The Word of Wisdom

The Word of Wisdom



One of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit is called "the word of wisdom." The word of wisdom is wisdom from God imparted by the Holy Spirit that is beyond natural human wisdom.



Wisdom is available to every born-again believer. One of the books in the Bible that talks about wisdom is the book of James. That book is actually a letter that was written by James (one of Jesus' disciples) to the Church. In other words, this letter that we call the book of James is actually a letter written to born-again believers. In James 1:5 it says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally without reproach, and it will be given to him." This verse tells us that a Christian who lacks wisdom can receive wisdom in abundance from God and all he must do is ask in faith and receive it.



However, the Bible tells us of a supernatural anointing of wisdom called "the word of wisdom." First Corinthians 12:8 lists it as one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.



What is the difference between wisdom from God and the word of wisdom? Actually, the answer is simple. Natural wisdom that is available to the born-again believer is wisdom that can be used in making the day-to-day decisions in life. This wisdom can be used in the natural affairs and in the ministry affairs of every believer. However, the word of wisdom is not available to every believer all the time. It is available only as it is distributed by the Holy Spirit and only as He wills to distribute it: "One and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills" (1 Cor. 12:11).



Several years ago I was asked to speak to some business people in our local town. The meeting took place in a banquet room at the bank. They asked me to come and speak what was on my heart. The things of God are always on my heart.



Although I was in the ministry at the time, I was also the president of the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers' Association and chairman of the State Marine Board. They probably thought I was going to talk about high performance power boats, but I didn't. I talked about the things of God and after I spoke, I had an altar call. The business people were very receptive. I laid hands on many people and prayed with them.



Near the end of the meeting, one of the local business women came forward. I had never seen the lady before this night. I asked her what she would like to receive from the Lord. She said she wanted God to help her quit smoking. I agreed with her in prayer that she would receive the strength to quit. But as she turned away and started walking toward the back of the bank meeting room, the Spirit of God came upon me and imparted to me the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom.



I called to the lady. She was about fifteen feet from me by then. She turned and said, "Yes?" I heard myself saying, "The Spirit of God would say to you this night, if you would take the cigarettes you have hidden in the vase by the couch, the cigarettes you've hidden in the canister in the cabinet, and the cigarettes you've hidden in the drawer and destroy them, you will be delivered of smoking permanently."



My mind was thinking, What in the world am I saying? For all I knew, this lady didn't even have a vase beside her couch or a couch for that matter. This information was supernatural knowledge. These were facts about her life I had no way of knowing. No education in any institution of higher learning in the world could have taught me what I was speaking boldly as fact. She turned toward me and acknowledged that what I said was true, but then made a startling statement. She said, "I can't do that because cigarettes are expensive and when I start smoking again, I'll just have to go and buy new ones."



God loved this lady so much that he imparted the word of knowledge to me to reveal a truth in her life. And then He imparted the word of wisdom to me on how to solve the problem. She rejected the knowledge and the wisdom of God.



The wisdom that comes from God through the impartation of the word of wisdom by the Holy Spirit is supernatural wisdom beyond the wisdom of people and wisdom that cannot be attained by intellect or experience.



So the bottom line is this. As a Christian we should be asking God for wisdom daily and be ready and willing to receive the word of wisdom as He imparts it to us by His Holy Spirit.