Manifestations Of Prophecy (Part I) Series

Intro

We are examining the gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Cor. 12. We will begin reading in 1 Cor 12:4. “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy….”

Our subject today is the gift of prophecy, as stated in 1 Cor. 12:10.

Prophecy is an enormous subject. The Bible itself is a prophetic book in the broad sense of the word.i Prophecy runs all through Scripture and is expressed in a variety of ways. Many verses foretell end-time events. The study of end-time prophecy is a big subject. We see prophets operating in the Old and New Testament. Jesus was the ultimate prophet who would come according to Deut. 18:18.

Our subject today is more specific than all that. We want to understand prophecy as one of the nine gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Cor. 12:10. To do that we must get a general understanding of prophecy; then narrow our study to the context of 1 Cor. 12:10. There is so much in Scripture about prophecy that people can get lost in the vastness of it all.

When we studied the word of wisdom, we learned that the word of wisdom is not just wisdom in general. There are many expressions of wisdom. There is even a kind of wisdom in the world that enables people to have temporal success in that system. There is practical wisdom that comes through experience. There is wisdom that is gained by knowing the word of God and living according to that word. Within the broad scope of wisdom, we found in 1 Cor. 12:8 the “word of wisdom” that comes as a manifestation of the Spirit. In order to understand the word of wisdom we had to identify it specifically within the broad context of wisdom in general. We had to do the same thing with the word of knowledge. In 1 Cor. 12:7-10 Paul is taking about something very specific. We must understand that, and hear what he is talking about in the context. The key term that helps us do that is found in verse 7, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”ii The Greek word translated manifestation is phanerosis.iii Paul is talking about expressions of the Holy Spirit through believers. These are disclosures of the Spirit’s activity in the midst of God’s people.iv So, instead of wisdom in general, Paul is talking about a word of wisdom given for the occasion. Instead of talking about knowledge in general, he is talking about a word of knowledge imparted by the Spirit. And instead of talking about prophecy in general, he is talking about a manifestation of the Spirit that occurs by the will of God to meet the need at the time. We will define prophecy (as stated in 1 Cor. 12:10) as “a supernatural revelation from God, given on an occasion, to be expressed in a known language.” It may be foretelling events, but more commonly is the forthtelling of the mind of the Lord for edification, exhortation, or comfort (1 Cor. 14:3).v

Before we deal with prophecy as a gift of the Spirit, I want to give a little background on prophecy in general.

One wonderful attribute of God is that He speaks.vi He mercifully and gracefully reveals His mind, thoughts, and will to people. He doesn’t reveal everything, but He tells us what we need to know. He does that through the Bible (a more sure word of prophecy) and He does that by speaking to our hearts directly. Deut. 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Notice the purpose behind the revelation: “ , that we may do….” Prophecy is not given to satisfy curiosity. It is not given for purely intellectual stimulation, and it is not given just to stimulate emotions. It is given so we can do “all” that the Lord requires of us and, in doing that, enjoy life to the full. When people study biblical prophecy just to satisfy curiosity about the future, they will go astray. They will want more and more to satisfy the craving and can be easily misled. It might be okay to start with that motive, but if it never switches to a desire to know so that we can do, then it’s a problem. The same is true with personal prophecy. When people want to know their personal future out of carnal curiosity, it can be a problem. God may very well speak something about our future. When He does that, it is always so that we can cooperate with His will. It is usually because we need to know it in order to endure the trials that precede its fulfillment. From Deut. 29:29, we understand two things about prophecy.