THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE
Wisdom and knowledge complement each other. If a special word of knowledge brings to light a particular set of circumstances, a word of wisdom may well also be needed so that it is possible to do what should be done. Four particular aspects define this kind of knowledge.
- The basic knowledge of God, which can only occur by revelation through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible calls it 'understanding', implying an intimate, living relationship with God.
- A deeper heart-grasp of the word of God.
- A divinely inspired sense of what is right and wrong or wise and foolish in life.
- The Father knows all things, and those who know him may have his confidence and share a little of what he sees.
This type of knowledge cannot be obtained by study. It is given by the Holy Spirit to our human spirit and is to be acted upon by our renewed mind. It is not a permanent possession; rather, it is essential for the moment. Studying the Bible prepares our hearts and minds to be open to receive a word of knowledge through Holy Spirit inspiration (2 Timothy 2:15).
THE GIFT OF FAITH
Four kinds of faith can be identified:
- Common faith '“ possessed by all people.
- Saving faith '“ a gift, as evidenced in Ephesians 2:8:
'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.' - One of the fruit of the Spirit; ever-increasing faith.
- Faith that gives power; the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The latter, like the other gifts of the Spirit, is temporary and is released to meet the needs of the moment. As with the other gifts, a daily spiritual walk is essential to its operation. It is a manifestation of the Spirit and demonstrates the supernatural might of God. It is useless to exhort congregations to exercise faith on that level. They cannot have mountain-moving faith just by trying. It is not the product of striving, straining and concentrating.
THE GIFT OF HEALING
'He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.' 1 Peter 2:24
Healing is part of God's plan of redemption. Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins and through his suffering we are healed, both spiritually and physically. The operation of this gift is relative to our response, as well as the response of the one for whom we are praying. It comes in response to faith, need and the will of God. The gift of healing is not a commission to heal all and sundry, but only those specifically revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.
The gift of healing for one specific affliction only has no Biblical precedent. Be wary of those who claim to have such a gift.
THE GIFT OF MIRACULOUS POWERS
The expression 'miraculous powers' used in 1 Corinthians 12:10 is a translation of the Greek energemata dunameon, which means literally the 'operations of powers' and covers a variety of signs and wonders, not specifying one particular miraculous work. Christians generally tend to equate healing and deliverance with 'miracles', as described in Acts 8:6-7:
'When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many and many paralytics and cripples were healed.'
However, Scripture indicates that more far-reaching power than simply the power to heal diseases is available. Jesus said in John 14:12, 'Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these.'
Jesus healed and delivered. Yet he said that believers would do more. The power to work miracles is available to us today!
PROPHECY
The gift of prophecy as dealt with here is a momentary proclamation inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives inspiration to declare, tell or proclaim truth in a situation or conversation. Prophecy is used in ministering to others, without necessarily knowing their specific needs. It is also for edification, exhortation and comfort, most frequently taking the form of proclamation rather than prediction.
All prophecy should focus people's hopes, faith and conduct on eternal redemption and the Kingdom of God. Prophecy is not about utter glibly whatever enters our heads, prefacing it with 'I, the Lord, proclaim unto you'. However, it is also true that the Lord encourages the bold prophet who steps out in faith and takes the initiative. The principle here is that the prophet is a servant of the Holy Spirit '“ and not the other way round.
At this point, a word should be said about false prophets or false prophecies. Prophecy has often been misused and just because someone claims to have a word from the Lord does not mean that it is necessarily true. We must always check prophecies against the word of God to guard against error.
THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT
The gift of discernment (more accurately, the 'discerning of spirits') is not a gift that enables us to see what is invisible, but the power to judge what is seen, whether good or bad. This gift can keep us from being led astray and is provided to empower us to bring deliverance to others. The gift of the discerning of spirits will help us to walk unharmed through dangerous enemy minefields. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, just as Jesus promised.
TONGUES AND INTERPRETATION
Speaking in tongues means making an utterance in a language that is unknown to the speaker and is given directly by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:1-6). It may be an earthly or a celestial language, spoken only by believers, as the Holy Spirit gives them the ability to do so. When used as a prayer language, the speaker is talking to God, not to men.
Tongues are for the unbeliever only if there is an interpretation. The interpretation of tongues is just that, an interpretation, and not a literal word-for-word translation. It follows the hearing of any language that is unknown to the person bringing the interpretation. Because of this, the interpretation of tongues is the only gift that operates in conjunction with another gift, i.e. the ability to speak in other tongues.