Word of Knowledge
The manifestation of the word of knowledge is listed in I Corinthians 12:8. Some say that it is a “gift” of knowledge and proceed to say that God imparts theological knowledge of His Word to the recipient. This manifestation, however, is not 2 Timothy 2:15 (“Study to show yourself approved). Theological knowledge or general knowledge of God and His plan of redemption comes by study of the Word. All of us are commanded to be grounded in the Word. Those who say that this manifestation is a “gift of knowledge” also ignore the explicit Greek. The Word does not say that it is a gift of knowledge, but a “word” of knowledge.
First of all, this manifestation is completely supernatural and cannot be achieved by any human effort. We can no more attain a word of knowledge than we could attain to speaking in tongues by learning languages. In this manifestation of the Spirit, God imparts a fragment (word) of knowledge that He knows to the recipient. The word is a supernatural revelation of certain past or present facts in the mind of God. It is given to the recipient by the Spirit for a specific purpose. As I Corinthians 12:1-3 says that there are a variety of different operations and administrations, the word of knowledge might be manifested in different ways.
In Acts 9:10-12, the Word says:
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord is a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. Adn the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth …
In this account, we see that Ananias, just an ordinary disciple (not a prophet or apostle) received present facts about Saul of Tarsus. While Ananias might have come to know these facts upon an investigation, there were disclosed to him in vision form. These facts represent a “fragment” of God’s knowledge about Saul. They were revealed to Ananias to effectuate God’s plan for Saul - a specific purpose. The Word gives us other evidences of the operation of the word of knowledge not in vision form. For instance, in John 4:16-19:
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
In this account, Jesus recited past and current facts about the woman through the word of knowledge. This is not an instance where He received the information through vision, but through inward intuition or revelation. A significant thing here is that Jesus had emptied Himself of His divine glory and so relied upon the manifestation of the Holy Spirit just as we are instructed to do so.