IS THE GIFT OF
PROPHECY FOR TODAY?
There are today among Christians two extremes on the Holy Spirit. Those who are deathly afraid of the Holy Spirit and those who have opened up to the Spirit but are guilty of all kinds of abuses. It seems to me that the truth is somewhere in the middle. God has given the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts to the church and these gifts are to be governed by the inspired Bible and placed under the sovereign control of God.
COMMAND TO DESIRE PROPHECY 1 Cor. 14:1
ÒFollow the way of love . . .Ó First Corinthians 14 follows the great love chapter. While spiritual gifts are important,
the Corinthians were to make love their number one aim and their chief
priority. Love is a more excellent
and higher way than that of spiritual gifts
ÒAnd eagerly desire
spiritual gifts,Ó All gifts may be sought by the Christian. The Corinthians, however, were to seek the better spiritual
gifts and tongues was the least of all the gifts. The Apostle Paul does not say a Christian is never to seek
the gift of tongues, but if it is the least of all the spiritual gifts, then it
should be sought last and not first.
Paul never says tongues are wrong or of the devil. While Paul does not forbid speaking in
tongues, he strongly encourages believers to seek after the gift of prophecy.
ÒEspecially the gift of
prophecy.Ó -- The gift of prophecy is more valuable to the church than the gift of
tongues because prophecy is a greater gift than tongues. Since prophecy is of great value to the
church, Christians should seek after this gift for themselves as well as for
the congregation.
What is prophecy and is it
for today? The official office of
prophet in the Old and New Testaments involved receiving divine, inspired and
infallible revelation from God and giving it to the people in the common
language, for in those ancient days there was not a closed cannon of Scripture
consisting of 66 books of the Bible.
In a technical sense, there is no more inspired infallible prophecy
because the canon is closed and God is giving no more infallible
revelation.
However,
a distinction must be made between the office of prophet and prophecy as a
gift. There are no more Prophets
who formed the foundation of the church and gave infallible communications. ÒBuilt on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstoneÓ (Eph.
2:20). Those with the
office of Prophet spoke infallibly and what they said always came to pass. ÒIf what a prophet proclaims in the
name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD
has not spoken. That prophet has
spoken presumptuouslyÓ (Deut. 18:22). However, in a non-technical sense, there may be a type of
prophecy today. This gift would be the ability to speak the
mind of God whether that is by preaching the Bible or telling something which
God spontaneously brings to mind. This
lesser form of prophecy is not inspired or infallible and is subject to
error. This lower form of prophecy
is always mixed with error; therefore, it is not intrinsically revelatory.
When we compare prophecy to
the gift of preaching, we see how something could be of God and yet mixed with
error. When a preacher is
preaching GodÕs Word in so much that he quotes GodÕs Word directly or is
consistent with GodÕs Word in principle, then what he preaches is truth, but
his sermons may also contain error because the preacher is human.
ÒThe
speeches that these people give are not inspired--that is; the speeches are not
identically the speech of God in such a way that they carry unqualified divine
authority and perfection. Such
speeches may nevertheless be inspiring in the popular sense of the word. We acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is
present. We thank God for the
gifts that are exercised, and we know that when properly exercised they come
from the power of the Spirit. But
the results are always fallible and must be checked by the standard of the BibleÓ
(Vern S. Poythress, ÒModern Spiritual
Gifts As Analogous To Apostolic GiftsÓ).
So it is when people claim
to prophesy - there is always a mixture of truth and error and the truth is
determined by how closely the one prophesying sticks with the exact Word or the
principles of the Word.
It
is important to understand that ÒprophecyÓ and ÒrevelationÓ are sometimes used
in the New Testament in a non-revelatory sense. Prophecy: Rev.
19:10 – the message attested by Jesus and about Jesus is the essence of
prophetic proclamation. Surely,
this continues until the end of the age.
Acts 15:32, I Chron. 25:1,5; Acts 17:10-13 show that prophecy is
sometimes declarative. These
verses show that the word ÒprophecyÓ can mean something less than inspired and
infallible words. Revelation: Eph. 1:17 – Òa spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him.Ó
This seems to be insight and connected with ÒenlightenmentÓ in Eph.
1:18. Philip. 3:15 – God reveals, gives
insight, or makes clear when off the mark doctrinally. These verses show there are other
meanings to apokalupsis than just
special revelation. These verses
help one to understand that the word ÒrevelationÓ in I Corinthians l4:2 may
have a lesser meaning that inspired infallible revelation.
In Acts 21:4 it says of the
disciples of Tyre, ÒThrough the Spirit they urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.Ó This appears to be a prophecy towards
Paul. Surely, Paul would not have
gone if he felt this was GodÕs very words. In Acts 21:10-11, Agabus prophesied that the Jews of
Jerusalem would Òbind Paul and deliver him in to the hands of the Gentiles.Ó This prophecy was not totally
correct because in Acts 21:33 it says that the Romans not the Jews bound Paul: "The
commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two
chains."
