We have seen the gifts that Jesus gave to the church, gifted men empowered by the Holy Spirit. And we looked at apostles and prophets, who laid down the foundation for the church to be built upon. As those two ministries passed off the scene we now see God give evangelists, pastor-teachers, and teachers "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13.

In this study we are going to be looking at the gifts of the Holy Spirit, what they are for and how they are used. Specifically we are going to be looking at the word of wisdom. So lets begin reading in I Corinthians chapter 12, verse 1. We read "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant...There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 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 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. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." I Corinthians 12:1, 4-11.

In these verses we see 9 gifts given by the Holy Spirit. In saying that, please understand that this is not an exhaustive list, we will pick up more in Romans chapter 12, as well as what we have seen in Ephesians chapter 4, where Christ gave gifted men to the church.

Now too often we see these gifts exercised in such a way that they profit the person doing them, and many times they are profiting the flesh. Paul is telling us that these gifts are for the profit of all, except the gift of tongues which does edify the person speaking them. Understand this, the Holy Spirit gives these gifts to the church not as some toys to be played with, but they are tools to be used for the profit of all!

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 4:7 "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom..." How important that is for the days we are living in. Knowledge is the gathering together, the accumulation of facts and information. Wisdom, on the other hand, is the proper application of that knowledge. There are a lot of very intelligent people out there who are very unwise. They have all the information and they don’t apply it correctly to their lives.

One example of this is seen in the highly educated men and women in fields like biology, physics, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, and-so-on, who take all the information they have accumulated, and then say life arose out of spontaneous generation, life from non-life, to the multi-faceted life forms we have today by a random process that took millions and millions of years. By their application of the knowledge they have on the complexity of life, they are very unwise in believing this theory called evolution.

On the other hand, someone who has a high-school education can look at the complex variety of life, take that information they have, and come to the conclusion that there must be a designer and creator, there must be a God. This person is very wise. It is as Psalm 19:1-6 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat." God is seen through His creation!

Even Paul, in Romans 1:18-23 speaks of those who turn from God’s revealed truth, and they are willfully suppressing what God is showing them. He said "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man-- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

Creation itself shows us God, we call it general revelation. But because they have rejected the truths of God, God gave their lofty thoughts to become worthless. We are to use wisdom wisely, as Solomon admonishes us in Proverbs 15:2, "The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness."

Now as we study the Scriptures, there are four types of wisdom spoken of. There is natural wisdom, evil wisdom, God’s wisdom, and the word of wisdom. Now before we discuss what the word of wisdom is, lets look at what these others are all about.

1. NATURAL WISDOM

We might call this common sense. For instance, as you are walking through the woods you come across this cute little creature that is black with a white stripe down its back and you recognize that it is not a cat but a skunk. That is knowledge. Wisdom will tell you to keep your distance from this creature. Another example is seen in fire. Knowledge will tell you it is hot, but wisdom will tell you not to put your hand in it.

An example of this is seen in II Samuel chapter 20, as Sheba tries to lead a revolt against king David. And as Joab goes after Sheba, he corners him in the city of Abel of Beth Maachah. And as Joab and his men prepare to storm the city a wise woman pleaded with Joab to stop, and she asks him what they want. And Joab tells her that he wants Sheba and he will then stop the assault. Her response is found in verse 22 of II Samuel chapter 20. We read "Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem." Thus, natural wisdom is the application of human knowledge!

2. EVIL WISDOM

Many people, even Christians are naive about this. We must understand that Satan is feeding us all kinds of misinformation to confuse us, to destroy us, and he is very good at it. We can see a good example of his crafty ways in Genesis chapter 3, as he tempts Eve into disobeying God. He makes two interesting statements to her, "Has God indeed said", challenging God’s word, trying to confuse Eve. He was undermining what God has said. Secondly, he said "You will not surely die", contradicting what God has said would happen if they disobeyed Him. And the result is found in verses 6 and 7 of Genesis chapter 3. We read "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings."

