Post by Cindy on Feb 3, 2017 9:52:59 GMT -5
“If I have the gift of prophecy … but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2).
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Love motivated God to communicate with fallen humanity. That must be your motivation too.
The word prophecy as used in 1 Corinthians 13:2 is the ability to publicly proclaim God’s truth accurately and authoritatively. It’s a greater gift than tongues because tongues were given as a sign to unbelieving Israel in the first century (1 Cor. 14:21–22), whereas prophecy instructs and edifies believers throughout the centuries. Paul said, “One who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation [and] edifies the church” (1 Cor. 14:3–4).
Prophecy has two aspects: revelation and reiteration. When an Old or New Testament prophet received new information directly from God, that was revelation. Whenever that information was repeated through preaching or teaching, it was reiteration. For example, the sermons of Peter and Paul combine new revelation with a reiteration of Old Testament truth. That’s a common element in New Testament preaching.
With the close of the New Testament canon, direct revelation from God ceased. All preaching and teaching today is reiteration. New Testament prophets policed one another to ensure that every prophecy was truly from God (1 Cor. 14:32). Today Scripture itself is the standard by which we test someone’s message. As the prophet Isaiah said, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (8:20).
Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the ability to speak direct revelation from God, or to reiterate divine truth forcefully and dramatically, but lack love, my ministry is meaningless.” In its broadest sense, that principle applies to every believer because we all are proclaimers of God’s Word. You might not teach a class or preach a sermon, but whenever you tell someone about Christ or share a Biblical principle, you’re reiterating divine truth. That’s why you must always “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). Then the Holy Spirit can empower your words to minister to others.
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Suggestions for Prayer: Ask God to help you guard your words, so that everything you say will be clothed in His love.
For Further Study: Read Deuteronomy 13:1–5 and 18:20–22. ✧ What tests did Moses give for determining false prophets? ✧ What punishment did false prophets receive?
“If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 13:1–5)
“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:20–22)
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1993). Drawing Near—Daily Readings for a Deeper Faith
✧✧✧
Love motivated God to communicate with fallen humanity. That must be your motivation too.
The word prophecy as used in 1 Corinthians 13:2 is the ability to publicly proclaim God’s truth accurately and authoritatively. It’s a greater gift than tongues because tongues were given as a sign to unbelieving Israel in the first century (1 Cor. 14:21–22), whereas prophecy instructs and edifies believers throughout the centuries. Paul said, “One who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation [and] edifies the church” (1 Cor. 14:3–4).
Prophecy has two aspects: revelation and reiteration. When an Old or New Testament prophet received new information directly from God, that was revelation. Whenever that information was repeated through preaching or teaching, it was reiteration. For example, the sermons of Peter and Paul combine new revelation with a reiteration of Old Testament truth. That’s a common element in New Testament preaching.
With the close of the New Testament canon, direct revelation from God ceased. All preaching and teaching today is reiteration. New Testament prophets policed one another to ensure that every prophecy was truly from God (1 Cor. 14:32). Today Scripture itself is the standard by which we test someone’s message. As the prophet Isaiah said, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (8:20).
Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the ability to speak direct revelation from God, or to reiterate divine truth forcefully and dramatically, but lack love, my ministry is meaningless.” In its broadest sense, that principle applies to every believer because we all are proclaimers of God’s Word. You might not teach a class or preach a sermon, but whenever you tell someone about Christ or share a Biblical principle, you’re reiterating divine truth. That’s why you must always “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). Then the Holy Spirit can empower your words to minister to others.
✧✧✧
Suggestions for Prayer: Ask God to help you guard your words, so that everything you say will be clothed in His love.
For Further Study: Read Deuteronomy 13:1–5 and 18:20–22. ✧ What tests did Moses give for determining false prophets? ✧ What punishment did false prophets receive?
“If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 13:1–5)
“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:20–22)
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1993). Drawing Near—Daily Readings for a Deeper Faith
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