What Is the Gift of Prophecy?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

The context: why Paul emphasizes prophecy

• The question posed (in the host's frame): when Paul taught on the subject of spiritual gifts, he opened by telling his readers that they should desire spiritual gifts — and then he added: but especially, that you may prophesy. And then he concluded the chapter by saying that we should desire earnestly to prophesy. So it sounds like Paul thought this gift was important. However, in modern America, when we think about the word 'prophesy', we might think about somebody predicting the future. Is that what Paul meant? Or what does prophecy look like, in a New Testament sense? His answer: well, first of all, we're talking about the supernatural spiritual gifts — which are covered in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12 through chapter 14. Chapter 12 talks about nine particular gifts of the Spirit — and one of them is prophecy. And then chapter 14 explains: he's dealing with a misuse of gifts, where people are speaking in tongues all the time, in the public service. And he says: that's disruptive; it doesn't really help people; visitors don't know what's going on. There's a time for tongues — which he goes on to explain. But he says: really, in the church setting, it's more important to speak in the known language. And then, so that's why he's emphasizing prophecy. It's not as if prophecy is more important than other gifts. But it's in the context of a congregation understanding: it would be better to prophesy, in a known language, than to speak in tongues, in an unknown language, for an extended length of time — and take over the service, and nobody knows what's going on, and nobody is benefited. So that's the context. Now, for a full discussion, I have a book called spiritual gifts (as the title is heard), and I have a chapter on the gift of prophecy. But let's focus on prophecy.

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12-14

The definition: a supernatural utterance — foretelling or forthtelling

• Generally, we think of prophecy as an inspired utterance, or an utterance from God. Now, we're not talking, in this context, about an authoritative utterance, as if it were Scripture. We're not meaning 'inspired', in the way that Scripture is. We believe that Scripture is infallible; it's authoritative; it is completely true in every respect; comes from God. So we're not talking about the gift of prophecy having that kind of authority, or infallibility. However, the basic meaning would be: prophecy is a supernatural utterance from God, in the language of the speaker and hearers. Whereas tongues would be — typically, certainly — unknown to the speaker, and most of the time unknown to the audience, or the hearers. Prophecy would be in the known language of the speaker, and in the known language of the hearers, or the audience. So prophecy, in that sense, can be foretelling, or forthtelling. So we use that little phrase, because when we think of prophecy in a more narrow sense, we often think about predicting the future. And that — while that can be an aspect of prophecy, because when God speaks — you know, God knows more than we know — so often, when he inspires us, or gives us a word to speak, it may be something that we would not otherwise know. But the fundamental definition of prophecy is not to foretell the future. If you think of the prophets of the Old Testament: while they did have some predictive statements, many of their statements — by far the vast majority — were warnings, or admonitions, or encouragement: direct messages, for that time. So to keep this in our mind, we say: yes, it could be foretelling future events; or it could be forthtelling — just speaking out words of God. So let's be practical. What are we talking about? The New Testament context: of course, in a general sense, every time somebody preaches by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, or teaches, or even shares a testimony, we might say that's inspired of God, in a general sense. And so maybe, in the broadest sense, that's prophecy. But in the sense of a supernatural gift, for a specific time, we would not consider all anointed speaking to be prophecy, in that sense. So we're looking at a more restricted definition, where God gives a specific word, or specific message, to a person, to speak.
• So it might be in the congregation (heard as 'coration'), where everyone is worshiping; everybody's praying; everyone is seeking after God. There's a pause, there's a lull. And then suddenly, someone begins to speak forth, in the known language. So in North America, we're typically — we'd be talking about English. And so they just begin to speak a sentence, or a paragraph, in English, to the whole congregation. And we all recognize: that is a message from God. Or, I also think prophecy can work in a context — and I've personally experienced that: when a preacher is preaching. And in a general sense, all of his message could be anointed, inspired, prophetic, what have you. But there have been times that I have personally experienced, and I've seen it, where, in the middle of a message, it seems like God just takes over. And you will say some things that are not in your notes, were not in your conscious mind, but directed very specifically. And there have been a few occasions where I knew God was speaking to a person in the audience. Now, I wasn't trying to single them out, or rebuke them, or shame them, or anything like that. But I knew that the words I was speaking — God showed me: this person, right here, needs to hear it. Other times, I didn't know any particular person — but I felt like God had just taken over. Here I am, preaching from my prepared notes, and the inspiration of the moment. But all of a sudden, it seems like God just drops in something I wasn't even thinking. And while I don't know if it's directed at a particular individual, or the whole congregation, I have this specific, clear feeling: God has just interjected a direct message, to someone, or some group of people, or the whole congregation. That I would consider prophecy. So I do think prophecy can be a standalone, where God is speaking to someone, or using someone to speak to a group, or even perhaps an individual. And then — or, God may be, in a message that's already going on — God will intervene in a very specific way. But in either case, you're talking about a supernatural utterance from God, in the language of the speaker.