Their innocence was gone as they were influenced by misinformation, and they acted in a way we might call evil wisdom, based upon evil knowledge!

3. GOD’S WISDOM

This is not the gift of wisdom, but it is the wisdom that is exercised according to God’s Word. Psalm 19:7 tells us "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." God’s Word makes even us simpletons wise if we obey! You see, the Scriptures tell us about God, who He is, what He is like, what He expects of us. That is information or knowledge. We must then take what God has said and apply that to our lives, that is wisdom.

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." This is where it starts, a right relationship with God, hating evil just as God hates evil. Again in Proverbs we read "For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:6. God gives to each of us this wisdom, it is available for us all, and then we must apply that to our lives - that is God’s wisdom that has been imparted to us through His Word!

4. WORD OF WISDOM

This is a supernatural gift that the Holy Spirit gives us at various times in our life to help us answer a question, solve a problem, defuse a crisis, and-so-on. And many times as this gift is exercised we see the critics silenced, problems resolved, and people amazed at what was said.

Now this is not a gift that you can turn on and off like a light switch whenever you want to. Nor is it a gift that we have 24 hours a day. But the Holy Spirit gives it to us in certain situations as He wills. In saying that, we are going to look at several examples of this gift being exercised in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

WORD OF WISDOM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

A. SOLOMON - I KINGS 3

God gave to Solomon Godly wisdom, and yet, we also see Solomon using the word of wisdom, given to him by the Holy Spirit to settle a very difficult problem that was brought before him

You may remember the story of the two harlots that came before king Solomon with a very difficult situation that they wanted him to solve. These two women dwelt in the same house and one of them had a child, and three days later the other gave birth and had a child. And one night, as they were sleeping, one of the mothers rolled over onto her baby and killed him by accident. So she got up in the middle of the night and switched baby’s with the other women, unbeknown to her.

When morning came, as this woman awoke to nurse her baby, she found he was dead. Can you imagine how she felt. But after that initial shock, she began to examine the baby and came to the conclusion that this was not her child, but the other woman’s. And so the two arrived before the king for him to decide which one this live baby belonged to and which one the dead baby belonged to.

A very difficult situation to say the least. And Solomon has a good grasp of the situation, both the women are claiming this live baby as theirs. What is he going to do to resolve it? What can he do? Human wisdom is of no real help here. They didn’t have DNA testing or even finger- print analysis to figure this one out.

Listen to what happened as Solomon spoke beginning in verse 25 of I Kings chapter 3. We read "And the king said, ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.’ Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, ‘O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!’ But the other said, ‘Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.’ So the king answered and said, ‘Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.’ And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice." I Kings 3:25-28.

Solomon recognized that the real mother would rather have her baby alive and cared for by this woman than cut in two. That was the word of wisdom that God gave to Solomon and we see that it resolved the problem and everyone was amazed at what Solomon said.

B. JOSEPH - GENESIS 41

Remember the story of Pharaoh and the dream he had. As he stood by the river seven fat cows came up out of the river and grazed in the meadow. Then another seven cows came up out of the river and they were emaciated, and they ate up the fat cows. At this point Pharaoh woke up, but then fell back to sleep and began to dream again. This time seven plump heads of grain came up, and then seven thin heads which devoured the plump heads. And he woke up again, and by morning he was very troubled by these dreams.

As he shares this with the butler, the butler remembers a man named Joseph, a Hebrew, who was in prison and he could interpret dreams. And so Joseph is called for, and he explains the dreams to Pharaoh. The dreams represent seven years of plenty, bountiful harvests, that will be followed by seven years of severe famine. Here Joseph was exercising the gift of the word of knowledge, which many times goes hand-in-hand with the word of wisdom.

And Joseph continues on in verse 33 of Genesis chapter 41 by saying "‘Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.’ So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?’ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.’" Genesis 41:33-40.

Pharaoh saw how Joseph applied the knowledge he had received wisely, and made him prime minister over Egypt. Joseph exercised the word of wisdom that resolved a problem and the people were amazed!

