1 Cor 12:8 To another, the word of knowledge. The churches are aware of spiritual gifts of prophecy, tongues, miracles and healing etc but not much is said about this gift, called the word of knowledge. The natural world acknowledges the existence of some inexplicable perception that some one may possess, usually among the women folk, and it is known as intuition. Intuition may be defined as a natural ability or power that makes it possible to know something without any proof or evidence : a feeling that guides a person to act a certain way without fully understanding why (Websters dictionary). We therefore acknowledge that there is such a thing in the natural world, but why is it incredible that God cannot give such knowledge to His people. After Pentecost, the first description of this is recorded for us in the Acts of the Apostles story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5). Peter had a word of knowledge when he understood that this couple had lied to the Holy Spirit. This is just one example, but there are many other situations in which a person is given supernatural ability to know something that may not be otherwise known. It may surprise some of us, but this knowledge may not always be in relation to religious events! Notice that Paul calls this logos gnoseos, not rhema, but logos. It is important to define the terms here. Logos is intelligible understanding and gnosis is experiential but still fragmentary knowledge. It is not the same as intuition because it is given from external. It is learned and received and not instinctive. What does this mean then? We as Christians, can ask for it. Yes, we can pray that God opens our eyes to understand an issue! Ignatius Theophorus, the Bishop of Antioch in Syria, shortly after all the Apostles had slept, wrote a letter to his friend Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, and said, as respects those things that are not seen, pray that God would reveal them to you in order that you may be wanting in nothing, but may abound in every gift. O, friends! Who wants to know of a thing? Ask God and He will make it known to you. It is a gift of grace by the Holy Spirit.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:48:42 +0000
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