The Office of Prophecy

UV 1210/10,000 The Role and Functions of Prophecy

But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort
I Corinthians 14 v 3

Prophecy is valuable as it is necessary for building our faith. Edification literally means “ building up the soul.” The word “ edify” means to build up as one builds an edifice. The word “edifice” means an elaborate conceptual structure that is built up from the foundations. Edification implies to uplift, or the moral and intellectual instruction for moral and spiritual improvement of someone. It leads to our enhanced moral and spiritual growth. In this sense, instruction is spiritual construction. The Lord wants to build something beautiful and noble out of our lives. The gospel is the solid bare rock foundation of this edifice. What Christ did in His birth, life, teachings, example, death and resurrection as well as post resurrection ministry before His ascension is the rock foundation of spiritual leadership. Through prophetic ministry, the Holy Spirit reads what is in our hearts, minds and lives and issues instructions for further construction or building up of our faith. We will realize that such insight and foresight or foreknowledge can only come from the Lord.

The second function of the gift of prophecy is that it is meant for our exhortation or encouragement. It is to give us a sense of our vision and calling in life. It urges us to do something practical that we have held back from doing so far. Prophecy confirms our gifts and our calling. It gives us some signposts to follow in our spiritual and practical journey. It is a sign from the Lord that He is concerned and involved with the intimate details of our lives. He reveals His thoughts about us and our character through prophecy and gives us a clear idea about what we need to do about it.

The uni-verse also states that prophecy has a third function- to comfort us. When we are perplexed or confused, a word of knowledge or wisdom can give us a sense of leading. When we are distressed by circumstances or overwhelmed by the troubles and challenges of this life, the Holy Spirit who knows our hearts comforts us through prophecy. Many people in today’s modern world discount the role or even possibility of prophecy being true or accurate. But scripture exhorts us not to despise prophecies but to test it to check if it is truly from God. There are two ways to test the authenticity of prophecy- the first is the Word of God. Is the prophecy in conformity or is it contradictory to the Word? Is it accompanied with corroborating scripture portions? Another test is that time will show if that which is prophesied is true or whether it was spoken from the spirit of man or some other source. Over the past fourteen years, I can testify that our family received much edifying instruction, exhortation, encouragement, guidance and comfort through the office of prophecy.

Prateep V Philip