Spiritual Gift of Prophecy
Dear Foothills Family,
As we continue our series on Spiritual Gifts we take a look at the Spiritual Gift of Prophecy.
What is the Spiritual Gift of Prophecy?
In the Old Testament a prophet was a type of seer, a person who could tell the future, a prophet represented God and brought God's messages to the people. If the prophet's predictions about the future came true, and if their messages drew people to worship God alone, they were considered a true prophet. In Deuteronomy the Law detailed that a person claiming to be a prophet should be killed if they failed either one of those tests.
The people of Israel were scared to hear directly from God and so they asked God to please speak to them through a human being. God honored their request and spoke to His people through His prophets. Some have pointed out that a priest speaks for the people to God and a prophet speaks for God to the people.
In the New Covenant God reveals himself primarily through Jesus Christ – the ultimate revelation of God. And the Holy Spirit utilizes the spiritual gift of prophecy to give a clear witness of and for Jesus (Revelation 19:10). Every spiritual gift has a role, but only prophecy is tied to the specific purpose of giving testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, to give God's people words that are a witness of Jesus.
In the New Testament, we are also called to test whether or not someone is a true prophet, but we don't kill prophets for being wrong anymore! The test is the Spirit-filled congregation discerning the words of a message by the Spirit within the message. Was the message from God? If it was then we must take it seriously.
The primary way to know whether prophecy is true is whether the message lines up with Scripture. The Old and New Testaments have a powerfully cohesive testimony of Jesus. The Scripture has primary authority for us because it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). The source of Scripture is the same source as a true prophet, the Spirit of God. So, in order to know that we are hearing God's voice through a prophetic message we must check that message by the Bible!
On Sabbath we'll learn more of how Foothills Community Church is "A Non-Profit, For-Prophet Ministry!"
Remember Jesus' deep love for you today as you continue to seek out and use your Spiritual Gifts!
Pastor Duff
