The Gift of Prophecy and Its Proper Use in the Church

A real gift, and where it comes from

Few gifts of the Holy Spirit have been handled as carelessly as prophecy. In some churches it has been quietly shelved, as though God stopped giving it. In others it has become a performance — a man on a platform calling people out by name, "I'm seeing a word over you," microphones, queues and a great deal of excitement. Much of what passes for prophecy today looks far more like witchcraft than the Spirit of God. Somewhere between the two, ordinary believers are left unsure what prophecy even is, and too nervous to ask. So let us go back to the Book and let it tell us. Paul does not treat prophecy as something odd or embarrassing. He tells the church to want it: Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy [1 Corinthians 14:1 KJV]. And he tells us plainly what it is for: But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort [1 Corinthians 14:3 KJV]. Building up, stirring up, and lifting up. That is the gift. Not a show, not a prediction market, not a way of making one man look important — a word from God that leaves the body of Christ stronger than it found it.

True prophecy has only one source. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost [2 Peter 1:21 KJV]. Not by the will of man — not worked up, not switched on, not produced by a technique. And notice who it comes through: the Holy Spirit is given to those who belong to God. Jesus Christ said, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God [John 3:3 KJV], and Paul adds, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV]. That matters, because there are plenty of voices about that claim to hear from God and have never been born again. Something may well be speaking to them — but not every spirit is the Holy Spirit, and the enemy has always been happy to dress the part: And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light [2 Corinthians 11:14 KJV]. And whatever the Spirit of God says will always lift up Jesus Christ: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [Revelation 19:10 KJV]. If a "word" leaves you looking at the prophet rather than at Jesus Christ, the Son of God, something has gone wrong.

The Word first — and the back door

Here is the anchor that holds everything else in place. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son [Hebrews 1:1-2 KJV]. And what He has spoken is written down for us: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness [2 Timothy 3:16 KJV]. The Spirit of God does not compete with the Book given by His inspiration. Jesus Christ said of the Spirit of truth, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself [John 16:13 KJV]. Into all truth — never away from it. So any word given in a meeting, a message or a dream is never on a level with Scripture; it sits underneath it and answers to it. If it adds to the Word, contradicts the Word, or makes the Word seem unnecessary, it is not from God, however warm it felt at the time. A believer who wants to hear from God has the surest place to start already in their hands.

The counterfeit rarely arrives with a warning label. It comes in through the back door with church words on it. One is "manifesting" — the idea that we can speak things into being, declare our future, and pull what we want towards us by thinking and saying it hard enough. That is not faith; it is the old occult idea that words and thoughts are levers on reality. Scripture puts us back in our place: For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that [James 4:15 KJV]. God is sovereign. We ask; we do not command. Another is the borrowed meditation of yoga and the East, where the aim is to empty the mind and drift into a different state of consciousness. Biblical meditation is the very opposite — it fills the mind with God's Word and keeps it there: This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night [Joshua 1:8 KJV], and But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night [Psalm 1:2 KJV]. An empty mind is not an open line to heaven; it is an unlocked door. And then there are the "prophetic activation" exercises — breathe this way, picture this, say the first thing that comes into your head over the person in front of you. When people use techniques and methods to conjure up a word, they have stepped out of the Spirit and into something God named long ago: There shall not be found among you any one … that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch [Deuteronomy 18:10 KJV]. And Paul names it plainly among the works of the flesh: Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance [Galatians 5:20 KJV]. Prophecy is given; it is never manufactured.

Test every word, decently and in order

None of this means we run from the gift. Paul holds both together in one breath: Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good [1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 KJV]. Do not despise it — and do not swallow it whole. John says the same: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world [1 John 4:1 KJV]. So how do we test? First, by the Book: To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them [Isaiah 8:20 KJV]. Second, by whether it comes to pass: When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken [Deuteronomy 18:22 KJV]. Third, by its source — false prophets speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD [Jeremiah 23:16 KJV]. And fourth, by the fruit of the one speaking: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits [Matthew 7:15-16 KJV]. Watch where the money goes, where the glory goes, and whether people are drawn closer to Christ and His Word or made to depend on the prophet. Jesus Christ warned that on the last day some will say, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? — and hear Him answer, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [Matthew 7:22-23 KJV]. Prophesying in His name is no proof of knowing Him.

