5-28-23 Kasey Campbell: The Word of Knowledge
Notes
Transcript
We’re back in 1 Corinthians 12:8 today, and we’ll be talking about the word of
knowledge. And let’s just pray before we get started. PRAY.
For those of you who haven’t been with us, we’ve been in a series going through 1
Corinthians chapters 12,13, and 14. We’re looking at the gifts of the Spirit. And before Paul talks
about any of the gifts, he talks about unity and humility. Every single time; in each book, when
he talks about the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians, when he talks about the offices (or gifts of
the Son) in Ephesians, and when he talks about the motivational gifts (gifts of the Father) in
Romans, he always talks about them in context of love, unity, and humility. He uses the human
body metaphor a lot in these sections because he wants us to understand how important it is to
have a real, genuine love for people, especially people we are going to try to minister to. If we
will yield to God, walk in humility with Him and with others, and love others as we love
ourselves, God will flow His gifts among His people freely and frequently, and we’ll see the
miraculous become commonplace.
Today I want to talk about the word of knowledge. This is 1 Corinthians 12:8 NKJV for
to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge
through the same Spirit.
As we talked about last week, this the word of knowledge often goes hand in hand with
the word of wisdom. Paul is explaining this gift (like he did with the word of wisdom) in contrast
to the Corinthians' idea of knowledge. If you haven’t been with us for the series, you may not
know that the Corinthians had a lot of problems. Not only was it chaos in their services, but you
had everything from sexual sin within the church too long, boring prophesies, to people bringing
food to a communion potluck, eating it all themselves (not sharing), and getting drunk on the
communion wine. It was craziness. So much of what we learn in 1 Corinthians we learn because
Paul is telling the Corinthian church what not to do.
When Paul tells us about this gift of the word of knowledge, he rescues it from the
Corinthians' fascination with ‘head knowledge’ and the pride that goes along with it.1 Earlier in 1
Corinthians, he tells the people that ‘just having knowledge’ will make us proud. 1 Corinthians
8:1 AMP Knowledge [alone] makes [people self-righteously] arrogant, but love [that
unselfishly seeks the best for others] builds up and encourages others to grow [in wisdom].
1
Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Revised Edition, P657. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014.
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He goes on talk about food offered to idols, and he says that some of the people knew
that if they prayed over food offered to idols and thanked God for it, it was ok to eat. Other
people didn’t have that knowledge of their freedom in Christ. They would refuse to eat some
meat because it felt blasphemous to them; since it had been used in idol worship (offered to
idols), they didn’t want to eat it.
But Paul’s point in the entire situation is that their knowledge level didn’t matter. They
shouldn’t be using knowledge (especially knowledge of God’s grace and knowledge of their
freedom in Christ) to get pride or to look down on others who don’t have the same knowledge.
Humility and love for one another are what make knowledge matter. 1 Corinthians 8:11 NLT So
because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed.
The point is that the theme of humility and love is huge, and Paul wants to hammer it
home when he talks about the gifts, and he contrasts godly wisdom and knowledge with the
secular, worldly kind that just causes pride. He puts wisdom and knowledge together a lot, by the
way; Romans 11:33 NKJV Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
In this passage, Paul is praising the Lord, in complete awe that God would reveal his
wisdom and knowledge in the form of the gospel and that He would continue to share His
wisdom and knowledge as we continue with Him in relationship and obedience.2
So Wisdom and knowledge can overlap. If a word of wisdom gives insight for practical
action, a word of knowledge brings to light the biblical principles that make the foundation for
that action. It may reveal a truth from God or it might give facts needed for a move, a decision,
or a response.3 1 Corinthians 12:8 NKJV for to one is given the word of wisdom through the
Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit.
