Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy - Prophetic Gifts Today In The New Testament Church

Christ's Continuing Voice in the Church

• Intelligible: Prophecy is (or should be) a clearly spoken, concisely related message in the contemporary language of the people. • Orally delivered: The voice of God is expressed through human voices, a divinely anointed utterance spoken loudly enough to be heard by those assembled. 20 • Addressed to a gathered church: The message is for God's people, usually delivered to a gathered assembly of Christians, although pos sibly to an individual. 21 • Relevant: Prophecy is intended for the edification or encouragement of the people in their present situation. • Hearer-friendly: The words of prophecy should ideally be brought in an attractive, sensitive, spiritual, nondistracting style.

The Most Significant Gift

Much teaching on spiritual gifts is being given these days. Christians feel compelled to examine the importance of these gifts so vital to the early Church, and churches that hardly mentioned the subject previously now find it of great interest to their own people as well as to Christen dom worldwide. I would like to suggest eight reasons prophecy can be considered the most significant spiritual gift. 22 It is the:

• Most mentioned in the biblical listings of gifts. • Most explained gift in Scripture. • Most edifying to the whole Church. • Most revealing of God's will. • Most available to all. • Most used (with tongues) by the Spirit.

• Most promoted of the gifts. • Most connected with Jesus.

Most mentioned in the listings. The chart on page 173 gives an overview of the eight New Testament lists of spiritual gifts. Prophecy is underlined in each list and each occurrence connected with the other listings by dot ted lines. The importance can be seen immediately. "Prophecy" or "prophet" is the one gifting in all the lists that remains constant. Most explained in Scripture. Prophecy is the only gift (along with tongues) having a whole chapter dedicated to its operation in the Church. 23 ■ 168