"Pursue
love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts but especially that you
may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead and just 10 days before the Feast of Pentecost Jesus appears to His disciples. He commands them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised;
“John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. . . . You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses.” (Acts 1, 5-8).
Jesus is then lifted up into the clouds before their eyes, the apostles and more than 100 others do as Jesus instructs, and 10 days later on the Feast of Pentecost they are all filled with the Holy Spirit as promised. The infant Church, the living Body of Christ, has now begun.
Before the verse above in 1 Corinthians
Paul makes the following argument concerning spiritual gifts:
At
one time the Corinthians were pagans, and as pagans they were led to
worship and follow after idols. The idols were inanimate objects with
no life in them. Now they are believers in a living God, and more
than that, they have dwelling in them the Spirit of the Living God.
This Holy Spirit brings revelation that Jesus is Lord. And this
Spirit works in each of them, giving gifts, ministries and effects.
The
Spirit distributes these to individuals, but they are given to
benefit the common good, so that the body of believers would be a
healthy body. Although there are a variety of gifts and ministries
and effects, and although some of these rank above the others, each
one is considered by the Spirit to be important to the health of the
body. Even though the Spirit has not distributed the same gifts and
ministries and effects to everyone, all are encouraged to desire the
greater gifts.
The
greater gifts and higher ranking ministries are not given to elevate
the individual. They are provided by the Spirit because God loves the
individuals who make up the body, and He wants the body to be
healthy. Those who operate in the greater gifts have a greater
responsibility, and they need to show the same love for the body as
does God. While the gifts and ministries of the Spirit are perfect,
they operate through imperfect people.
Thus,
although there may be times when the gifts will fail, an attitude of
love will never fail. Love then is even more powerful than the
greatest gifts. It is the reason the gifts were given. It enables
the gifts to operate more purely, and it reflects the personality of
the One who will one day make the body perfect.
This argument holds true just as much today as it did then. The Holy Spirit has the same gifts, ministries and effects available to any in the body who will ask for them. They are still given for the health of the body of believers. We are advised to "desire" the gifts, which indicates first that some are available to all, and second that seeking may be part of the process to receiving. We should especially seek after the gift of prophecy because when used in love and discernment it can be an important way for God to move in the lives of others.
Prophecy usually operates, not as a revelation about future events, although that may happen because God has a plan for every life, but as a message of encouragement that speaks to the needs or desires of a person. Sometimes the Spirit will give guidance and other times correction. Sometimes He will just let a person know that He is with them in their pain or struggles and that He loves them.
However the prophetic word will be empty if it is not met with a response. This can be a quite "thank you" to God for an encouragement, or a conscious effort to remember and to pray through the prophetic word. Why would the Spirit give direction or an encouragement to do something if we were just to say "neat" and then forget about it? The prophetic word will usually be a confirmation as to what the Spirit has already been speaking to a person.
The Holy Spirit can speak prophetically in a variety of ways. Someone may be praying for a person, and while reading the Bible they see a passage that just seems to leap out at them. The response then is to pray with the wisdom that the Spirit has given in that scripture, or to share that passage with the person being prayed for.
In a group setting someone may feel a leading from the Spirit to speak out a message in tongues, and someone else, not understanding the tongue, but receiving a word from the Spirit that they know matches what was just spoken in tongues, will give the interpretation. The word may come as the person opens their mouth to speak, or they may have received a sense or an outline of the message. The combination of the two is considered a prophetic message, and tongues here is a different gift than what is available to all as a private prayer language.
A prophetic word will often come without being preceded by tongues. The speaker may just have a word or a phrase to begin with or they may have a more full sense of the message. In either instance, if it is appropriate for where they are, they need to trust God and speak out what they have, sensing what the Spirit is saying as they speak. If the Spirit stops, the person should stop, not adding personal desires or theology to what the Spirit is saying.
This argument holds true just as much today as it did then. The Holy Spirit has the same gifts, ministries and effects available to any in the body who will ask for them. They are still given for the health of the body of believers. We are advised to "desire" the gifts, which indicates first that some are available to all, and second that seeking may be part of the process to receiving. We should especially seek after the gift of prophecy because when used in love and discernment it can be an important way for God to move in the lives of others.
Prophecy usually operates, not as a revelation about future events, although that may happen because God has a plan for every life, but as a message of encouragement that speaks to the needs or desires of a person. Sometimes the Spirit will give guidance and other times correction. Sometimes He will just let a person know that He is with them in their pain or struggles and that He loves them.
However the prophetic word will be empty if it is not met with a response. This can be a quite "thank you" to God for an encouragement, or a conscious effort to remember and to pray through the prophetic word. Why would the Spirit give direction or an encouragement to do something if we were just to say "neat" and then forget about it? The prophetic word will usually be a confirmation as to what the Spirit has already been speaking to a person.
The Holy Spirit can speak prophetically in a variety of ways. Someone may be praying for a person, and while reading the Bible they see a passage that just seems to leap out at them. The response then is to pray with the wisdom that the Spirit has given in that scripture, or to share that passage with the person being prayed for.
In a group setting someone may feel a leading from the Spirit to speak out a message in tongues, and someone else, not understanding the tongue, but receiving a word from the Spirit that they know matches what was just spoken in tongues, will give the interpretation. The word may come as the person opens their mouth to speak, or they may have received a sense or an outline of the message. The combination of the two is considered a prophetic message, and tongues here is a different gift than what is available to all as a private prayer language.
A prophetic word will often come without being preceded by tongues. The speaker may just have a word or a phrase to begin with or they may have a more full sense of the message. In either instance, if it is appropriate for where they are, they need to trust God and speak out what they have, sensing what the Spirit is saying as they speak. If the Spirit stops, the person should stop, not adding personal desires or theology to what the Spirit is saying.
I have seen times
where one message is given by several people, one pausing and the
next picking up in mid sentence. Jackie will often see a picture in
her mind of the sense of what the Spirit has, and it becomes more
clear to her as she speaks out. At times a person may have a vision,
or perhaps a dream that comes from the Spirit.
One time before
going to bed I was praying for a relative who was very sick. I woke
up just after a vivid dream in which I was praying for that person,
the Spirit having given me directions as to how to pray. Sensing
that the dream was from God I felt the correct response was to travel
to see that person and to pray as I saw in the dream. When I got to
the hospital there was a group of other family members present and we
laid on hands and prayed as directed. My sister-in-law's white blood
cell count increased dramaticly and she was able to leave the
hospital the next day.
There are other ways in which prophecy may come from the Spirit and it is important to understand that our souls can often get in the way, either in the proclaiming, or in the receiving of a prophetic word. We need to grow in maturity, having the desire to seek the gifts, the courage to begin to operate in them, and the willingness to be mentored in them by more experienced Christians. We need to grow in spiritual discernment, being able to distinguish between what comes from the Spirit from that which comes from man or from the evil one. And if all things are done in love, we should do well.
There are other ways in which prophecy may come from the Spirit and it is important to understand that our souls can often get in the way, either in the proclaiming, or in the receiving of a prophetic word. We need to grow in maturity, having the desire to seek the gifts, the courage to begin to operate in them, and the willingness to be mentored in them by more experienced Christians. We need to grow in spiritual discernment, being able to distinguish between what comes from the Spirit from that which comes from man or from the evil one. And if all things are done in love, we should do well.
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