Spiritual Gifts, Part II: Wording of Wisdom

“To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom…” (1 Corinthians 12:8a). Picking up where the introduction to this Spiritual Gifts series left off, Paul lists fourteen Spiritual gifts in tow passages of Scripture, including this one, the gift of wording of wisdom. There are two reasons i say “wording” instead of “utterance.” First, nobody i know uses the word “utterance.” Second, “utterance” means “speaking,” and the Greek word used is λόγος (logos). Logos is a dynamic word, not merely meaning a spoken word, but also a message, a name for God (John 1:1), and also a written word.I imagine that this gift may require some sort of oratory or writing skill, since “utterance” or “wording” is half of the gift. Having recently graduated from formal education in the secular world of Appalachian State University, i’ve been under the sound of the voices of hundreds of orators in the last twenty-one years, some skilled. We’ve all sat listening to a monotone speaker. It is torture at times, to try to pay attention when the professor doesn’t speak well. This skill may come with much practice, but usually, if not always, when it’s genuine, this skill comes naturally. The genuine ability to speak in a way that captures the ears (or eyes, if the word given is written) is a gift. Perhaps if you’re still reading this series when we get to Part XVI (16) or so, it could be a sign that i have at least this half of the gift, the ability to word ideas in a way to keep the audience’s attention.
In the Book of Job, Elihu, a youth, said to a group of elders,
“I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’ But it is the Spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand… For I am full of words; the Spirit within me constrains me.” (Job 32:6b-8, 18)
Elihu declares that wisdom comes from the Spirit, not old age. Wisdom is very difficult to explain or define. It is like “glory.” Try to define glory. I cannot, but i know it when i see it. Wisdom is the same. The Bible caries two types of wisdom in the New Testament: Σοφία (“Sophia is insight into the true nature of things”) and φρόνησις (“phronēsis is the ability to discern modes of action with a view to their results”). (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words by W.E. Vine, M.A., ©1984) The case in point is sophia. Wisdom is like glory: very difficult to define, but i know it when i see it.