KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 14:3 ” But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort”.

Prophecy is a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit that He inspires one to give a message to other believers to edify, exhort, and comfort them.

Prophecy in this sense is different from foretelling or to predict. It does not come in an unknown language. It is always in the dialect of the audience or congregation.

The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 14:4 that “He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself but he that prophecies edifies the church”. Speaking in tongues would only build the individual up, but the one who gives a message in prophecy edifies the church. This means he builds the church up.

From our key scripture, prophecies come with the following purposes.

1. To edify the church.
2. To exhort the church
3. To comfort or strengthen the church.

Any inspired word that does not play any of the above-stated purposes may be another gift or may not be a word from the Lord. Prophecies come to strengthen the church. Prophecies that cast fear on the congregation may not be inspired by the Spirit of God. Some people have used prophecies wrongly. Prophecies could, therefore, be abused. 1st Corinthians 14:29 says” Let the prophets speak two or three and let the others judge”. There is the need to consider prophecies when they are given, so you can judge, whether it meets the scriptural standard.

In certain meetings, two people may be prophesying at the same time. This should not be so. One of them must keep quiet. The spirit of the Lord is not a spirit of confusion. 1st Corinthians 14:32

A note of caution: Do not call yourself a prophet because the Holy Spirit inspires you to prophesy. A prophet is an office that God appoints for ministry and comes along with several gifts of the Holy Spirit. (We would look at the ministry of the prophet when we come to consider ministerial offices)1 Thessalonians 5:20 Despise not prophesyings.

PRAYER

Father, I pray for the stirring of the power of the spirit amid your children to allow the gift of prophecy to function and function properly in Jesus’ name.

FURTHER STUDIES.

1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints”.

1 Corinthians 14:5. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interprets, that the church may receive edifying”