GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
“May grace and peace be yours in full measure through
your knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” (2 Peter 1: 2)
KNOWLEDGE
The
gift of knowledge helps us to know the spiritual welfare of a person. Those blessed with this virtue gets the
wisdom to do what is best in God’s sight as well as to omit that which
displeases Him. It also enables him to have
intense thirst to know more about the mysteries of salvation and a desire to
reach God and rest in His arms.
The
Psalmist says, “I wish I had wings like a dove, I would fly away and find rest.
I would fly far away and live in the wilderness. I would quickly find myself shelter from the
raging wind and the storm………… I see violence and riots in the city surrounding
it day and night.” (Psalms 55:6-9)
Reaching
Eternity leaving all the perishable profits and pleasure will be the aim of his
living.
St.
Augustine was blessed with the gift of knowledge. The moment he tasted the love of God, he
understood it is the sweetest and happiest enjoyment one can achieve in this
world. God’s love made possible a
continual process of repentance in him.
Never again did he turn against God’s love. Praise the Lord!
The
gift of knowledge assists one to proclaim the glory and beauty of God
unceasingly. What St. Paul who, once found happiness in persecuting the Lord
and his people, emphatically says after his conversion is notable. “Not only those things, I reckon everything
as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for His sake I have thrown everything I consider it
all as mere refuse, so that I may gain Christ.”
The
gift of knowledge is also a richest virtue from God and He gives it to us
through His Son Jesus Christ. He created
everything with His knowledge and brought us out of darkness through the
knowledge of God. The Son of God is the
treasury of knowledge. “He is the key
that opens all the hidden treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 2: 3)
So
when we live in Christ Jesus in a trustworthy manner and with thanksgiving, we
allow His spirit to abide within us. St.
Paul instructs us, “Ask the God of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father to give you the Spirit who will make you
wise and reveal God to you so that you will know Him.” (Eph. 1:17)
God
Himself is knowledge, so the more you seek God, He reveals Himself to us. So the Holy Bible insists us to pray for the
knowledge and constantly seek for it.
God fills His children with His gifts.
To
obtain the gift of Knowledge it is very essential to fulfill God’s Will by
listening to the Word of God, to mingle with His anointed devotees and to
behave in a proper manner with everyone.
“For
in union with Christ you have become rich in all things including all speech
and all knowledge.” (1 Cor. 1: 5)
The
gift of knowledge will make you strong and active. A person blessed with this
gift is bestowed with discernment, humility, self-control, joy and peace and will
grow in piety and love of God.
An
individual anointed with this gift will truly love God although he has not seen
Him and he will believe in Him although he does not now see Him. He rejoices
with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express.
The
Bible explains about the pathetic state of the fall of a gifted one. “If
people have escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through their
knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then are again caught and conquered
by them, such people are in a worse state at the end than they were at the
beginning.” (2 Peter 2: 20)
So
the Bible says that it would have been much better for them never to have known
the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the holy
gifts. St. Paul says “For there is no
longer any sacrifice that will take away sin, if we purposely go on sinning
after the truth has been made known to us.” (Heb. 10:26)
The
Holy Bible states that it is difficult to regain these blessed gifts, if we
lose it due to negligence or careless behavior. Those who neglect the gift of
knowledge are called as ‘foolish’ by the Holy Scriptures.
“Foolish
people! How long do you want to be foolish?
How long will you enjoy pouring scorn on knowledge? Will you never
learn? Listen when I reprimand you, I
will give you good advice and share my knowledge with you. Pay attention when I correct you so then you
will get what you deserve and your own actions will make you sick. Experienced people die because they reject
wisdom. Stupid people are destroyed by
their own lack of concern, but whoever listens to me will have security, he
will be safe, with no reason to be afraid.”
(Sirach 1)
“It
is true of course that ‘all of us have knowledge,’ however, such knowledge, puffs
a person up with pride; but love builds up.
Whoever thinks he knows something really doesn't know as he ought to know. But the person who loves God is
known by Him.” (1Cor. 8:1-3)
So
let us love one another and accept the gift of knowledge which can rebuild us
in Christ. Try to arouse pure thoughts
in your minds which can create the qualities of God our Heavenly Father. So choose what is best and dedicate yourself
unto Him.
Kindly
Note:
As per the message from God of KLWC, our team
will be conducting an in-house 48 hours fasting prayer service from the 28th
Aug 2015 to 30th Aug 2015. Your
Thanksgivings and Prayer Requests are welcome.