Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 1 Corinthians 12:1.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; o another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healings by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 1 Corinthians 12:5-11.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
If you desire to live a joyful, fruitful, supernatural life, you cannot continue to walk according to the flesh but must walk according to the Spirit. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, I did: My Word became flesh and took on all your sins as an offering for sin, thus, I condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled once for all, being that the wages of sin is death. And when I raised Jesus from the dead with all justice satisfied and your sins gone, I raised you up with Him, for when He died to sin as your substitute you died with and in Him and when I raised Him, I raised you with Him justified, sanctified, and set apart as holy.
Walking according to the flesh is having your mind set on just the things you see, hear, and feel physically with your five senses without looking to things in the Spirit, and your focus is on things below, the world, the flesh and the devil, and not on the things above where I have seated you in Christ at My right hand. And this is a fearful and anxiety ridden way to live. It can also cause all kinds of vile behaviors against one another and even oneself—anger, depression, jealousy, pride, selfish ambition, abuse, greed, lust, idolatry, and the like. And death faces you at every turn as the end of all. But that is not what you learned in Christ. “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6.
I have given you My Word and My Spirit and you should no longer be tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, Jesus Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:14-16.
“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality or the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which [n the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Ephesians 4:17-14.
But how do you do this? In Christ, you are born again from on high, and I have taken out your stony heart and given you a new heart filled with the anointing. And I have poured My love in your heart by the gift of the Holy Spirit and made you a partaker of the divine nature. And I wrote My law of love in your heart enabling you to walk in righteous paths producing the fruit of the Spirit in your spirit. I have attached you to Myself in Jesus to receive all I have if you will only receive it. Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:16.
“If we live by the Spirit,” My apostle Paul counseled you, “let us also walk (stoixéō: from stoixos, “a row, line, or rank” – properly, walk in line, in strict accordance to a particular pace (“stride”); walk in cadence, “keep in step”) by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25. And how do you walk in the Spirit? You walk by faith in My Words above all else. But I have sent you a Helper, one by your side, to pull the helm with you, Romans 8:26, to guide you and lead you in the path of life. And He is not only with you but is in you and on you. By His ministry to you, I clothe you with power from on High. And that manifests in His grace endowments, or spiritual gifts, of which there are nine that I set forth for you in My Word. And once you know them, you will see them in operation from the beginning until now. And, best of all, you will know how to operate in them yourself and corporately with all the other members of My Son’s Body—the believers, the Church. You will desire them earnestly as you pursue love. They are LOVE gifts above all. There are given to each one individually for the benefit and profit of all. The work My plan and purpose into manifestation in the earth. They invade earth with Heaven through the Body of Christ, of which each of you who believe in My Son is a valuable and necessary member.
I counsel you not to be unaware of the spiritual gifts. And here again I set out the gifts that My Spirit distributes to you as members of the Body of Christ for the work of ministry (for you are all a royal priesthood unto Me in Christ) and the effecting of My good plans on earth—which are shalom and not evil, to give each one a future and a hope. For above all I desire that you prosper and be in good health even as your soul (mind, will, and emotions) prospers by walking in the truth. My Word is truth.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healings by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 1 Corinthians 12:5-11.
Yesterday our Life Lesson was on the gift of the Word of wisdom. That Word looks forward to what is coming, a future event, that can be as close as the next moment, or as far as the eternal. But that Word always has to do with carrying out My purpose and plan for each of you individually and all corporately. The Word I give you is often to involve you in saving and helping another to reach their true destiny in Me, but it can be a Word for you too. And My Word of wisdom can come to you as a perception in your spirit from My Spirit, as a line of Scripture that by revelation I apply to your current situation, by a dream, by a vision, by an angel, or by a prophet, but it will always line up perfectly with a Scripture that is already written.
Now let us consider the next gift I list in our passage of Scripture: the Word of knowledge. “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit.” Diversity of gifts but the same Spirit giving them all as He wills. He knows the need before you even do. And the Word of knowledge reveals a past or present fact, condition, or occurrence you could not otherwise know. On the island of Patmos, Jesus came to John in a vision and told him the condition of each of the seven churches and then gave him a Word of wisdom for each one of them. So you see the Word of knowledge leading to the Word of wisdom to the benefit of all, so that the members of those churches would be comforted and exhorted them to step up higher in their walk with Jesus. The Word of knowledge is often about a past or present fact indicating a person in need that I wish you to help. And that Word reveals either a present or a past occurrence in that person’s life. It is becoming aware of what is going on in the life of another that you otherwise could not know.
In Jesus you see all the gifts manifesting and in operation. By the Word of wisdom, He knew ahead of time that Peter would deny him three times before the cock crowed twice, and He stated so. He knew that Judas would betray Him. And He knew about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. He also operated in the Word of knowledge. He knew about the five marriages of the Samaritan woman who met Him at the well and that currently the man she was living with was not her husband. This amazed her because there was no way Jesus could have known those things in the natural, they had never met before. He also gave her a Word of wisdom about future worship. And by His Words of knowledge and wisdom, it was revealed to the woman that He was the Messiah.
