“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the -same- Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the -same- Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the -same- God which worketh all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to -one- is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to -another- the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To -another- faith by the same Spirit; to -another- the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To -another- the working of miracles; to -another- prophecy; to -another- discerning of spirits; to -another- divers kinds of tongues; to -another- the interpretation of tongues:
But all these worketh that -one and the selfsame Spirit- , dividing to every man -severally- as he will.”
- 1 Corinthians 12:4–11 (AV)
“If ye abide in me, and -my words abide in you-, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” - John 15:7–8 (AV)
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BIBLICAL LIVING 101 - The Holy Spirit - Part 8 - Wisdom
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Look at this picture of a Tree.
The 4 Bible references in the corners are the sources of the elements graphically represented in that picture - in total, showing us a representation of Jesus, our model and template, The Perfect Human being. It shows us the source and attributes of His Power ( roots and things underground, the trunk of the tree ) , the loveliness of His character ( the Fruits on the tree ), and His “ministries” on Earth.... the oxygen from the leaves if you will....
In our posts thus far, we have covered the items in Black ( the 7 fold nature of the Holy Spirit Himself and His mission here in the Age of Grace ) , Red ( Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Prophecy ) - the “speaking gifts”, and Green ( Faith, Healing ( briefly ) and Miracles ) - the “ power “ gifts. This week we are Blue ... wisdom, knowledge, and discernment of Spirits.
Please note that the External manifestations of these gifts ( fruit is expected of all ), depend on the mixture or degree to which they are present in any person, and it is a highly complex interaction of all these diverse elements - that give us the iridescent hues of each individual member of the Bride of Christ... that manifest as fragrances in the world... a deep, rich, and lustrous bouquet! Some bring a harvest of 10, some 50, some a hundred times!
For all their diversity, all these elements stem from the One Source. God almighty, 3 Persons, yet One even then!
This is the starting point of all wisdom... the KNOWLEDGE of Him. Said both ways in scripture... Psalm 111:10 (AV): “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. “ and.... Proverbs 1:7 (AV): “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Don’t be offended, because it’s - if A,then B. If knowing God is wisdom, then rejecting Him is by definition......CHOOSING to be foolish...ignoring the evidence of our eyes, our minds, Biblical and secular history, our own faith experiences.. ( Ebenezer... “hitherto hath God helped us” ), and ultimately, choosing to believe that the evil we see in this world is inexplicable. The Bible pulls back the curtain on all of that....
If you are wondering why we have lumped discernment of spirits with the other two, it’s because these 3, ( and indeed all the “underground/hidden” gifts ) - share one Word that embodies Him - and that word is TRUTH... because they flow from the Spirit of Truth.
Wisdom discerns truth through experience, and knowledge - which collects it. Faith ( grows through hearing, testing, and experiencing truth ), miracles and healing attest to the Word of Truth, tongues and prophecy communicate it. The Spirits work of Sanctification means opening our eyes to the truth, and empowering us to walk in it! .... it is helpful , therefore, to understand Discernment of spirits, as being a means to accurately understand the heart/intent of a matter or person.
A half-truth ( “ You shall not surely die “ ) was mixed with the truth ( “ you will become like God, knowing good and evil “ ) to engineer mankind’s fall from grace. In our second text, Christ says... IF His words abide in you, God gives you anything you ask(!), because you will ask according to His will... which is to glorify Him by bearing much -fruit- as His disciples. Trees are a very important image in scripture for a reason...
Words have TREMENDOUS power! ( .... feel that wisdom burn beginning... https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t4c/1/16/1f642.png");">? )
What brought the World into existence? The spoken Word. What upholds it? The same....(Hebrews 1:3 (AV): “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and —-upholding all things by the word of his power—-, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”) We can view our entire universe as made up of patterns of information, that obey physical laws /words ( for e.g. matter is defined by patterns of protons and electrons that arranged certain ways, give us everything we see, hear, touch, feel..etc ) ... our spiritual souls though .... are different.
What did the LORD choose to communicate with man and build faith? His Word. What did Christ ask His disciples to do? TEACH people to obey all the Words ( commandments ) He spoke to them. What emerges from Christ’s mouth to slay the wicked at His coming... ?...the double edged sword of the breath of His mouth, the Word of God! We use words to describe and experience our world. How does Christ sanctify the church? Ephesians 5:25–26 (AV): “ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; —-That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water —-by the word—-, “)
Our outlook / concepts through which we understand life ( our Worldview ) define the world we choose to live in... despairing or joyful in hope! Our minds grow and develop by hanging ideas and concepts on sounds and letters, and it is these “ideas” that begin to grasp at, and touch the very very abstract concepts of wisdom, knowledge, discernment and the great-granddaddy .... TRUTH!!!! Stop and think about it... you are what you believe you are, and do, what you think you can do.