The purpose: edification — and what prophecy is not for

• Now, the purpose: if you read 1 Corinthians 14, and you look particularly at verse three, is for edification, encouragement, and consolation, or comfort. So it's to encourage and strengthen people. So sometimes there may be a warning, or there may be instruction, there may be admonition. But the purpose is not to hurt people, to humiliate, to shame, to manipulate, to control. The purpose is not to establish doctrine. So the purpose is not to undermine church government. So if someone begins to prophesy, and they're attacking the leadership of the church, or they're undermining the pastor, or they're contradicting the pastor — that's out of order. If they're trying to establish a doctrine, that's out of order. We have the Bible for that. So God is not going to contradict, or undermine, his own efforts. He's given us the Bible, for doctrinal teaching. He's not going to use personal prophecy to contradict that. He's given us — in church government, including pastors — for the various purposes of leading, and exercising spiritual authority and responsibility, and so forth, shepherding the flock (heard as 'shepher in'). So he's not going to undermine the leaders that he's placed in the congregation. And that's why 1 Corinthians 14 says: the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. Meaning that: even if you feel God has given you a word, you have to learn to use it, in an appropriate way. Is it the right time? Is it the right message? Is it going to cause confusion? So you still have responsibility to use it properly, not to abuse it. And it's — overall, interestingly: 1 Corinthians (the span token as heard, '12-4') talks about these supernatural spiritual gifts. Embedded right in the middle, chapter 13 is a chapter on love. And it says: if you had all the gifts of the Spirit put together — and it names prophecy — and you don't have love, you're nothing. So I think it's important to recognize that the whole context of these spiritual gifts is: to encourage, to build up, to bless, to comfort — to be exercised in love. So when somebody tries to use it to manipulate people, to tell people their future, to tell them what to do — if it's not designed to help, and encourage, and build up, then you know there's something wrong. And that's why you shouldn't rely on prophecy, to try to — kind of like a fortune telling — or say: well, you need to do this; you need to marry this person; or you need to do that. That's not the purpose of prophecy. If someone tries to use it, to run your life, to tell you what to do, you should step back.

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 14:3

Acts 20 and 21: a true prophecy can be misapplied

• And we have a very amazing example of this, in the book of Acts, where Paul is on his way to Jerusalem. And you can read the story in Acts 20, and then in Acts 21, how God has led Paul to go to Jerusalem. And when he gets there, he's going to be arrested. Ultimately, he's going to go before Caesar. So on the way, he gets various prophecies: that when he goes to Jerusalem, he's going to be arrested; he's going to be bound. Well, the listeners all assume: well, God is telling you not to go. God is warning you, Paul — because nobody wants to get arrested, so obviously God is trying to tell you: don't go. But Paul already knew: God had told him to go. So Paul said: no, I'm going to go. And then finally the people said: all right, the will of the Lord be done. So Paul — the hearers, and even those who were giving the prophecy — they said, through the Spirit, that Paul shouldn't go. Well, if I examine it carefully, I think what happened is: they gave an accurate prophecy, from the Spirit — that when you get to Jerusalem, you're going to be arrested; you're going to face opposition and persecution. They assumed — and then their application would be: any normal person would think God is telling you, don't go. But Paul knew God had already instructed him. So Paul understood: God is not canceling his plans, that he's already given me. But God is forewarning me. God is preparing me. So when I get there, and I get arrested, I won't suddenly think: oh, I missed God's will. No — I will know I'm in God's will. And God prepared me. God warned me. He was helping me to see: no, you are in my will, even when these things happen to you. Don't worry: I've got a plan for you. And so that story shows this: that even when somebody gives a valid prophecy, through the Spirit, it's still up to the recipient to use spiritual discernment, as to how it applies to their own lives.

Scriptures: Acts 20; Acts 21

Not a shortcut: confirmation, opening — and a normal blessing

• And that's why I would say: we shouldn't try to use prophecy as a shortcut, to discern the will of God. God has given us very basic ways to discern his will: through prayer; through counseling with our pastor; through study of God's word; through — he's given us a brain, to evaluate, and reason, the pros and cons of major decisions; and depending on the type of decision, our family, our spouse. So we have all these means of discerning God's will. God is not going to short circuit that process, by just some kind of miracle prophecy, or some other thing. And I've usually found: when there is a prophetic utterance, or something else related to the will of God, usually it's in one of two ways. Number one: to confirm a process. So in my own life, there have been times I'm facing a decision: praying, seeking God, examining the pros and cons, getting direction, feeling like: well, I think I need to go this — but I'm not sure. And there could be a prophetic word, that just drops in my heart — and the speaker doesn't know what it refers to, but I do — and I can say: yes. So it's a confirmation of a process that's already going on. Or other times: a prophetic word may be to open your understanding, open your mind. So you're not really thinking a certain direction, but a prophecy can come — not to give you the ultimate result, but to tell you: open your mind, to something you may not have considered; or God is beginning to do a work. But then you will still need to go through a process, that I've already mentioned, to confirm that. So we shouldn't use prophecy, as a short circuit, to seeking God's will. But we should understand that often it will help us confirm, at a key time; or perhaps it will start us on a new path, of discovery, or discernment. But we still have to rely on all these other elements, to know the will of God for our lives.
• So I think prophecy, in the right way, can be a great blessing, to a congregation — or sometimes even to an individual. But it should never substitute for: the written word; for spiritual leadership, including the pastor; or the process of discerning God's will, for your life. All those things are very important. So prophecy, I believe, should be normal, in the life of a congregation. As you read 1 Corinthians 14: not everyone is going to prophesy, in that special sense. All can witness. All can teach a Bible study. All can share the gospel. So, in a general sense, we can have an anointed utterance — all of us can. But not all of us is going to exercise that specific gift of prophecy. But when it does happen, it can be a great encouragement, great confirmation, and a great blessing, to a congregation, or group of people. And I give examples in my book spiritual gifts (as titled in the text). Also, in my book reaching Austin (as the title is heard), I talk about some key times where the prophetic word really encouraged our congregation, or a family that was going through a situation. And it was very helpful, to hear from the Lord — that we felt like: God's in control, and we just need to follow his plan.

Scripture index: 1 Corinthians 12-14; 1 Corinthians 14:3; Acts 20; Acts 21.