One of the most important spiritual gifts in the New Testament is the gift of prophecy.
“He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men” (1 Corinthians 14:3)
“Desire spiritual gifts,but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
“For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.” (1 Corinthians 14:31)
As the church increasingly recovers God’s plan and prepares for the return of Jesus Christ, it becomes more and more important to understand the gift of prophecy.
Prophets are among the most important leaders in the church. The New Testament says that prophets, along with apostles, are foundational for the church (Ephesians 2:20).
In the New Testament, several prophets are mentioned. A group of prophets is mentioned in Acts 13:1. One of these prophets may have been Paul before he became an apostle. Agabus and other prophets are mentioned in Acts 11:27-28. Agabus prophesied in Acts 21:10. Judas and Silas were prophets (Acts 15:32).
There were often at least 2 or 3 prophets in many New Testament church meetings (1 Corinthians 14:29). With a couple of prophets in various church meetings, there were a lot of prophets in the New Testament.
Being a prophet is based on the spiritual gift of prophecy. Spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit. All true ministry is based on the working of the Holy Spirit.
A prophet has a particularly strong gift of prophecy. In a sense, the gift of prophecy has defined a prophet’s life.
Although Paul commands all believers to earnestly desire the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:1), he doesn’t mean that he wants them all to become prophets. Not everyone who has the gift of prophecy is automatically a prophet.
In the New Testament, to prophesy essentially means to speak out what God is saying now. It means hearing from God and communicating his words to others.
Prophecy is based on revelation (1 Corinthians 14:30). When a person gets a revelation from God, this is a first step toward prophesying. The next step is to prophesying is speaking that revelation out by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Prophecy can be about the future (Acts 11:28), but it is not necessarily so. Prophecy can also be about the past or the present (1 Corinthians 14:24). God knows all things, past, present, and future. When a person hears from God and speaks out his words, he prophesies.
Prophecy builds the church. It edifies. It comforts and exhorts (1 Corinthians 14:3).
Those with the gift of prophecy are able to understand mysteries and knowledge (1 Corinthians 13:2). They can understand the “deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). This is nothing for them to boast about, for they have just received this understanding as a gift from the Holy Spirit.
Those who have the gift of prophecy must combine faith with their prophetic gift. Those who have more faith will prophesy more, whereas those who have less faith will prophesy less (Romans 12:6).
When someone prophesies, others need to judge whether the prophecy is true or false (1 Corinthians 14:37). Discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10). Some are better at discerning than others, but everyone has a responsibility to discern prophecies. The command to discern implies that Christians and churches will encounter both true and false prophecies.
All prophecies must bejudged by the word of God. A true prophecy will never contradict the Bible.
The gift of prophecy does not mean that anyone can add to the Bible. The Bible is complete, and no other books of the Bible will ever be written (Revelation 22:18).On the other hand, we have no authority to take away from the word of God. Many parts of the New Testament reveal that the spiritual gift of prophecy is part of the church, and we have no right to delete these parts of the Bible by making them irrelevant to church today. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has not changed, and neither has his word. It is eternal.
Jesus warned us that many false prophets would arise, particularly at the end of the age, and they would deceive many people (Matthew 24:11). We need to test prophets (1 John 4:1) so that we are not deceived.
A prophet must confess Jesus Christ.
He must operate in the Holy Spirit.
He must bear good fruit. If his character has major flaws, his ministry is highly suspect.
“Beware of false prophets,who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). Character and fruit are often only known within the context of a local church.
Prophecies are sometimes only discerned over time. If a prophecy about the future does not come to pass, then that prophecy is false.
If a person speaks a false prophecy to the church, he should repent and be more cautious about prophesying in the future. The church should be very cautious about receiving further ministry from such a “prophet” until he repents and matures.
In the New Testament, prophets are in control of their words. They are not beside themselves or out of control (1 Corinthians 14:32). God is not the author of confusion within the church.
Prophesying requires caution. Many people today claim to hear from God and speak prophecies, but they are false. We must not be deceived.
It can be tempting to despise prophecies because we might have heard false prophecies in the past or have had bad experiences with people who falsely claimed to be prophets. Some think that God does not speak to his people today. But Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice.
We should not despise prophecy.
“Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.”(1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Let us not throw out the baby with the bathwater. At the same time let us not accept all prophecies as if they are all from God.
As we follow the word of God, the Holy Spirit will teach us, give us discernment, and enable us to grow in our own ability to hear from God. He will keep us safe as we trust in him. And he will cause his spiritual gifts to operate within his church so that she can be built up to fulfill her purpose.
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