Introduction
This is Part Two of a three part series on the prophetic.
- Part One – my testimony of learning about the prophetic
- Part Two – some teaching about prophecy
- Part Three – more testimony, centered around a prophetic word Emily and I received at the 2017 Open Heavens conference at Bethel Church in Redding, CA in front of 2000 people
Why Study Spiritual Gifts?
(1 Corinthians 12:1) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
Greek: pneumatikos, things of and pertaining to the spirit. “Gifts” is not in the Greek.
Paul says he doesn’t want us to be ignorant about things of and pertaining to the spirit – and yet there is gross ignorance about these things in the Body of Christ. A good portion of the Body of Christ – born again believers – doesn’t believe that God does these types of things today, that they were for the early church. Others explain them away and assign natural meanings to the gifts. And even amongst those who do believe in them, that they are still for today, you do not see them in manifestation anywhere near the extent that you see them in the book of Acts.
So we have to admit we are ignorant – that we have a lack of knowledge in this area. And our end goal is not just to gain knowledge of the gifts, but also to have them start working in our lives and in our church.
Is this a proper desire? “Well, if God wants to use me, He just will”. If you take that attitude, that it is totally up to God, you will not be used much. We are told to desire spiritual gifts in more than one place:
(1 Corinthians 12:31) 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
(1 Corinthians 14:1) 1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
In verse 31 the KJV uses the words covet earnestly the best or greater gifts. Covet? Isn’t that a bad thing? It depends on what it is directed towards. But the meaning of the word is an intense desire – a longing. Being hungry for it.
God uses people who make themselves available – who desire the things of God, who believe what He says, and who are willing to do what He says. These are the three keys necessary to be used by God: Desire, faith, and obedience.
(2 Chronicles 16:9) 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12) 11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual gifts – the supernatural working of God – brings credibility to the preaching of the Word of God.
(1 Corinthians 2:1-5) 1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
(Mark 16:20) 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
There are those that say the gifts of the Spirit have passed away and are no longer needed since we have the canon of scripture, the Bible. I completely disagree. I think we need the confirmation of the Word more than ever.
Gifts, Ministries, Manifestations
(1 Corinthians 12:4-6) 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
These verses list three different classes of spiritual gifts. Each of the classes has a different member of the trinity over them, and a different scope.
By “scope”, I mean who can operate in them (i.e., is it for everybody or a select few), and what is the duration (i.e., is it a permanent gift, or is it temporary).
Diversities of activities. KJV: operations. Greek: energematon, from which we get the word energy. These are what we normally think of when we talk about the “gifts of the Spirit”, so I mention them first.
They are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, under the title manifestations of the Spirit. This is the terminology I like to use because it is what the Bible uses.
(1 Corinthians 12:7-11) 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 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.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
We will discuss the scope of these later.
Differences in ministries. Greek: diakonion, a ministry or office. Notice it is the Lord Jesus who is over the ministries/offices. The most well known list of offices is found in Ephesians.
(Ephesians 4:11-12) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
As for scope, not everyone is called to one of the five-fold ministries, as these are named. There is an additional list of offices further down in 1 Corinthians 12, where some of these are duplicated and some new ones are added:
(1 Corinthians 12:28-30) 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?
30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
We see in vs. 29 and 30 that not everyone is called to an office. As for duration, the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). A “calling” refers to a calling to an office or ministry. The fulfillment of that calling, however, is very much up to the individual. Some people may never fulfill their calling.
A person usually does not start in the ministry to which they are ultimately called; i.e., they start in a lesser ministry and are “promoted”. For example, Phillip started out as one of the original deacons in Acts 6. This was an office of administrations, he was placed in charge of something. But later in Acts 8 he goes to Samaria to preach Christ, and in Acts 21:8 he is referred to as Philip the evangelist.
We can also see the promotion of Barnabas and Saul, from prophets and/or teachers, to apostles (lit., sent one).
(Acts 13:1-3) 1 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.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Diversities of Gifts. Greek: charismation, from which comes the word charismatic. It means a gift or (spiritual) endowment. A charismatic is one who believes and operates in the gifts. There is another list of gifts in Romans 12 that has come to be called the motivational gifts. That term is not in the Bible, just like “five-fold ministry” is not in the Bible either, but it helps us classify them.
(Romans 12:4-8) 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
6 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;
7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
We have here a list of seven gifts: prophet, ministry (or helps), teacher, exhorter, giver, leader (also called administrator), and mercy. This is a separate list because the scope is different – every born again believer has one of these, or a mix of these gifts, but one will usually dominate. They are what motivates you, what makes you tick. In a way they are like spiritual personality types. The duration is also permanent. This is the “gifts” part of “the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable”.
It is beyond the scope of this article to explain what these gifts are or give a definition. Definitions and characteristics of the motivational gifts were first given by Bill Gothard in his Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts advanced seminar (see bibliography at the end of this post).
