A Proved and Approved Gifting

Perfection and Prophecy

Only the bible is infallible, rather in the life of the church we are seeking something that is healthy and beneficial to the church that glorifies Jesus Christ and enables the growth and growing up of the church.

The prophet is fallible and the word of prophecy given privately or publicly is fallible. It is clear from scripture that the post-Pentecost prophet and the use of the prophetic is not perfect and must be controlled.

1) Speak two or three 1 Cor.14:29 "If they are many then they must take their turn." v.31.

2) They must control themselves v.32 "the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet"
    The very nature of prophecy makes this exhortation necessary:

    a) Spontaneity v.30 "if anything is revealed to another ... implies that the revelation is unpremeditated."

   b) Inspirational i.e. the 'bubbling up', 'pouring forth', can be of such great pressure on the prophet's spirit. But he must exercise restraint for the sake of avoiding confusion. v.32-33.

3) Control themselves to the point of being quiet - 1 Cor 14:30 "And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop."

There are false prophets, about whom Jesus warns us, who would rise up and deceive many. Yet all are human and we are imperfect vessels and any prophecy will be tainted by our humanity. The words used are often the vocabulary of the speaker.

A common and dirty vessel has clean and pure water poured into it. The water was pure when it was poured in but when the water is poured into a glass the water is tainted. Likewise our humanity, our interpretation and the emotion of the moment taint the purity of the prophetic gift. It is just as well we do not enter into the futility of waiting for perfection in spiritual gifts before their administration is allowed.

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