Revelation gifts

  BY Argie Simonis

On our first message we had  an introduction to the spiritual gifts and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and on the previous message we spoke about the  impartation of the gifts, in order to lay a foundation before we get into the gifts.

The gifts of the Spirit are not meant to replace our own faith in the Lord. We must not be so completely dependent on some spiritually gifted person that we neglect our own spiritual growth and maturity.

If we have the proper spiritual maturity and know how to believe, we can receive anything we need from the Lord without the involvement of a person with a gift.

If this is so, then why do we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit? We should all receive directly from God and there should be no need for a mediator. This would be ideal, but let's not forget that from the moment we come to the Lord, there is a process of maturing in our Christian life.

If the only way to receive from the Lord was only through your own faith, some people for example diagnosed with terminal diseases and with a short life span, would not have had time to mature in their faith and would be doomed if there were no people with healing gifts for example. The Lord wants us to receive through these gifts, but if later people do not mature in their personal faith in the Lord and depend only on these gifts it is wrong.

The word of knowledge, the word of wisdom and the discernment of spirits are putu together by many in the group of "revelation gifts". 

Let us examine what Paul writes to us:

"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;" 1Cor. 12:8

A word of knowledge is the revelation that the Lord gives about a person (eg about something that has happened or is already happening in his life) or a specific situation. Jesus operated in this gift many times, even to the point of telling people their names and things about them that he could not possibly have known in the natural.

------- The Samaritan woman at the well

"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 he whom you now have is not your husband: in that said you truly." John 4:16-18

------ He saw Nathanael

"Nathanael said to him, From where know you me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." John 1:48

------- The preparation for the last Supper

"And he sends forth two of his disciples, and said to them, Go you into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him." Mark 14:13

Wisdom involves understanding and applying sound judgment. Characteristic examples that the Lord moved in the gift of the word of wisdom, are when the Pharisees tried to accuse Him:

------------- Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?

"But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt you me, you hypocrites?

Show me the tribute money. And they brought to him a penny.

And he said to them, Whose is this image and superscription?

They say to him, Caesar's. Then said he to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.

When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way." Matt. 22:18-22

------------- The adulteress

"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the oldest, even to the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the middle." John 8:7-9

--------------- By what authority do you do this?

"And spoke to him, saying, Tell us, by what authority do you these things? or who is he that gave you this authority?

And he answered and said to them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:

The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?

"And they answered, that they could not tell from where it was.

And Jesus said to them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things." 

Luke 20:2-4, 7-8

The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and the gift of prophecy often work hand in hand. For example, the word of knowledge can reveal a problem, the word of wisdom can apply God's wisdom to the situation, and the gift of prophecy will produce the results of obedience. One gift complements the other.

We also see that the Holy Spirit gives Α word of wisdom and Α word of knowledge. It is in the singular, meaning the Holy Spirit does not impart to one person all of God's wisdom or knowledge about a person or a situation. Some people who have not understood this point think that a person operating with the word of wisdom and/or word of knowledge knows everything about them and fear that all will be revealed. And yet, it is not so.

On the other hand, some people have not understood that the Holy Spirit just gives them a "word" of wisdom or a "word" of knowledge and they speak more than what the Lord has inspired. The Lord gives them a word and they turn it into a whole story.

The gift of discernment of spirits that Paul writes about in 1Cor. 12:10, is the supernatural ability to discern different kinds of spiritual beings (ie, angels or demons), as well as behaviors or feelings.

In the next message we will deal with the gifts of utterance (prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues) and we will examine each one separately.

To be continued...