Similarly, Philip only needed a part of God's wisdom and instruction, so God used an angel to
give Philip a word of wisdom — a revelation concerning a part of God's plan and purpose for
Philip's life — to go to the desert. And as a result, this Ethiopian received Jesus Christ as his
Savior and Lord!
Old Testament Examples of The Word of Wisdom
Now let's look at some examples of how the gift of the word of wisdom was manifested in the
Old Testament.
The Word of Wisdom to Noah
This gift of the word of wisdom was also used to warn people concerning future judgment or
peril. Noah received a word of wisdom, for example, concerning peril and future judgment on
the world through a flood, and he built the ark to save his household (Gen. 6:13-18).
If Noah could have gotten any of the other people
to believe him, they could have been saved too. The same was true concerning Lot and his
family who were saved when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:29). And the
word of wisdom was used to warn and to save a number of others in the Old Testament too.
The Word of Wisdom to Joseph
The manifestation of the word of wisdom was given in the Old Testament to reveal God's plan
to those He was going to use in the ministry. For example, God spoke to Joseph through
dreams concerning Joseph's own future.
Joseph's jealous brothers tried to dispose of Joseph, but God rescued him and fulfilled His
plan for Joseph's life. Although Joseph was put in jail for a number of years and suffered
numerous other hardships, he was finally made prime minister of the land of Egypt. And the
time came when all of his brothers did bow down before him, as predicted in his dream (see
Genesis chapters 37 through 50).
When I think about the story of Joseph, I think about the magnanimity of his soul. Under similar
circumstances, how many others would have said to their brothers, "Well, what do you think
about your baby brother now?" or "I told you so." But Joseph was not arrogant or overbearing.
Even as the second in authority under Pharoah, Joseph was a humble man with a noble and
forgiving spirit; he didn't seek revenge. Nor did he even blame his brothers or scold them at all.
He simply told them, "God just sent me before you to preserve the posterity of our people"
(Gen. 45:5-8). Joseph knew about his calling and God's plan and purpose for his life through
the word of wisdom.
The Word of Wisdom in the New Testament
We can also see examples of the word of wisdom in operation in the New Testament.
Agabus the Prophet
In the Book of Acts, we read that Agabus had prophesied and foretold that a drought and
famine was coming (Acts 11:28). The people believed him because he was a man of integrity
and had a proven ministry.