Gifts of the Spirit: Wisdom, Knowledge and Discernment

Big Idea:

Spiritual gifts help us see the world with God’s eyes.

Intro:

[In-Person: Start with Transformers Intro Video]

Church Online:

In the 1980s, I grew up obsessed with two cartoons: He-man and Transformers. I can’t fully remember, but I believe my passion for Transformers outlasted He-man.

I not only loved the cartoons, I loved playing with the toys. And that was back-in-the-day when the toys were solid die-cast, not plastic. They were NICE! And every time I got a Transformer, I had a goal of being able to transform it (turn it from car to robot, or vice versa) without using the instructions.

And that plays into one of the main themes of Transformers. It was in the opening song: Transformers - more than meets the eyes. The Transformers weren’t just cars and trucks (or other types of machines if you had a Decepticon), they were robot heroes! You may see a toy car or jet, but if it was Transformer, there was more to it than what you saw!

And thus theme also connects to a biblical worldview. [We’ve joked about this often… but if you come to The River Church enough times, I’m sure you’ve thought: This is the weirdest church. Talking about Transformers being biblical. And last week we played a Snoop Dogg song to open up service?] But hey… I think we’re allowed to think outside of the box in many areas. What’s important is as a church...

We believe Jesus is the way, truth, and the life.

We believe the Bible is God’s eternal, infallible, and inerrant Word.

We believe God is triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We God is the Creator of everything, that Jesus is coming back soon [amen?] and we believe in the gospel mission of the church (to go everywhere and tell people about Jesus; and to love God with everything, and love others the same way).

Other than that… we have freedom. That being said… back to the biblical theology of Transformers...

It’s biblical to embrace a reality of there’s “more than meets the eye.” We find a great example of this in 2 Kings 6...

At the time, Israel had opps with Syria. And Syria kept trying to ambush Israel. But God would speak to Elisha the prophet and tell them Syria’s plans. Then, Elisha would tell the king, “Hey man… don’t go over there. It’s a trap.” So, he wouldn’t. And they would be saved!

And the king of Syria started getting super frustrated because he didn’t understand how Israel was always one step ahead of him. He thought there was a snitch in the kingdom...

2 Kings 6:11–12 NLT

The king of Aram became very 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?” “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!”

So, the king decides to sneak-attack Elisha instead. So he gets intel on where Elisha is and surrounds him with the a huge army of horses and chariots. And that morning, Elisha wakes up and heads to the Starbucks in Samaria with his servant… and they see they are in trouble...

2 Kings 6:15 NLT

When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.

But remember our Transformer theology… it’s biblical to believe “there is more than meets the eye!”

2 Kings 6:16 NLT

“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!”

I imagine the servant with a confused look on his face. He’s doing the math. Let’s see…

Me… Elisha… 1 + 1 = 2.

Now, we aren’t told how big the Syrian army is, but let’s assume it’s 100.

2 is less than, not more than, 100… The math doesn’t make sense according to what Elisha’s servant saw with his eyes.

2 Kings 6:17 NLT

Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

There was an angelic army greater than the Syrian army surrounding Elisha. There was “more than meets the eye.”

And this brings us to our topic for this morning’s sermon. We’re currently in a series discussing the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We believe that when someone puts their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they are transformed. And one thing that happens is they receive spiritual gifts; that is...

…an ability empowered by the Holy Spirit that’s used for the ministries of the church.

And today, I’d like to discuss three spiritual gifts listed in the following passage...

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 NKJV

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

The three gifts are...

a word of wisdom.

a word of knowledge.

and the ability to discern between spirits.

And in the spirit of Transformer theology, I believe these gifts up us see there is “more than meets the eye.” Better yet, they help us see the world through God’s eyes.

So, let’s start with the gift of wisdom. However, I’m going to combine it with the gift of knowledge.

The gift of knowledge and wisdom

Like with many spiritual gifts, there’s a sense of overlap between the two gifts; that is, wisdom and knowledge fit together.

But... it’s clearly listed as two separate gifts; and in the original language, the clear separation is confirmed both by word choice and conjunction. That’s five-dollar way of saying I believe these are two separate spiritual gifts; but, they are close enough that we can discuss them together.

Here’s something else… 1 Corinthians 12 is the ONLY time these two gifts are mentioned. So, what we can directly learn about them is technically limited to this passage. That makes defining these gifts difficult; however, considering the “whole counsel of God” (that is, all that is found in the Bible) I believe we can still learn a lot about these spiritual gifts..

…Many believe these gifts are similar to what we see Elisha do in 2 Kings 6. If you remember, God speaks DIRECTLY to him about information he did not previously know. If you will, there may be a prophetic aspect to having a “word of knowledge” or “word of wisdom.”