The word of wisdom is the logos of gnosis. The word of knowledge is the logos of
sophia. We talked a little about this last week, but the word, or the utterance of knowledge or
wisdom, is always supposed to point people toward Jesus. A word of knowledge is the ability to
discover, analyze, and systemize truth for the benefit of someone else. With this gift, a person
speaks with understanding and penetration. The word of knowledge can also involve
supernatural perception and discernment for the purpose of ministering to others.4
2
Schell, Dr. C. Stevens. Study Verse by Verse with Dr. Steve Schell: the Book of Romans, P137. Federal Way, Washington, Life Lessons
Publishing, 2015.
3
Duffield, Guy P. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology (Revised & Updated) Volume 1, P316. Foursquare Media, 2016.
4
Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, P308. Zondervan, 2001.
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Robert Morris shares an example of when the Holy Spirit gave him a word of knowledge.
He writes: I was once eating a meal in a cafeteria with my wife when I saw a very muscular
fellow and his wife carrying their trays to an empty table near us. The moment I saw him, I knew
something about him, and I knew it was from the Holy Spirit because he was a stranger to me - I
had never seen him or met him before. Over the years, I’ve learned how to act on promptings
from the Holy Spirit without seeming weird or creepy, so I went over to his table and said,
‘Excuse me, you don’t know me, but could I ask you a question?”
He was a little startled but said, ‘Sure.’ I asked, ‘Have you ever lifted weights?’
This wasn’t supernatural insight on my part, just a little humorous icebreaker. But later, I
learned that he had been a professional weightlifter and, at one point, had been Mr. America. He
said, ‘Yeah, I’ve done a little weightlifting.’
‘This might sound strange to you,’ I said, ‘but I think God shared something personal and
important about it - would it be ok if I shared it?’ He looked a little hesitant, looked at his wife,
but said, ‘ok,’ so I sat down. The Holy Spirit showed me a picture of you as a young boy, I saw
you sitting on your grandma’s lap, and you were crying. She told you that God could make you
strong like Samson if you would serve Him. I saw you make that commitment and promise to
serve the Lord and honor Him with your life. God told me to tell you that He’s kept His side of
the bargain, but you haven’t kept yours.’
The man looked at me with a blank look for a second, and I thought I’d missed it. But
right when I was praying for a way to make an exit, the man’s lip started quivering and tears
started flowing down from his eyes. He looked at his wife and she started crying, too. He shared,
‘I was raised by my grandmother. My father left when I was born, and my mother left a few
years later. One day when I was 8, some boys started throwing rocks at me just to be mean, and
one hit me in the head and made a big gash and I went home crying. That’s when my
grandmother told me the story of Samson. I promised God that if he’d make me strong, I’d serve
Him all of my life. I was just telling my wife that I had been thinking about that promise lately
but didn’t know how to approach God. Robert led them both to the Lord on the spot, and they
were baptized the next week.5
This gift, like the others, is given to bless and benefit others, and as we open to what the
Holy Spirit says and move in humility, love, and grace, God will move in mighty ways.
5
Morris, Robert. The God I Never Knew: How Real Friendship with the Holy Spirit Can Change Your Life, P123-124. Crown Publishing Group,
2013.
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This gift is not given just to prove our spirituality or to know ‘cool stuff,’ but to produce
fruit. It’s a supernatural revelation of knowledge, not general knowledge learned by natural
means or by study.6
Of course, general knowledge is good. It’s good to study and learn about God. 2 Timothy
2:15 AMP Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by
trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word
of truth.
Knowledge of God is the greatest knowledge, and in the New Testament, a person can
only have knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. Knowing Jesus personally is how we gain
knowledge of God. And this kind of knowledge isn’t just theoretical or factual; it’s experiential
and relational. It’s experiencing the reality of God in our lives and growing in our relationship
with Him. Paul knew, though, that knowledge could be a divisive factor. That is what was
happening at Corinth, where some Christians claimed to be more spiritual because they had more
knowledge of God.7
So this gift is not general knowledge, even though that’s important. And Paul will later
tell us how love supersedes knowledge. Ephesians 3:19 ESV and to know the love of Christ
that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The gift of the word of knowledge is usually a fragment of information given by God for
a specific person or situation. It’s truth that the Holy Spirit wants revealed to produce a desired
result - to produce fruit. Sometimes it’s given for protection; other times, it might be as a
warning, but it’s always for kingdom results.
