Type of Doctrine: Typically Secondary
"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy."
-1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV
Why Does It Matter?
In 1 Corinthians 14:1 Paul commands the Corinthians to "earnestly desire the spiritual gifts," and he adds "especially that you may prophesy." He is referring to pursuing the gift of prophecy in worship services because of its ability to encourage and build up the people who are present. Why? Because the spiritual gift of tongues will not benefit the people who attend (that is, uninterpreted tongues). They won't understand what is being said so they won't be encouraged and built up. Thus, the need for prophecy to build up the people who attend the worship service.
Does this command hold true for Christian worship services today? If not, why? We must have a good reason for disobeying a commandment in the New Testament. The article below will cover different options which have been given.
This is typically thought of as a secondary issue since it doesn't determine whether one is a Christian, but it often significantly affects the church one attends.
What Is It?
Prophecy can be found throughout the Bible. Some argue that Old Testament prophecy and New Testament prophecy are the same (or at least similar). Others argue that Old Testament prophets and prophecy are different than New Testament prophets and prophecy. What is prophecy?
Scholars have offered up many different definitions of the term. The following will provide (1) the main Scriptures to examine on New Testament prophecy and (2) the five main views on the definition of New Testament prophecy. (For views on the miraculous spiritual gifts click here)
Key Scriptures:
[1Co 14:1-3 ESV] 1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
I highly recommend studying 1 Corinthians 12-14.
[Act 2:17-18 ESV] 17 "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
[Mat 7:15-16 ESV] 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
[Eph 4:11-14 ESV] 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
[2Pe 1:21 ESV] 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
[1Th 5:20-21 ESV] 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
[Rev 19:10 ESV] 10 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.
[Act 13:1-3 ESV] 1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
The following section is adapted from Richard M. Blaylock's article titled, "Towards a Definition of New Testament Prophecy."
5 Views on the Gift of Prophecy
View | Definition |
Inspired Bible Interpretation | This view sees prophecy as inspired Bible interpretation. It sees precedent with Old Testament prophets interpreting and applying Scripture, and it points to Acts 15 as evidence (with James prophesying). This view cautions scholars against seeing a sharp distinction between prophecy and teaching. Arguments against: there are no examples in Scripture of charismatic Bible interpretation; prophets do interpret Scriptures, but is that prophecy? |
Pastoral Preaching | Prophecy is pastoral preaching which encourages and builds Christians up. This view takes 1 Corinthians 14:3 to mean prophetic encouragement and sees the book of Hebrews as prophetic, pastoral preaching. Many in the Reformed tradition have interpreted prophecy this way. Arguments against: prophecy builds up/encourages, and so does preaching, but are they the same?; this view does not account for all of the Scriptures on prophecy (a couple examples: Agabus's prediction of a famine [Acts 11:28] and Agabus's prediction of Paul's future [Acts 21:11]). |
Gospel Preaching | Prophecy is gospel preaching. The gospel is the criteria which is used to judge prophecy (1 Cor. 12:1-3); therefore, it is implied that prophecy must be gospel preaching itself. Arguments against: both the Old Testament and New Testament record prophetic events that seem to be different than gospel preaching; even if Paul uses the gospel as a criteria to judge prophecy, that does not mean it is prophecy itself. |
Interpretation of Inspired Thoughts | Prophecy is inner promptings, or inner thoughts, that seem like ordinary thoughts but instead come from divine origin and must be interpreted and shared. Scholars who defend this view often point to Acts 21:10-11 and use Agabus as a case study. Many charismatics, or some prefer the term continuationists (i.e., who believe the miraculous gifts continue), take this view. Many who hold this view argue that 1 Corinthians 13:9-10, in context, does not refer to the canon closing. Instead, 1 Corinthians 13 refers to prophecy ceasing when Jesus returns. Arguments against: this view is speculative; Scripture doesn't seem to present prophecy as a divine message which is open to interpretation by humans (who make mistakes!); some scholars suggest that, on the basis of 2 Peter 1:20-21, prophecy is not up to one's personal interpretation; other scholars argue that the closed canon means the gift of prophecy has ceased. |
A Medium | Paul is not referring to the Holy Spirit but to spirits. Thus, the gift of prophecy is demonically-inspired speaking, or in other words, essentially becoming a medium. Arguments against: few scholars hold this position; it has some significant Greek grammatical issues; little biblical evidence for the position; it has some historical issues (e.g., it appears that the early church interpreted "spiritual" in relation to the Holy Spirit rather than spirits) |
Application
Here are a few Scriptures that provide applications:
We should desire prophecy earnestly.
[1Co 14:1 ESV] 1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
We should not despise prophecies, but we should test them.
1Th 5:20-21 ESV] 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Beware of false prophets; look at their lives to see if they are legitimate.
[Mat 7:15-16 ESV] 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Where Can I Learn More?
Bibliography:
-Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020.
-Check out this article from Richard M. Blaylock found in Themelios titled, "Towards a Definition of New Testament Prophecy"