The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity
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132<br />
THE GIFT OF THE WORD (MESSAGE) OF WISDOM (I Cor. 12:8)<br />
Purpose: Insight & Comprehension<br />
Description: <strong>The</strong> capacity to make practical application <strong>of</strong> truth in God’s Word to concrete<br />
situations. <strong>The</strong> ability to put knowledge to work. “May involve suggesting <strong>the</strong> best means to<br />
strive after <strong>the</strong> best goals. It may also involve a statement that resolves a difficulty or that silences<br />
an opponent.” 1<br />
“<strong>The</strong> special ability that God gives to certain members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Body <strong>of</strong> Christ to know<br />
<strong>the</strong> mind <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Holy</strong> <strong>Spirit</strong> in such a way as to receive insight into how given knowledge<br />
may best be applied to specific needs arising in <strong>the</strong> Body <strong>of</strong> Christ.” 2<br />
Though all believers should possess wisdom (Eph. 5:15; Col. 4:5; Jas. 3:13; I Cor. 2:6-16)<br />
everyone does not have <strong>the</strong> gift <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> message <strong>of</strong> wisdom.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> person with <strong>the</strong> gift <strong>of</strong> knowledge does spiritual things like medical researcher<br />
who gets new insights into physiology, genetics or vaccines. <strong>The</strong> person with <strong>the</strong> gift<br />
<strong>of</strong> wisdom is like <strong>the</strong> physician who has <strong>the</strong> ability to diagnose <strong>the</strong> patient’s problem<br />
and apply <strong>the</strong> resources <strong>of</strong> medical science to that particular case.” 3<br />
“<strong>The</strong> person with <strong>the</strong> gift <strong>of</strong> wisdom knows how to get to <strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong> a problem quickly.<br />
He or she has a practical mind and is a problem solver. He or she has little difficulty in<br />
making decisions because that person can predict with a high degree <strong>of</strong> accuracy what<br />
<strong>the</strong> outcome <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> decisions will be. When a person with <strong>the</strong> gift <strong>of</strong> wisdom speaks,<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Body recognize that truth has been spoken and <strong>the</strong> right course<br />
<strong>of</strong> action recommended. Formal learning is not at all a prerequisite. Long hours <strong>of</strong><br />
digging out new facts may not appeal at all to <strong>the</strong> person with <strong>the</strong> gift <strong>of</strong> wisdom.” 4<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re is no reason to assume that <strong>the</strong>se utterances should be made spontaneously, without<br />
preparation and study. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Holy</strong> <strong>Spirit</strong> can illumine us to come to a deeper understanding<br />
<strong>of</strong> what we study and <strong>the</strong>re is much in Paul’s writings, and even in <strong>the</strong> teachings <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Lord Jesus, to suggest that <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>Spirit</strong>-filled utterances based upon previous Old<br />
Testament meditation.” 5