The Gift Of The Word Of Wisdom Series

By: Donna J. Kazenske

1 Cor. 12:7-10 "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom, through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another the gift of faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."

The Word of Wisdom is supernatural revelation, by the Spirit of God, concerning the divine purpose in the mind and will of God. It is the God-given ability to receive, from the Holy Spirit, a revelation of what to do about a particular situation, once you know the facts.

All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural. We cannot figure them out with our human mind and human reasoning. These gifts operate and function by the power of the Holy Spirit. They have been given to the body of Christ for encouragement, comfort and edification.

The word of wisdom is a word of wisdom, a fragment of God’s wisdom. It’s not human wisdom that comes from the human intellect. It’s wisdom that comes directly from God.

The word of wisdom is not a "gift" of wisdom. It is a gift of the word of wisdom.

The word of wisdom always speaks of the future.

Let’s look at some of the purposes of the gift of the word of wisdom and see how these gifts operated in the New Testament church.

God reveals His purpose and plan through the word of wisdom:

Acts 16:9-10 - And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Lord spoke to the Apostle Paul in a night vision. He saw, by the Spirit, into the realm of the Spirit.

It’s time for the church of Jesus Christ to get out of the natural realm and begin to walk in the realm of the Spirit.

I’m sure that most of you reading this article are very familiar with the Macedonian call that is mentioned in the above Scripture. Macedonia was not on Paul’s list of places to go and preach, nor was it listed on his “things to do list.” Paul and his traveling team were headed in one direction, but the Lord intervened and stopped them dead in their tracks. Paul and his companions were trying to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of God would not permit them to do so. Thank God for His mighty hand of direction and protection upon our lives. Thank God that He still speaks, reveals and supernaturally intervenes on behalf of His people. We might have a particular plan or strategy all sketched out in our little finite minds, but God’s plans and strategies are so much better and higher than ours. Our agendas mean absolutely nothing if they are not God’s agendas.

In Acts 16:10, we see how Paul and his team immediately responded to the vision that was given to the Apostle Paul. They didn’t allow human reasoning to kick in and cause them to walk in doubt or unbelief. They didn’t ask God 101 questions concerning the vision that was given to Paul. They just responded to the call! They chose to respond to the supernatural revelation that had been given to their appointed leader for that particular time. Oh, that God would cause all of us to respond immediately to the call.

The word of wisdom revealed God’s purpose and plan to the Apostle Paul:

In Acts 9:15-16, the Lord told Ananias to go and minister to Paul, for he was a chosen vessel of God. He also said, "I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (speaking of the future).

The word of wisdom revealed God’s purpose and plan to Philip:

Acts 8:26-"Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

The angel of the Lord gave Philip specific instruction because He had a divine appointment awaiting him along the road that went down from Jerusalem to Gaza.

How many divine appointments have we missed, because we were not listening to the Holy Spirit? How many times have we been disobedient to the heavenly vision given to us by God? We could save ourselves a lot of frustration, hassle, trial and tribulation, if we would only learn to listen and obey the voice of our Lord.