Revelation Gifts: Prophecy, Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of Spirits

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There are three types of wisdom:

  • The wisdom of God (I Corinthians 2:6-7)
  • The wisdom of the world (I Corinthians 2:6)
  • The wisdom of man (Ecclesiastes 1:16-18)

The gift of the word of wisdom is the application of knowledge that God gives you ( I Corinthians 2:6-7). This type of wisdom is a gift which cannot be gained through study or experience and should by no means try to replace them. The gift of the word of wisdom is seeing life from God's perspective. As a Christian exercises this gift, he begins to develop a fear of the Lord. This is the "beginning of wisdom" according to Proverbs 1:7.

The gift of the word of wisdom is also the revealing of prophetic future; it is speaking hidden truths of what is not known. It is a supernatural perspective to ascertain the divine means for accomplishing God's will in a given situation, and is a divinely given power to appropriate spiritual intuition in problem solving.

Furthermore, this gift involves having a sense of divine direction, being led by the Holy Spirit to act appropriately in a given set of circumstances, and rightly applying knowlege.

The gift of wisdom is the wisdom of God. It is the supernatural impartation of facts; it is not natural. You can't earn it. It is received from God through prayer (Ephesians 1:17). Basically, seeing life from God's perspective.

Examples include, Paul before the council (Acts 23:6), Jesus' answer to the question regarding taxes (Matthew 22:15-22), and the temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:1-14).

The gift of the word of wisdom works interactively with the other two revelation gifts: knowledge and discernment.

Word of Knowledge

A word of knowledge is a definite conviction, impression, or knowing that comes to you in a similitude (a mental picture), a dream, through a vision, or by a scripture that is quickened to you. It is supernatural insight or understanding of circumstances, situations, problems, or a body of facts by revelation; that is, without assistance by any human resource but solely by divine aid.

Furthermore, the gift of the word of knowledge is the transcendental revelation of the divine will and plan of God. It involves moral wisdom for right living and relationships, requires objective understanding concerning divine things in human duties, and refers to knowledge of God or of the things that belong to God, as related in the Gospel. Basically it is the supernatural comprehension of Christ and His Word.

Examples include, Noah building the Ark. (Genesis 9:24), Joshua knowing about Achan's sin (Joshua 7:10-11), and Elisha knowing that Gehazi lied to Naaman (II Kings 5:20-27).

The gifts of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge function together; knowledge is raw material and wisdom builds on it.

Discerning of Spirits

Discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to perceive the source of a spiritual manifestation and determine whether it is of God (Acts 10:30-35), of the devil (Acts 16:16-18), of man (Acts 8:18-23), or of the world. It is not mind reading, psychic phenomena, or the ability to criticize and find fault.

Discerning of spirits must be done by the power of the Holy Spirit; He bears witness with our spirit when something is or is not of God. The gift of discerning of spirits is the supernatural power to detect the realm of the spirits and their activities. It implies the power of spiritual insight - the supernatural revelation of plans and purposes of the enemy and his forces. It is a gift which protects and guards your Christian life.
Basically,
it is recognizing what is of God verses the world, the flesh, and the devil.

An examples is Paul recognizing that the girl in Philippi had a spirit of divination.

How to Test a Spirit:

You can discern or test whether or not a spirit is of God by the following three ways:

1 Observing what a person does. In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus explains that false prophets are known by their fruit - by their conduct and actions.< TD>
2 Observing whether or not a person exalts Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as Lord and Saviour (I Corinthians 12:3).
3 By listening to what a person says (I John 4:1-3). Does their confession line up with the truth of God's Word?

From http://www.christcenteredmall.com/teachings/gifts/