Charisma I

Eph.4:11-12 “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.”

God shows us clearly in His Word that the job of the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers is to equip the body for the work of the ministry. Who is supposed to do the work of the ministry? The body. You are part of the action. The work of the ministry is not meant for some superstar pastors or ministers alone.

Unfortunately, Pentecostals are referred to as a tongue talking bunch as though tongues is the only gift that exists. In 1 Cor.12:1-12 there are nine sign gifts listed. 1 Cor.12 also has other service gifts and ministry gifts listed. The truth is that ignorance is a bad thing, we cannot function if we do not have knowledge. Knowledge has a way of activating you in the spirit realm. Ignorance is darkness but knowledge is light. In classical Christianity, the sign gifts have been grouped into three categories. The first category is the Revelational Gifts; these gifts reveal something. The first is the Word of Wisdom, the second is the Word of Knowledge, and the third is Discerning of Spirits. 

The Word of Wisdom is given to solve tricky situations and to bring Christians out of tricky situations. The Word of Wisdom is given to expose the mind of God, in a particular situation, that would otherwise not have been solved. There are a couple of examples in scripture even in the Old Testament. In 1 Kings 3:16-28 (please read), two prostitutes came to king Solomon to settle a dispute. What Solomon deployed was actually the gift of the Word of Wisdom. By Word of Wisdom, Solomon proposed that the living baby be cut in half, and the real mother of the child was revealed. Up until that time, there was no way he would have been able to solve that problem.

The channel for the gifts that reveal could be the voice of the Holy Spirit, that would say this is the way or this is what you should do. It could be a dream, it could be a vision, it could be an audible voice, or it could be what is called an inner witness. It could also be the scriptures; a Word will just stand out. The gifts that reveal can come in different ways. It could be an open vision, it could be an inner impression reel, and it could be however God chooses. Word of Knowledge, on the other hand, is like revealing facts, knowing past, present or future events. The knowledge that you could never have had if the Holy Spirit did not reveal it to you.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the gifts of Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, and the Discerning of Spirits, in Jesus Name. Amen!