1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”
There are three main categories of prophecy i.e. general prophecy, personal prophecy and ministry gift prophecy. In this section we want to discuss the category of general prophecy and how to operate in it. In the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle Paul not only encourages us to desire spiritual gifts, but he specifically encourages us to desire the gift of prophecy. So why is that? The reason is because of all the gifts of the Spirit; it is the gift of prophecy that is able to bless the entire body, whereas the other gifts are able to bless certain individuals only. For example the gifts of healings can only bless those who are sick, while the gift of prophecy on the other hand blesses everyone in the body. For everyone hears the prophetic word spoken (both those who are sick and those who are well) and all are therefore blessed by that word. There is something else that is revealed to us in this passage, which is that the gift of prophecy is available to every saint that desires to be used in that gift. For the Holy Spirit would not encourage us to desire the gift of prophecy if that gift was only available to a select few. It is interesting to note that of all nine gifts of the Spirit, prophecy is the one which is taught quite extensively in the New Testament epistles, and the reason for that is because the most common gift in the church is prophecy.
2 Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
So what is prophecy? In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Peter answers that question for us by telling us that the prophets in the Old Testament spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Prophecy in the New Testament remains exactly the same, i.e. New Testament saints speak as they are moved by the Holy Spirit. And so we see that to prophesy, is to speak out that which the Holy Spirit reveals to the individual at that moment. Notice that Peter emphasises that prophecy does not come by the will of man. In other words the words spoken by the individual are not prepared beforehand by that individual, but rather they speak on the spur of the moment that which the Holy Spirit impresses upon them to speak.
Luke 21:12-15 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. (13) But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. (14) Therefore, settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; (15) for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus taught us that when we are brought before rulers and kings for His name’s sake that we are not to prepare beforehand what we will say, because He will give us His words to speak in that moment. The gift of prophecy operates in a similar manner, for one who prophesies does not meditate beforehand as to what they will say, but rather they speak on the spur of the moment that which the Lord gives them to speak. In other words the prophet hears what the Lord is saying at the same time as everyone else hears it, for he hears it for the first time as he speaks.
Acts 21:11 “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.'”
In the above quoted passage of scripture we have an example of a prophetic word given by the prophet Agabus. I want to draw your attention to the phrase he uses, for he says “Thus says the Holy Spirit”. In other words when one prophesies they are speaking on behalf of the Holy Spirit and it is not their own words that they are speaking in that instant. And so we see that the saint who prophesies must by faith allow the Holy Spirit to give them His words to speak out.
1 Corinthians 14:29-31 “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.”
So how does the Holy Spirit give the prophet the words that He wants them to speak out? We receive some insight into how He does that from the passage of scripture quoted above, for in this passage the apostle Paul teaches us that “if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent”. In other words Paul is teaching us how to co-operate with the Holy Spirit in bringing prophetic words during a church gathering. Notice that he says that something is revealed to the individual before they speak. In other words the Holy Spirit reveals to the individual what He wants them to say. Nevertheless when the Holy Spirit does that, He only reveals to the individual the very first part of what He wants them to say. For example it may be just the first word or a short phrase. When the prophet is then obedient to speak out that which is revealed to them, the Holy Spirit then leads them into the rest of the prophecy as they speak it out. This is why the scripture says that those who prophesy must prophesy in proportion to their faith (Romans 12:6), for it is by faith that the prophet speaks out that which he believes the Holy Spirit is revealing to him. There are several other aspects regarding prophecy that are revealed to us in this passage. Firstly, we see that the church is to let two or three prophets speak. And so clearly we see that there should be numerous disciples in the congregation that have the gift of prophecy, for Paul goes on to say that “you can all prophesy one by one”. Because of this fact, the apostle Paul counsels us to limit the numbers that speak to two or at the most three. The reason for that is because the Holy Spirit will really only want to emphasize one or two aspects of truth in a meeting, and so each prophet will be saying roughly the same thing but just in a slightly different manner. Another thing that we learn from this passage is that we are to judge prophecy. The reason we do that is because the prophet is saying to the church “this is what the Holy Spirit is saying”. And so if the prophets’ word is correct, then as a church we should be obedient to act on that word. However, if the word spoken is not correct then the church can ignore what was spoken. So the question then arises as to how we judge prophecy? The primary way we judge, is to test the prophecy against scripture. If the word spoken falls in line with the written word of God then it is safe to say that the Holy Spirit has initiated that word. However, if the word spoken falls outside of the written word of God then that word can clearly be judged to have not been initiated by the Holy Spirit. In those instances it is up to the leadership of the church to guide both the church and the one who gave the prophecy, to keep them on the correct path. And then finally in this passage we see that prophecy can incorporate the following two aspects, i.e. an aspect of learning and an aspect of encouragement, for the scripture says “that all may learn, and all may be encouraged”. With regards to the learning aspect, the prophetic word will still be in line with the written word, but for example the Holy Spirit may want to emphasize a part of scripture that the church may have been ignoring until then. With regards to the encouragement aspect, the prophetic word spoken will always encourage the saints, it will never discourage them. And so we see that any prophetic word spoken that causes the saints to become discouraged in their walk with the Lord would not have been initiated by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:3 “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.”
The above quoted passage of scripture confirms what we have already said about encouragement, for it states that prophecies given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will edify, exhort and comfort the saints. In this section we are dealing specifically with prophecies given by saints who have received the spiritual gift of prophecy. Although I have referred to these saints as prophets, for the scripture also refers to them as such (1 Corinthians 14:29), these saints are not to be confused with those called to stand in the ministry gift office of prophet (Ephesians 4:11). For the ministry gift office of prophet carries a far greater anointing and therefore displays a different dimension to prophecy, which we will discuss in a later section. Nevertheless, saints who have received the spiritual gift of prophecy will mostly speak words of edification, exhortation and comfort when they prophesy.
1 Corinthians 14:32-33 “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.”
The above quoted passage of scripture reveals some further truths to us regarding the spiritual gift of prophecy, for it tells us that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. So what does that statement mean? It simply means that the Holy Spirit is a perfect Gentleman and He will not interrupt Himself. For example, let’s say that two prophets are in a meeting and one receives a word from the Lord and begins to speak out that word, while at the same time the second prophet also receives a word from the Lord. The Holy Spirit does not give the word to the second prophet because He wants the second prophet to interrupt the first prophet while he is still speaking. Rather, because the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets the Holy Spirit expects the second prophet to keep silent until the first has finished speaking and then the second prophet can bring the word he has received. And so we see that order will reign in the meeting and not confusion.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-20 “Do not quench the Spirit. (20) Do not despise prophecies.”
The above quoted passage of scripture is very enlightening for us with regards to the gift of prophecy. For in this passage we see that even in Paul’s day there was an element in the church that had begun to despise prophecies and were thus quenching the Spirit, which is why Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to admonish them in this area. As we have already seen in this section, when the gift of prophecy is manifested it is in fact the Holy Spirit who is speaking to the church. In other words prophecy is a spiritual act. However, in most churches there are those that scripture refers to as carnal believers (1 Corinthians 3:1). These believers are not spiritual, but rather they are natural in their thinking, and scripture teaches us that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 2:14). And so these believers tend to despise prophecies because they think they are acts of foolishness. If there are sufficient carnal believers in a church, then they will begin to influence the church to begin to limit and ultimately stop prophecies altogether. When that happens then the Holy Spirit is quenched in that church. In churches that are vulnerable to this type of behaviour it is up to the leadership of that church to teach the saints concerning spiritual things, and assist them to transition from carnal thinking to spiritual thinking. In other words they are to help the baby Christians to grow up.
Michael E.B. Maher
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