A WORD OF KNOWLEDGE
(1 Corinthians 12:8)
Definition. A word of knowledge is a fragment or small item of God's knowledge, given to a
person by the Holy Spirit.
● It gives us certain facts and information through the supernatural revelation of the
Holy Spirit.
Examples from Scripture:
1. In the Ministry of Jesus:
○ Jesus knew certain facts about Nathaniel before He ever met him (John
1:47-50).
○ Jesus knew many facts about the woman of Samaria, although He had never
previously seen her (John 4:18-20).
○ She was amazed by His accuracy of His knowledge concerning her past and
present life.
○ The exercise of this word of knowledge eventually brought about a great
revival.
2. In the Early Church:
○ Ananias received specific information in great detail about Saul, whom he had
never met before. He knew exactly the street and house in which Saul was
staying.
○ He knew that Saul was presently praying and that when he, Ananias, laid
hands on him, he would receive his sight (Acts 9:10-20).
3. In the Old Testament:
In 2 Samuel 12:1-4, God revealed to Nathan certain facts and details regarding
David's transgression.
→ Its Employment in Scripture:
1. To uncover sin (2 Samuel 12:1-10, Acts 5:1-11).
2. To bring people to God (John 1:47-50; John 4:18-20).
3. To give guidance and direction (Acts 9:10).
4. To minister encouragement in periods of despondency (1 Kings 19:9).
5. To impart knowledge of future events (Acts 11:27-28).
6. To reveal hidden things (1 Samuel 10:22).
The Operation of this Gift:
1. It operates by faith. The person receiving the revelation does so by faith.
2. The revelation is received in one's spirit... not in the intellect or emotions.
3. It is not essentially a vocal endowment. It may be received quietly within the passive
spirit or audibly on occasion (Acts 9:11).
4. It may become vocal when shared with others (John 4:16-19; 1:18).
5. Any Spirit-filled Christian who is willing to hear God's voice may experience this gift.
6. It is an invaluable asset in the ministry of counseling.
The gift of a word of knowledge allows a behavior to relate to Scriptures, and particularly the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, to all aspects of life.
They can see how it connects to every situation and circumstance and how the reality and
truth of the Gospel is to inform every decision a Christian makes.
● Able to see the circumstances of our life as God sees them.
DISCERNING OF SPIRITS (1 Corinthians 12:10)
Discerning of spirits is a more important subject than we generally realize.
If this spiritual gift were used more frequently, many problems we face may be minimized.
It helps us see into the spiritual realm to distinguish between evil spirits, the Spirit of God,
and human spirits.
By this gift, we can discern the origin of certain actions, teachings, circumstances, etc., that
have been inspired by the spirit beings.
a) The Function of the Gift:
The gift of Discerning of spirits gives one a supernatural advantage of the nature and activity
of spirits.
It enables one to distinguish between the divine, Satanic and human origin of spiritual
activity, and reveals the nature of the spirits themselves.
It is easy to confuse the works of the Spirit of Satan with those of the Spirit of God.
Satan always tries to counterfeit the works of the Holy Spirit. Satan is known as the deceiver,
the father of lies, and the serpent. All these titles signify his subtle crafty deceptiveness
which he uses to bring about evil whenever he can.
● Many times his counterfeit looks so much like the real thing that we could be
deceived.
1. The Bible clearly forbids spiritism among God's people and to make no attempt to
contact spirits - Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; Galatians 5:20; 2 Chronicles 33:6
● These are "occultic" practices put under the veil of "Science"!
○ Hebrews 9:27
● There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that spirits return to the land of the living for
any reason or any form.
● We know that Satan is a deceiver (John 8:44).
● Any contact a person has with the "soul of the departed" is actually contact with
demons in disguise - Revelation 12:9, 1 Peter 5:8
2. Medium - A person who communicates with spirits, usually apart from the use of
witchcraft.
A medium is, literally, an "intermediary" between the spirit world and ours.
The Bible condemns this practice of attempting to speak to the dead.
● A medium might only communicate with one or more specific spirits (called "familiars"
or familiar spirits). But all communication by spirit actors may exploit spirits.
○ Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-11; 1 Samuel 28
3. Conjuring - Performing tricks which are seemingly magical.
4. Séance - A meeting at which people attempt to make contact with the dead.
● God seems to have allowed this in the case of Saul in order to drive home His point.
● The prophetic message to Saul was one of doom (1 Samuel 28:17-19), and he died
the next day.
● 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 - It is Saul’s interaction with the medium that was an important
part of why he died.
HOW THE GIFT OF DISCERNING OF SPIRITS OPERATES
The first and most obvious function of this gift is to reveal the presence of evil spirits in the
life of people.
However, it also functions to evaluate the source of a prophetic message, a particular
teaching, or some supernatural manifestation.
The person functioning with this gift will be able to tell whether the source of the message or
act is demonic, divine, or merely human.
If the source is discovered to be demonic, the person functioning in this gift will also be able
to reveal the nature of the demon—e.g., lying, lust, or unclean behavior.
Discerning of spirits doesn’t always give one the faith to expel demons.
Although this gift is essential for effective deliverance, it is not sufficient by itself.
It must work in concert with the gifts of faith and miracles.
1. Revealing the nature of demons – This is what his work is, whether lying, causing
infirmity or unclean behavior, and the like.
2. The name of the demon – This is usually revealed with the nature of the demon,
although it isn’t at all uncommon to reveal a demon’s Proper name.
3. The number of demons: This happened in Mark 5:1-9 and the seven demons which
Jesus cast out of Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2).
It is not at all uncommon for a person to be demonized by more than one spirit at a time.
This is part of the information revealed by the gift of discerning of spirits.
4. The strength of particular demons:
Often during an encounter with an evil spirit, the one who functions with the gift of
discerning of spirits will know by revelation which of several demons is strongest and
has the greatest authority.
5. Getting information:
Often, demons will give much information verbally to one they know has
supernaturally discerned their presence and who has power to cast them out.
However, since demons can be counted on to lie, it is a good idea to treat the information
they give with suspicion and count on insights and understanding supernaturally given by the
Holy Spirit.
