Friday, June 29, 2012

Gifts of the Spirit Explained: Wisdom


A word of wisdom
When the Spirit gives a word of wisdom it supernaturally aids in helping us make a decision. It is not our own wisdom that we rely on. Instead it is a portion of the wisdom of God; which we know is infinite. Just as a word is a fragment of a sentence, so is a word of wisdom a fragment of God’s unlimited wisdom. A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to help us know, beyond our own wisdom, the most beneficial things to say, do or perform. Some describe this gift (as well as the gifts of discerning of spirits and a word of knowledge) as briefly being able to see the world from the perspective of God; who knows everything.
Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit’s ability to give a word of wisdom in Mark 13:11. He says to the disciples, “When they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit”. Here, Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit’s perfect ability to give people the right things to say.
The wisdom of the Holy Spirit empowers us to make advantageous choices that will be of the best benefit to us. In this scripture, Jesus specifically tells the disciples not to depend on their own wisdom or understanding, but to rely on the unlimited wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows everything and uses supernatural wisdom to lead us to the right place at the right time while giving us the right understanding needed to say and do the right things in order to get the best results possible. His wisdom is boundless in comparison to our own wisdom which is limited. We can assume the most logical things to do and say in order to get the best results, but because our wisdom is not infinite like the Holy Spirit’s the results will not be as perfect.
Let’s take 1 Kings 18:12 for example: In this scripture Obadiah finds Elijah who King Ahab had been looking for and is worried that if he leaves Elijah will be led by the Holy Spirit to a hiding place where no one will be able to find him. So Obadiah says to Elijah “it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me”. Here, Obadiah is acknowledging the Holy Spirit’s ability to reveal to Elijah a place unknown to him. Elijah, by his own wisdom, would not have been able to know what hiding places he can go that are known or unknown to Obadiah. However, Obadiah knew that if the Spirit of the Lord guided Elijah to a hiding place it would be so perfect that no one would be able to find him.



Next Post: Gifts of the Spirit Explained: Knowledge              Previous Post Stirring Up the Holy Spirit

No comments:

Post a Comment