In this study on the Holy Spirit we are going to look at the gift that the Holy Spirit gives to the body of Christ that is used for the profit, the benefit of all. And the reality is, all the spiritual gifts are to be used for the profit of the body. But the gift we are going to be looking at in this study is the word of knowledge and our text is going to come from I Corinthians chapter 12, and lets begin reading in 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.

Again, Paul does not want us to be ignorant of these things and yet when you look at the church today, that is exactly what we are seeing many times. Some feel that this gift, the word of knowledge is at our disposal anytime we want. Kind of a psychic-hotline with God. But Paul speaks contrary to that kind of teaching for he says that the Holy Spirit is "distributing to each one individually as He wills." That is important to understand, we don’t control this gift but the Holy Spirit will impart a word of knowledge to us as He sees fit in a given situation.

Others look at the gifts of the Spirit as something that was given to the first century church, but are not in operation today. I again disagree with this for a healthy church will exercise these gifts for these gifts are to build up, they will benefit the body of Christ. Thus, knowledge to them is just learned spiritual information as you study the Word of God and walk in His ways. Kind of a maturing process, and that is important for us, we should grow and mature in the Lord, but that is not what the word of knowledge is speaking of and you will see that as we continue in this study. And you will see how this gift is still in operation today.

First, let me give you a definition of what this word of knowledge is all about. It is supernatural information that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit, things we could not know through natural acquisition or study. The Holy Spirit gives us divine knowledge regarding a person or a situation that we could in no way obtain on our own. Think of it this way, God is the transmitter, He is sending the information to us, and we are the receivers of that information.

I think the key thought is the word "word" or LOGOS in the Greek. It is a principle or concept or teaching, and not necessarily just one word. This is not a vast reservoir of information that we can draw from at will. It is a limited piece of information that will solve a problem, silence the critics, expose a sin, encourage a person, and-so-on. It is supernatural knowledge that the Holy Spirit gives to us as He wills.

We are going to look at both Old Testament and New Testament examples of this gift in operation and then we will look at this gift in operation in the church today. You see, many times this gift is flowing so naturally that we don’t even recognize it or if we do, it is usually long after the fact. But, there are the other times where God gives us a word of knowledge about a given situation that is so incredible to us that we may want to dismiss it, we can’t even believe it. And many times we do, only to find out that what God was saying did come to pass just as He said it would.

WORD OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Besides Jesus, Elisha the prophet seems to have exercised this gift more than anyone else. God spoke to him so powerfully that he came to expect to receive from the Lord words dealing with various situations. He thought of it as common that God would give to him a word of knowledge, and when He didn’t, Elisha was surprised!

1. SYRIA’S WAR PLANS - II KINGS 6:8-12

At this point of time the kingdom of Israel was divided into the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And Syria’s leader, Ben-Hadad, is preparing to invade Israel, the Northern Kingdom. And as they made their battle plans, God have Elisha a word of knowledge of where they were going to strike, and he told the king of Israel, and the attack was halted. And this happened several times to Ben-Hadad and his Syrian army.

Finally, Ben-Hadad put two and two togther and came up with four! And more importantly, he felt that there must be a spy in his army, a traitor who was sensitive to this information and then he gave that information to Israel. It had to be a spy, and Ben-Hadad demanded to know who this traitor was! We read in verse 12 of II Kings chapter 6, "And one of his servants said, ‘None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.’" In other words, you have no secrets, for Elisha knows what you say even the words you speak in secret, the words you speak in your bedroom are known to him. God gave to Elisha a word of knowledge.

2. GEHAZI’S SECRET REVEALED - II KINGS 5:20-27

You may remember the story of Naaman, who was a commander in the Syrian army, a good man, and yet he had leprosy. And on one of his raids into Israel he captures an Israeli girl and made her a slave in his home, caring for his wife. And she informs Naaman’s wife that if only Naaman would go and see Elisha, he would be healed of this condition.

Word quickly got to Naaman who informed the Syrian king, who then allowed Naaman to go and see Elisha. And as he arrived, Elisha did not even go out to meet him, but sent his servant Gehazi to tell Naaman to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Well Naaman became very angry, and he began to leave. In Syria he was a respected man and here he was not honored at all. His ego was hurt. And then to wash in the dirty Jordan River seemed foolish, and so he began to leave.

