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

Channels of Prophetic Expression in the Church

was a normal part of Christian living. Not only did God think about His people, but He spoke to and through them by His Spirit. The constant New Testament references to the Spirit indicate the deep conviction that gripped the first Christians: They believed they lived in the messianic age when God's prophetic Spirit would be poured out on His people (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17-18; 13:9). Their worship times were characterized by prophetic or visionary experiences that gave them pur pose and direction in living. They believed Jesus was truly among them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. 1 Gatherings for worship were character ized by several activities, all of which were flexible, inspirational and open to spiritual manifestation: • Reading, instructing and preaching from the Hebrew Scriptures and the teachings of Jesus • Praying for each other and the needs of the people • Performing the sacraments in a way that manifested the presence of Christ • Praising and worshiping God in enthusiasm, sincerity and reverence that yielded a satisfying emotional release in the adoration and proclamation of God • Being adjustable in their methods to allow different gifts, ministries and operations of the Spirit to take place 2 Today's churches need to know the same Holy Spirit presence. God can be more than just invisible, intangible and unfelt. Since He delights in expressing Himself to His people, we can expect the Holy Spirit to take us beyond our human limitations. Such terms as revelation or inspiration refer to the prophetic transport of the Spirit that lifts us into an aware ness of divine reality. Six channels of prophetic expression seem apparent in the early Church. (My chart illustrates these basic categories of expression.) 3 Five of these can be experienced in the Church today. The sixth channel, the inspira tion to produce Scripture, no longer functions. The very phrase channels of expression emphasizes the experience of a given moment rather than a person's ministry in the Body of Christ. Also, channel suggests merely one of several ways in which prophecy can be manifested. Everyone can realize some degree and aspect of prophetic expression in a church wor ship service. The fifth channel deserves special mention. The prophetic unction should not be limited to the church's building and services but can occur in a secular setting as well. In fact, we would probably see more mani festations in church if Christians were more involved in crisis situations 179 •