What are Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom? 1 Corinthians 12 Explained

Paul lists words of wisdom and words of knowledge in 1 Corinthians 12:8 alongside healings, miracles, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation. But he never defines them. That silence has sparked a real debate in the body of Christ, and in this episode Michael Rowntree works through it carefully.

Are these giftings simply elevated Bible teaching, or are they something more? Are they specific, Spirit-initiated operations that reveal hidden things, provide supernatural guidance, and speak into real-life situations? Michael walks through the major interpretive positions, from cessationist scholars like Dr. Tom Schreiner to charismatic perspectives.

He'll examine the biblical moments that make you stop: Jesus knowing the woman at the well's full story before she said a word (John 4:17–18). Peter confronting Ananias and Sapphira with information no one told him (Acts 5:1–11). Paul warning a ship's captain of coming disaster before a storm cloud appeared (Acts 27:9–10). Are those words of knowledge and words of wisdom in action?

By the end you'll have working definitions of revelation, prophecy, word of knowledge, and word of wisdom. And you'll sit with Paul's deeper question: are we using these gifts to exalt Jesus and build up the body of Christ, or to build a platform for ourselves?

0:00 – Introduction
0:04 – Defining the question
0:34 – Reading 1 Corinthians 12
1:52 – Cessationist teaching view
3:17 – Contextual pushback
5:22 – Word of knowledge defined
6:15 – Word of wisdom defined
7:19 – Cluster of extraordinary gifts
8:24 – Knowledge under prophecy
11:05 – Blending gift categories
14:34 – Defining key terms
16:00 – Using gifts rightly
16:37 – Closing thoughts

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