29/09/2009 13:55How do we know if this is prophecy?Page 2 of 3http://www.methodistmessage.com/jun2006/goodquestion.html
14:29, Paul wrote: "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what issaid." Prophecies should never be submitted to mindlessly, but should be carefully weighed andevaluated.But who are the "others" who are called to weigh the prophetic utterances? Without detaining the readerwith the finer issues of exegesis, I believe that "others" here refer to the entire Christian community. Aprophetic message must be carefully weighed by the leaders and members of the Christian community onthe basis of God's revealed Word, the Bible.About 20 years ago, I remember addressing this topic at a leaders' retreat. I used this illustration todescribe our response of prophecy (although I can't recall the church or the precise content of the talk):Responding to prophecy, I said, is like eating curry fish-head - you swallow the meat and spit out thebones! Paul said something similar in the context of judging prophecy in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 22: "Testeverything. Hold on to what is good. Avoid every kind of evil."Are only certain Christians given the gift of prophecy, or is thisability readily available to all Christians? The New Testamentdescribes prophecy as a gift which God freely gives to someChristians according to His sovereign will. Those who exercise thegift regularly are sometimes called "prophets", although mostscholars agree that in the New Testament this designation does notdescribe a formally recognised office.In principle, then, all Christians have the potential ability toprophesy, although only some Christians are given that actualability. Thus on the one hand Paul maintains that it is the Spirit who"distributes [spiritual gifts] to each one as he wills", on the other heurges members of his congregation to "seek earnestly the spiritualgifts, especially that you may prophesy". (1 Cor 14:1; 1 Cor 14:39).God may, through the gift of prophetic speech, encourage and guide Christians. But Christians mustregard prophecy as only one of the many ways in which God guides. Because prophecy does not havethe same authority as God's revealed Word, the Bible, it should not be regarded as the only, or even theprimary, source of divine guidance. It would therefore be unwise to make a decision solely on the basisof a prophetic message.This is especially true in the case of prescriptive prophecies: "Leave your job, and serve as a missionaryin Bhutan!" or "Marry Mary!" The Christian may take such prophecies as possible promptings of God'sSpirit; but the wise Christian would remember that this is only one of the many possible ways in whichGod guides.To repeat, the Christian should never make a decision on the basis of prophecy alone! He shoulddiligently search the Scriptures, prayerfully examine the facts and evaluate the consequences, consult hispastor, elders and matured members of God's household before making a decision.
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