And as he was leaving the servant of Naaman said "...‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?’" II Kings 5:13. So Naaman humbled himself, dipped seven times in the Jordan River and was healed of the leprosy. In fact his skin was like that of a baby’s! And Naaman wanted to pay Elisha for this. But Elisha refused the offer, and Naaman departed a healed man.

Now Naaman and his servant had only traveled a short distance when Gehazi, Elisha’s servant caught up with him, telling him that Elisha changed his mind. Gehazi told Naaman that two young men have come and they could use the money and change of clothes. He asked for $384,000, and I guess that would take care of anyone’s needs. But Naaman is so thankful for what has happened to him that he gives Gehazi double of what he asked for. As Gehazi returned home, he hid the clothes and the money and then he returned to Elisha as if nothing happened.

Lets pick up the story in II Kings chapter 5, beginning in verse 25. We read "Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, ‘Where did you go, Gehazi?’ And he said, ‘Your servant did not go anywhere.’ Then he said to him, ‘Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.’ And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow." II Kings 5:25-27. God gave Elisha a word of knowledge, showing not only what Gehazi had done, but also the motives behind his actions!

3. SHUNAMMITE’S SON HEALED - II KINGS 4

In this story Elisha travels to Shunem where he was allowed to lodge in this families home, and this husband and wife had no children. And Elisha tells the wife that this time next year they will have a son, which came to pass.

One day, as the child had grown, he and his dad where out in the fields working. And the son had a terrible headache, and dad turfed him over to mom to care for him while he went back to work. By the time she brought him home, within a few hours he died. And now she goes to Mount Carmel to find Elisha the prophet. And she was angry with him for doing this to her, giving her a son, and then taking him away so quickly. And in the end, God does use Elisha to heal this boy, raise him from the dead, so there is a happy ending. But in this story I want you to notice something which I find very interesting.

Lets pick up the story in II Kings chapter 4, beginning in verse 25. We read "And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Look, the Shunammite woman!. Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ And she answered, ‘It is well.’ Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, ‘Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me.’" II Kings 4:25-27.

As you read these verses Elisha is surprised that the Lord has not revealed to him what was going on in this woman’s heart. He didn’t know why she was coming, if there was something wrong. That tells me that we can’t just tap into this information, this knowledge whenever we want, but the Holy Spirit will give to us a word of knowledge according to His will.

THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

In the New Testament we see the Word of knowledge exercised by Jesus, but not exclusively, as we will see. And as this gift was working in the life of Jesus, it will also work in us, as the Holy Spirit reveals to us these things He desires us to know.

1. REVELATION TO NATHANAEL - JOHN 1:43-51

As Philip accepts the invitation to follow Jesus, he goes and tells Nathanael, who is very skeptical of this man named Jesus. And as they begin waking, Philip and Nathanael run into Jesus, who says to them beginning in John chapter 1, verse 47 "...‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do You know me?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And He said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’" John 1:47-51.

Obviously that fig tree was a good distance away, a place where no one was able to see him sitting, and Jesus spoke of what Nathanael was doing, and it changed Nathanael’s heart. And Jesus not only told him where he was, but what he was reading, the Scriptures. Specifically the book of Genesis where Jacob has the vision of the ladder with angels ascending and descending upon it, and Jesus says that this bridge is pointing to Him, Jesus has bridged that gap between God and man. Jesus exercised the word of knowledge in His life.

2. WOMAN BY THE WELL IN SAMARIA - JOHN 4

You remember the story, Jesus encounters the woman by the well in Samaria, and she is giving back to Jesus some cute little answers to His questions. But she missed the point, Jesus was dealing with a spiritual issue, she was looking at it as a physical issue. And beginning in verse 16 of John chapter 4 we read "Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.’" John 4:16-19.

Jesus, in speaking a word of knowledge, cut right to the heart of the issue, exposing her sin and her emptiness. The word of knowledge can do that. And this woman’s life is changed, she turns to Jesus and then calls the men of the city to hear what she has heard. She begins to evangelize!