So, when you have a “word of knowledge,” God supernaturally gives you information about things you didn’t previously know about! And… it’s knowledge that may have been almost impossible for you to acquire… like Elisha knowing the king of Syria’s plans.

Likewise, when you have a “word of wisdom,” it means God supernaturally speaks wisdom to you, and you communicate that wisdom. And when that wisdom is received and applied (since wisdom is simply knowledge applied correctly), choices are made that glorify God.

I think this is a possible way to define the spiritual gifts of wisdom and knowledge. But here’s the difficulty with this prophetic definition...

And a few weeks ago, we defined prophecy as...

“...telling something true that God brings spontaneously to mind.”

And in 1 Cor 12, it says… “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit...” and then Paul goes onto say in verse 10, “to another [one is given the gift of] prophecy.”

So, if we adopt the prophetic definition, then why does Paul list “prophecy” as a separate gift in the same passage? It seems to be an unnecessary (and even confusing) repetition.

Because it would read like this...

…to some God has given the spiritual gift of having spontaneous wisdom from God, to another the gift of spontaneous knowledge from God… and to another spontaneously having information from God.

Kinda confusing. I’m not saying it’s wrong, just muddy. Therefore, I think it’s probably best to reserve the supernatural, spontaneous revelation of information from God FOR the gift of prophecy. So, what then are the gifts of wisdom and knowledge?

Throughout this series, I’ve often said that God gives us natural gifts and spiritual gifts. And sometimes our natural gifts are supercharged by the spiritual gifts. Other times, our spiritual gifts allow us to do things we would never naturally do. And maybe, having a “word of wisdom” or “word of knowledge” is simply when the Holy Spirit supercharging our natural abilities to acquire knowledge and be wise.

It might be helpful to pause and specifically define the two words before moving forward:

Knowledge: Biblically means to possess or acquire information. It can also be the investigative process aimed at understanding a situation, specifically spiritual truths.

Wisdom: Is not just another word for knowledge, but rather speaks to quality. Wisdom is specializing in a specific idea or concept. And not just acquiring information on an idea or concept, but skillfully applying it to life.

Clearly, there’s overlap between the two words. I don’t see the spiritual gift of knowledge properly used without it producing wisdom… and it’d be difficult to have spiritual wisdom without knowledge.

Nevertheless, to be spiritually gifted in knowledge and wisdom is to have the Spirit-empowered ability to acquire information, but also to distribute and apply that information for the glory of God ; additionally, these gifts help us (the church, but even unbelievers) see there is “more than meets the eye.”

Spiritual knowledge and wisdom give us the eyes of Jesus, which hopefully develops the heart of Jesus. When that happens, though these gifts seem “natural” (and even normal and boring), because they are empowered by the Spirit of God, the church is built up, the Kingdom of God is expanded, and the love of Christ is experienced.

An example of this is when the church was struggling to care for their community in Acts 6. People were being neglected because there wasn’t enough help. And yet, the apostles simply but wisely said, “Let’s just appoint more servant-leaders.” And everyone looked at each other and thought, “Why didn’t we think of that?” And when they did it, the church flourished!

That’s the spiritual gift of wisdom and knowledge.

It’s simple, but powerful!

So, the question becomes, “How do I know if I have this gift? And if I do, how can I develop and use it?”

Let me give you 3 next steps:

Pray. Paul said...

Colossians 1:9 NLT

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Prayer can produce spiritual knowledge and wisdom.

2. Read God’s word. There’s no better place to acquire and apply spiritually life-changing information.

3. Be in community. What does that mean? Means a few things:

First, spend time with God. Because you ain’t gonna be empowered by the Spirit if you’re separated from God.

Second, spend time with your church family. Your gifts are primarily to build up them up and that’s where God will allow you to practice them.

3) When you practice, see if there is fruit. If people are blessed by your advice and God is glorified, you likely have these gifts!

One warning though… 1 Cor 8:1 says, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” As you practice your gift, remember your purpose. It’s not tabout you - that’s pride. It’s about God and His Kingdom. So, be humble and cover your spiritual advice with grace and love.

Let’s move on to our third and final gift for today...

The gift of discerning spirits

This gift sounds a little spooky. Interesting that Halloween is just a couple days away...

Like the gifts of wisdom and knowledge, the gift of discerning spirits is only mentioned once in the Scriptures by name. It made studying it tough. But, as I was studying, I found a definition by theologian Wayne Grudem that I liked:

The gift of discerning spirits is a special ability to recognize the influence of the Holy Spirit or of demonic spirits in a person.

Again, let’s lean on our Transformer theology: This gift is important because in this world, there is “more than meets the eye.”

Like Halloween, there’s a lot of people wearing masks trying to trick us. And it’s hard to know who is who. But unlike Halloween, the consequences aren’t limited to trick or treat, but life and death.