When the real gift is at work among God's people, it looks nothing like a circus. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge [1 Corinthians 14:29 KJV]. A few, not a flood; and every word weighed by the rest of the church, not received as beyond question. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints [1 Corinthians 14:33 KJV]. If a word leaves a room confused, frightened or hanging on one man's say-so, it has not come from the God of peace. And Paul closes the whole chapter with a line every gathering should keep on the wall: Let all things be done decently and in order [1 Corinthians 14:40 KJV]. That fits a hall of five hundred and a kitchen with two just the same. True prophecy builds up, stirs up, and comforts — and it always leaves Jesus Christ bigger and the Word clearer.

Back to the Book

Paul warned that the days would come when some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [1 Timothy 4:1 KJV], and many of the strange things now done in the name of prophecy are exactly that. The answer is not to throw out the gift; it is to put it back where God put it — under His Word, among His born-again people, for the building up of His church. Jesus Christ prayed for us, Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth [John 17:17 KJV]. Hold the Book as final. Test every word against it. Refuse every technique that smells of the occult or witchcraft. Desire the real gift with a pure heart, and let the church judge it. And let it all serve the walk our theme verse describes: That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God [Colossians 1:10 KJV].

Key Takeaways:

• Prophecy is a real gift, given to build up, stir up and comfort the church — [1 Corinthians 14:3 KJV]
• True prophecy comes from the Holy Spirit, never by the will of man or a technique — [2 Peter 1:21 KJV]
• The things of the Spirit belong to those who are born again — [John 3:3 KJV], [1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV]
• God speaks first and surest through His written Word, and the Spirit never contradicts it — [2 Timothy 3:16 KJV], [John 16:13 KJV]
• Manifesting, mind-emptying meditation and "activation" exercises are the back door to divination and witchcraft — [Deuteronomy 18:10 KJV], [Galatians 5:20 KJV]
• Every word is to be tested — by the Book, by whether it comes to pass, and by its fruit — [1 John 4:1 KJV], [Isaiah 8:20 KJV]
• Prophecy in the church is a few voices, weighed by the rest, done decently and in order — [1 Corinthians 14:29 KJV], [1 Corinthians 14:40 KJV]

Where to go from here:

Read 1 Corinthians 14:1-33 with a pen, and mark every place Paul says what prophecy is for and how it is to be handled. Then take one word you have been given or heard, and test it against what you have marked. Start small and start today.

📽️ Watch this teaching 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V-cXCxoLZw&list=PLhtPbQ4aPQH6BwH714Hu0_fiwYM3-DKct&index=1

🧭 Start Here — Who We Are in Christ! — the teachings to read first 👉 https://back-to-basics-christian-living.ghost.io/start-here/

🎥 The playlist to watch alongside them 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEPKdqB9RuLI

➡️ Next — Tuesday: Messages from the Outpost — Labouring from Acceptance, Not for Acceptance

Begin there — who we are in Christ, in order. Then, Monday to Thursday, each day has its own job: Monday, Something to Think About? — a question for the church and for us in it; Tuesday and Thursday, Messages from the Outpost — house fellowship teaching round the table; Wednesday, Write this Down — one truth to keep for the walk. Fridays bring a series, at present The Unpreached Bible, and one email on Sunday, The Christian Compass, closes the week and opens the next.

🙏 Write and tell us what God has done 👉 backtobasicschristianliving@gmail.com, and let us know if we're free to share it in The Christian Compass on Sundays, to encourage someone else. And if this helped you, send it to one person who needs it this week.

Back to Basics: Christian living — plain, practical, powerful Bible teaching you can live out today.

🔗 Everything in one place 👉 https://linktr.ee/backtobasicschristianliving