3. JESUS KNEW LAZARUS WAS DEAD - JOHN 11:11-17

In John chapter 11 Jesus is told by the friends of Mary and Martha that their brother, Jesus’ friend, Lazarus was sick. But in verse 14 Jesus said to them "Lazarus is dead." God gave Jesus a word of knowledge, showing that not only was Lazarus dead at this point, but he would not remain dead, and that as Lazarus was raised from the dead, God would be glorified.

4. ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA - ACTS 5:1-11

In Acts chapter 5 we see the first instance of someone in the church being slain in the Spirit, and as you will see, this was not a good thing! In the church people were giving to help others, selling property and possessions to help out. And Ananias and Sapphira wanted to join in, maybe they wanted the recognition, we don’t know for sure. So they sold a possession and they gave some of the profit to the church. And there is nothing wrong with that. The problem arose when they lied and said they gave all the money to the church.

And when Ananias came before Peter, God gave to Peter a word of knowledge, exposing the lie, and Ananias fell down dead. Now around 3 hours later his wife shows up, and we read beginning in verse 8 of Acts chapter 5, "And Peter answered her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?’ She said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things." Acts 5:8-11. God was using the word of knowledge to keep the church pure!

5. SIMON THE SORCERER IS EXPOSED - ACTS 8:18-24

Samaria was the place where Jesus encountered the woman by the well, and as she turned to Jesus, she brought many from her city to meet Him. Now Philip is in Samaria and people are getting saved. As the news spreads of what is happening in Samaria, the church in Jerusalem send Peter and John to see if they could help out. And when they arrive they laid hands on these new believers, and the Holy Spirit came upon them.

Watching all of this was Simon the sorcerer, and he wanted that kind of power. But, beginning in verse 20, of Acts chapter 8 we read "But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.’" Acts 8:20-23.

Literally, what Peter is telling Simon is "You and your money can go to Hell!" Probably not politically correct today, but it did nail Simon, or should I say the Holy Spirit nailed him. God revealed to Peter what was going on in Simon’s heart, bitterness and iniquity that were keeping him for a relationship with God. And his response to what Peter told him was "...‘Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.’" Acts 8:24. God used the word of knowledge to pierce Simon’s heart!

6. PAUL’S JOURNEY TO ROME - ACTS 27

As Paul was heading to Rome to appear before Caesar to plead his case before him, not on a cruise ship, but as a prisoner, he warned the people on the boat in Acts 27:10, "...‘Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.’" But at this point, they did not want to listen to Paul, but they will change their minds as we shall see.

Now the weather started getting rough. The tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the ship would be lost! Or so they thought! Actually it was not going to be their wisdom or their knowledge that is going to get them through this storm alive, but God’s.

We can pick up the story, as the storm is relentless upon them, in verse 21 of Acts chapter 27. We read "But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, ‘Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.’" Acts 27:21-26.

Paul is telling them not to fear, their lives would be spared, but the ship will be lost. And he had confidence that God had spoken to him, giving him a word of wisdom for this situation he was in. And we see not one man lost his life, just as God said through Paul.

THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE CHURCH TODAY

To deny the operation of this gift today is to deny what the Scriptures have to say and you must also deny the many examples we see of this gift being exercised in the church today. I just want to share with you a couple of examples of this working in the church today to show you what I mean.

1. FRIENDS SUICIDE THOUGHTS EXPOSED

Shortly after I got saved, a friends son came to church, and he was a troubled young man. He had contemplated suicide, and that was what was on his mind right now. As my pastor began teaching, somewhere in the middle of his teaching, he got off on a tangent regarding suicide. It really didn’t fit in with the text, but off he went. And as he spoke it nailed this young man right where he was at. In fact I had become uncomfortable because I was thinking this kid must think I called the pastor and told him to teach on this subject because he was coming to the church that day. Not at all. The Holy Spirit gave pastor Phil a word of knowledge that flowed so naturally that unless you knew the situation, you would not see the gift in operation.

2. WORD OF KNOWLEDGE OF BROTHERS WHEREABOUTS

Pastor Chuck tells the story of "a Korean lady who was separated from her brother when her homeland was divided into north and south. He was in the north, she was in the south, and they had lost contact for some 40 years. One day the Lord started prompting her with a new concern for her brother, so she began praying that somehow God would help her find him if he were still alive."

