What is the gift of prophecy and is it for today?

The New Testament gift of prophecy is different from Old Testament prophecy. Paul says the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2 v 20). The equivalent of Old Testament prophecy is the apostolic testimony recorded in the New Testament. Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles brought God’s authoritative word to his people. In contrast, New Testament prophecy is to be weighed and tested (1 Thessalonians 5 v 19-22).

Some people think prophecy no longer exists today. They believe it was replaced by the finished New Testament. Talking about prophecy today is confusing, they suggest, because it might lead people to expect something equivalent to Scripture. Sometimes people cite 1 Corinthians 13 v 8-10, which says prophecy and tongues will cease when “completeness” comes:

“Where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.”

Other people see nothing in the New Testament to suggest prophecy will stop. They believe the “completeness” in 1 Corinthians 13 is a reference to the return of Christ. It may be true that we should expect more prophecy where God’s word is not readily available (which includes the time before the Bible was finished, but also includes the frontiers of mission today), but God still works through the Spirit to strengthen his church.

A key question is: What is New Testament prophecy?

At its heart, prophecy seems to be bringing God’s word to bear in a particular situation. So it’s intimately tied to God’s word in the Bible, but also involves applying that word to specific situations. Paul says we should “eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” because “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14 v 1, 3). Sometimes that means predicting the future (as with Agabus in Acts 11 v 27-30). But more generally, prophecy brings the truth to bear on people’s hearts so they can be strengthened, encouraged and comforted.

Most New Testament gifts are also duties. There are evangelists, but we’re all called to evangelize. The same is true with pastoral care, teaching, exercising faith and so on. In the same way, we’re all called to speak “the truth in love” to one another (Ephesians 4 v 11, 15), but some have a particular gift for bringing God’s word to bear in the lives of God’s people. This is the gift of prophecy.

Sometimes this can happen through preaching when it feels that the preaching is speaking just to you. Perhaps it feels as if the preacher has a special insight into your life at that particular moment in time.

Some people have a particular gift of bringing God’s word to bear in an incisive way. They sense the Spirit saying something particular to a person or a church. A friend might say: “I’ve been praying for you and I wonder if the Lord might be using this problem to teach you …” Or sometimes in a pastoral situation someone may say something that cuts through the issue someone wants help with to the real issue underneath.

Different church traditions have different ways of talking about these experiences. And some churches are wary of talking about prophecy because it can undermine the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. A big danger is that people start to value the prophecy over Scripture. So, whatever you call it, all of this needs to be tentative. No-one should say: “This is the word of the Lord”. Prophecy needs to be tested against Scripture and weighed by church leaders (1 Corinthians 14 v 29).

This is an extract from Who on earth is the Holy Spirit? And other questions about who he is and what he does.

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