Overlap in the Gifts
One source of confusion has been that there is overlap in the names of some of the gifts across the three classes. For example, prophet or prophecy is in all three classes, teacher is in two, administrator is in two, helps is in two, and gifts of healings, miracles, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues are in two.
People have used 1 Corinthians 12:30 to say, “See, tongues are not for everybody”; but that verse is speaking of operating in a ministry or office, not personal tongues.
What is Prophesy?
The study of spiritual gifts is broad and fascinating. But in this post, I am going to concentrate on one, the gift of prophecy, because it is singled out in 1 Corinthians 14:1 as the gift we should especially go after.
Prophecy is a forth-telling (not foretelling) from God. A person prophesying acts as God’s spokesman, God speaks through him or her. They relay a message from God to people.
Definition: Prophecy is an inspired utterance in a known tongue.
The simple gift of prophecy does not have a predictive element in it. Foretelling the future is actually the manifestational gift of the Word of Wisdom, which is supernatural wisdom into the plans and purposes of God. Prophecy and the Word of Wisdom often work together.
Purpose of New Testament prophecy
(1 Corinthians 14:3-4) 3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
Edification. Means to build up, to charge like a battery. The effect of a prophecy should be to strengthen us, to encourage. Those that constantly “prophesy” gloom and doom for the church are missing it. He who prophesies edifies the church.
Exhortation. A call to encouragement. A kind of spiritual pep talk. To motivate us to move on in God. Very often it will include an admonition – an encouragement to take action and do something. To bring hope.
Comfort. Consolation, to heal the hurts. To lift burdens. To let people know that God loves and cares. When people are suffering, they need to be comforted.
New Testament prophecy can involve correction, but it will never be condemning. The way out will always be shown. As for examples, take the words of Jesus to the seven churches in Asia in Revelation 2 and 3.
Many people when they think of prophecy picture one of the Old Testament prophets standing up and declaring judgment over the people of God for their sins. But New Testament prophecy, instead of being a harsh gift, is actually a tender one. It is God speaking through a person to His people to edify, encourage, and comfort.
The real heart of the prophetic is to search for and reveal the treasures that are within people. They might not even know these things are within them.
It requires faith to prophesy.
(Romans 12:6) … let us prophesy in proportion to our faith.
You rarely get the whole prophetic message all at once ahead of time, but just the first few words, or maybe pictures. You have to step out and give those few words and believe God will give you more as you go. They come from the Holy Spirit speaking to your spirit, you don’t have to think them up.
Sometimes prophecy comes forth in rhyme, and that takes even more faith, because if you start it in rhyme, you figure it needs to continue in rhyme.
When a congregation or individuals are first stepping out in prophesying, you might get a lot of what I call “postcard prophecies” – i.e., “O My children, I love you, I want to be with you”. These should not be despised. (1 Thessalonians 5:20) Do not despise prophecies”. People nowadays think the word “despise” means to hate. But to despise in the Bible means to treat lightly or of little importance. People should be encouraged when they prophesy. As an individual matures in these things, their messages will become “deeper”.
Instructions on Prophecy
Prophecy can have both a public and personal application. That is, targeted audience can be a congregation or group of people, or personally for an individual or specific smaller group. Paul gives instructions in 1 Corinthians 14 about the operation of prophesy in a public environment.
(1 Corinthians 14:29-33) 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.
30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
Note vs. 31, “for you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and be encouraged.”
Paul already mentioned how prophesy was meant to encourage earlier in the chapter. But we see here that prophesy can also be used to teach, that people can learn from a prophetic utterance.
The theme for Paul’s instructions for prophecy and tongues in a public service is in the last verse of 1 Corinthians 14 – let all things be done decently and in order.
Limitation on number – let two or three prophets speak. Notice it doesn’t say “two or three prophecies”, but two or three prophets (not necessarily people in the office of a prophet, just people prophesying), so if you happen to have 4 prophecies in a service it doesn’t mean you’ve disobeyed God’s word. But, there is to be a limit – a whole service isn’t supposed to be taken up with people prophesying and giving messages in tongues.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t interrupt Himself. Prophecies (or messages in tongues) must be given at an opportune time – i.e., don’t interrupt the pastor during his message, etc. “Oh, when the Spirit comes on me, I just have to give it out”. That is not true. Vs. 32 says “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets”. That means the how, the when, or even the if is in your control. The Holy Spirit gives the message, but it is up to us to exercise judgment as to when to give it.
One person is not to monopolize that part of the service. If someone else starts getting something, the first should let them go ahead. Then again, the second person should not be interrupting the first, either.
Judging Prophecy
In the Old Testament, the people were not to take for granted that just because someone said “Thus saith the Lord”, it was really from God – they had to judge. The criteria was two things: if the prophet said “Let’s go after other gods”, or what they said did not come to pass, they were not from God.
