Gifts Resurrected - The Message of Wisdom & Knowledge

 
These are the first 2 gifts mentioned by our brother Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian Church when he had to correct and rebuke them of their errors. The reason that he mentioned them first should be obvious – the behaviour that the Corinthian Church had slipped into – factionism – in 1 Cor 1:10, and Paul’s answer to that factionism was to have the Church focus back on Christ and His Gospel. 1 Cor 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

So what is the message of wisdom and knowledge at the mature level? The message of Wisdom is the message of the wise, or the message that contains the wisdom of the wise – and as it is written, the wise wins souls. It is the message that can win and save souls … and the only message that can do that is the message of Christ, or as Paul puts it – the message of the cross – is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the Power of God. God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.

And since there is no other name by which man may be saved – the message of wisdom can only mean and be the Gospel of Jesus Christ first – and it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, for no one can say “Jesus is Lord”, except by the Holy Spirit. Since it is a gift, then those who preach the Gospel should give it as they received it, as Paul said in Romans 10:5 And how can they preach the gospel unless they are sent? And if they are sent, then the One who sent them will have provided for them. And this He has, through the provision of miraculous powers, by which not only could they witness Jesus, but do as He did - multiply the food and provide all the needs.

In Luke 22:35, Jesus asked them,”When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing”, they answered. He said to them, But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag, and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one…”.

You can look at what Jesus said here 2 ways. The common way – is that now Jesus was going, the disciples had to provide for themselves….like everybody else…. Hence you bring your own purse….that is, work your own way or have others support you with their purses. That is what is practised commonly, and it is not incorrect, but it is incomplete. For it leaves out the reality that Jesus never left us, but has come in the Holy Spirit and still abides with us in the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Spirit whose miraculous powers are also given to us to provide for us, as well.

So the complete reason the lord asked them to carry purses is so that, at times, they can pay for their way and at other times, they can use the gift of miraculous powers to multiply what they have – according to the word of God.

The power of God cannot multiply Caesar’s coinage, for it belongs to Caesar; but it can multiply what Caesar’s coinage can buy – e.g. it can multiply the silver, gold, the bread, the meat – all of which belongs to God, but not Caesar’s coin. If there is one miracle missing in the book of Acts, it is the multiplication of food by the Apostles – whereas the influx of Caesar’s coinage into the Church from Acts 4:34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the Apostles feet, …

It was this influx of coinage that led to the downfall of Anannias & Sapphira in Acts 5:1, for they obviously sold what they had without a right motive – and the social work that resulted from this coinage in Acts 6:1 – that resulted in the dispute that saw the appointment of the Seven – including Nicholas, who started the Nicolaitan movement that Jesus mentions to the Churches of Ephesus in Rev 2:6 and the Church at Pergamum in Rev 2:15 – teaches which Jesus Himself said He hates.

The infiltration of salvation by works, that came in through the re-introduction of Judeaism into the pure Gospel of Christ, led to increasing decrease in power of the miraculous kind and more and more dependence on powers that are an abomination in the Lord’s eyes – powers that are valued by Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians -> financial and political power. It is the message of Christ that is the true message of wisdom – where salvation is available to all who believe without works – such a message excludes all influences of financial and political power, so that all can be saved. And since the message of wisdom is a gift – and is to be given freely, then those who are sent to preach it will be provided with all they need to effect its message. The first 2 times, the message of wisdom was given out in Acts 2 & 3, 5000 men and families were saved, without any finances needed or any political influences exerted. It was a display of the Holy Spirit’s miraculous powers that set the stage for Peter to preach each time – first with the sound of a violent wind blowing from heaven that attracted thousands and the healing of the cripple outside the Gate Beautiful.

Thus the gift of the message of wisdom is the message of the Cross, which is God’s power to save all who believe. After you are saved, the message of wisdom – is the message from Wisdom that carries the power that keeps you saved – the same message that Wisdom Herself declared in Proverbs 1:22 -33 “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to My rebuke, I would have poured out My heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected Me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out My hand, since you ignored all My advice and would not accept My rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you – when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to Me but will not find Me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept My advice and spurned My rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to Me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Proverbs 8:4-36 “To you, O men, I call out; I raise My voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding. Listen, for I have worthy things to say; I open My lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for My lips detest wickedness. All the words of My mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. Choose My instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for Wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with Her.
“I, Wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgement are Mine; I have understanding and power. Be Me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by Me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth. I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me find Me. With Me are riches and honour, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love Me and making their treasuries full.
The Lord brought Me forth as the first of His works, before His deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began, When there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before He made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when He set the heavens in place, when He marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when He gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep His command, and when He marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at His side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His presence, rejoicing in His whole world and delighting in mankind.
Now then, My sons, listen to Me; blessed are those who keep My ways. Listen to My instruction and be wise, do not ignore it. Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My doors, waiting at My doorway. For whoever finds Me finds life, and receives favour from the Lord. But whoever fails to find Me harms himself; all who hate Me love death.”

Proverbs 9:4-12 “Let all who are simple come in here! Come, eat My food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding. Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through Me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.”

Those who listen then to the Message of Christ, the Words of Life that comes from the Lord, are those who have put their ears to the Message of Wisdom – and as they practise what they have believed and heard – so the Message of Knowledge is given to them – for the Message of Knowledge is a gift from He Who has all knowledge and it is the message of One who knows and who thus has knowledge.

It is the testimony of those who, having believed in the Message of Wisdom, have come to know the truth and reality of that message – and on the basis of that knowledge, so they testify. It is the message of those who have come to know God and Jesus Christ – whom He has sent and its full message contains the four knowledges that have been given to man as a gift from God, like the trees of the Garden of Eden were a gift from God to Adam and Eve.

For knowledge comes only from He Who has knowledge and that has been His purpose all along – to share His knowledge with those who believe Him, obey Him and love Him – and since God is eternal, the extent of His knowledges are unlimited and eternal, necessitating eternal life; if anyone who desires to know Him was ever to come to know Him fully.

The Message of Knowledge is the testimony of those who know, because they have seen, heard, felt, tasted and smelt – and it contains within the four square walls of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; the Knowledge of God, the Knowledge of His Glory and the Knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Knowledge of Good and Evil was a gift from God which He forbade Adam to eat of, lest he die…Genesis 2:16 “but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

A gift that we abused – it was a gift to behold – but not to taste – eat, acquire and partake of, without God’s permission…. But as a result of that, we died and opened the way for God’s salvation for us through faith in Jesus Christ, through Whom the gift of the knowledge of God was given. John 17:3 “Now, this is eternal life, that you come to know Him and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent.” And through this knowledge, as Peter puts it in 2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Through His parables, Jesus then gave us the knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven – us, that is, the disciples – Luke 8:10 “The knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’” And finally, through His gift of the Glory of God John 17:22 “I have given them the glory that You gave Me,” The prophecy of Habbukuk 2:14 is now being fulfilled – “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters covers the sea.”

And this message of knowledge is a gift – for it is only by the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit, that we could survive knowing good and evil in our lives until the day we are drawn to Jesus by the Father to receive the eternal life by which we can come to know God.
And in our pursuit of that life; come to the place where the Spirit of Knowledge and the Spirit of Glory also makes known to us the knowledge of the Secrets of Heaven and the knowledge of the Glory of God.

Thus the true message of knowledge is not a message of worldly wisdom or ways, nor is it a message of scri-prophetic utterances as have been commonly practised in the Church to date; but it is the message of the knowers----
The testimony of those who know Good and evil,
who know God and Jesus Christ Who He sent
who knows the secrets of the Kingdom of God
And who knows the Glory of God - - - for they have seen it, heard it, tasted it, smelt it and felt it with their lives.

It is a message of knowledge, based on testimony, that witnesses to the truth of God and His testimony about Himself and His Christ.

Such a message cannot be acquired without the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit, for it is the power of God that saved us from evil, to bring us into the kingdom o His Son to come to know him and to be raised up as co-heirs. – Ones who can be trusted with the Secrets of the Kingdom.

It is these gifts that God will now, once more unleash in full magnitude, with miraculous powers – so that man’s wisdom and knowledge may be cast down. It is these messages that contain the power of the weapons that we fight with – as Paul puts it in 2 Cor 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

So be complete in your obedience to the Royal Command – “This is My Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” Matt 17:5