The Manifestation Gifts - Gift of Prophecy
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 - But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
The nine manifestation gifts of the Spirit are listed as follows:
1. Tongues
2. Interpretation of Tongues
3. Gift of Prophecy
4. Word of Knowledge
5. Word of Wisdom
6. Discerning of Spirits
7. Faith
8. Healings
9. Working of Miracles
The nine gifts of the Spirit can be divided into three groups of three each.
Gifts that say something
1. Tongues
2. Interpretation of Tongues
3. Gift of Prophecy
Gifts that reveal something
4. Word of Knowledge
5. Word of Wisdom
6. Discerning of Spirits
Gifts that do something
7. Faith
8. Healings
9. Working of Miracles
Spiritual gifts are manifestations of the Holy Spirit. These gifts belong to the church and are supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit and are manifest through Spirit-filled believers.
These manifestations are visible expressions of the Holy Spirit and reveal His character and His will.
The Word of God teaches us that we do not possess any of these nine gifts, but they manifest on any individual that the Spirit may choose for a particular time or purpose according to the will of the Spirit.
They are therefore temporary gifts and no-one can claim a permanent possession or operation of the gift.
When a believer exercises the gift, the Holy Spirit exhibits His power through that particular person and the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself in a special way.
These gifts therefore operate by faith and are given by grace and are given for the benefit of others. They are not intended for any self-glorification, but are for the benefit of others.
The purpose of the gifts is to build up the church. The Spirit manifests Himself through these gifts to edify the church and demonstrate the reality of God to unbelievers.
The gifts and the ministries of the gifts of the Holy Spirit have the purpose to build the church in unity and love for Christ.
* Edification - to build up
* Exhortation - to stir up
* Comfort - to cheer up
* Direction - to bring direction to the body of Christ
These are the means by which the Holy Spirit works publicly in gatherings of Gods people. These nine gifts are real, effectual and powerful in edifying, or building up the local church made up of believers in Christ Jesus. They aid in carrying God’s work forward in the world. They are operated through the members of the body and not just the leaders in the five-fold ministry. They are for each church and each member of the church. The Holy Spirit distributes the nine gifts across the whole body as He wills and the gift at the time of need is imparted for ministry purposes.
These gifts belong to the church and are manifested through individuals as the Spirit wills, not as man wills.
The following should be understood when it comes to any of the nine gifts of the Spirit:
* They are given freely by God to individual Spirit-filled believers - 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
* They are not a permanent mantle on any particular person but operate only as the Spirit wills for a particular occasion - 1 Corinthians 12:11
* The gifts operate by grace and faith - Romans 12:6
* They are not based on maturity - Acts 19:6
* They are not based on correct doctrine - 1 Corinthians 3:1-3
* The gifts of the Holy Spirit cannot be earned - 1 Corinthians 4:7
* The gifts cannot be purchased - Acts 8:18-21
The gift of prophecy
The gift of prophecy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit and is one of the three gifts that say something.
For to one is given the gift of prophecy distributing to each one individually as He wills.
This gift of the Holy Spirit can only be done as the Holy Spirit wills. In other words, these gifts cannot be turned on and off at our will.
The gift of prophecy is the Spirit-given ability to receive and communicate timely Spirit-inspired messages from God that bring edification, exhortation, and consolation to the body of Christ, either individually or as a corporate body.
In church there is the need for all to be built up. In a corporate gathering, the church needs to receive building up or edification.
The gift of prophecy is one of the three utterance gifts. It takes both tongues and interpretation of tongues to equal the gift of prophecy. It is a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit and does not emanate from a person’s human psychic. To function in this gift, the person must be saved and filled with God’s Spirit. The gift of prophecy is not meant to correct the people, as that is the role of a prophet.
The gift of tongues is dependent upon the gift of interpretation of tongues in order for it to be effective in encouraging and comforting others.
The Lord loves to encourage His people and minister to them words of faith, hope, and love. The prophetic words given in the midst of the congregation will edify the whole body and the church is edified or lifted up when the prophetic word comes forth.
The Holy Spirit may use a person to convey a message to His people in a church and inspire that person to speak at the appropriate time. The gift given to that person makes that person available for that event.
The gift is to encourage the church to conduct itself in faith, courage, love, and good works. The message may be given to encourage a person or a group in times of distress. It may also be given to exhort His church to do His work or will.
The gift of prophecy is not for personal promotion but is intended for edification, exhortation, and comforting others.
We should encourage the gift of prophecy to function in the church.
We should never allow ourselves to stand in God's way regarding these gifts.
The gift of prophecy is not a prophetic gift in the true sense of the word and therefore does not know present circumstances or future events. It merely encourages and exhorts.
There is a lot of confusion in the body today on what constitutes the office of a prophet. Many people today declare themselves prophets simply because they prophesy, but not every Christian who prophesies is a prophet.
Many Christians who operate in the gift of prophecy claim to be prophets because they do not understand the true nature of the New Testament prophet.
Every prophet will have the gift of prophecy but not every person who has the gift of prophecy is a prophet. For example, every doctor provides medical care but not every person who provides medical care is a doctor.
Like all nine gifts, this gift is to encourage the church to conduct itself in faith, courage, love, and good works.
The gift of prophecy is not for personal promotion but is intended for the edification, exhortation, and comforting others. We should encourage the gift of prophecy to function in the church and we should never allow ourselves to stand in God's way regarding this gift.
