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The Charism of the Word of Wisdom
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(The following article is from Pentecost Today. October/November/December 2007. Volume 32 #4)
by Virginia King
Charisms are for the body, for building up the body of Christ. Discerning, developing and using the charisms is essential for the growth and maturing of the Church and for the fulfillment of our mission. Therefore we must eagerly desire the charisms, as Paul exhorts us in 1 Corinthians 14:1 and pray for them to be manifest in us.
This article focuses on the charism of word of wisdom. It is important to make distinctions between natural wisdom, the sanctifying gift of wisdom which is mentioned in Is. 11:2, and the charismatic gift of word of wisdom which is mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:8.
Natural wisdom is a certain understanding that is gained by life experience and by training. We learn natural wisdom from our parents and other mentors and role models. Often the older generation is known as the wisdom generation, because their maturity has given them an abundance of opportunity to gain natural wisdom. For example, in Proverbs 3:1-2, the author exhorts his son to learn from his advice.
The sanctifying gift of wisdom is an understanding of how God is calling us to live in order to become holy. It is seeing things from God’s perspective rather than from our own limited perspective. Whereas natural wisdom is often called “common” sense, the sanctifying gift of wisdom might be called “Godly” sense. And seeing something from God’s perspective always involves seeing it through the lens of love. The Holy Spirit gifts us with the ability to understand our lives through the lens of love, which may appear as “foolishness to unbelievers”(1 Cor. 1:20-25).
The charism of word of wisdom is a manifestation of the Spirit in a particular time for a particular situation that builds up the body of Christ by providing understanding of how to live or how to respond. This charism may be manifested in a large public gathering or in counseling an individual. It can be a gift of teaching or of healing or of counsel.
My own experience of the word of wisdom has come in apparently casual conversation when I have found myself speaking things that I had never thought about before. The words speak to the person’s particular situation with power that is from God. I find that I am learning even as I am speaking. I find myself thinking, “Wow, where did that come from?” at the same time that I am aware that the Holy Spirit is providing the words that the other person needs to hear.
On other occasions, I am not conscious of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit but the person reports back, months or years later, that something I said had a life-changing impact on them. Normally I don’t even recall the incident. The charism of word of wisdom can be a gift for healing when a person engaged in healing prayer ministry is given insight into how to pray for a person. This gift often accompanies a Word of Knowledge – the word of knowledge reveals some facts about the person being prayed for, and the word of wisdom helps us know what to do with those facts, how to act on them. If we receive a word of knowledge about a disturbing incident in a person’s past, the word of wisdom will give us understanding of the best way to bring that up in a prayer session. Or whether to bring it up at all. Perhaps it is information that we are to use to intercede for the person, but not to articulate to them. The charism of word of wisdom can also be a gift for teaching. When preparing to give a teaching for a prayer meeting or other gathering, earnestly seek a word of wisdom, an inspiration that will touch people’s hearts and transform their lives. This might be an insight into the nature of God or it might be practical ideas on how we are to respond to a prophetic word or scripture. There are many ways that the Holy Spirit uses the charism of word of wisdom to build up the Body of Christ. Any of us may be used by the Holy Spirit at any time to exercise this gift. Be open to receive and use this charism whenever the Holy Spirit chooses to bestow it upon you.
Virginia King is a former National Service Committee member.