Now someone say that’s a miracle right there......!!!!
Humans ( and all beings we see in the Bible) are Word-processors...thinking...information processing... feeling, and willing ( intentional ) beings. Your body defines what you look like, but it’s your soul that is really you! Your character, emotions, intentions ( which then lead to choices and consequences of action, results feed back into your learning loop ) are what define you.
That’s why getting the right Words into your brain ( yes... we are not ashamed to call it brainwashing https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t4c/1/16/1f642.png");">? ) is so vitally important - the Word ( TRUTH ) is what Christ used to defeat Satan, and it’s what he hates with a passion ( Jesus Himself, AND the written Word ). Satan has spread lies, misinformation, and confusion about the Word , removed it from a LOT of pulpits (and schools , courts, government https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t22/1/16/1f61e.png");">? ), actively removes it from peoples minds, and has even twisted and used to attack us with! ( Garden, Sin slaying by the Law , Fake Religion ). The fight on this planet is for the dominance of Truth!
Words contain knowledge and wisdom, and -are- how we DO Life, how much more should we value the wisdom and knowledge contained in the Words of He who is Light and Life itself! ( *** this series *** )
The Word is beautifully rich and complex. Our first text this week is one we have quoted so many times in so many contexts, as the anchor for our study. When we shift our emphasis from the ..enumeration / naming of the gifts, to the words we have highlighted , like a kaleidoscope, a new pattern emerges... the reason for diversity, and the fundamental underlying unity of Truth!
The text outlines, and we have already remarked on the diverse one-ness of the Trinity, in giving —— gifts/graces ( charisma- from charis... Grace .. the Spirit ) , administrations or ministries ( diakonia... deacon.. service - Jesus Christ ), and operations ( energema... energy,power ) God Almighty.
Wisdom is noticing that all gifts are not given to one person.... but to ANOTHER, ANOTHER,ANOTHER... you get the point.... however... they are designed to be COMPLEMENTARY... so that (a) no one person gets a swollen head (b) together , they reflect the unity of the LORD , and His Body. .... just see where the apostle goes immediately after this...
1 Corinthians 12:12–22 (AV): “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased —him—-.
And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:”
Unity in diversity... united by a common bond of gifts of Truth. IMPORTANT : We believe EVERY CHRISTIAN has ALL of these gifts to -some degree- ( reasoning.... All humans/non Christians display -some- of these gifts and fruits too in the secular world.... why... because God breathes His Spirit into every human... therefore ... there is nothing preventing a water and Spirit baptized child of God from completely experiencing the Spirit in some measure in all these areas....) however most Christians will have some gifts MORE THAN OTHERS IN PROPORTION... designed for his/her calling in life.
Christ commended many people for their faith... a Roman centurion, a Syro-Phoenician woman, the friends who lowered their crippled friend in front of Him... but He genuinely commended only —one— man for being —truthful—-.... can you tell us who it was? ..... none of the usual suspects....
John 1:47 (AV): Jesus saw -Nathanael- coming to him, and saith of him, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! “ What a compliment... to be called one who is so TRUTHFUL he is transparent! We see Nathanael mentioned only in this passage, and in the boat with Peter after Christ’s resurrection... where we are told he was from Cana in Galilee ( John 21:2 )... tradition identifies him as the same as Bartholomew, by which name he is identified in the synoptic gospels ( Matt/ Mark/ Luke ).
The fact that this was indeed a compliment is given by the prophetic statement that emerges from his mouth.... John 1:49 (AV): Nathanael answered and saith unto him, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.” He was the first person , not counting John the Baptist, to “Get” the KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, and DECLARE IT, ONE DAY after Christ was baptized in the Jordan and with the Spirit!
So Wisdom, Knowledge, Discernment in its purest form is coming to appreciate the True Light of the world, full of grace and Truth - and we do that by His gift to humans of Word, which defines thinking, and ultimately, guides us to make wise decisions. Practically, these gifts help us to get to the “true spirit “ of a matter, Word, or person, for the benefit of the work of the church.
God calls us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. We must walk in truth... no lies, false promises, convenient excuses ( we may have to dance to accomplish those ) , no gossiping , IN ALL SPHERES OF LIFE ...work, play, family, and your relationship with God ( be truthful with Him )... trust His Word, act on it, and watch your life change!
1 John 3:18–24 (AV): “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we -know- that we are of the -truth-, and shall assure our hearts before him.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, -because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.-
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we -know- that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. “
Hallelujah!