WORD OF WISDOM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

A. JESUS QUESTIONED ABOUT TRIBUTE MONEY - LUKE 20

The religious leaders always tried to catch Jesus by the words He said, and in Luke chapter 20 it was no different. The question they presented before Jesus was simple, "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Luke 20:22.

This was a no win question to answer. If Jesus said yes, it was lawful, then the Jews in the crowd would walk away, for they hated Rome and looked for any way to separate themselves from Roman authority. If He said "No, don’t pay taxes to Caesar", they would alert the Roman authorities that Jesus is a rebel, and He would be dealt with. It was a no win situation. It was like being asked "Have you stopped beating your wife?" If you answer "Yes", you are implying that you have beat your wife before. If you answer "No", they you are implying that you are still beating your wife!

But notice what Jesus said. We read beginning in verse 23 of Luke chapter 20, "But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, ‘Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?’ They answered and said, ‘Caesar's.’ And He said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.’ But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent." Luke 20:23-26.

Notice the word of wisdom working in Jesus. They were stunned! The word of wisdom given to Jesus in this situation solved the problem, silenced the critics, and amazed the people.

B. JESUS IS CONFRONTED BY THE SADDUCEES - MATTHEW 22

The Sadducees were the liberals of their day. They did not believe in miracles or the resurrection. And so they pose this question to Jesus, which is just plain stupid. It is like asking the question "Can God make a rock so big He can’t lift it?" If you answer it "Yes" or "No", then God can’t do all things. You see, just a stupid question. The Sadducees gave to Jesus this situation: a woman marries a man and he dies not having any children. And his brother marries her and he dies before having any children. And this happens with 7 of this mans brothers, all dying not having any children. First of all I would like to know what she is putting in their drinks. But in the end, this woman dies also. And the question they ask Jesus is this, "Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her." Matthew 22:28.

Now Jesus tells them that they are ignorant, that they don’t understand the Scriptures. Notice the wisdom of Jesus here in answering their question. The Sadducees only believed the first 5 books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy, those were the only books inspired to them. So Jesus speaks to them out of that portion of the Scriptures. He says beginning in verse 29 of Matthew chapter 22, "...‘You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’ And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching." Matthew 22:29-33.

Jesus shows them that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. He was not the God of Abraham, but He says "I am the God of Abraham". Again, the problem was solved, the critics were silenced, and the people were amazed as Jesus spoke forth the word of wisdom.

C. JESUS CONFRONTS THE PHARISEES - MATTHEW 22

The Sadducees and the Pharisees didn’t get along to well, and when they saw the Sadducees put to silence, they gathered around to watch and probably gloat about it. But Jesus comes and asks them a question. You see, they lived in a patriarchal society, where the father was always the leader of the family, a father would never call his son lord, but it would be the other way around. And the religious leaders believed that the Messiah would be a man, and not God incarnate.

So Jesus says to them, "...‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"?’ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,; how is He his Son?’ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore." Matthew 22:42-46.

You see, the only way David can call his son "lord" is if he was more honored, and being the Son of God He was more honored than David, and thus, David calls Jesus, the Messiah, Lord. The result of this word of wisdom is the critics were silenced, and the people amazed!

D. THE APOSTLES SOLVE A CHURCH DISPUTE - ACTS 6

In Acts chapter 6 we see the church growing, and one of the programs they had was a food pantry to help out the widows. Now a problem arose when some of the people felt the Hellenists Jewish widows were being treated unfairly, not like the Jewish ones were. The Hellenists Jews were those Jews who lived outside Palestine who spoke the Grecian language and lived like the Greeks. Now the Jews living in Palestine looked down upon them, and we need to remember, the apostles were part of those from Palestine. Now was there a real problem or not? We don’t know, but the issue is they felt like they were being cheated. It is out of this there could have been a huge church division!

Notice what takes place as the apostles are given a word of wisdom in this situation. Beginning in verse 2 of Acts chapter 6 we read, "Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, ‘It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’ And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people." Acts 6:2-8.

