Empowered: Word of Wisdom & Word of Knowledge | Micah Eldridge

Paul’s list in 1 Corinthians 12 presents spiritual gifts as manifestations of the Spirit given “for the common good.” These gifts are tools, not spiritual status symbols. Jesus gives them so believers can serve people, strengthen the church, and point the world back to the Giver.

The empowered gifts differ from embodied gifts because the Spirit comes upon believers for others as they surrender themselves to Jesus’ service. Paul’s word gifts, power gifts, and revelatory gifts all work by one and the same Spirit, who distributes them as he determines. The church therefore cannot assign gifts by personality, preference, or spiritual comparison.

Prophecy functions as divine communication of God’s will to his people. Paul expects prophecy to be common in the body because people need more than the written Word in general terms. The Spirit also gives spoken, situational insight for what God is doing in the middle of real life. Embodied gifts shape how that prophetic word sounds, whether corrective, instructive, comforting, encouraging, or merciful.

Wisdom and knowledge work like different blades on the same pocket knife of prophecy. A word of wisdom is Spirit-prompted insight about what to do. Jesus shows this wisdom with the woman caught in adultery, refusing both self-righteous stone throwing and casual permission for sin. Christ brings justice and mercy together, calling the accusers to face their own sin and calling the woman to leave hers.

A word of knowledge is Spirit-prompted insight about what is true, something that could not otherwise be known. Jesus’ words to Nathanael and the woman at the well reveal that God sees people clearly. Knowledge is not meant to humiliate people, but to humble, help, and heal them, opening their hearts to the fact that God knows and cares.

The Spirit calls those who receive these impressions to pause and pray, then wait for an opportunity to deliver the word with humility and consent. God’s words are delicate, sacred information entrusted for another brother or sister. The recipient must then process, test, and act on what was given. The gifts and the fruit of the Spirit belong together, because love, gentleness, patience, and self-control make Jesus visible in the way his voice is shared.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Gifts serve others, not spiritual status [04:16] Spiritual gifts do not exist to make anyone look impressive or important. The Spirit gives them for the good of others, often requiring humility and sacrifice from the person carrying the gift. Jesus becomes more beautiful when gifts become practical acts of love rather than public displays of spirituality. [04:16]
• 2. Wisdom reveals what faithfulness requires now [21:27] A word of wisdom is not merely good advice from an experienced person. The Spirit brings truth into a particular situation and makes clear what someone should do next. Christ’s response to the adulterous woman shows that true wisdom refuses to separate mercy from repentance. [21:27]
• 3. Knowledge reveals that God sees clearly [32:21] A word of knowledge can open a heart because it reveals that God knows what no human observer could know. Such knowledge should never become a weapon for exposing people. The Father entrusts insight so that people may be helped, steadied, and drawn toward healing. [32:21]
• 4. Pause before delivering a spiritual impression [36:13] The Spirit’s promptings require care because they involve another person’s heart and life. Prayer protects a word from haste, ego, and the urge to force an outcome. God may call someone to speak immediately, to wait a long time, or simply to pray quietly until the right moment comes. [36:13]
• 5. Gifts and fruit must stay together [41:23] Spiritual power without Christlike character can become controlling, manipulative, or harmful. The fruit of the Spirit gives the gifts their proper tone and purpose. Love, gentleness, and self-control help people see not merely a supernatural moment, but Jesus himself.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:32] - A Father’s Pocket Knife
• [03:14] - Gifts Are Tools for Others
• [05:57] - Embodied and Empowered Gifts
• [07:27] - Manifestations for the Common Good
• [10:45] - Prophecy and Its Different Expressions
• [17:41] - Wisdom and Knowledge as Prophetic Gifts
• [20:58] - The Word of Wisdom
• [29:25] - The Word of Knowledge
• [35:44] - Pause, Pray, Deliver, Release
• [41:23] - Gifts Joined to Spiritual Fruit
• [43:41] - Making Space to Hear God’s Voice
• [46:24] - Prayer for a Gifted Church

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 12:7-11
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” [07:41]

1 Corinthians 14:3
“On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” [17:30]

John 8:1-11
“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” [21:55]

Observation questions

1. In 1 Corinthians 12:7–11, what repeated phrases show both the purpose of the gifts and the One who gives them? [07:41]
2. What three kinds of gifts are identified in the message, and which gifts are included in each group? [09:47]
3. According to 1 Corinthians 14:3, what three outcomes should prophecy bring to people?
4. In John 8:1–11, what does Jesus say to the accusers, and what does he say to the woman? How do both responses address the situation? [22:23]

Interpretation questions

1. If the Spirit distributes gifts “as he determines,” why is it harmful for believers to rank themselves or others based on visible gifts? [08:54]
2. How does Jesus’ response in John 8 hold together moral seriousness, mercy, forgiveness, and a call to change? Why are all of these needed when giving someone guidance? [23:14]
3. A word of wisdom is described as Spirit-prompted insight about what to do, while a word of knowledge reveals what is true. How could confusing these two lead to unhelpful or overly confident guidance? [29:41]
4. Why might a person need time to process and test a spiritual impression before acting on it? What protects both the speaker and recipient when this is done humbly? [39:55]

Application questions

1. Where might you be tempted to treat a spiritual gift, natural ability, or ministry role as a measure of importance? What would it look like to use it simply as a tool to serve someone this week? [03:44]
2. Is there someone in your life who regularly comes to you for advice, encouragement, or perspective? Before offering your best thoughts next time, how could you pause and ask the Holy Spirit whether he has something specific for that person? [25:02]
3. Think of a current decision, conflict, or difficult relationship. What would it look like to pursue wisdom that brings together truth, mercy, and a clear next step rather than choosing only one of those things? [23:49]
4. Have you ever sensed an impression, Scripture, image, dream, or concern for someone else but dismissed it as merely intuition or imagination? How could you prayerfully discern whether God may be inviting you to pray or speak? [34:55]
5. When you believe God may be giving you something for another person, which part is hardest for you: pausing, praying, waiting, asking permission, sharing humbly, or releasing the outcome? Why? [36:04]
6. How could you offer a spiritual impression in a way that gives the other person freedom to receive it, delay it, test it, or decline it? [37:50]
7. Have you ever been hurt, pressured, or unsettled by the way someone used spiritual language or claimed to have a word from God? What would help make this group and church a place where gifts are joined with love, gentleness, patience, and self-control? [41:23]