The Gift Of Prophecy

 

"But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    and your young men shall see visions,

    and your old men shall dream dreams;

 even on my male servants and female servants

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." - Acts 2:16-19 ESV

 

The gift of prophecy, unlike the gift of teaching, is revelatory. God gives the gift of teaching to explain the Bible. It is a spiritual gift that requires knowledge of the Scripture and illumination by the Holy Spirit to understand the text. 

Certain Bible teachers understand the gift of prophecy to be preaching. Preaching can be prophetic (the Gospel itself is prophetic). God can give warnings and revelations about situations and people during a sermon. In this post, we are discussing personal prophecy. 

The New Testament gift of prophecy does not challenge the sufficiency of Scripture as some teach. 

These teachers, for the most part, are cessationists. They believe that prophecy, tongues, and the gifts of healing ceased after the completion of the New Testament canon (The Bible) - this is a poor interpretation of the Biblical text.

"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy." - (1 Corinthians 14:1  ESV)

"Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." -   (1 Thessalonians 5: 20 - 21 ESV)

"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. - (1 Corinthians 14:29 ESV)

Why would the Apostle Paul command believers to weigh or judge prophetic words? Surely he would not tell us to evaluate the accuracy of  Scripture? Personal prophecy is not equal to Scripture. "...for we know in part and we prophesy in part" - (1 Corinthians 13:9 KJV) " ... the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort." - (1 Corinthians 14:3 NIV) - not to add to Scripture. It does not have the same authority.  

Personal prophecy (like other spiritual gifts) can be misused and abused. Well-meaning people can think they are hearing from the Lord, but are not.

I agree with Dr. Wayne Grudem's definition of New Testament prophecy. "Prophecy occurs when a revelation from God is reported in the prophet's own (merely human) words." (1)

Hermeneutics is the method used to interpret the Scriptures. Western scholars around the time of the Enlightenment began to view the Scripture through anti-supernatural lenses. 

Some theologians do not believe that women should preach or teach men (I'm not dealing with that here.) The problem is that according to Joel's prophecy that Peter quotes in Acts chapter 2,  both men and women will prophesy in the last days. Scholars call this the democratization of the Spirit. Unlike the Old Testament, any New Testament believer can prophesy. 

As Jack Deere says, "In the Old Testament, prophetic ministry belonged to the men. But when the Holy Spirit moved into his new temple, the human heart, he no longer enabled observed gender or age distinctions. He enabled men, women, and children to prophesy." (2)

New Testament prophecy is not to establish new doctrines - it is for guidance. 

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." - Romans 15:4 ESV

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence..." (2 Peter 1:3 ESV)

To believe and obey Scripture is the path to live a godly life. All the doctrine (teaching) in the Bible is for our instruction. 

The fact that the Bible commands us to pursue the gift of prophecy is the reason we should.

God never speaks to us in a way that contradicts his written revelation (the Bible).  Jesus said, "his sheep hear his voice," and they do. We hear Him in Scripture and through the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

If you are a pastor that does not believe God speaks today - how do you know God called you to preach? You know by revelation. 

People who hear God's voice most clearly are grounded in the Word of God. To be a biblical people, we must believe in revelatory gifts. And the authority of Scripture. 

(1) Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem, page 1057.

(2) Why I'm Am Still Suprised By The Voice Of God, Jack Deere, page 17.