hid “….among the stuff…” (1 Sam. 10:22).

When the people could not see him, they inquired of the Lord instead of sending people everywhere to look for Saul. The people knew that the Lord knew where Saul was. And the Lord told them exactly where Saul was and they found him there. That was the Word of Knowledge in operation, because a certain fact in the mind of God has been revealed.

The Word of Knowledge was also given to Elijah. Here the Word of Knowledge was given to enlighten and to encourage a discouraged servant. Elijah prayed the fire down from heaven (1 Ki. 18:37-38). But when someone told him, “Queen Jezebel said that about this time tomorrow she was going to take his head off his shoulders” (1 Ki. 19:2).

This made Elijah afraid. So he climbed under a Juniper tree and asked the Lord to let him die (1 Ki 19:14). In other words Elijah was saying, “Everyone is backslidden but me. Everyone has bowed their knee to Baal, and I am the only one left.”

But God gave Elijah a Word of Knowledge that enlightened and encouraged his heart. God said to him, “No! You are not the only one left. I have 7000 people reserved to Myself” (1 Ki. 19:18). Prophet Elijah couldn’t have known that any other way.

Prophet Elisha also received a Word of Knowledge concerning Gehazi. Here the Word of Knowledge was used to expose a hypocrite (2 Kings 5:21-24). Naaman was so thrilled to be healed that he gave him twice the amount of money Gehazi asked for. And Gehazi hid it because he was a thief as well as a hypocrite and a liar.

When Elisha asked Gehazi where he has been, he said, “…Thy servant went nowhere” (2 Ki. 5:25). And Elisha said, “Went not my heart [spirit-man] with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee?......” (2 Ki. 5:26). How could Elisha be sitting in his own house and yet know what was going on several miles away? God revealed it to him through the Word of Knowledge.

Elisha also received a Word of Knowledge regarding Syria (2 Kings 6:8-12). Every time an enemy would lay an ambush against Israel, the prophet of God would tell Israel their plans. Finally this king got his servants together and said, “We must have a traitor among us who always gives us away” (2 Kings 6:11). And the servants replied, “No, it is not us. A prophet of God in Israel tells the king what you speak in your bedroom.” The plans were revealed to him supernaturally by the Word of Knowledge, and it saved Israel from danger.

The Word of Knowledge can be used as a mighty aid in effectual prayer, either for God’s servants in distress, or for those in need of spiritual help.

The Word of Knowledge can also be used to reveal sickness and the presence of an evil spirit. By the manifestation of the gift of the Word of Knowledge the Church can be purified, the distressed comforted, the saints gladdened, lost property recovered, the enemy’s plans revealed and defeated, and the Lord Jesus Christ glorified. In the next chapter we will be looking at the gift of the Word of Wisdom.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)                 @ the HQ on 22.07. 2018