That might sound overly serious… but that’s because it is! Consider the following verses...

In Acts 16, Paul is preaching the gospel in Philippi and this girl...

Acts 16:17 ESV

She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

That’s true! Paul was a servant of God. And he is preaching the way of salvation in Jesus’s name. On the surface, everything seems right! But then Luke writes...

Acts 16:18 ESV

And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

Even though the girl technically spoke true words, Paul sensed there was “more than meets the eye.” And he was right, because the girl was actually demon-possessed! And likely had some intention to eventually deceive people and lead them into destruction.

Additionally...

2 Corinthians 11:13–15 NLT

These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

It’s always Halloween for Satan. And we may think he walks around with a red costume, horns, tail, and a pitchfork. But he actually comes disguised as an angel of light. And his servants dress up as “righteous” people, being sent even into the church. So, we need to be on guard!

Thankfully, God has given us the spiritual gift of discerning spirits, which is intended to help the church know what belongs to God and what doesn’t. What is truth and what is a lie. What leads to life and what leads to death.

Because to be overly clear… the is a spiritual war for our souls. God is saving souls in His great love. And the devil is trying to destroy us… but very rarely is it a frontal attack. It’s disguised… and in our days… even covered in the appearance of “love.” Not biblical love, just the word. But it’s close enough to appeal to our hearts. And the devil know this... he strategically capitalizes on the truth proclaimed in Proverbs...

Proverbs 14:12 ESV

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

He knows that...

Jeremiah 17:9 NLT

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

In other words, the devil knows it’s easy to trick us. Which means it’s easy to destroy us. And… he’s good at what he does. That’s why Paul told the Corinthians…

2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

The devil has people deceived. And most don’t even realize it. Because the devil - who is the father of lies - is a good liar. His lies almost sound like truth, which makes them easy to accept.

Even think about the word anti-Christ, which is the phrase used to refer to the future world leader who will one day be possessed by the devil and lead the world in one final, end-times rebellion against God.

Did you know the Greek preposition “anti” doesn’t mean opposite? It’s better defined as “similar, but different in nature.” And the reason so many will one day follow the anti-Christ instead of Jesus Christ is because he will be like Jesus… but radically different in nature. There will be “more than meets the eye!”

So, we need the gift of discernment! But, how do we know if we have this gift?

Honestly, I find it difficult to explain. Again, it’s only directly referenced once in the Bible. But I think the verses we’ve discussed are helpful in helping us frame what it would look like...

Therefore, if you’re wondering if God’s given you this gift, ask yourself the following question:

Do you have an ability to sense or see things that are spiritual?

I’ve heard of Christians who walk into a space and say, “Hold up… the presence of God is here.”

I’ve heard of young people (in this town) seeing a spiritual presentation at school and seeing a dark shadow hovering over the presenter. Then, after praying in Jesus name, the shadow disappearing.

I’ve heard Halloween stories of certain houses where there was “more than meets the eye.” And the Spirit of God told people, “Do not go there!” or “Do not take anything from them.”

I believe those with the gift of discerning spirits will have these experiences. They will see the world as God sees it. They will have a Holy Spirit-empowered ability to know whether something is from the Lord or filled with spiritual darkness.

And let me say this… we live in a culture that may mock this gift… even in the church. It may seem weird, but it’s NOT. It’s a special gift from God that helps people experience life instead of death. And if you have this gift, be strong and courageous! Allow the Holy Spirit to use you to build up the church and cast out spiritual darkness!

Response:

[Before we close with communion…]

My prayer is that today we’d leave seeing whatever it is God wants us to see. For some of us, that might be realizing we have a spiritual gift of knowledge, wisdom, or discernment. For others, God might reveal spiritual darkness and sin in our lives that we need to repent of. Whatever it is, I feel lead to end this way...

I want you to know that God sees you. People may see you a certain way, but when God sees you, He sees MORE. He sees His beloved. He sees a person with a person incredible purpose, regardless of your past.

Maybe some of you are asking, “How could God see past my failures? Do you know what I’ve done? I can’t even forgive myself!”

Well, in the wisdom of God, knowing all your failures and sins, Jesus willingly absorbed them on the cross. It’s not that our sins don’t matter, they do. They deserve Gods judgment. But when God sees you, He sees you with everlasting love. And so He sacrificed His life for you. And now, He welcomes you home with arms wide open.

Do you need to come HOME to Jesus today? If so, pray this with me...

God, I’m sorry. Forgive me for my sins. I’m ready to turn from this life. I’m tired of following the devil. I’m ready to follow Jesus. So, I put my faith in Him. I believe He died on the cross for my sins. And I believe He rose 3 days later in victory over sin and death. Please change my life by Your resurrection power. In Jesus name, amen.

Communion:

Before we sing a last song, I’d like for us to take communion together...

1 Cor 11