The gift of prophecy spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:10 is for edification, exhortation and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). Any member in the body of Christ who moves in the gift of prophecy speaks words to build up, exhort, and comfort others.
A prophet speaks prophetic words that can, at times, include things to come, but that is different from one who speaks the gift of prophecy. As I am sure you know, the gift of prophecy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit found in 1 Corinthians 12. The prophet is a gift himself from Jesus Christ to His Church (Ephesians 4:11). He moves in the gifts of the Spirit as other members of the body of Christ are to do, but he himself is a gift from the Lord. If the Lord speaks to him something about the future, it would usually fall under the gift of the word of wisdom. Speaking about the future is just a small part of the ministry of a prophet. Any real prophet is going to be preaching the Word of God and specifically emphasizing what God wants said to His people. For example, any and all real and mature prophets called by God will presently be ministering repentance to the Church because the Church is in desperate need of repentance.
Most of these guys seen on television who are presented as prophets need to repent themselves. I will deal more with that in the future. Some of these words that Charisma puts forth as prophetic words are well intentioned, but ... They sound good, but that is about it. I will not say more at this time. (Sorry if this offends.) When you meet or hear a true and mature prophet, you will understand the difference. A. W. Tozer was a true prophet. I encourage you to study his writings and listen to any recordings that you can find.
People sometimes confuse prophecy and words from a prophet because they are spelled similarly. Prophets do at times speak prophetic words concerning the future, but, if they do, it is not the gift of prophecy at work. It is the gift of the word of wisdom. The gift of prophecy is not for giving revelation. It motivates because it edifies, exhorts, and comforts. The gifts of the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and the gift of discerning of spirits give revelation about things.
If the prophet moves in power, then he is moving in one or all of the following: the gift of faith, the gifts of healings, or the working of miracles. Tongues and interpretation of tongues are often considered in the same category as the gift of prophecy. They motivate!
God bless you! I enjoy sharing the things of God and His Word.
Visit our internet ministry at JesusandHisWord.org. There are messages found under the heading of messages and also under the heading of truth for today.
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