Is The Gift Of Prophecy Active Today?

"Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith."

-- Romans 12:6 --

God gives each member of the body of Christ, the church, at least one spiritual gift that must be exercised accordingly for the benefit and edification of the entire body (Romans 12:4–6). The first gift that Paul lists in Romans 12:6-8 is prophecy. This gift was present and needed during the early years of the first century church. Is this gift still needed and being given today?

Romans was written by Paul around A.D. 56. The letters and manuscripts that preceded Romans in chronological order are James (A.D. 44–49), Galatians (A.D. 49–50), the gospels of Matthew and Mark (A.D. 50–60), 1 and 2 Thessalonians (A.D. 51–52), and 1 and 2 Corinthians (A.D. 55–56). Thus, prior to Romans, only eight of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament were written and in circulation. The remaining eighteen books were written between A.D. 60–96. Thus, the only way the early church matured was by the teaching of the apostles and special revelation given by the Holy Spirit to prophets (Acts 2:42; 4:1–2; 1 Corinthians 14:29–33).

Prophets in the first century church were only second to the apostles – “And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers… And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11). Paul told the church at Corinth to “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

True prophecy was never a product of one’s own intuition. It came by way of special revelation directly given by the Holy Spirit to a prophet. Agabus, a prophet who went to Antioch, “began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius (A.D. 41–54)” (Acts 11:28). Peter recorded, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21–22).

The following eleven books and epistles were written between A.D. 60–68: the gospel of Luke, Acts, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and 1 and 2 Peter. Nearly seventy-five percent of the New Testament was completed and being taught by pastors and teachers throughout the churches established by Paul and the other apostles.

Was the gift of prophecy still active at this point of time?

Approximately twelve years earlier, Paul penned the following in 1 Corinthians 13:8–10: “Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.” He knew that the time would come when the gift of prophecy, as well as tongues, would cease. Paul described this time in the phrase, “when the perfect comes.” Some interpret “when the perfect comes” as the second coming of Christ. However, if this is what Paul meant, then why didn’t he state this as he did in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 and 1 Corinthians 15:23? The Greek rendering of ‘perfect’ is teleios which means mature, complete, fully developed. Since ‘perfect’ and ‘partial’ (v. 10) are tied to “know in part” and “prophesy in part” (v. 9), then “the perfect” must be in reference to the maturity and completion of Scripture (2 Peter 1:20–21). The Greek word teleios is also found in 1 Corinthians 14:20 (“but in your thinking be mature”), Ephesians 4:13 (“mature man”), Philippians 3:15 (“as many as are perfect”), and Colossians 1:28 (“present every man complete in Christ”).

Peter referred to Paul’s letters as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15–16). By the time Peter wrote his second letter, Jude (A.D. 68–69) and every epistle that Paul wrote, with possibly the exception of Hebrews (A.D. 67–69), was in circulation. By A.D. 70, the New Testament scriptures were mature, but not fully developed. All that remained were the gospel of John, his three epistles, and the book of Revelation which were written between A.D. 80–96.

The church is being “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20). Jesus told His disciples that He will build His church (Matthew 16:18). The church today continues to grow into a holy temple in the Lord. The inerrant and infallible word of God is complete and is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Apostles and prophets were foundational to the first century church. As the church matured and the scriptures were completed, there was no longer a need for apostles and prophets. The Lord gave evangelists, pastors, and teachers “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–12).

If the gift of prophecy is still being given today, then there must still be prophets who receive special revelation from the Holy Spirit. If there are prophets today, then the question must be asked – did Jesus fail in building His church over the last two thousand years? Did the foundation crumble and must be rebuilt? If there are prophets today, then what do we do with the scriptures? Which books and letters are still valid, and which ones can we tear out of our Bibles and burn? If there are prophets today, then how do we differentiate true prophets from false prophets.

A word of warning from Jesus, Peter, and John:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations cited in this post are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.