Here’s an example from the Old Testament. God sent his word so that the people, who
were at war, would be protected and warned. Elisha kept having the word of knowledge about
where enemy troops would be. 2 Kings 6:8-12 When the king of Aram was at war with Israel,
he would confer with his officers and say, “We will mobilize our forces at such and such a
place.” 9 But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, “Do not go
near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.” 10 So the king
of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha
warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there. 11 The king of Aram became very
6
Stott, Jerry, and Robert Hunt. Positioned for the Gifts: Preparing Us for Extraordinary Power and Compassion, P138. Edited by Laurie De
Revere, Foursquare Missions Press, 2019.
7
Brand, Chad, et al., editors. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, P999. Holman Bible Publishers, 2003.
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upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, “Which of you is the traitor?
Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?” 12 “It’s not us, my lord the king,”
one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words
you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”
The enemy was thwarted because God gave Elisha a word of knowledge. And for us
today, a word of knowledge can also give us insight for the spiritual battles we face. It can save
us from ‘analysis paralysis.’ It’s a knowing word given that releases us from the paralysis of
indecision. When we don’t know what to say, what to do, or even where to begin, a word of
knowledge can bring supernatural insight, revelation, or understanding into the matter.
Jesus moved in this gift quite often. He did it when He called Nathaniel (or
Bartholomew) to follow Him. John 1:43-51 NKJV The following day Jesus wanted to go to
Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from
Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have
found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the
son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of
him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do
You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were
under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the
Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to
you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51
And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and
the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards Him, he said, ‘Here’s a person who doesn’t
have any treachery, deceit, or lying in him.’ Nathaniel is a little surprised, of course, and says,
‘How do you know me?’ How would you know whether or not I have good or bad character?
I’ve never met you before.’ And Jesus sparks prophetically to Him with a word of knowledge.
He tells Nathanial something that would have been impossible for Him to know without
divine revelation. Sometime before this meeting, Nathanael had been sitting under a fig tree,
probably praying and maybe asking God deep or difficult questions. We’re not told exactly what
he was thinking or doing under the tree, but his response to Jesus is immediate and revealing. He
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reacts in an outburst of faith, not shame, so what he was talking to God about under the tree was
something only God would have known about. Nathanael goes from skepticism to full faith in a
moment! When Jesus speaks this word of knowledge to Nathanael, any doubts that Jesus was the
Messiah or that the Messiah could come from Nazareth disappear completely. The word of
knowledge bears the fruit of faith and it points to Jesus as the One to worship and follow.
A similar thing happens when Jesus speaks a word of knowledge to a Samaritan woman.
John 4:5-26 NKJV So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of
ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being
wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of
Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had
gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that
You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who
says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you
living water.” 11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is
deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who
gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but
whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall
give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 15 The
woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” 16
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said,
“I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you
have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you
spoke truly.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers
worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought
to worship.”
21
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on
this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we
know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking
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such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and
truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ).
“When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Jesus comes to Jacob’s well at either 6 in the morning or noon. Either way, He had
walked a long time and was tired. And He’s sitting there alone until a woman walks up with a
rope and a bucket. That well is over 100 feet deep, so it takes work to get a drink. The woman is
surprised that a Jewish man would ask her for a drink because it would have made Him
ceremonially unclean. And when she asks Him why He’s asking her for a drink, he skips past the
politics of the situation, of the Jews/Samaritans thing, and gets right to the point. He knows she is
having dry times in her soul. He knows she is searching for something more, and He offers her
living water.
The term ‘living water’ would have been referring to clean, fresh water flowing from a
natural source, like a spring. So you can imagine why she’s a little confused at first. But she does
ask Jesus to give her this gift of living water. In order to receive the living water, though, she first
needs to be ‘born from above,’ as Jesus said to Nicodemus. In other words, she would need to
repent of her sins and fully surrender to God’s direction for her life. And for this to happen, she
would have to give up her dysfunctional relationship with men.
