Prophecy in the Church Today

I was just asked this week about the miraculous sign gift of prophecy that was given to the early church and if it was still used today in the same manner.  It is worth noting a few things about the miraculous sign gifts that were given to the early church in order to understand them more fully today. 

·      The gift of prophet as with other miraculous sign gifts (tongues, faith healing, casting out demons) was given for a purpose.  They were to help establish the foundation of the early church as well as authenticate the Gospel message—and they truly did do this.

·      Prophecy, in its original meaning, means to “speak forth” or to “declare the divine will of God” for others to follow.  Some people think of prophecy as the ability to predict the future but this is not what is identified with the Spiritual Gifts in 1 Cor 12 / Ro 12.  They are not fortunetellers.  Today, a modern day prophet should be seen as a pastor / teacher—one who speaks forth God’s Word with confidence and boldness.  They are not adding to God’s revelation of Scripture that has already been given—they are expounding upon God’s already given revelation.  They are proclaiming what God has already said.

·      Keep in mind that the early Christians did not have the complete revelation of God’s Word (most had no copy of any of the N.T books—certainly the O.T. was more available but still those would be retained at the synagogue).

·      During the launch of the church prophets played a critical role; they helped to fill the gap until the complete revelation of God’s Word.  The gift  of prophet was significant to the early church and God used them to help further His work.  (Eph.  2:20) 

·      The last book of the N.T. was Revelation, which was not completed until the end of the first century.  Up until that time there were prophets and they were recognized and accepted by the early church; however, there were false prophets that they were cautious about their presence and their work.

·      Are there prophets today?  I believe that with the completed Canon of Scripture and the fact that the church’s foundation has been laid over many centuries—the gift of prophet as evidenced in the N.T. is no longer functional.  This is also characteristic of many sign gifts— they are no longer necessary.

·      It would appear in Jude 3 that our “faith” has been completely passed along to us already.  The need for extra-biblical revelation is not needed. 

·      God continues to work in the lives of His people and His Spirit gives understanding of the Truths of God’s Word; however, there does not appear to be ongoing prophecy as seen in Scripture—individual’s words that are on the same level as Scripture. 

·      There is a great fascination today with prophecy and I don’t believe many view it from the lens of  necessity according to Scripture.  In fact, for hundreds and hundreds of years, up until the early 1900’s they were really never talked about or focused upon—until the Azusa Street Revivals in L.A., California.

·      I would say, GREAT caution should be given to anyone who claims to speak on behalf of God (this is the essence of prophecy in churches today).  First and foremost it should always be consistent with His Word—and tested against the Word of God (1 Th. 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1).

·      If it is 100% consistent with Scripture then it could be considered as truth but still great discernment should be taken as to how it is to be applied to our lives.

·      In the Pentecostal movement Word of Faith is a big deal.  It is a matter of speaking a prophetic utterance on behalf of the Lord to someone else who is supposed to hear what you are saying.  This is God speaking through believers and this often happens apart from Scripture—it is very self-driven although proponents will claim it is Spirit driven.

·      Once again, as with all miraculous sign gifts, I believe we must answer the questions as to why they were given, how were they to be used according to Scripture, by whom were they to be used (in Scripture, it was primarily the apostles), and are they Spirit driven?

All things in Christ's church must be measured by the objective Word of God.  I do not want to place God's Spirit in a box; I believe He can do great and mighty things in our midst today--after all, He is God.  I would certainly want to be cautious as to what many claim is of the Spirit as not everything today is of the Spirit of God that is being performed.