PROPHECY, WORDS OF WISDOM, WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE

01 | PROPHECY

The Gift of Prophecy is a divinely inspired utterance prompted by the Holy Spirit to a believing Christian for the common good and the edification of the church. [4]

The one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. Paul writes,

1 Corinthians 14:1

One who is prompted by the Holy Spirit with a prophetic gift is speaking forth the Word of God. The original Greek word for prophecy is ‘propheteia’ from pro or forth and phemi, to speak. The primary use of the word is not predictive in the sense of foretelling, but interpretive, declaring or forth-telling, the will and counsel of God. The gift of prophecy is characterized by the following: a. To speak with forthrightness and insight, especially when enabled by the Spirit of God.[5] b. To demonstrate moral boldness and uncompromising commitment to worthy values. c. To influence others in one’s arena of influence with a positive spirit of social or spiritual righteousness. [6]

[4] 1 Corinthians 12:10 - to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues

[5] Joel 2:28 - And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

[6] Hayford, J. W. (Ed.). (1997). Spirit filled life study Bible (electronic ed.)

The operation of the gift of prophecy would begin with a Spirit-filled believer declaring words to the effect of…”I believe the Lord is saying this or such and such to the church, or to this group or to this individual.” And the prophetic word would be spoken as prompted by the Holy Spirit. A New Testament example is seen in Acts 21:10+11.

After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’

Acts 21:10+11

The apostle Paul writes,

Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said…the spirits of the prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace….

I Corinthians 14:29-32

Any believer may exercise the gift of prophecy. Ideally the one who prophesies is a regular part of the local body of Christ, or is at least known to them by reputation. We are exhorted to publicly judge prophecies, because error, misuse, or the admixture of human opinion could slant the prophecy in the wrong direction.The lack of such evaluation may actually allow the prophecy to cause confusion or misdirection. [7]

In its fullest purity the gift of prophecy demands a very high order of fellowship between the vessel and its Maker; a sympathy with the Infinite that can arise only out of a life of closest communion with God. From such a communion sprang Jerremiah’s eloquent words, “Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His Word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” That is Prophecy! [8]

NOTE:

Because all three categories of gifts [Prophecy, Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge], involve some expression of "prophecy," it is helpful to differentiate between them. In this category (Rom. 12) the focus is general, characterized by that level of the prophetic gift which would belong to every believer "all flesh." The Holy Spirit’s "gift of prophecy" (I Cor. 12) refers to supernatural prompting, so much so that tongues with interpretation are equated with its operation (I Cor. 14:5). The office–gift of the prophet, which Christ gives to His church through individual ministries, is yet another expression of prophecy: those holding this of flee must meet both the Old Testament requirements of a prophet’s accuracy in his message, and the New Testament standards of life and character required of spiritual leadership. [9] [8]

02 | WORD OF WISDOM

...is a divinely inspired utterance prompted by the Holy Spirit to a believing Christian for the common good and the edification of the church The gift of the word of wisdom is characterized by the following: a. Supernatural perspective to ascertain the divine means for accomplishing God’s will in given situations. b. Divinely given power to appropriate spiritual intuition in problem solving. c. Sense of divine direction. d. Being led by the Holy Spirit to act appropriately in a given set of circumstances. e. Knowledge rightly applied: wisdom works interactively with knowledge and discernment. [10]

The operation of the gift of wisdom would begin with a Spirit-filled believer declaring words to the effect of…”I believe the Lord is saying this or such and such to the church, or to this group or to this individual.” And the word of wisdom would be spoken as prompted by the Holy Spirit.

For even knowledge without wisdom, can end in sheer fanaticism; and the proper exercise of all the other gifts of the Spirit must largely depend upon a true value being placed upon the “word of wisdom.”

Apostolic Preaching

In I Corinthians 1-3, the word “wisdom” or (sophos) in the Greek, and its cognates occur about twenty-four times, and always with a marked distinction between the “wisdom of men” and the “wisdom of God.”