To expose that area of her heart, Jesus said, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’ He
was focusing her attention on the area where her healing needed to start. She responded in a way
that was truthful, but she left out some important details. This is where Jesus spoke a word of
knowledge that revealed the rest of the information. And the information wasn’t to condemn her.
Jesus never did anything to condemn people. Remember last week, the woman caught in
adultery? Jesus' word of wisdom for that woman wasn’t to condemn; it was to save, it was to
heal, to free, and to release from bondage. John 3:17 NIV For God did not send his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
So this woman was probably shocked. Who was this man who just revealed to her her
entire marriage history? Is He good or bad? Did God tell Him this? And if so, why? What does
God want from me? How will I respond to Him?
The question she faced was; will I come towards the light, towards the living water, into
accountability with God and a responsibility to follow Him? Or will I turn away from it and stay
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the way I am? And we can tell by her responses that she chooses to embrace the light. She
chooses to drink the living water. She chooses to come closer to God.
That’s why she asks where God wants to be worshipped. She’s saying, ‘Ok, you’re right.
I love God and want to follow Him, but I’m not sure where He wants to be worshipped. Please
tell me so He’ll find my worship, my life, my heart acceptable to Him.’
And Jesus lets her know that she doesn’t have to go to Jerusalem or Mt. Gerizim (Mt.
Zion to worship). She can believe in Jesus and worship God anywhere at any time. Now the
spiritual life won’t be focused on a place, a building, a ritual, a priesthood, an object, or a certain
day. She can worship in spirit, understanding that God is a person, not a concept or interpersonal
force. We can now awaken our spirits to connect with God’s Holy Spirit throughout the day.
We’d worship in spirit, and we’d also worship in truth. Religious confusion and deception will
cease because the Holy Spirit will give us revelation and discernment. 1 John 2:27 AMP As for
you, the anointing [the special gift, the preparation] which you received from Him remains
[permanently] in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But just as His anointing
teaches you [giving you insight through the presence of the Holy Spirit] about all things, and
is true and is not a lie, and just as His anointing has taught you, you must remain in Him
[being rooted in Him, knit to Him].
We can rightly understand the truth of scripture because the Holy Spirit lives in us now,
and He will also remind us that we can confidently come to the throne of the Father whenever we
have need. Jesus says that God searches for people who will worship Him this way - in Spirit and
in Truth. Because He is a person with a will, intellect, and emotions, for Him, all other forms of
worship must be lonely, one-sided experiences where He can observe outward religious behavior
and hear words that aren’t really directed at Him.
My ultimate point here is that the word of knowledge is given to us so that we can be set
free. We can be set free from the paralysis of indecision. We can be set free to see the truth of
God in a moment where it will most impact our lives. We receive knowledge from the God who
knows all. He knows us and He wants us to know Him. He will give us the knowledge we need
for any situation we face, and He also wants us to know Him. He wants us to continue learning
about Him in a personal and interpersonal way. He wants us to know His heart for us, His heart
toward us, and His everlasting mercy, grace, and love.
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And I’ll close with this: 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 AMP Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the [Holy] Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and
understand the [wonderful] things freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak of these things,
not in words taught or supplied by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit,
combining and interpreting spiritual thoughts with spiritual words [for those being guided by
the Holy Spirit].
It’s the Holy Spirit who knows the thoughts of God. And the Holy Spirit has come to live
in us.
By His word, we can each know and understand that God pours out His love and His gifts
to us so we can minister to each other in whatever way is needed. God empowers us with the gift
of speech so we can communicate spiritual truth and the love of the Lord and glorify Jesus
Christ.
We want to know and understand the wonderful things God has given us. And we want to
hear God’s voice clearly so that we can share the knowledge of God with those who are seeking,
those who are hurting, or those who are in need.
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