And by the pool of Bethesda, Jesus knew the man had been sick a long time and he knew it was a result of sin. And once He healed him, He counseled him to stop sinning so something worse would not overtake him.
And often Jesus would answer people’s thoughts, even though they had not spoken them. This too is a Word of knowledge of a present fact you could not otherwise know but My Spirit shares with you, for I know your thoughts from afar and even before a word is on your tongue, I know the whole of it. And if you need to help someone with that, My Spirit will reveal enough to you that you can answer them.
And you see the gifts in operation all through the Book of Acts. And not only in the apostles who had been with Jesus but with new believers. When My risen Son revealed Himself to Paul, then Saul, on the road to Damascus, the brightness of the glory blinded Paul’s physical eyes and they led him into Damascus. The Word of knowledge was then imparted to a disciple at Damascus named Ananias by Jesus in a vision, and what was that Word? “Get up and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” Acts 9:10-12. And here in the Word of knowledge you also see the Word of wisdom in the instruction to lay his hands upon Saul in order to heal his eyes. And Saul (Paul) as well had a Word of knowledge and of wisdom in a vision when he saw Ananias come and lay his hands upon him. He thus was receptive to Ananias, knowing it was from Me for his healing.
Ananias questioned this as he had heard that Saul was coming to Damascus to arrest those who called upon the Name of Jesus, but the next Word that came to him from Jesus in the vision was a Word of wisdom, telling of the future, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:15-16. So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. Acts 9:17-19. Words of comfort came from Words of knowledge and wisdom, as well as divine healing.
And when in the early Christian community, a couple sold their land and came to join the community, they told the apostles that they were giving them all the money they had from the sale but in reality they lied and held money back for themselves. But Peter had a Word of knowledge and uncovered their lie, upon which each fell dead at his feet. And what did Peter tell the husband? “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Acts 5:3-4. He saw it as lying directly to the Holy Spirit while the spirit of the evil one filled the man’s heart.
In the Old Testament you see the Word of knowledge as well as the Word of wisdom in frequent operation. Be mindful of course that these gifts were given by My Spirit being upon them but not in them as Jesus had not died or been glorified as yet. And the Spirit only came upon those with special ministries, such as the prophet, the priest, and the king That is why you see all the gifts manifest in the Old Covenant except the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues. That gift comes from the fountain of living water bubbling up to eternal life within you, the Spirit in you.
Do you remember when David sinned with Bathsheba it was an unknown affair but the prophet Nathan had a Word of knowledge given him and he went and confronted David with his sin, bringing David to repentance and restoration.
And consider when Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was healed from leprosy at the word from Elisha, he tried to give Elisha articles of value, but Elisha refused. Elisha’s servant Gehazi thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” He said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.’” Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him. When he came to the mountain, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house. He thought no one knew what he had done. But I gave Elisha a Word of knowledge and he saw in the spirit the whole episode as if he were there observing. He went and confronted Gehazi with it, who tried to deny having done anything, but Elisha had seen it and justice was done. 2 Kings 5:20-27. A hypocrite was revealed. Even servants of the prophets can be tempted by the evil one. Be careful.
My prophet Samuel had a Word of knowledge which led to a Word of wisdom that he was to go and anoint one of the sons of Jesse as king. He did not know Jesse or his sons. “Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:1. But notice that I did not tell him which one until he had gone to Bethlehem and went through all seven sons present and had to inquire if there was another. It is a Word that you follow, and then you get another Word, and another until you achieve the goal for which I sent it. 1 Samuel 16:6-13.
There are many more incidents of the Word of knowledge but My Spirit always bestows it for a purpose to help, instruct, exhort, work justice, bring healing and comfort, or bring salvation to another. And there may be times My Spirit gives you a vision of something that occurred in your own past that you had forgotten or suppressed that needs to be uncovered to show you what is the root of the problem you are in now so you can rectify it.
Walk in the Spirit and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts as you pursue love. It is the exciting life of excellence for the profit of all. Think of Philip in Samaria. He was one who waited on tables to give food in the early community. But he went out to preach the good news of Jesus and during that time an angel I sent spoke a Word of knowledge to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) Philip just knew he a word to go to that road. So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” This time the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip. Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him but went on his way rejoicing. The following of the Word of knowledge led to the salvation of an important contact from Ethiopia that would take the Word back there happened because Philip had followed the Word spoken to him first by the angel and then by the Spirit. And the Spirit then took Philip to Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
I love you. I have given you the Holy Spirit and He gives you gifts. Philip was not one of he twelve but believed in Jesus by their Word. So do you. Would you like adventures like he had? You can have them, for one and the same Spirit gives the gifts to each as He wills for the profit of all. Make yourself available.