“for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit…”
We find a catalog of nine gifts in verses 8-10. Paul lists additional gifts in the latter part of the chapter (1 Co 12:28f). Romans 12 catalogs seven gifts, with some duplications from 1 Corinthians 12. Ephesians 4 lists four gifts (the definite article before the pastor-teacher makes it one gift).
for
The word “for” connects verses 8-11 to verse 7, establishing that the Holy Spirit gives Christians special, supernatural capacities and thereby edifies the church.
to one is given
The word “given” indicates that when the Holy Spirit gives special, supernatural enablement to serve the Lord, He gives it freely without merit from the receiver of the gift. The Holy Spirit gives these gifts apart from merit. We have a gift for one reason only – because the Holy Spirit decided to give it. It is not because we are better or worse than anyone else. We have no involvement in the receipt of it.
the word of wisdom through the Spirit,
There are two lists of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, one beginning in this verse and the other at the end of the chapter. In this section, Paul describes nine ways the Spirit manifests Himself through believers. The first is the discourse of wisdom, not wisdom itself. Wisdom is the ability to apply truth to experience. Wisdom is the ability to assimilate facts and knowledge, and then to appropriate, masticate, and use them effectively. It is a gift of insight into both the principles of Scripture and their application to everyday experience. The “word of wisdom” is the ability to speak in a way that appropriates the tenets of Scripture to real-life experience.
to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
The phrase “word of knowledge” carries the idea of speaking knowledge or the “discourse of knowledge.” It is both the perception and communication of God’s Word. “Knowledge” itself is the accumulation of facts or data from the Word of God.
PRINCIPLE:
All God expects of us is to do what we can with what we have.
APPLICATION:
All God expects of us is to do what we can with what we have. If He gave us a four-cylinder gift, then that is what He expects; if He gave us a 16-cylinder gift, then He expects more from us. He expects us to operate on all four cylinders if that is what He gave us. Some people know a lot, but they cannot apply it very much. They have a spiritual charley horse. They know some facts, but they can’t do much with them. Wisdom encompasses practical matters and the dexterity required for daily living.
We cannot go over this list of nine gifts and pick and choose those we like because the Holy Spirit sovereignly bestows gifts upon us. It is His prerogative. We live in an age of specialists, and when we go to a doctor, he sends us to a specialist. The Holy Spirit has equipped believers to be specialists for the church.
When God puts a shovel in our hands, He expects us to use it. If God puts a pen in our hands, He expects us to write with it. The local church is an area where God expects us to use our gifts. It is not the place to sit in the grandstands, cheering while others use their gifts. It is easy to criticize the players on the field from the grandstands.
