The English word “convey” is defined as: “to impart or communicate by statement, suggestion, gesture, or appearance: to transfer or deliver to another” (Merriam-Webster). The meaning also includes the ability to give or transmit.
These spiritual manifestation gifts are used to convey the heart of God and operate for His glory, as well as for the edification of the Christian, and to evoke change in the heart of the non-Christian to help bring about repentance and their surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Prophecy (1 Cor 12:10)
Of all the manifestation gifts of Holy Spirit, the Gift of Prophecy is the one that all Christians are exhorted to desire and to function in:
“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” (1 Cor 14:1, see also 14:5,31,39 NIV)
This spiritual manifestation gift refers to both forth-telling and fore-telling. The Greek word for prophesy is propheteia and means to speak under divine inspiration a declaration, warning, or exhortation as directed by Holy Spirit.
Through prophecy, a Christian speaks for God. It is not proof that the person is a prophet, nor is it ever to be used to bring so-called fresh revelation that has no basis in God’s Word, the Bible. It is used to illuminate the revelation of Scripture when proclaiming the great news of Jesus Christ, as well as to making a prediction about the future, or providing guidance to another in the making of decisions about their future (Acts 21:11-13).
Prophecy is speaking confidently, without any error or inaccuracy, to strengthen and comfort others. It is speaking a message of divine encouragement from the heart of God that touches a person’s innermost being.
The Gift of Prophecy is a sign that Jesus is in the midst of His people and is used to reveal a person’s position and condition before God as the hidden sins or “secrets” of their “heart” are exposed so that they come under the conviction of Holy Spirit and fall upon their face to declare “that God really is among” them. (1 Cor 14:24-25 YLT)
“But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” (1 Cor 14:3 NIV)
Prophecy is for the edification (Greek Oikodome) of the Christian. It is to build them up and promote spiritual growth. Exhortation (Greek Paraklesis) means “encouragement, a calling near or for, to stir up.” The word “comfort” (Greek Paramuthia) means “a consolation; a solace ministered with tenderness.” The word consolation means “to alleviate grief or disappointment.” The word solace means to “comfort in distress or disappointment, to find relief, to cheer up.”
Jack was about to buy into a business and went to a friend in his church to ask him for prayer about the decision he was ready to make. As his friend was praying for him, he said that he did not feel the peace of God with this decision and told him he believed God was saying that it is not a good idea because the local government was going to change the zoning laws which would be disastrous to the business.
Although there was no proof Jack could find that those changes were coming, he felt in his spirit that the word he was given was correct and chose not to move forward. Less than six months later, Jack learned that the laws had changed exactly as he was told they would. This event helped to bring Jack into a greater understanding of God’s love for him and strengthened his faith.
Glitter and Gold
Getting a Word of Prophecy from someone can be a good thing. However, as the saying goes, all that glitters isn’t gold. Jesus said that “many” would stand before Him on the Day of Judgment and think they were going to be saved because they had prophesied in His name (Matt 7:21).
Prophecy has always been the most prevalent religious practice of the occult since time began. “Prophetic” mental words or pictures are sometimes inspired by a person’s desires, perceptions, and their physical or emotional state - NOT primarily the Word of God.
Just because a person giving the “prophetic” word is a “Christian” does not guarantee the word is from God. They are sometimes just personal “happy thoughts” given to make the person feel good. That is cotton candy Christianity – sweet to the taste but full of fluff with no substance. The Bible does not provide any prophetic “techniques” to conjure up God’s presence or to “release” an anointing.
Christians must learn to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God found in the Word – the Bible (Luke 4:4). If His Word is shaped to fit the cultural norms of the world to help with human understanding or reasoning, it is no longer His Words of life, but rather, of death.
The Bible is the ONLY source that can be trusted when making spiritual decisions. Asking God to show a sign through a prophetic word, supernatural manifestation, or personal experience is an act of spiritual immaturity, rejection, and unbelief. God’s will for every Christian is found in His Word alone. No other outside source is needed – EVER! Seeking after signs proves there is no active trust in God.
The most convincing lies are those closest to the truth. The enemy is a liar. He added just one word to what God told Adam and Eve and spun the truth so that Eve began to reason against God.
Prophecy is not a best guess. It is not something that can be practiced until a person gets it right. However, this does not mean that a person should be labeled a false Prophet and burned at the stake because a prophetic word did not come readily to pass.
“When all this comes true - and it surely will - then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezek. 33:33 KJV)
The absolute truth is that God is the creator and sustainer of all things so He can hold back the fulfillment of a prophecy:
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” (Jonah 3:10 NIV – see also Ex 32:14)
It is essential to understand that an intentional false Prophet primarily seeks to turn people away from God; “Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them” (Deut 13:2 KJV). However, the Bible warns there will be false Prophets who bring about “great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matt 24:24 KJV).
