Spiritual Gifts Knowledge Part 2

[HKHaugan]

Of the three kinds of knowledge, heart, intellectual and faith, it is the third one that delivers something special when it comes to knowledge. The gift of knowledge brings us into a dimension of faith where what is perceived comes from the Holy Spirit, not just speculation or experience. It comes in order to emphasize how personal and immediate is the presence of God when it comes to imparting personal insight. God wants to be known personally, wants to be involved personally and wants to accomplish His will in a way that every person knows it is Him. That is not only for the one bearing the gift but also for the one receiving the benefit of the gift.

The Greek word, gnosis, to know, used in Scripture has a far deeper connotation than its use in secular society. Knowing is more than just knowing a fact or an acquaintance or that you exist. That kind of knowing is surface, superficial. In Scripture knowing involves a personal intimacy God provides between Himself and each believer. When God brings intimacy to us it spreads into restoring intimacy with others. It is a part of His grace ‘that saved a wretch like me.’ It penetrates the heart, evokes an internal response and actually works itself into the whole fabric of mind, heart and spirit.

The gift of knowledge is that special ability to perceive what God has given to enable intimacy with Him, to build intimacy in faith in the Body and to help individual believers in their personal walk with God. It may be a vision, a dream, a momentary insight or a sense in which God is revealing something special. It is that sense of insight He gives that moves one toward a realization of intimacy with God and others. Daniel, Joseph, David are clear examples from the Old Testament. Paul, Peter, John show it in the New Testament.

But especially is it seen in Jesus when He sighted Nathanael (John 1:47), His conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well when He told her about her state of mind, her past and her present (John 4:17-18) and the motivations of those who followed Him across the lake after the feeding of the 5000 (John 6:26) and knowing the right time to arrive upon hearing of the death of Lazarus (John 11).

The danger in definition is over-definition. As in any gift it is the Holy Spirit who urges the individual believer to open the door to the Lord, the Lord’s direction and then the Lord’s action. Every gift is a gift from the Spirit and its reality only emerges when the Scripture is brought in to let the Spirit guide. Cushioned in prayer and sharing the gift is confirmed and practiced in the context of the Body. When one realizes deeper intimacy with God, it motivates the heart to step out in faith. It is faith-knowledge that engages intellectual and heart knowledge and makes them far more productive and in line with what God intended in Creation.

When the heart of a scientist, artist, technician, educator, lawyer, psychiatrist and so on, is bathed in faith, world knowledge is no longer just a personal passion, a career and ego builder. One’s world perspective is broadened. There is a growing excitement within. It becomes God’s vehicle to reconcile that part of the world to God. When a heart is changed and transformed, talent, skill and the mind are applied on a broader scale with a deeper sense of purpose. Their application expands into the world, the individual produces more and God gets the glory.

So, practically speaking, if you get a sudden sense of knowing, a mental impression or what seems to be an insight involving another believer or the Body or yourself, lift your mind and heart immediately to the Lord. Pray, check the Scripture, call a brother or sister in the Body and share it. Further, it means you need to be even more intentional in reading Scripture and prayer so that you can be ready to receive what God has blessed you with in order to be a blessing to the Body and to Him.

Consider Paul’s response when He realized what it was to know Jesus: “The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness. I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it (Php.3:7-11 The Message Bible).”