When prophecies were given
in a congregation no more than three could speak and the others were to weigh
what was said. ÒTwo
or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is
saidÓ (I Cor. 14:29). The
prophets were to weigh or sift out the good from the bad. This would not happen if this were
absolute, divine, inspired truth.
Obviously, there was truth mixed with error. Also, prophets often interrupted one another. ÒAnd if a revelation comes to someone who is
sitting down, the first speaker should stopÓ (I Cor. 14:30). If prophets were speaking
infallible truth, it is hard to imagine they would be interrupted and not
allowed to finish the message. It
appears that congregational prophecies were flawed and definitely less
authoritative than scripture.
Therefore, New Testament prophecy is merely human words prompted by the
Holy Spirit, not GodÕs infallible words, and not equal to GodÕs words in
authority.
When a person senses God
wants him to prophesy, he should preface his words with, ÒIt appearsÓ or ÒI
believeÓ or ÒI think the Lord is putting this on my heart and in my mind.Ó
To say, ÒThe Lord told meÓ is too presumptuous and arrogant.
The Holy Spirit
spontaneously bringing things to mind is referred to as Òa revelation.Ó And
if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should
stopÓ (I Cor. 14:30). The word
ÒrevelationÓ here is used in the sense of impressions being put into the
mind. These impressions or
spontaneous thoughts are passed through the human personality that is sinful
and therefore liable to error.
ManÕs thoughts often get mixed up with GodÕs impressions. Often these impressions are accompanied
with a sense of urgency. Most
Christians at times have experienced these impressions and a sense of urgency
to make them known. Intuitions
prompted by the Holy Spirit would be revelation and the giving of that
impression to the congregation would be a prophecy (not perfect).
Putting
thoughts into the mind by God will not come by hearing the external voice of
God but these will be internal impressions and sometimes they will be quite
strong. Prophecy may occasionally
involve thoughts about the future as in the case of AgabusÕ prophecy about Paul
(Acts 21:11). Sometimes prophecy
will be used by God to convict of sin.
ÒBut if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while
everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and
will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God,
exclaiming, ÒGod is really among youÓ (I Cor. 14:24-25). But the major use of prophecy is to
build up, encourage and console GodÕs people. ÒBut everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening,
encouragement and comfortÓ (I Cor. 14:3). A very practical purpose of prophecy is that it speaks
to peopleÕs hearts in a very spontaneous, direct way.
Some have put ÒrevelationÓ
and ÒprophecyÓ under the heading of illumination. Guidance would include intuitions, impressions, feelings,
urgings, impulses, etc. Some have
also put this into the area of common grace and general revelation.
Prophecy seems to be a gift
that many in a congregation may exercise.
ÒTherefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy. . .Ó (I Cor. 14:31). Prophecy is not just a gift for
skilled teachers. Some obviously
will be more gifted in this area than others, but Christians should be
encouraged to prophesy when God is prompting the mind and heart to do so. This would certainly help the people in
our churches from becoming mere spectators. It would also necessitate Christians having a designated
time for prophecy to take place in a worship service. Churches often contribute to spectator Christianity by
quenching the Holy Spirit in the area of prophecy. ÒDo not put out the SpiritÕs fire; do not treat prophecies with
contemptÓ (I Thess. 5:19-20).
The gift of prophecy is to
be highly valued by the individual Christian and by the church as a whole. ÒFollow the way of love and eagerly
desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecyÓ (I Cor. 14:31). The gift of prophecy could help balance
individual Christians and churches that are highly cerebral and intellectual.
If on a practical level
someone gives a prophecy, how should we receive it? Merely receive it as information. It may or may not be true. If there is truth in the prophecy, you will be convicted,
or, if you are not convicted, the Holy Spirit may confirm the truth with
several other prophecies or circumstances. We neither totally reject nor credulously accept these
prophecies. We wait and see.
Prophecy deals in the realm
of the subjective. Prophecies
which try to control people or manipulate situations are to be avoided. Prophecy, which dogmatically predicts
the future, is to come under great suspicion. Prophecy is based on intuition and is therefore
subjective. Whenever there is
subjectivity, there is the possibility that evil spirits can get involved. And there is a greater possibility of
the flesh (sin nature) being involved.
False prophesying can lead to great evil. It is the task of the church and the elders to discern the
spirits and to test all prophecy.
ÒDo not put out the SpiritÕs
fire; do not treat prophecies with
contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every
kind of evilÓ (I Thess.
5:19-21).
There are limits, boundaries
and safeguards to put on prophecy.
They are as follows: 1) all prophecy is subject to the inspired,
infallible Bible and never contradicts it; 2) all prophecy is to be tested by
the church and the elders in particular; 3) any prophecy which is not primarily
for building up, encouraging and consoling the Christian is suspect; 4) people
giving prophecies must be willing to be publicly questioned by the elders; 5)
prophecy used for power play or to draw attention to self should be rejected;
and 6) all prophecies must be prefaced with ÒI thinkÓ or ÒIt appears to meÓ or
ÒIt seems as though the Lord is saying this to meÓ because no prophecy is inspired
and no prophet is infallible today.