Solomon wrote,

Proverbs 4:7

But are these gifts of the “word of wisdom” and the “word of knowledge” natural, or supernatural gifts? Some would have us believe that they are simply natural gifts of wisdom and knowledge that have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit and consecrated to the service of God. Such an explanation admittedly gives God the glory for our natural gifts, and rightly implies that their highest use is achieved when they are yielded to the Spirit of God for the work of the ministry. But does it fit in with the full New Testament picture? There seems to be an insuperable objection to it on the ground that these gifts are placed in the list of manifestations of the Holy Spirit and are peculiarly a part of that divine enduement of ‘power from on High” which comes to believers just because they have received the Holy Spirit. This is the insistent note of the whole passage (I

1 Corinthians 12:8

Paul especially states that he deliberately put aside that natural wisdom which he admittedly possessed and might have used, in order that he might the rather be a channel for the supernatural wisdom of the Spirit. [11] He affirms that this wisdom comes by revelation. [12]

The use of “the word of wisdom” is here shown to be particularly the preaching of Christ and the Cross, and those things which God has prepared for them that love Him. The teaching of the deep things of God; His way of salvation which the Spirit alone can search out and reveal. Such teaching appeals to the intuitional faculty. Only those who have sought to preach on these great and fundamental themes know how helpless unaided human powers always feel to deal with them adequately.

In a manifestation of the spiritual gift of the ‘word of wisdom” something flashes. There is a sense of the divine, a consciousness of an utterance transcending all the garnered stores of merely human experience. One is deeply conscious that the supremely right thing has been said, and the true course of action indicated. No further appeal is desired because the heart rests in a calm satisfaction that the will of God has been revealed.

A word to the wise should be noted: in that anyone should think twice before considering themselves a repository of the gift of wisdom or any spiritual gift for that matter. The gift implies a spoken utterance through a direct revelation of the Holy Spirit at a given moment, rather than an abiding deposit of supernatural wisdom. [13]

[11] 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 - And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

[12] 1 Corinthians 2:10 - these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

[13] Gee, Donald. Concerning Spiritual Gifts. The Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, Missouri (pp.20-24)

Word Of Knowledge

...is a divinely inspired utterance prompted by the Holy Spirit to a believing Christian for the common good and the edification of the church The gift of the word of knowledge is characterized by the following: a. Supernatural revelation of the divine will and plan. b. Supernatural insight or understanding of circumstances or a body of facts by revelation: that is, without assistance of any human resource but solely by dome aid. c. Implies a deeper and more advanced understanding of the communicated acts of God. d. Involves moral wisdom for right living and relationships. e. Requires objective understanding concerning divine things in human duties. f. May also refer to knowledge of God or of the things that belong to God, as related in the gospel. [14]

The operation of the word of knowledge would begin with a Spirit-filled believer declaring words to the effect of…”I believe the Lord is saying this or such and such to the church, or to this group or to this individual.” And the word of knowledge would be spoken as prompted by the Holy Spirit.

All knowledge is ultimately with the Lord, ‘in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It is therefore reasonable to believe that the Holy Spirit can impart a manifestation of any part of the divine “all-knowledge” at any time, as He wills. It is recognized that the deep source of every manifestation of the Spirit is in some attribute of God, and God knows all things. Therefore a revelation springing from that all-embracing knowledge can be justly described as a ‘word of knowledge.’

The relationship of wisdom and knowledge is so intimate that it provides a real difficulty in the minds of many to form a clear distinction between the spiritual gifts of the “word of wisdom” and the ‘word of knowledge.” It is helpful to keep in mind the well-known and excellent definition of wisdom as: “knowledge rightly applied.” The fact that we are now dealing with supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit does not change the essential nature of the things themselves. Wisdom is still wisdom and knowledge is still knowledge, whether supernaturally revealed or naturally acquired.

Knowledge, therefore, is the raw material that wisdom uses. Without knowledge even wisdom is baffled and limited, like a clever architect with poor building material, or a competent business man with restricted capital. Knowledge is vital.

When wisdom and knowledge are going hand in hand, as they are intended to do in the divine purpose, and as they are beautifully and significantly linked together in the gifts of the Spirit, there can come to greater blessing to the child of God than an increase of true knowledge. It is an enlarged knowledge of God in Christ that brings more abundant life. No wonder Paul prayed for the saints at Ephesus, that, though they had been already “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,” they might also receive the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.” [15]

A word of caution should be acknowledged at this point regarding false prophecy. Each of the gifts of the Spirit should arise from an intimate relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, prayer and the Word of God. Some people are quick to "declare the voice of the Lord" when it often turns out to be indigestion or their own crazy idea and not prompted by the Spirit of God. The apostle Paul wrote that

I Corinthians 14:29