~ The Spiritual Gift of Teaching – Words of Wisdom ~
Opening Comment ~ “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18).
Category ~ Sub-categories of the gift of Teaching are the gifts of Words of Wisdom and the gift of Words of Knowledge.
Definition ~ Wisdom means insight into the truth and its application to daily life. Loren Fischer defines this gift as “the God-given ability to locate formally unknown principles as well as to combine known principles of God’s Word and to communicate them to fresh situations. “
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Traits ~ 1) Translates ideas into words easily, analyzing, and explaining situations well. 2) Has the ability to make decisions consistent with Biblical principles before finalizing decisions. 3) Picks up details in such a way as to see the full picture and to summarize it in a meaningful way for others. 4) Chooses friends who hold high standards of conduct, and lovingly exhort those whose lives do not match Biblical standards. 5) A tendency to appear more confident at times than is the case (and they have a tendency to argue at times when evidence is weak). 6) Seeks to find ways to put what is heard into practice. 7) Interprets Scripture with keen insight by seeing practical applications from the text. 8) Suggests practical alternatives to people who are faced with a difficult situation. 9) Strives to be consistent and to determine God’s will in daily activities.
Closing Comments ~ “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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