The gift of Knowledge

Primary Text: 1 Corinthians 12:8

The trouble with the world is not that people know too little,

But that they know so many things that just ain’t so.

Mark Twain

Those who think they know it all are so annoying to those of us who do.

Robert Mueller

The only things worth knowing are the things you learn after you already know it all.

Harry Truman

The gift of Knowledge is the ability to seek out, gather, organize and clarify facts and ideas on a number of diverse subjects that benefit the Kingdom and the learning of believers. The purpose of this gift is to discover, gather and retain new truth and ideas to strengthen and enhance Christian living in the body of Christ.

This is a tricky gift because it isn’t quite what we might think at first, for it isn’t being smart or academically inclined or having a good memory. Have you ever come across a person who sits in a class, say a Sunday school class, and always has a verse to quote, but the verse doesn’t always fit the situation or the context? Have you ever come across a preacher who can quote chapter and verse all day long, but whose messages don’t quite make sense? These people may be very smart and they may know a lot of things, but they don’t have the gift of knowledge because they can’t quite always see how it pertains to the larger issue of building the body of Christ. They are usually technically correct, but they don’t connect.

Related to this is the fact that, at least in my experience, the gift of knowledge is usually coupled with the gifts of wisdom and discernment, and hopefully teaching. When this happens, the person will not only be correct, but they will almost always connect.

Cautions about this gift include:

• Gathering information for the sake of information

• Pride or arrogance; display of knowledge.

• Being so “heavenly minded” that you are no earthly good.

Evidence relating to this gift:

•You enjoy study and research and do so for an extended period of time.

•You are able to retain large amounts of diverse information.

•You tend to be inquisitive and reflective.

•You desire to gather facts in a logical pattern.

• You have a passion to learn.

Years ago I had a professor who was really a role model for me; he was one of the finest theologians of the era, but never quite received the recognition one might have expected from his peers. The problem was that he didn’t really play the game very well. There was a reason for that, and the reason was that he had this gift and his peers by and large did not. This gentleman was only interested in building the body of Christ; he could care less if he got the credit, for he would tell you that any credit associated with his efforts belonged to God alone… and he meant it.

Everything he taught in his classes was applied to life in his lessons. He never presented lists of verses and random facts, rather he taught God’s Word. Other professors demonstrated their great knowledge, this guy revealed Jesus Christ. Other professors had very interesting lectures, this guy’s lectures changed lives. Other professors published; this guy gave everything away and encouraged us to use it to build up the Body. He didn’t use his knowledge to argue or debate, he didn’t show off or remind us who was the professor and who was the student, no never. Rather he lead us to where the truth was and then took a step back and let us see the One who is the way, the truth and the life.

That dear reader is what the gift of Knowledge looks like.