#58 THE GIFT OF PROPHECY 8-30-26
The gift of prophecy was a genuine spiritual gift given by the Holy Spirit to certain people in the early church. A prophet was not simply someone who predicted the future. Prophecy involved speaking a message given by God for the instruction, exhortation, encouragement, and edification of His people (1 Corinthians 14:3). We see this gift operating in the early church as God revealed His will through inspired men and women (Acts 11:27-28; Acts 13:1-2; Acts 21:8-11). We should be careful not to dismiss everything associated with prophecy as false or foolish. The biblical gift was real, important, and necessary during the foundational period of the church.
At the same time, there are strong biblical reasons to believe that the miraculous gift of prophecy is not being exercised today. The apostles and prophets belonged to the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:19-20), and the Bible points us toward the completeness and sufficiency of God’s revealed Word rather than a continuing stream of new revelation (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Jude 3). Paul also connected miraculous gifts such as prophecy with a time when the partial would give way to the complete (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). Therefore, while I want to be charitable toward sincere Christians who use the word “prophecy” differently, I do not believe anyone today is receiving direct, inspired revelation from God in the biblical sense of the prophetic gift.
And even if someone claimed to have the gift, the question would still be, What kind of fruit does that person’s life produce? Jesus taught that false prophets are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:15–20). The Holy Spirit’s work is not demonstrated merely by extraordinary claims, dramatic experiences, or impressive spiritual language. It is seen in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We do not need a new prophecy when we have the Word of God. We do not need spectacular manifestations when we have Christ. The greatest evidence that the Spirit is working in us is not that we can claim to speak for God, but that our lives increasingly look like Jesus.
BDD
