Many people claim to be prophets these days, yet misuse and abuse of this title abounds. What does the Bible say about those called to this responsibility?
Paul encourages the entire congregation at Corinth to prophesy (1 Cor. 12:31; 14:1-3,5, 39). In his exhortation to evaluate prophesies in 1 Cor. 14:29, “prophets” seems to mean anyone who has received a revelation and has prophesied, or who can prophesy.[i]
While all may prophesy, Paul seemed to make a distinction between people who regularly demonstrated an ability to accurately prophesy and others who simply prophesied occasionally.[ii]
In several passages in the book of Acts, Luke describes certain people as “prophets.”[iii]
Evidently the term “prophet” is used in different ways, depending on the context. Paul refers to people who prophesy regularly as “prophets,” but both Paul and Luke refer to people who have been designated with a specific prophetic responsibility in the church as “prophets.”
Those with this title operate second only to apostles in the fivefold ministry of the church.[iv]
The fivefold ministries are listed in Eph. 4:11-12, where Paul speaks of the gifts Christ gives the church,
“And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”[v]
Significantly, Paul’s order in Eph. 4:11 of apostles followed by prophets is repeated in 1 Cor. 12:28,
“And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, leading, various kinds of tongues.”
In Romans, Paul lists the grace gift of prophecy before that of teaching,
“According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness (Rom. 12:6-8).”
Apostles and prophets, along with evangelists, teachers and pastors, worked toward the objective of maturing and unifying the church and equipping the saints for ministry as mentioned in Eph. 4:11-13.[vi]
Apostles and prophets are listed together in the lists of gifts and ministries in 1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11, Eph. 3:5 and Rev. 18:20.[vii]
Apostles and prophets co-labored to establish the church. We see this principle illustrated by the appointment of a team of apostles (Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:14) and prophets (Judas and Silas in Acts 15:22, 32) to communicate the doctrinal decision made by the Jerusalem Council to the Gentile churches.[viii]
The purpose of the fivefold ministries was to govern and guide the church, a spiritual agenda which remains relevant until the coming of Christ.[ix]
Prophets offer strategies and direction for the body of Christ, revealing the purposes God has in mind so his people can offer the wisest possible influence on their generation.[x]
We’ll look at a few more details about prophets as Jesus’ gifts to the church in another post.
For now, note that prophets minister alongside other church leaders for the purpose of the church’s growth, unity and equipping—and keep this focus in mind when evaluating a prophet’s ministry.
***
This post is an excerpt from Prophesying Daughters: How Prophetic Ministry and Women in Leadership Strengthen the Church. Study guide available HERE. Audio book is in process!
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
[i] Grudem, 163. See 1 Cor. 14:29, “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate.”
[ii] Sam Storms, Understanding Spiritual Gifts, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Reflective, 2020), 163. See 1 Cor. 14:29 versus Eph. 4:11. We will examine the office of prophet in a subsequent section.
[iii] These include Agabus (Acts 11:27-28), Judas and Silas (Acts 15:30-33), among others. See also Acts 11:22-25 and Acts 13:1-3, where the men mentioned are not specifically categorized as prophet or teacher.
[iv] Note that Paul’s order in Eph. 4:11 of apostles followed by prophets is repeated in 1 Cor. 12:28, “And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers…” In Rom. 12:6-8, the grace gift of prophecy is listed before that of teaching, “According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.”
[v] Eph. 4:11-12. Unlike the first three categories, “pastor” and “teacher” share a definite article. It may be that Paul thought of the two as a single role, i.e., pastor-teacher, although this is the only place in the NT where Paul combines the two into a single term. See Grudem, Gift of Prophecy, 165.
[vi] “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” In Chapter 2, we discussed the foundational aspect of the apostles and prophets in Eph. 2:20. The focus of this section is on the continuing ministry of apostles and prophets beyond the foundational apostles and prophets (by which Paul meant original apostles and OT prophets with divine authority). While NT prophets do not share this same divine authority, they are tasked with ongoing ministry for the church.
[vii] Of the mystery revealed to him by revelation, Paul writes, “This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit (Eph. 3:5).” Of the fall of Babylon, John writes, “Rejoice over her, heaven, and you saints, apostles, and prophets, because God has pronounced on her the judgment she passed on you (Rev. 18:20)!” Italics mine.
[viii] Ernest Gentile, Your Sons and Daughters Shall Prophesy (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1999), 236.
[ix] Gentile, 237.
[x] Craig Keener, Gift and Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 102.
Leave a Reply