"She heard that he had been sent to Manchuria, so she prayed again that the Lord would help her contact her brother. While she was in prayer, the Lord gave her a phone number in Manchuria. She called that number and her brother answered! Just recently this woman returned from a trip to visit her brother. Before she left, the Lord had showed her a vision of her brother’s house. When she arrived in town she quickly recognized the house she had been shown, and she was reunited with her brother! That’s the word of knowledge – a marvelous gift of God." (Chuck Smith, Living Water, p. 112).

3. EXPOSING A FALSE PROPHET

Again, Pastor Chuck tells the story of how on "One Sunday night I was talking about how to identify a false prophet. ‘There are a lot of paper missionaries out there,’ I said. ‘They live in some of the most beautiful areas of the world, and take candy out to the villages and honk their car horn. When the little kids come running, they shoot pictures of them reaching out for the sweets. Then they’ll send letters back home, along with pictures of huge crowds of kids, and say, ‘Recently we were at this village passing out Bible tracts. Look how eager the children are to receive. And God is blessing our ministry.’ And their plea? ‘Keep your support up.’ Yet these ‘missionaries’ do nothing at all. They’re retired but still use a mailing list to deceive the people back here in the states.’

"I continued, ‘Some right around here have these paper ministries. They have their mailing list which they use to bleed people every month. They live on Lido Island, drive white Cadillac convertibles and wear white wing tipped shoes. They live a high style life, but they don’t have any real ministry at all.’"

"The next morning I go an irate call. My secretary said, ‘This guy sounds awful mad. He wants to talk to you.’ So I replied, ‘Put him on.’ As soon as I picked up the phone, the man spat out, ‘I want you to know that I have a legitimate ministry.’"

"‘What are you talking about?’ I asked."

"‘You know what I’m talking about!’ he shouted. ‘Last night you were telling the people that my ministry wasn’t legitimate. I live down on Lido Island. I drive that Cadillac convertible. But I have a ministry. It’s a legitimate ministry. I want you to know that.’"

"‘Wait a minute!’ I replied. ‘I’ve never heard of you. I don’t know you. I was just making up a hypothetical case. But if I were you, I would ask the Lord just how legitimate your ministry really is.’"

"At the time I gave that illustration, I thought I was drawing a word picture out of thin air. But not so. It was the exercise of the gift of the word of knowledge, and it nailed that guy to the wall. I even described him right down to his white wing tipped shoes!" (Chuck Smith, Living Water, pp. 113-114).

4. HERE AT CALVARY

Now I don’t have this gift to often but when I do see it exercised many times it is through the teaching of the Word of God. As I am teaching, something I say exposes or reveals something that is going on in your life that I would have no idea you were dealing with that from the natural realm. And sometimes it is so accurate, so piercing that it seems like someone called me up and told me or wrote me a letter.

Let me say this, most of the time, as I am teaching the Word, I am not even aware of what I am saying is speaking to you until after the service when you come and talk with me and tell me how you were dealing with that situation this week or you were going through that same problem, or living in that sin and are convicted. Now don’t become terrified with this gift, it is not like I know everything everyone is doing or saying, not at all. But God does use this gift in the church to build it up, strengthen it, and as the Holy Spirit sees fit, He reveals a word of knowledge in a given situation. And as for me, I see this exercised in my life as I teach the Word of God, but not exclusively.

The exercising of this gift, the word of knowledge, is vital for the church to remain healthy and strong. Yes, the gift is not in operation at all times, but as the Holy Spirit reveals things to us, it can be used in the building up of the body of Christ, and yes, this does include exposing sin. Remember Nathan the prophet who confronted David regarding his sin of adulatory and murder. It was a word of knowledge that exposed this information to Nathan and then Nathan spoke it to David. And as with David, when sin is revealed and the person repents, the body is strengthened.

Let us not be ignorant of these things that the Holy Spirit desires to give us. The word of knowledge is the ability to know facts about situations or a spiritual principle that could not have been known by natural means. In a sense, it allows someone to see a situation as God sees it. And in the end it profits the body of Christ.

When you find yourself in a difficult situation, ask God to give you this gift, and He will as He sees fit. Other times He will give you this gift just because He is gracious and desires to. This is not some kind of occult power, not at all! It is a God given ability to build up the body of Christ!