PROPHETIC TEACHING 101 ~ Prophets & The Gift of Prophecy
I just had a long discussion, for lack of a better termš¤¦āāļø, in a prophetic group (not mine but another) regarding the difference in the gift of prophecy and prophets. It didn't go well...which is honestly why I am not in a lot of prophetic groups. š
The person in question did not like the fact that I stated in the word that I shared yesterday, that "any true prophet did not really desire or seek to be one". Her claim was that was not true because 1 Corinthians tells us to desire to prophesy. Of course that led me to make the following point, which I thought I would share here, for those who maybe don't know, or have never been taught about this subject...šš
There is a marked difference in the gift of prophecy, as seen listed among the other gifts listed in 1 Corinth. 12 & 14 as well as other places in the NT, and the function (office) of a prophet, as mentioned in Eph.4 and other places. They are not the same thing. One is a gift, the other is a call.
Everyone and anyone who is a believer should be able to function in the gift of prophecy at any given time, as the Spirit comes upon them with that gift to do so. That is not the case with a prophet. Not all who prophesy are prophets.
Many intercessors, pastors, evangelist, and even apostles function in a high level gift of prophecy, but they are not called to be prophets, nor do they have the grace to function as a prophet. It clearly says we should covet to prophesy, and we should "earnestly desire spiritual gifts"...but it never says that we should covet or desire to be a prophet. That is because one is a gift, and one is a call, which takes a long while to process and become.
Those who function in the prophetic gift should stick to edification, exhortation, and comfort, and function in personal prophecy and intercessory prophecy. Prophets do function in those things, but their sphere is much greater, and what they carry is much more weighty in mass and level of authority, than those who function in the gift alone. Prophetic people (those who function in a higher level of prophecy especially) feel things at a higher level. But Prophets sense and feel at an even greater level, and carry the weight of their words on a level that no one else in the body, or even in the 5-fold does. Many times, they even live out the words they carry, in a prophetic sense. They experience much more, but much is also required of them. So yes, no true prophet would actually want to or ask to be one, if they know anything about what is and will be required and dealt with.
I'm not posting a lengthy dissertation on these differences today (perhaps at another time), but I wanted to just share that much to make sure things are clear. š
Blessings,
Amanda Shiflett ~ Prophetic Reformer
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