Following
are the notes for a teaching delivered at a home
fellowship in August, 1991. This teaching
outlines the nature and purpose of prophecy as
outlined for the New Testament church
I. Definition
Prophecy: The immediate
expression of the mind (voice) of God through the
human spirit.
This
expression
may come as a supernatural unction, with
or without the knowledge
of the human participant. As an unction, it may
fall on any human (regenerate
or not.)
This expression may also be appropriated by
faith in
the Spirit-filled believer. As such, it may grow
in expression as faith grows,
even to the place of becoming the governing
expression through the believer
(ie, a "walking oracle.")
II. Historical Overview
A.
As a
walking perfect expression of God's mind, Adam was
a living prophet until his
fall.
B.
The first recorded prophecy
after the fall is by Enoch (Jude 14)
C.
The
entire Old Testament is written prophecy. Those
observed as prophets make up a
major portion of Israel's
history to the time of Christ.
D.
The
New Testament church was marked with prophecy and
prophets. A clear distinction
was elucidated between prophecy as a "gifting" and
as an office.
E.
The
book of Revelation characterizes the last
generation church as a prophetic people.
(Rev. 11:6-7; 19:10 →12:11)
III. Prophecy in the New Testament Church
A.
Prophecy
was released into the church at Pentecost as a
property of the
Spirit-filled life, promised to all and their
descendants who would appropriate
it by faith. (Ac. 2:4 → 17-18, 39)
B.
Examples of Prophets
Ac.
13:1
15:32 21:9-10
(Note: the daughters
were said to prophesy, but Agabus was called a
prophet.)
C.
Guidelines
For Exercise in the Church
I Cor. 11:4-5
14:29-31
D. Used to Establish
Ministry
and Life Direction (Imparted through laying on of
hands by those already
functioning in the prophetic, ie "prophetic
presbytery.")
I Tim. 1:18; 4:14
II Tim. 1:6
E. A Ministry Not to Be Despised
I Th. 5:20
F. Counterfeits
Released Into
Society in Response to True Prophecy
I Jn. 4:1
IV. Power Potential of Prophecy Available
to the Church
A.
Ministry
Outside the Church
All evangelism is
accomplished
through the power of prophecy (whether or not
recognized.)
- Prophecy is equated
with the testimony of Jesus
(Rev. 19:10)
-
(study the word "testimony" throughout N.T. See
Mk. 13:9-11)
- No man calls Jesus
Lord but
by the Holy Ghost (I Cor. 12:3) This is prophecy
- The Word of God
(Gospel) grew
and multiplied through the believers. This
is the active dynamic of
prophecy. (Ac. 12:24;
19:20)
- Prophecy convinces
unbelievers (I
Cor. 14:24-25)
B.
Ministry
Inside the Church
Prophecy
is
of the same power and availability as tongues.
- Tongues and prophecy
were
released together at Pentecost (Ac. 2:4 →
17-18)
- Tongues and prophecy
were released
together in Paul's ministry (Ac. 19:6)
- Paul taught on
tongues and
prophecy as commensurate gifts (I Cor. 14)
-
Because of its superiority to tongues yet its
equal availability, prophecy is
to be coveted above all Spirit-filled expressions.
(14:1)
-
Prophecy equals tongues plus interpretation (14:5)
V.
Classes
of Prophecy
A.
A
gifting ("expression") appropriate by faith by all
believers through
release of the Life-force of the Indwelling
Spirit.
- expandable with the
growth of
faith (Rom.
12:6)
- to be coveted by all
(I Cor.
14:1,5)
- capable of being stirred
up (II Tim. 1:6)
- the root force of
all evangelistic
testimony (Rev. 19:10)
- should become the
root force
behind all our speech as we grow into His
perfection. Spirit-filled
speech is
prophecy. (I Pt. 4:11 See
I Sam. 3:19)
B.
A
sovereign unction imparted by choice of the Holy
Spirit (may be imparted by prophetic
presbytery.)
- impartation by the
Spirit (I
Cor. 12:10-11)
- impartation by
prophetic
presbytery (I Tim. 1:18; 4:14;
II Tim.
1:6)
- the unctioning
behind
anointed ordained ministry (I Pt. 4:11)
NOTE:
This
unctioning is the same that differentiates between
any faith-appropriated
gifting and sovereign manifesting gifting such as
healing or miracles or
tongues, etc. It is the unctioning that may fall
on any human regardless of
standing with God (see next section.)
C.
An
"ascension-gift calling" as "prophet."
This
call
is sovereignly appointed by God. A prophet is one
whose entire life is set
apart to stand forth and declare God's mind to his
generation. He is ordained
to express God's present-truth mind to the church,
to nations, to families and
individuals. The focus of that mind is the
establishing of spiritual
righteousness and holiness in the lives of those
to whom he ministers
I
Cor. 12:28-29 Eph.
