Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. I Corinthians 12:1 (KJV)

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. I Corinthians 12:4 (KJV)

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. I Corinthians 12:7-11 (KJV)

Spiritual gifts refer to supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit wotking through believers to reveal who God is and what He is doing and saying. There are nine gifts and they are commonly divided into three categories of three gifts each, based on their purpose and function. The three categories are:

1. Revelation Gifts

2. Power Gifts

3. Vocal Gifts

The Revelation Gifts are: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the discerning of spirits. The Power Gifts are: The gift of faith, the gift of healings, and the working of miracles. The Vocal gifts are: the gift of tongues, the gift of interpretation of tongues, and the gift of prophecy. Let’s explore each of these categories in more detail. Today we’ll look at the Revelation Gifts.

Word of Wisdom

This is when the Holy Spirit speaks a word of God’s wisdom to a situation, to solve a problem, and can even give wisdom for future events. It can provide wisdom insights for the future. It is a declaration of God’s mind and purpose not learned through education but supernaturally given by God. It is wisdom given when needed. It is not the same as asking God for wisdom (James 1:5), which then revealed through study and seeking God. A word of wisdom is given at the discretion of the Holy Spirit. Acts 15:13-22 is an example of God giving someone (James) a word of wisdom. Luke 21:10-15 is an example of Jesus operating in a word of wisdom. We also see it in Acts 6:10, Acts 8:26-29, Acts 9:10-16.

Word of Knowledge

This is when God shares a portion of His knowledge so you can know of something that has happened or is happening in a perosn’s life or in a certain situation. It is not the whole picture, but just a word or portion of it. The Holy Spirit allows you to know something by revelation that you didn’t know before- possibly something that no one knows but the person you are speaking to. Word of knowledge often works in tandem with word of wisdom, as you may have noticed in Acts 9:10-16. Word of knowledge can be seen in operation in Acts 5:1-10.

Discerning of Spirits

This is when you can see or discern in the spirit realm. God by His Spirit reveals what spirit is at work in a situation or person. It reveals whether it is a demon spirit, man’s spirit, or God’s Spirit in operation. Demon spritis are evil and negative but can manifest themselves as angels of light to decieve and lead people astray. The discerning of spirits shows if we are encoutering the demonic. It also shows us whether a man’s spirit is godly or not. It allows you to pick up whether the spirit that is in operation is of God or not. We see this in Acts 16:16-18, and I John 4:1.

That’s a basic description of the Revelation Gifts. Tomorrow we’ll continue talking about the gifts of the Spirit by focusing on the Power Gifts.