~ The Spiritual Gift of Prophecy ~
Opening Comment ~ “Do
not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation or shadow of turning. Of His
own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of
firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18).
Definition ~ A prophet
in Biblical times was one who represented God to people.
A Prophet spoke forth as God’s mouthpiece to reveal God and His
nature. By contrast a Priest was
one who represented the people to God.
(A King ruled over men on behalf of God.) John Phillips describes the gift of prophecy
as “inspiration of truth.”
“...members of God’s
household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with
Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19b-20). They were the foundation or early
construction of the Church.
“They were men who
were given, as were the apostles, particular insight into the doctrines of
faith.” —J. Vernon McGee
In the pure sense there are no Apostles or Prophets in the world
today. However, the Biblical Prophets
are still members of the true Church of God and still speak to us today.
Scripture ~
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the
prophet’s own interpretation. For
prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as
they were carried (literally ‘driven by’) along by the Holy Spirit” (1 Peter
1:20-21).
“They were under the
immediate influence and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which distinguishes
them from ‘teachers’.” —J. Vernon McGee
Biblical
Examples ~ Remember
the account of the Samaritan woman’s interaction with Jesus at the well: “‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I
can see that you are a prophet’.” (John 4:19).
She recognized that He had miraculous knowledge of her life.
Christ’s
miracles confirmed that He was a prophet.
The Daughters of
Phillip prophesied (Acts 21:9). Agabus
prophesied (Acts 21:10).
Traits
~ The gift of Prophecy involved
two factors: the ability to receive revelation directly from the Holy Spirit (1
Corinthians 2:10, Ephesians 3:3-5), and the ability to communicate that
revelation with inspired speech to other human beings (1 Corinthians 2:13).
It was the exercise
of the gift of prophecy that made a person a prophet (i.e., Romans 12:3-6; 1
Corinthians 12:4, 8-10, 18, 28-29).
Scripture ~
“...to another gifts of healing by that
one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to
another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to
speak in different kinds of tongues, and still to another the interpretation of
tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:9b-10).
“In reading this,
then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mysteries of Christ,
which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed
by the Spirit to God’s holy Apostles and Prophets” (Ephesians 3:4-5).
“And He
Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).
“to another
the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of
spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues. But one and the same Spirit
works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1
Corinthians 12:10-11).
“And God
has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets,
third teachers” (1 Corinthians 12:28).
“Having then
gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if
prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith” (Romans 12:6).
“In Him the whole
building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” Ephesians 2:21
Apostles—Prophets ~ Since
the apostles of Christ had been given the gift of prophecy, they too were
prophets. Jesus said, “Therefore you are
witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the [Old
Testament] prophets. Fill up, then, the
measure of your fathers’ guilt.
Serpents, brood of vipers! How
can you escape the condemnation of hell?
Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets [New Testament], wise men,
and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them
you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city” (Matthew
23:31-34). Notice that Jesus is calling
His Apostles Prophets!
“Now in the church
that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas,
Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up
with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul” (Acts 13:1).
The Apostle John was
identified as a Prophet (Revelation 1:3, 10:11, 22:10,19).
Comment ~ “In the early church prophets were inspired
teachers.” —John Phillips
In a similar but lessor
way many of today’s preachers are fulfilling their gifts of Prophecy – in that
they are setting forth God’s truth to their congregations. This is a common understanding throughout
Christian circles today.
In today’s world prophets
are those who speak forth “their conscious intellect informed by the Holy
Spirit.” —Henry Alford
But keep in mind much
of today’s preaching is not the traditional gift of prophecy. “The modern preaching gift has the element of
illumination rather than the element of prophetic inspiration.” —John Phillips
“... built on the foundation
of apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief
cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20).
“In reading this,
then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which was not made known to other generations as it has now been revealed by
the Spirit of God’s holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:4-5).
Traits (our era) ~ “The
God-given ability and supernatural empowerment by the Holy Spirit to set before
the people a special message from God for a special circumstance persuasively
as God’s messenger.”—Robert Lloyd Russell
Closing Comments ~ “Let
no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in
conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you,
which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the
eldership. Meditate on these things;
give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the
doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing
this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
“Therefore
I remind you to stir up the gift of God
which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
“As each one has received a gift, minister it
to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter
4:10).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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