Weapons for the Believer 5.7
– The Gifts of the Holy Spirit – Prophecy
According to Paul, there are
weapons of warfare.
2
Corinthians 10:3-4 (ESV)
For
though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For
the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to
destroy strongholds.
We are considering ten
weapons that the Believer has at their disposal. We looked at the first four in
previous posts. If you haven’t read them I encourage you to do so.
The next weapons are
referred to as The Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Word of Wisdom, Word of
Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning
of Spirits,
Different Kinds of Tongues,
and Interpretation of Tongues.
When our faith intersects with
the Spirit’s power, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished in those
moments. I do not believe these are given permanently as some teach. I do not
believe that some “posses” these gifts, but instead are given in the moment
when needed. Consequently any or all of these may manifest in each Believer as
the Spirit chooses.
There are nine gifts list by
Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. Traditionally these have been divided into three
groups: The Power Gifts, The Revelation Gifts, and The Speaking Gifts.
The Power Gifts: Faith
(or special faith, as some have described it)
Gifts of
Healing (the only plural gift)
Working
of Miracles
The Revelation Gifts: Word
of Wisdom
Word of
Knowledge
Discerning
of Spirits
The Speaking Gifts: Prophecy
Tongues
Interpretation
of Tongues
Today we will look at the seventh
of these in more detail: Prophecy. In my personal experience in local churches,
Prophecy is probably the most abused of the Gifts of the Spirit. There have
been many people led astray by sometimes well-meaning people giving a
“prophetic word” to someone regarding a particular circumstance or decision
they were facing. Just because you have a strong opinion about something does
not give you the right to presume to speak for God.
There is a difference
between the operation of the Gift of Spirit of Prophecy and that of which some
call the “office” of the Prophet. In Ephesians 4 Paul told us that Jesus gave
“gifts” to the Church; some apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
Maybe we will talk more about these in the future. It is sufficient for now
just to know that you do not have to be a “prophet” in order for the Gift of
the Spirit called Prophecy to operate through you. The Holy Spirit can speak
through you any time He needs a voice in the earth.
Here is the thing that
causes the most problems with the operation of prophecy in the New Testament.
Most try to act like Old Testament prophets! There is a distinct difference
between the Old and New Testament use of prophecy. In the Old, God had to have
a mouthpiece in the earth, even to speak to His people. The Spirit would come
“on” people and they would speak the words that the Spirit would give them. In
the New, the Holy Spirit “indwells” Believers. Every Believer is a mouthpiece
for God. When we are born again the Holy Spirit takes residence in us to lead
us, empower us, and operate His Gifts through us. But the most important role
is to help us produce the Fruit of the Spirit; in our own life, and the lives
of others.
Here is New Testament
prophecy in a nutshell.
1
Corinthians 14:3 (ESV) On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to
people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
The KJV says, “edification,
exhortation, and comfort.” Any prophetic word is going to have this affect. It
will 1) upbuild. Prophetic words will not tear down, but instead build up; it
will build faith in the hearer and build their hope that God loves them enough
to speak to them through another Believer. The one giving the prophetic word
will not threaten the hearer, using fear to manipulate an outcome. New
Testament prophecy will draw the hearer closer to God, hopefully to the point
that they can hear the voice of God themselves, and not have to rely on another.
It will 2) encourage. Notice
the positive aspects of prophetic words given by the Holy Spirit. God is always
out to lift up, not tear down. He always wants to build up the Believer, not
destroy them. So too should any prophetic word that we give.
Lastly, it will 3) console.
When someone has messed up they do not have to be told they messed up. They
know it. Shame has already tried to take root in their soul. The Holy Spirit
wants to bring consolation; let them know that they are still loved, that God
has not forsaken them. The prophetic word comes to give them a homing beacon to
draw them back to the source of their forgiveness, their strength. That is
Jesus Himself. That is were our upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation
originates.
Revelation
19:10 (ESV) Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me,
“You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who
hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy.
Any prophetic word given by
the Holy Spirit will be a testimony of who Jesus is, what He has done, and what
He wants to do in every person’s life. Any word that you hear to the contrary
is not from the Holy Spirit. Listen for Jesus whenever someone speaks a prophetic
word, and especially when you feel you have a prophetic word for someone else.
You are representing Jesus when you speak, so only speak that which the Holy
Spirit gives and do not add your own commentary. In doing so you will be a
blessing to others, and Jesus will be glorified in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment