1). The word of knowledge and word of wisdom: The gift of the word of knowledge is often defined as a sudden supernatural impartation of certain information, past or present. God, who possesses all knowledge, will at times impart a small portion of that knowledge, which is perhaps why it is called a word of knowledge. A word is a fragmentary part of a sentence, and a word of knowledge would be a fragmentary portion of God’s knowledge.
The word of wisdom is very similar to the word of knowledge, but it is often defined as a sudden supernatural impartation of the knowledge of future events. The concept of wisdom normally involves something regarding the future. Again, these definitions are somewhat speculative.
Let’s look at an Old Testament example of the word of knowledge. After Elisha cleansed Naaman the Syrian of leprosy, Naaman offered Elisha a very large sum of money in gratitude for his healing. Elisha refused the gift, lest anyone think Naaman’s healing was purchased rather than graciously granted by God. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, however, saw an opportunity to gain personal riches, and he secretively received some of Naaman’s intended payment. After Gehazi had hidden his deceitfully acquired silver, he appeared before Elisha. We then read,
And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.” Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you?” (2 Kin. 5:25b-26a).
God, who knew full well Gehazi’s dirty deed, revealed it supernaturally to Elisha. This story makes it obvious, however, that Elisha didn’t “possess” the gift of the word of knowledge; that is, he didn’t know everything about everyone all the time. If that had been the case, Gehazi would never have dreamed he could conceal his sin. Elisha only knew things supernaturally when God occasionally revealed those things to him. The gift operated as the Spirit willed.
Jesus operated in the word of knowledge when He told the woman at the well of Samaria that she had had five husbands (see John 4:17-18).
Peter was used in this gift when he supernaturally knew that Ananias and Sapphira were lying to the congregation about giving the church the full price they had received for their recently-sold land (see Acts 5:1-11).
As for the gift of the word of wisdom, we see frequent manifestations of this gift throughout all of the Old Testament prophets. Whenever they predicted a future event, the word of wisdom was in operation. Jesus was granted this gift quite frequently, too. He predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, His own crucifixion, and events that would befall the world before His second coming (see Luke 17:22-36, 21:6-28).
The apostle John was used in this gift as the judgments of the Tribulation Period were revealed to him. These he recorded for us throughout the book of Revelation.
2). The gift of discerning of spirits: The gift of discerning of spirits is often defined as a sudden supernatural ability to see or otherwise discern what is occurring in the spiritual realm.
A vision, seen through the eyes or mind of a believer, could be classified as discerning of spirits. This gift might permit a believer to see angels, demons, or even Jesus Himself, as did Paul on several occasions (see Acts 18:9-10; 22:17-21; 23:11).
When Elisha and his servant were being pursued by the Syrian army, they found themselves trapped in the city of Dothan. At that point, Elisha’s servant looked out over the city’s walls and, seeing the masses of soldiers assembling, became quite concerned:
So [Elisha] answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kin. 6:16-17).
Did you know that angels ride around on spiritual horses and in spiritual chariots? You’ll see them one day in heaven, but Elisha’s servant was granted the ability to see them on earth.
Through this gift, a believer might discern an evil spirit oppressing someone and have the ability to identify what kind of spirit it is.
This gift would include not only seeing into the spiritual realm but any other kind of discernment into the spiritual realm. It could involve, for example, hearing something from the spiritual realm, like the very voice of God.
Finally, this gift is not, as some have thought, “the gift of discernment.” People who claim to have this gift sometimes think that they can discern the motives of others, but their gift could be more rightly described as the “gift of criticism and passing judgment on others.” The truth is, you probably had that “gift” before you were saved, and, now that you are saved God wants to deliver you from it permanently!