How wise this was. They have the Hellenist Jews pick out seven godly men to oversee this ministry, and they pick seven Hellenist Jews to do the work. And we see the problem solved, the critics silenced, and the church grow!

E. JAMES SETTLES THE GENTILE ISSUE IN THE CHURCH - ACTS 15

The Judaizers would come into an area after Paul preached salvation by grace, and they said that Paul was right but you also had to be a Jew, you had to keep the law of Moses. And there arose some dispute over this issue, and thus, the case was presented to the church in Jerusalem, in which James was the head of. And James listened to what Peter, Paul, and Barnabas had to say, and then he gave his recommendation regarding this issue, if gentiles need to keep the law of Moses or not.

And James says to the gentiles that they don’t have to keep the law of Moses as part of the bases of their salvation for the Jews couldn’t even keep it. And they sent a letter to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas and others, to be read before all. And in verse 30 of Acts chapter 15 we see what transpired. We read "So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement." Acts 15:30-31. Notice, the problem was solved, and these people rejoiced over the words that were spoken by James, as God gave him a word of wisdom to speak forth in a very difficult situation.

F. PAUL BEFORE THE COUNCIL - ACTS 23

Remember when Paul caused a riot in Jerusalem, as the people grabbed him, thinking he was teaching people to negate the words of Moses, that he was telling people to turn against the Jews, and he was accused of bringing gentiles into the temple. Before they could harm him the Roman soldiers rescued him, and as they were bringing him up to the Fortress of Antonio, on the temple mount, Paul asks to speak one more time to the people.

And as Paul speaks of Jesus and all that He has done, the people listened until he said that God told him to forget about going to the Jews, for they rejected what He had to give them, and instead, present it to the gentiles. At this point, when Paul said "gentiles", they went ballistic. And Paul was hauled into the barracks by the soldiers before they killed him.

The next day they brought Paul before the religious leaders to see what he was being accused of, what wrong he had done. And we read beginning in verse 30 of Acts chapter 22, "The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them. Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, ‘Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.’ And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, ‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?’ And those who stood by said, ‘Do you revile God's high priest?’ Then Paul said, ‘I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!’ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection-- and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, ‘We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.’ Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks." Acts 22:30-23:1-10.

God gave Paul a word of wisdom in this situation. As I said before, the Sadducees don’t believe in the resurrection, that is why they are sad-u-see! But the Pharisees, who were very conservative, did. And thus, Paul says he is a Pharisee who had a hope in the resurrection of the dead. Now the Pharisees saw nothing wrong with that, but the Sadducees did, and so a conflict broke out between these two religious groups, and Paul is removed from the situation by the Roman commander, leaving these religious leaders fighting amongst themselves, as if they were on trial!

As we have seen, the word of wisdom is a supernatural power to speak with divine insight, whether in solving difficult problems, defending the faith, resolving conflicts, giving practical advice, or pleading one’s case before hostile authorities. It is a gift that is given during certain situations, not something we have all the time, and it is given by the Holy Spirit as He sees fit.

I wish I had this gift more often, but when I have found myself in some difficult situations, the Holy Spirit has given me words to speak that have solved problems, healed relationships, and I rejoice in that. I know that it is not my superior wisdom that got me through, ask my wife about that. But it truly was a word of wisdom given to me in a situation when human intellect was of no help, but the Holy Spirit’s wisdom was!

As I bring this study to a close, look at Colossians 2:1-3, which says "For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

It is the Lord that has this wisdom and He imparts it to us, and if any of us is lacking in wisdom, listen carefully to what James has to say. In James 1:5-6 we read "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."

James is most likely speaking of Godly wisdom that we can learn as we walk with the Lord and study His word, applying those lessons to our life. But I also think he is speaking of the word of wisdom, a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit that is given to us. Thus, if you lack wisdom, ask God, and believe that He will supply you with that wisdom you will need in a given situation that will be used to solve a problem, silence the critics, and the people will look in amazement at the wisdom that God has given you in that situation, and the Lord will get the glory. As Proverbs 4:7 says "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding."