In this teaching, the speaker outlines three distinct prophetic functions described in the Bible. The first, general prophecy, is divine revelation about future events, illustrated by Agabus’s prediction of a famine in Acts 11:27‑28. The second, the word of wisdom, is godly, divinely‑originated reasoning that provides solutions in complex situations; it is referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:8. The third, the word of knowledge, is the supernatural acquisition of factual information about the present or past, exemplified by Jesus’s knowledge of the Samaritan woman’s marital history at the well. The speaker distinguishes each function—future, solution‑oriented, and present/past insight—addresses common criticisms of the word of knowledge, and invites viewers to share additional prophetic gifts in the comments.
Chapters
Did you know that the Bible describes at least 3 different kinds of prophetic functions? First, there's the kind of prophetic gift with which most are familiar: general prophecy. This is divine revelation regarding the future. An example of this kind of prophetic expression is found in Acts 11:27-28. During this time, some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius. Secondly, there is the word of wisdom. The word of wisdom is more than just human wisdom. It's godly wisdom. The word of wisdom is divine reasoning. This prophetic expression proves to be a great advantage in complex or confusing situations because the one operating in the word of wisdom uses divine perspective to see a solution everyone else missed. The word of wisdom is referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:8, for to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. In that same verse, we also saw a third kind of prophetic function, the word of knowledge. Just as the word of wisdom is more than just human wisdom, so the word of knowledge is more than just human knowledge. The word of knowledge is the supernatural acquisition of knowledge. We see this function in Jesus's interaction with the woman at the well. I don't have a husband, the woman replied. Jesus said, you're right. You don't have a husband, for you have had 5 husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now. You certainly spoke the truth. The information Jesus revealed had to do with details of the woman's life, but it wasn't the information itself that was supernatural. It was the way Jesus Acquired the information. He received that information through divine revelation. Prophecy deals with the future, but the word of knowledge deals with the present and the past, or everyday details of life and the material world. Now, this leads some to criticize the word of knowledge as being pointless or just for show, or of being easy to duplicate. But look at the woman's response to Jesus's divine revelation. of what was just to her everyday information. Sir, the woman said, you must be a prophet. The woman recognized the prophetic nature of the word that Jesus shared. Though not having to do with the future, it was still divinely revealed and thus prophetic in nature. Prophecy reveals the future. Wisdom reveals the solution. Knowledge reveals the present and past. Now, in the comments section, tell me, what are some other prophetic gifts that I didn't mention here?
