As we take a look at the first gift, a word of wisdom, I remind you that the gifts of the Spirit must be kept in the context of a united Body. The gifts are for the enrichment of believers, the growth of the community, the maturing of the saints. I point out to you these simple words from Paul that he wrote to the Corinthians in his first letter, in what we call chapter 12, the third verse:
“except by the Holy Spirit.”
There is a huge difference between an ability or talent, and the Spirit enabled gifts. We thank the Lord for someone's musical ability that they offer to him in service, but it does not have the same life changing effect of a Spirit given gift.
We need to also remember that everything, whether gifts, ministry or activities all come from the same source : Yahweh. And they are produced by him in everyone:
“There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; and there are different ministries and the same Lord; and there are different activities but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.”
And we need to keep emphasizing the “everyone” and the purpose is for the good of everyone:
“A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good.”
Now that all this is clear to us we can pursue the understanding of this first gift, always keeping it in the context of community.
“A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person.”
To put this as simplistically as possible, you have most likely experienced this gift in yourself. We all experience some aspect of the gifts from time to time without possessing the gift because all these things are at work in us. They are at work in us because Jesus is at work in us, perfecting us for our eternal home. A word of wisdom is experienced in that moment when you suddenly understand a portion of scripture, or perhaps a Kingdom principle that shifts you and you know how to apply it in your daily living.
There are times when this happens to us as we meditate on the scripture or sit quietly in Father’s presence. But it can also happen as someone who operates in this gift is explaining Scripture to us. It isn’t the person’s ability to teach but instead the power in the gift that opens us to grasp this truth or perhaps a key of the Kingdom. But the gift also goes beyond simple teaching.
A word of wisdom is also demonstrated through someone who shows us how a truth gets applied to our daily living. It causes the Lord’s word to be a living word, affecting our daily life by becoming part of who we are and the decisions we make. Again, this is something you may experience directly from the Spirit but there are other times, perhaps when we are closed to him, that he will send someone operating in this gift, to move us to a new level.
It’s important to stress here that this wisdom is not as many people understand wisdom to be in this world. It is not based on human understanding or insight. It is not about how this world works but about how the Kingdom works and how we live the Kingdom in this world. A word of wisdom opens our minds to Father’s ways, how he wants us to live in relationship in this world, and how we can demonstrate the Kingdom to this world. It is a powerful gift that works in tandem with the rest of the gifts to move us into a Spirit empowered life.
This is fantastic because we need to learn to trust the Lord and to stop leaning on our own understanding. This gift will shift our perspective so that we see with the eyes of our King. Remember, the gifts are for the enrichment of believers, the growth of the community, the maturing of the saints.
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