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

Denominational Response to Prophecy in the Charismatic Renewal

Special Committee to Study Chari smatic Renewal, Presbyterian Church (Canada), 1976 Many Neo-Pentecostals [people still within the denomination], espe cially those in the Reformed tradition, see prophecy as outward-looking. They are concerned with bringing back the voice of the biblical prophet whose ministry is directed toward the world where God is at work in the lives of men and women. Vol. II, p. 234 Antilles Episcopal Conference, Roman Catholic Church (Antilles), 1976 Recognizing that the gift of prophecy continues in the Church of today, we must remember the danger of false prophecy. True prophecy must be in keeping with the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, to whose teaching authority it belongs to pronounce on its authenticity. 7 Vol. II, p. 262 While estimates and interpretations of the New Testament phenomenon of prophecy vary, it is not identified there with the gift and ministry of teaching. Immediacy in receiving and declaring God's present message to men is the hallmark of New Testament prophecy, as of its Old Testament counterpart. Preaching may at times approximate more to prophecy, although its basic character is one of teaching and exhortation. If the possibility of prophecy in the sense of speaking a word from the Lord under the direct prompting of the Holy Spirit is admissible today, what is said will be tested by its general agreement with scripture, and will not be accepted as adding materially to the Bible's basic revelation of God and his saving purposes in Christ. It will not be required that such utter ances be cast in the first person singular, nor will those that are so cast be thought to have greater authority on that account. 8 Vol. II, p. 304 While occasionally in the New Testament church prophecy may have included prediction (e.g., Acts 11:28), its usual content was exhortation or encouragement (1 Cor. 14:3). The prophet spoke under immediate and evi dent inspiration. "Givenness" rather than novelty is the characteristic fea ture of prophecy. Inspiration of itself does not guarantee the authenticity of the prophetic word. Prophecy must be tested (1 Cor. 14:19; 1 Thess. 5:20-21; 307. Joint Document, Ang l ican Church (Great Britain), 1977 Summary Statement, Mennonite Church (U.S.A.), 1977