The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the New
Course:
The Gifts of the Spirit (10 Lessons)
Lesson
Three
Lesson Title: A Word of Knowledge
Text: ‘…to another the word of knowledge.’ 1
Corinthians 12:8
Introduction: What is a Word of Knowledge?
A Word of Knowledge is a supernatural revelation of facts concerning a person, place, or thing.
It is a word that relates to something that has happened or is happening at that moment.
In contrast a Word of Wisdom relates to something in the future.
The Word of Knowledge will warn; guide; inform; and encourage
Introductory Illustration:
A Word of Knowledge is able to provide information regarding something or someone that is lost.
A Word of Knowledge is able to reveal the whereabouts of something that is lost or provide information regarding how to do something.
The gift operates as the Spirit wills.
We can ask for a Word of Knowledge when we need to know the whereabouts of someone or something.
Lost keys
Lost person
We can ask for a Word of Knowledge regarding why something has happened.
Why something has stopped working.
Experts charge large amounts of money to provide information regarding why something has happened.
Knowledge can provide the information needed so that something can be fixed.
Main
Points:
1.
A Word of Knowledge in Scripture
Example
in the Gospels
·
Breaking barriers.
The conversation between Jesus and the Woman of Samaria. (John 4:7-26).
Gender
– man speaking to a woman
Racial
- barrier between Samaritan’s and the Jews
Religious
– worship on Gerizim or in
Jesus was able to break through the barriers
she put up by a Word of Knowledge concerning her personal life. John
4:17-18
Example
in the Acts of the Apostles
·
Revealing lies The hypocrisy of Ananias
and Sapphira.
Acts 5:1-11.
A Word of Wisdom enabled Peter to reveal the
secret plan made by Ananias and Sapphira.
Without this revelation the Holy Spirit would
have been hindered.
The Word of Knowledge prevented Ananias and Sapphira from
building a barrier of hypocrisy in the Church.
The Word of Knowledge worked alongside other
gifts. Peter’s declaration that Sapphira would die like her husband was a Word of Wisdom.
The death of Ananias
and Sapphira was a manifestation of the power of the
Holy Spirit by the Working of Miracles
·
Revealing a location Ananias was sent to
Paul in
The Word of Knowledge was given to Ananias concerning where Paul was located – He is at the Street called Straight.
Acts
This was a revelation of what was happening at the time – a Word of Knowledge.
Ananias received revelation concerning Paul’s future ministry – a Word of Wisdom.
·
Revealing visitors. The Holy Spirit revealed to Peter that people
were coming to see him. "The Spirit said unto him, Behold, three
men seek thee" (Acts 10,19).
Peter had no reservations concerning
receiving the Gentiles because God had spoken by a Word of Knowledge.
The Word of Knowledge gave Peter confidence
to receive Gentile visitors and to go with them to the house of Cornelius.
Example in the Old Testament:
·
Revealing the whereabouts of
the King and his intentions "Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of
Elijah received
a Word of Knowledge concerning the King.
He was in the vineyard of Naboth.
He had gone there to possess it.
The Word of knowledge in scripture empowers the church to act with confidence.
It is like radar revealing what is happening.
2.
Testimonies of a Word of
Knowledge
Church History: The history of missions: William Carey used the motto: ‘Expect Great things from God; attempt great things for God’
It is my belief that it is only possible to achieve great things for God in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We can achieve no great thing without the manifestations of the Holy Spirit because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:4).
This means that the history of missions must reveal the operation of the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit.
The Holiness movement in the 19th century and the Pentecostal movement in the 20th century put emphasis upon the gifts that are highly visible – speaking in tongues and gifts of healings. But the manifestations of the Spirit appear throughout Church history. The Word of Knowledge and the Word of Wisdom are often unseen witnesses leading and guiding the Church.
Personal
testimony:
Prayer: I had heard some news that required a lot of prayer. I decided to go for a prayer walk to pray about this urgent need. Just before I left home somebody called me and asked me to pray for someone who had had an accident but it was not known how serious. As I prayed for the urgent need then I turned my attention to pray for the person who had had an accident. The thought came into my mind ‘the person is OK there’s no need to pray’. I then continued praying for the person with the urgent need and forgot all about the other request. The next morning I received a call confirming what I already knew.
A Word of Knowledge meant I did not spend time praying unnecessarily but gave all my attention to the urgent need.
3.
Why is the Word of Knowledge necessary today?
The Word
of Knowledge is necessary today for the same reasons that the Word of Knowledge
was necessary in the Book of Acts.
a)
A Word of Knowledge gives warning to the body of Christ so that the
church is not deceived.
The hypocrisy of Ananias
and Sapphira could only be known by a Word of
Knowledge (Acts 5:1-11)
A Word of Knowledge will protect the church
from deception by revealing the actions of those who oppose the moving of the
Holy Spirit.
a)
Liars
b)
Hypocrites
c)
False teachers
It is necessary to be able to avoid those who
seek to destroy the body of Christ.
We may have a witness that someone is led by
a wrong spirit because we can feel the presence of something evil.
But a Word of Knowledge will provide more
specific information.
Personal
Testimony: A Word of Knowledge is able to keep the
Church from false prophets. Often these
people have money and are quickly accepted in places where leaders have
financial needs. But they cause immense
damage as they are ‘promoters of self’ and not ambassadors for Christ.
b) A Word of Knowledge will reveal the
whereabouts of people and things.
Barnabas went to
A Word of Knowledge is still necessary to
provide guidance.
Sometimes it is only the Holy Spirit who
knows the right person for a particular task - and He can reveal His will to us
through a Word of Knowledge.
Often we can ‘panic’ because we cannot find
something. The Holy Spirit is able to
show us where to look by bringing a particular place into our mind.
c) A Word of Knowledge will reveal why
something has or has not happened.
Sometimes we need to know the cause of a
problem.
Sickness may be caused by a wrong diet. A Word of Knowledge can reveal the problem.
d) A Word of Knowledge will break down
barriers in witnessing to people.
In the same way as Jesus broke down the
barriers put up by the Samaritan woman (John
A Word of Knowledge will reveal something
that will break through all arguments and discussions.
Sometimes a Word of Knowledge will work with
other gifts. For instance it may be
shown by a Word of Knowledge that a person has a particular problem. Gifts of healings may then come into
operation and bring healing to the person.
The message of the gospel will be received
because the person has experienced the power of the Holy Spirit.
e) A Word of Knowledge will provide
information concerning specific issues for prayer.
The Holy Spirit sometimes gives a Word of
Knowledge to pray for a particular person.
This can happen at any time.
Sometimes the Lord has woken a person up in the night to pray for
someone on the other side of the world.
Later it has become known that the person was
in great trouble at that particular time.
There are times when we are not aware of
danger but the Holy Spirit is able to keep us.
So we can have great boldness to do the will
of the Lord even in dangerous areas.
Summary
1) A Word of Knowledge is a word given
concerning something relating to the present or the past.
2) Word of Knowledge is given for guidance; to
warn of current danger, and to break down barriers.
3) We should always be ready for the Holy
Spirit to lead us through a Word of Wisdom.