There are just three ultimate tests to determine if a Prophet’s words are from God. The first is whether it lines up with the Bible. (Isa 8:19-20) Second, if it comes “to pass.” (Deut. 18:22 KJV, Ezek 12:25, Jer 28:9) Third, if it does not cause divisions or upsets one's faith by teaching things contrary to sound biblical doctrine, they have been taught. (Rom 16:17 NLT) If the answer is no to any of those three questions, Christians are commanded to “Stay away from them.” (Rom 16:17 NLT)
A prophetic message from God can include other supernatural manifestation gifts such as the Word of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Discerning of Spirits. It can also come as a picture, or mental image, that will increase clarity about something that the Lord has already spoken.
Just one prophetic word from God will do more for the person who needs the gift than listening to an hour of eloquently phrased words from the most brilliant and gifted of speakers.
Tongues (1 Cor 12:10)
The first miracle on the day of Pentecost after Holy Spirit descended was speaking in Tongues. Jesus said that “signs” would follow ALL those that believe and that they would “speak with new tongues.” (Matt 16:17) The second miracle was enabling some there to understand the Tongues spoken. Most thought the Disciples were drunk. (Acts 2:13)
This was a unique crowd of onlookers who were from many foreign nations that spoke multiple languages. Those that understood what was being uttered were amazed because they heard their native language and not the languages of the other people there. (Acts 2:6,8)
The Disciples were not preaching the Gospel in Tongues; they were “declaring the wonders of God” in unknown tongues. (Acts 2:11) The crowd was hearing them praise and worship God. The Gospel was preached AFTER the apostle Peter stood up to speak to the masses in one common language.
The spiritual manifestation gift of Tongues is two-fold. First, it is the supernatural ability to speak in an unknown or unlearned language of another culture or country for proclaiming the Gospel. It is also given as a heavenly language for private devotions.
The “gift” of Tongues is often seen when a message from God is given through someone who does not speak the language of those to whom God’s message is intended. This gift can be languages known to man. This is what happened on the day of Pentecost:
“And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” (Acts 2:7-8 KJV)
Tongues can also be a language not known to humans. This is called an unknown tongue:
“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.” (1 Cor 14:2 KJV)
The use of Tongues within the Church, along with the gift of Interpretation, is used by Holy Spirit to impart wisdom and revelation to edify, build up, and comfort Christians, as well as act as a sign to unbelievers.
The Church at Corinth was abusing this manifestation gift. People were speaking out loud in their private devotional prayer language of Tongues, and no one was interpreting what was being said. They were chastised for their immaturity, rebuked for their behavior, and told that people would think they were crazy if they continued praying out loud without decency and order. (1 Cor 14:23, 40)
However, the apostle Paul reminded them that the use of Tongues for private worship of God and personal edification was good and commanded by God (1 Cor 14:37-39) because it enables human beings in the natural realm to speak supernaturally to God. (1 Cor 14:2)
Paul also told the Corinthians that he was thankful to God for speaking in Tongues more than the entire Church at Corinth put together! However, within the Church, he would rather speak five words people could understand in the natural to instruct and edify others, rather than ten thousand words in a Tongue.
What is important to note here is not Paul’s chastisement of the church but the fact that he was thankful for the divine ability to constantly speak the wonderful works of God and to praise and worship Him in the pure spiritual language of Heaven. (1 Cor 14:18, 19)
Sadly, as with so many other practices in the church today, this manifestation gift continues to be abused and has scared far too many people away from ever attempting to experience the benefits, joy, and pleasure of speaking in the language of Heaven. In the following Chapter, there is an extensive look at this marvelous privilege of the Christian.
Interpretation (1 Cor 12:10)
Interpretation is the supernatural ability to interpret a language that is unknown to the hearer(s). The word “interpretation” is from the Greek word Harmeneia, which means to explain fully and completely.
It is most often seen in operation when the spiritual language of Tongues is spoken out loud for a word of prophecy by no more than three people when meeting together. (1 Cor 14:1213; 29-30) When tongues are interpreted, it enables God to speak supernaturally to humans in the natural realm.
Brenda’s church had planned a huge evangelistic outreach to her community, and it attracted a large number of people, some of whom didn’t speak English. It was an intense night as the presence of God was felt by all. During their message, one of the speakers began to speak in a language they didn’t know, and many in the audience were able to understand what was said. As a result, they gave their hearts to Jesus. It was discovered later that the word spoken was the message of salvation
Prophecy, Tongues, and Interpretation have been given by God for the edification and building up of the Church and should never be neglected or forbidden (1 Cor 12:10,28,31; 14;5,12-13,18,26-27,39; 1 Thess 5:19).
Accessible to All
Just as the supernatural workings of Holy Spirit operated without an Apostle being present among the common people, the Christian has access to the supernatural manifestation gifts presented here for the proclamation of the Gospel, as well as for the edification of each member of the Church universal, which is the body of Christ.
Jesus never gave an expiration date on their use. Every Christian must not neglect their “gift” (1 Tim 4:14). They are implored to stir up the gift of God (2 Tim 1:6) and yield to the filling of Holy Spirit for the manifestation of the gifts.
The spiritual ‘things’ of the Holy Spirit are fully controlled by the Christian. Nothing can take them over or force them to manifest something they don’t want to happen.
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good . . . to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom ... to another gifts of healing, to another workings of miracles.” (1 Cor 12:7-10 NIV)