The predictive element was actually Word of Wisdom, and to establish a prophet’s credentials God would give them something that would be fulfilled in the short term, as well as the long term. The penalty for being a false prophet was death by stoning.
In the New Testament, prophecy and the office of the prophet is not meant for guidance as it was in the Old Testament. All believers have the Spirit inside them and can be led by Him, whereas only the prophets, priests, and kings did in the Old Testament. Therefore there was a more stringent requirement back then. New Testament prophesy still needs to be judged, however.
By their fruits you will know them, not by their gifts.
(Matthew 7:15-20) 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
If a person’s life is all off base, chances are his prophecy is from himself. That does not mean you have to be “perfect” before you can prophesy – remember the Corinthians. God will use imperfect vessels.
God will also usually use someone known and trusted by a congregation to speak to them. Someone coming in off the street and standing up and telling a congregation everything that is wrong with them is not the right spirit.
Does is glorify Christ?
The beginning of 1 Corinthians 12 gives us some guidance in this line:
(1 Corinthians 12:3) 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
It is talking about someone speaking under the inspiration. You can give a drunk $10 to say “Jesus is Lord” and they will say the words, but the only inspiration they are speaking from is the money.
Does the prophecy glorify Christ, or some man?
Is it for edification, exhortation, or comfort?
God does not come up with scathing messages of condemnation. There may be some admonitions and corrections involved, but it will always provide hope.
It is possible that God could have a word for an individual, that may have some correction in it. That should not be given out publically so as to embarrass and humiliate them. Go to them privately. And always remember the motivation for any spiritual gift – love. You want to help the person, not condemn them.
Is it scriptural?
That’s pretty obvious. God will not contradict Himself.
Guidance in Prophecy
Also related to this are words that come to you that have some sort of guidance with it. Never take action on something solely on the word of some prophet, even one you know and trust. If God is using them to confirm something He has already said to you, that is well and good. If God hasn’t said anything along those lines, put it on the shelf. It may be that sometime down the road it will come to pass, and then you can say, “Remember when so and so prophesied over us?
Does your spirit bear witness with it?
(1 John 2:20) 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
(1 John 2:27) 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
We all have the Holy Spirit inside of us. When a message is from God, your spirit on the inside will jump up and down and say, “Yeah! Yeah!” On the other hand, if something is amiss, you will sense it on the inside.
Does getting something wrong mean the person is a “false prophet”?
This is probably the biggest difference between an Old Testament prophet and a New Testament prophet. Under the Old Testament, prophets were the direct spokesmen of God to nations. Not everyone had the anointing of God to hear from Him directly (this was by the people’s choice. In Exodus 20:18-19 the people were so afraid that they begged God not to speak to them directly but through Moses). Their words were to be considered the words of God. And as such, they were required to be accurate.
Under the New Testament, every born again believer has the Holy Spirit within them and is capable of hearing God’s voice. So New Testament prophets have a different role, and are not required to be infallible. That is why we are to judge prophesy. And, someone can get something wrong, either with a prediction, or a word that doesn’t resonate with the spirit of the one it is directed to. It doesn’t mean the person who gave the prophesy should be shunned.
Being a false prophet has more to do with the spirit that is motivating a person, rather than their being 100% accurate.
Sometimes people get off kilter on a prophetic word because they see something accurately, but then they try to put their own interpretation on it. For example, Paul had direction to head back to Jerusalem. And everywhere he went, people were giving him words that chains awaited him (Acts 20:23).
(Acts 20:22-23) 22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
On his way to Jerusalem, Paul landed at Tyre. The disciples there also saw that tribulation awaited Paul, but they added their own interpretation to it.
(Acts 21:4) And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.
The Gift of Prophecy vs. the Office of the Prophet
Just because someone can and does give prophesies does not mean that they stand in the office of a prophet. The manifestational gift of prophesy can operate through any believer that seeks it, but the office of the prophet is something that a person is called to.
(Acts 21:8-11) 8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ “
Notice the distinction between Phillip’s daughters who prophesied, and Agabus who was a prophet.
Conclusion
This is by no means an exhaustive teaching on the prophetic.
Billl Gothard‘s Advanced Seminar in Basic Life Principals from many years ago went into the definitions of the seven motivational gifts. You can order his book, Understanding Spiritual Gifts, from xxxx. Here are some questions and answers at https://store.iblp.org/understanding-spiritual-gifts.html.
He also goes into them on a blog at http://lifeinconflict.blogspot.com/2008/12/spiritual-gifts-part-1.html
Kris Vallotton has written some excellent books on the prophetic. I recommend Basic Training for the Prophetic Ministry and School of the Prophets: Advanced Training for the Prophetic Ministry .
Shawn Bolz also has many books on the prophetic. I recommend Translating God .
