THE GIFTED - PART SEVEN

P R O P H E C Y

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 ESV

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

What is prophecy? What is a prophet? Is everyone who prophesies a prophet? Are there still prophets operating in the Church today? We will explore all of those questions tonight. In order to answer those questions most effectively, we need to discover the definition of the word used in 1 Corinthians 12.

Before that, let’s talk about the office of the prophet.

Ephesians 4:11–14 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

There are those who operate in the Church today from the fivefold office of the prophet. Our local church is led by one such individual, and there are many others operating in the body of Christ today. I want to briefly explain this, but let’s not spend too much time here. Everyone is called to prophesy, but not everyone is called to this office. That means our time together tonight is better spent talking about what applies to all of us.

That said, let me briefly describe the office of the prophet. In addition to speaking inspired words from God in the setting of the local church or to fellow believers, the prophet’s assignment is to deliver words from God to the whole Church or a nation. God assigns prophets to nations and He assigns prophets to parts of the body of Christ. Their words from the Lord often contain warning, pronounced judgments, or foretelling of future events. These words are given through God to people of influence who can deliver them in meaningful settings. Why would the Lord give someone a word for an entire nation when that person had no platform from which to deliver it?

Prophets are appointed by God to their office and confirmed through the ministry of someone already operating in that ministry. Nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, so to speak. That means that you cannot call yourself into the office of the prophet. You cannot decide that it sounds cool and confer the title upon yourself. If you’re concerned that no one will recognize your gift and confirm your calling, you probably don’t trust God enough to operate in that office in the first place. Timing is everything. If you believe God’s called you as a prophet to the Church or the nation, continue to develop and nurture your secret place with Him and submit yourself to leadership who can guide you toward fulfilling that calling.

Let’s jump back now to the definition of the Greek word used in 1 Corinthians.

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) 4735 προφητεία

4735 προφητεία (prophēteia), ας (as), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ DBLHebr 2606, 5553; Str 4394; TDNT 6.781—1. LN 33.460 inspired utterance, a prophecy from God (Mt 13:14); 2. LN 33.461 ability to prophesy (Ro 12:6; 1Co 13:2), note: there may be overlap in the verses and entries

That gives us our definition of what prophecy is. It’s important to note that this is the definition that we should apply to every use of this word in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. He mentions prophecy multiple times, so the definition has to remain consistent. Let’s take a look at a couple of other references made to prophecy in this letter.

1 Corinthians 13:2 ESV

2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

I read this one first because it gives us a qualifier for what prophecy should be. If prophecy isn’t born out of love, it’s nothing worth saying. As we begin to deploy the gift of prophecy for what it truly is, it’s important that we never lose sight of its origin. If prophecy is inspired utterance, then the inspiration for that utterance must be the Holy Spirit, who is the expression of the love of God working in the earth today. That means that love is the root motivation of the Holy Spirit speaking through us in this way.

1 Corinthians 14:1–5 ESV

1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

It’s important that we don’t read this as an indictment of speaking in tongues. In a couple of weeks, we’ll discuss the difference between praying in tongues and speaking to the church in tongues. Let’s put speaking in tongues in the proper context here as it relates to prophecy. A word in tongues in this context requires an interpreter, because it’s in a different language. Prophecy does not. This is why Paul said that the one who prophesies does a greater service for the church than the one who gives a word from the Lord in tongues.

Furthermore, Paul tells us the purpose of prophecy in this passage. This becomes our litmus test for whether or not a word is truly prophetic. Is it upbuilding? Is it encouraging? Is it consoling? If it doesn’t check one of those boxes, it’s not prophetic and must be treated differently. The inspired utterance motivated by God’s love for people will always serve to build them, to encourage them, or to console them.

That means that you need to weigh any word you believe God is asking you to share on that scale. If it doesn’t balance, don’t say anything. We need to learn to be so cautious with this gift and not take it lightly. If you want to prophesy, be inspired by the Word of God and faithful to speak it at the Spirit’s prompting. Be ready to deliver a word in the right season. In the right moment. That moment is determined not by you, but by the Spirit on the inside of you.

This is a good time to mention that the gift of prophecy and the gift of the word of knowledge often work in cooperation, but the prophetic word doesn’t need an accompanying word of knowledge to be effective. Inspired utterance is just speaking the Word of God, which in itself is inspired utterance. If you want to prophesy, start by having Scripture in your heart and your mouth at all times. That means that you can either hear the Spirit inside you speak and faithfully deliver that word or you can speak the written Word of God. Both are prophetic and build up the Church!

We are that church. We need to be built. We all do. We all need to be encouraged. We all need to be consoled in moments. That means we need to learn to receive prophetic words. First of all, let’s decide right now that someone who delivers a prophetic word out of their own heart that isn’t aligned with the Holy Spirit is NOT a false prophet. Being wrong doesn’t make you malicious. People often prophesy out of their own hearts and desires with absolute belief that it’s coming from the Holy Spirit. That’s why it’s important that we are absolutely certain that we are hearing the Lord speak. Does the word you believe you’re supposed to deliver align with the will and character of God we’ve seen demonstrated in Scripture? If not, it isn’t from Him. He’s not inconsistent. He’s not confused. He is who He’s always been and will always be.

When someone gives you a prophetic word, it should immediately resonate with your own Spirit. The Holy Spirit on the inside of you should rise up and meet that utterance inspired by the same Spirit and come to agreement. It should either confirm what the Lord has already said to you or speak directly to something hidden inside you. It shouldn’t be something that brings panic. It should bring peace. Even if your mind has never considered it, your spirit should recognize it right away if it’s born of the same Holy Spirit living on the inside of you.

If not, that doesn’t mean you start making TikTok videos about false prophets. A brother or sister in error is not a false prophet. False prophets are knowingly speaking a gospel other than the gospel of truth and attempting to deceive people about the good news.

Paul tells Timothy, his spiritual son, to take the prophecies previous spoken about him and wage war with them by holding on to faith in God. If someone declares a prophetic word over you and you believe in good conscience that it’s from the Lord, it’s your responsibility to pray over it. Nurture it. Believe it. Guard it. Protect it. Don’t let circumstances sway you. What you don’t see is irrelevant. What He’s said is everything. Stand on the word.

Tonight, I believe that the Lord wants to use this gift among us. By the leading of the Spirit tonight, I want to invite you to receive the word if you believe the Lord has something you need to hear tonight and you are willing to receive it. If you have a word that you believe the Lord is asking you to deliver tonight, be faithful to do so after weighing its origin and its qualifications. Does it come from God’s love for a person? Does it build, encourage, or console? If so, be led by the Spirit and obedient to His leading tonight.