Hullo Guys,
I wrote this to a couple of friends last night in a fit of inspiration, and at the behest of our Associate Elder (Pastoral) i.e. Janice Liu of the Huang Clan, I am putting it up now for the rest of the church
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I'm writing this at this weird hour of the day because of a conversation I just had and I felt that I shouldn't keep this to myself any longer, but should share it so that, perhaps, I can start the ball rolling in several directions within the Pentecostal community (even if the ball does not end up rolling very far, HAHAHA).
The conversation included a bit on the things of the Spirit (since I'm on this, I might as well just eschew the use of the term 'gift' altogether, which also should be included in charismata as well - but that's another story for another time). One question arose was, why does Paul divide the words of knowledge and wisdom from prophecy, and as I prepared to answer the question I realised that I hold to a completely different reading of knowledge and wisdom here than the majority (if not all) of the Pentecostal/Charismatic world, and let me go on record that I cannot see how the standard explanation of what knowledge and wisdom are can be correct in any way. To put it baldly, I think the standard explanation of knowledge and wisdom in 1 Corinthians is just Plain Wrong.
Standard Explanation: word of knowledge is an uncanny, supernatural articulation of a bit of knowledge about a person or situation. So.....
Chris (praying for Janice): '......you're a girl!'
Janice: 'Oh my god! You must have had a word of knowledge!'
Likewise, the word of wisdom is a message of supernatural wisdom to handle difficult situations
Janice: 'I don't know what to do with the kitchen sink!'
Chris: '...I sense you should sell it to the karang guni.'
Janice: 'Oh my god, that is so wise, you must have had a word of wisdom!'
Chris: 'Nah, it’s just the nature of the turn.'
Ok, now what is wrong with this picture? Two related things....
One, Knowledge and Wisdom are key, almost technical, terms in the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
Most theologically-trained Pentecostals and Charismatics seem to forget this when preaching about the things of the Spirit, for some reason. Surely the fact that 'knowledge' and 'wisdom' are terms of controversy within the Corinthian context should tell us that no reading of the two words (of knowledge and wisdom) can be complete or stable without factoring in the controversy.
Two, Paul Actually Explains what the terms signify.
The opening chapters of the letter makes it very clear: when Paul uses the term 'wisdom' he is using it to refer to the 'mystery' of the gospel that God 'determined before the ages', and this in contrast to the 'wisdom' (i.e. worldview and value system) of the world. An example of how divine wisdom works is God choosing the poor and the marginalised of the world as heirs of the gospel - hmm...nothing here about kitchen sinks!
Similarly, when Paul speaks of knowledge, he is speaking of the knowledge of God. Fee, after all, is arguing that Paul does so knowing of the proto-Gnostic elements of Hellenic thought and is indirectly attacking the elitist idea of exclusive knowledge of the divine/metaphysical realm that was pervasive in Hellenic religions.
So, here is my take:
1. The word of wisdom is a divinely inspired message that expounds and explicates an element of the gospel that the human mind does not instinctively or naturally (!) grasp. Think of it as a cross between the ministry of prophecy and teaching. Paul demonstrates an example in the letter itself, I think: he talks about God choosing the weak and the foolish things of this world to confound the wise - something the mind does not naturally take to, but which revelation teaches.
2. The word of knowledge is a divinely inspired message that reveals something of the character and the nature of God not merely in an intellectual way but which carries with it power to cut to the heart and make the revelation real. Think of the Greek gnosis, except in this case, Christian, and the genuine form.
Where does prophecy fit in then? Well, from Paul's comments in 1 Cor, I am inclined to think of it as being in some way more corrective than the two: it 'reveals the secrets of men's hearts' cf Rev 1-2
Chris
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