Gifts of the Holy Spirit
4. What is the word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8)? |
The word
of knowledge is the revelation of the existence, condition or whereabouts of
some person or object or place, of the location or occasion of some event. It
is the revelation of past happenings or of things existing or events taking
place in the present. For instance, it may be the revelation of a plot
against someone, a sin committed by someone secretly, the nature of a man’s
thoughts or the condition of his heart, the place where something or someone
is hidden, the place where a lost object is, etc. The word of knowledge also
can be received through a vision, or a dream, or through an audible voice.
Here are some biblical examples of the word of knowledge. |
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Old Testament |
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It was
through a word of knowledge that the prophet Elisha knew the secret
encampment selected by the king of |
It was
through a word of knowledge that the Israelites knew where Saul was hidden.
Here is the biblical account of that event: “And Samuel called the people together
unto the LORD to Mizpeh; And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the
LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out
of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of
them that oppressed you: And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself
saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said
unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves
before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had
caused all the tribes of |
It was
through a word of knowledge that the prophet Elisha knew that his servant
Gehazi had taken something from Naaman. Elisha had refused to accept from the
hands of Naaman what he had brought, who had been healed of leprosy by
Elisha. However, Gehazi coveted what Naaman brought and took something from
Naaman secretly, but God exposed the treachery and punished Gehazi for his
sin. Here is the biblical account of that event: “But Gehazi, the servant of
Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this
Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD
liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi followed
after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from
the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My
master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount
Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a
talent of silver, and two changes of garments. And Naaman said, Be content,
take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two
bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants;
and they bare them before him. And when he came to the tower, he took them
from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and
they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said
unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no
whither. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man
turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money,
and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen,
and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall
cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his
presence a leper as white as snow” (2 Kings |
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New Testament |
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Jesus,
while He was talking with the Samaritan woman, told her that she had had five
husbands and the man living with her at that time was not her husband. Here
is what the apostle John wrote: “Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband,
and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said
unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five
husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou
truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet”
(John |
It was
through a word of knowledge that the apostle Peter knew that Ananias and
Sapphira his wife had lied to the apostles concerning the price of the land
they had sold. It is written in the book of the Acts of the apostles: “But a
certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And
kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a
certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why
hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part
of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this
thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias
hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on
all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and
carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours
after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered
unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea,
for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together
to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried
thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down
straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in,
and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And
great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things”
(Acts 5:1-11). |
It was
through a word of knowledge that Ananias, a disciple who lived in |
As you can
see, the word of knowledge is a useful gift, for through it the Spirit
reveals also certain sins which have been committed secretly by some people.
So we need this kind of manifestation, that people may acknowledge that our
God is holy, that His eyes are everywhere, and that man cannot mock Him, and
thus great fear may seize them. Very often believers behave in their private
life as if God did not exist and then they come to the place of worship as if
nothing had happened. Very often we see the places of worship full of
hypocrites whose secret sins need to be revealed publicly so that everybody
may realize that God cannot be mocked. |
Finally,
note this. Even though the word of knowledge is distinct from the word of
wisdom, they are closely related, and often they are intergraded in their
manifestation. For instance, it was through a word of knowledge that John on
the isle of |