Walking - Spirit & Truth Fellowship International

To send this article to a friend, visit TruthOrTradition.com/wisdomWhat is a Message of Wisdom?“Wisdom” is guidance or direction about what to do in any givensituation.A message of wisdom is God or the LordJesus Christ providing to you direction,or how to apply the knowledge you haveabout something.Amessage of wisdom (1 Cor.12:8) is a manifestation of thegift of holy spirit. In contrast toknowledge, “wisdom” is guidance ordirection about what to do in any givensituation. Webster’s 1828 Dictionarycaptures the essence of wisdom: “theright use or exercise of knowledge.” 1 Asa manifestation of the gift of holy spirit,a message of wisdom is God or the LordJesus Christ giving a Christian “wisdom,”direction as to what to do, via the gift ofholy spirit that is sealed inside him.Examples from the BibleThe Bible has many examplesof God giving people direction byrevelation. Most of the time, “a messageof wisdom” is given along with “amessage of knowledge.” God will tellyou something (knowledge), and thentell you what to do (wisdom). Or He willtell you what to do (wisdom), and thentell you why (knowledge). If God gives amessage of wisdom without a messageof knowledge, it is usually because the“why” is soon apparent. For example,someone driving toward an intersectionwhere he has the right of way gets arevelation to stop (a message of wisdom;what to do in the situation), and does.A car coming the other way ignoresthe stop sign and speeds through theintersection. In that case, God did nothave to give a message of knowledgeabout why to stop; that informationcame through the five senses.If God tells a person what to dothrough a prophet, another Christian,a sign of some sort, or a phenomenonsuch as an angel or a talking donkey(Num. 22:28), the message may berevelation, but it is not a “manifestationof holy spirit.” In order to be a“manifestation of the spirit,” themessage must come directly to theperson via the gift of holy spirit. TheBible is full of examples of God giving amessage of wisdom, for example: He toldNoah to build an ark, Abraham to leaveMesopotamia and go to a new land,Moses to build the Tent of Meeting, andJoshua how to cross the Jordan River.The most common thing we seein Scripture, however, is that God givesmessages that are a blend of knowledge(information) and wisdom (guidance,direction), just like we do when wespeak to one another. Note the examplesbelow:Exodus 7:14 and 15(14) Then the Lo r d said to Moses,“Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;he refuses to let the peoplego [Information: a message ofknowledge].(15) Go to Pharaoh in themorning as he goes out to thewater. Wait on the bank of theNile to meet him, and take inyour hand the staff that waschanged into a snake [Direction:a message of wisdom].1 Samuel 16:7But the Lo r d said to Samuel, “Donot consider his appearance orhis height [Direction: a messageof wisdom], for I have rejected18 STFonline.org/sower | May/June 2008