4:11
VI. Limitations of Prophecy
A.
Prophecy
is filtered through the veil of flesh and blood.
It is therefore unreliable
as a "fail-safe" means for ascertaining the mind
of God in a way that
perfectly satisfies the human mind. Meanings of
words and phrases (especially
time-words) may have applications beyond face
value expectation. In addition,
prophecies can be tainted by the imperfections of
the vessel through which they
are given. For this cause, all prophecy must be
tested, and in no case can
prophecy ever be used to substitute for
heart-faith relationship with God.
(I
Cor. 13:8-9)
B.
As a supernatural
unction, the prophetic spirit may fall upon:
-
disobedient men (I Sam.
10:11-12)
-
unregenerate men (Mt.
7:22), some even unaware of their prophesying (Jn.
11:51)
-
immoral men and
sorcerers (Num. 22-24)
-
even animals and
rocks! (Num. 22:28
Lk. 19:40)
Therefore
possession of
such gifting can never be used to evaluate one's
standing with God. (For an
excellent discussion of this point read the book Lead
Us Not Into Temptation
by Don Basham.)
(I
Cor. 13:2)
VII. Case for the Prophetic Explosion in the Church
A.
The
book of Revelation portrays the last generation
church as a people fully
functioning in the prophetic spirit (Rev. 11:6-7 /
19:10 → 12:11) We believe
that we are the last generation people. If so, the
explosion of prophecy in the
Church should be an expected and welcomed event.
B.
The
riper in maturity the Church comes to being
harvested in Christ's image at the
end of the age, the more it should be
characterized by the prophetic flow that
witnesses to God's dominion through her. If we are
as near as we think we are
to Christ's return, this flow should be expected.
C.
Given
the last generation revival of the tongues
movement, and given the commensurateness
of tongues with prophecy, the manifest transition
from tongues movement to
prophetic movement should also be a given.
D.
The last
day explosion of false prophets points in reverse
to the truth of the true
prophetic explosion of our day. (I Jn. 4:1)
VIII.
Conclusion and
Questions
A.
Conclusion
Stripped
of
its mystery and its narrow definition as
"foretelling the future,"
Prophecy is seen as the natural inheritance of the
entire church to be fully
appropriated by faith as never before. It is to be
activated and exercised in
the same way that tongues was once activated and
exercised at Spirit-infilling
Prophecy is a latent reservoir waiting to be
expressed and developed through
every Spirit-filled believer.
B.
Questions
1.
"How can I
activate my prophetic reservoir?"
This
is
activated the same way tongues is entered: by
faith. You simply step into it.
It helps to build yourself up first by praying
aloud in the Spirit til your
heart and mind are clear from cares and
distractions. Then wait in silence, listening
with your heart to the Lord, whether it be a
single word, or perhaps a mental
picture, or a vague thought. Then release what you
have, no matter how little,
or whether or not it makes sense to you. It is
yours but to speak. God will
take over.
In addition to this,
your
reservoir may be activated by the ministry of
prophetic presbytery. This is the
laying on of hands by a group of activated
prophetic ministers.
Once
activated,
your reservoir may be continually stirred up by
these same means. As
you practice what you have, your faith will grow,
and your capacity for more
expansive and detailed prophecy will grow.
2.
"But what if
God hasn't given me the gift of
prophecy?"
Only God can impart
His
supernatural prophetic unction by choice. But He
has already imparted the pool
and river of His prophetic life into every
Spirit-filled believer. It is yours
waiting to be accessed and harnessed. Remember,
you have already prophesied to
others without knowing it. Every time you have
shared the Gospel in response to
His inspiration in you, you have prophesied! Now,
that same love is yours to call
upon actively in knowledge and understanding.
3.
"But what if
I make a mistake?"
The key to prophesying
is
faith. The key
to faith is losing
self-consciousness. The question "What
if
I make a mistake?" appeals to
self-consciousness. Therefore, it is
not worthy of consideration. It is not a factor.
For in God, and in everything
undertaken by faith, there are no mistakes,
even if there may seem to
be. When you speak by faith, you trust God for the
oversight of your words, and
you leave with Him the results of what you say.
The only concern for
which you need take thought is your own motive.
Let whatever you say be
motivated by love
("unto
edification, exhortation, and comfort"
I Cor. 14:3). If you are clear about this. God
will look to the accuracy of
what you prophesy. Remember, whatever we undertake
by faith, we can never
verify finally through our natural understanding
of accuracy.
So relax! Don't worry about your
potential for mistakes. Rest in God's potential
for faithful accuracy.