Sermon Tone Analysis

Roles of the gift of prophecy

Roles of prophets

When you think of a prophet, who do you think of?

Throughout the Bible, we see so many examples of prophets.

To just name a few, we read about Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and so many others.

Typically we thing of prophets as someone who can foretell what is coming in the future.

Predict something in the future.

Noah predicted the coming of the worldwide flood.

Abram predicted that his descendants would be in a strange land as slaves for 400 years.

Deliver a message of coming judgement from God.

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin.

Teach people about God.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream foretold the succession of the major world kingdoms.

Reprove people for their sins.

Jeremiah foretold that Israel would be captive in Babylon for 70 years.

Predict something in the future.

Many more examples.

In fact the Bible says in that,

When God is going to do something in the world, He’s not going to keep it a secret.

He’s going to reveal it to the prophets so that they can share it with His people so that they can be ready.

While telling what is going to happen in the future is a very important job of a prophet, there is more.

The gift of prophecy includes so much more than just being able to tell the future.

Bu

Surely the Lord God does nothing,

Teach people about God to help them understand His will.

If you remember the story of Elijah telling Ahab that there would be no rain for 3 1/2 years or Jonah preaching to the people of Ninevah.

If you remember the story of Elijah telling Ahab that there would be no rain for 3 1/2 years or Jonah preaching to the people of Ninevah.

Teach people about God.

Remember the schools of the prophets that Elisha started.

We see many examples of prophets teaching the people about God.

Reprove people for their sins or give counsel and provide direction.

After David slept with Bathsheba, had her husband Uriah killed, and tried to cover up the whole matter, the prophet Nathan came to give Him reproof, to give him counsel on what to do, and to let him know what the consequences would be in the future.

Noah predicted the coming worldwide flood.

Prophets were a very important way that God spoke to His people in the Bible.

Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

says that “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

The New King James Version.

(1982).

().

Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

We see this throughout the Old Testament

Noah predicted the coming of the worldwide flood.

Abram predicted that his descendants would be in a strange land as slaves for 400 years.

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream foretold the succession of the major world kingdoms.

Micah

Jeremiah foretold that Israel would be captive in Babylon for 70 years.

John the Baptist prophesied the coming of Jesus.

Many more examples.

Prophecy doesn’t have to be only predictive, but it is also used by God to provide counsel, reproof, and teaching.

Prophets in the Bible

Old Testament

Most of the examples that we have seen so far has been from the Old Testament.

I think most people would agree that prophets played a very big role in the Old Testament.

We clearly see God speaking through prophets a lot in the Old Testament, but did it stop there with Malachi?

We see God speaking through prophets a lot in the Old Testament, but did it stop there?

New Testament

Jesus

Jesus was also considered a prophet and He also predict future events, reproved of sin, and taught people about God.

In fact when Peter was preaching to the people in after Jesus had ascended to heaven, he quoted Moses as having predicted the coming of a Prophet and saying that Jesus was that Prophet that they had rejected and killed.

So we see that God spoke to people through prophets all the way through Jesus

Part of the fulness of Christ

Jesus

Jesus told His disciples that He was going to be leaving them and they were incredibly sad.

But Jesus told them,

In , Peter is speaking to people who are amazed that they just witnessed him heal a lame man.

He refers back to the time Moses prophecied the coming of Jesus

Nevertheless I tell you the truth.

It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

The New King James Version.

(1982).

().

Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

A little bit later, Jesus expounds more on this helperHe was sending to say,

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;

Peter was clearly showing that this Prophet that Moses had predicted would come and whom Moses had told the Israelites to listen to was the very same Jesus that they had just rejected and killed just a short time before.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;…”

The New King James Version.

(1982).

().

Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

This helper that Jesus was promising His followers was the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning of Acts, we see the disciples waiting in the upper room after Jesus had returned to heaven—waiting to receive the Holy Spirit.

When Pentecost came, they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

You can read about that story in .

But there was something special this “Helper” brought with Him.

Go with me to

These gifts that Jesus gave are directly connected with His gift of the Spirit.

We also can see this in and .

In , Paul refers to these gifts as the “manifestation of the Spirit.”

So whatever these gifts are were very special and were essential to carrying forward the gospel in the physical absence of Jesus.

Skip down to verse 11

Ephesians 4:11-

Prophecy an important part of the gifts.

What

Some of the gifts Jesus gave were the skills given to different people to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers.

These gifts were serving many important purposes to equip, edify, unify, protect from deceit, and to bring God’s people “to the stature of the fullness of Christ”—that perfect body.

Equipping the saints

talks about how there are many parts to a body and every part doesn’t have the same function.

In the same way, Paul says, we as the body of Christ have many different gifts or roles, but every part together is absolutely essential to make the body of Christ function as it should.

edifying the body of Christ

We generally don’t have a problem a

So Jesus was giving these gifts to His church to help them as He promised He would before He returned to heaven.

They were to create a people that were at the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

bringing all to unity

We don’t have a problem with there being people who are apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers, or some of the other gifts of the Spirit or as they are sometimes called “Spiritual gifts”.