Spiritual Gifts: Prophecy Is Better Than Tongues

[RJ]

Prophecy means much more than to foretell the future. It also means "to speak the truth" or "to proclaim." Very seldom does the Lord God reveal a future event to us. The motivational gift of prophecy is primarily concerned with speaking forth the truth.

The prophet edifies others I Corinthians 14:1-5
While love is the greatest gift from God, it doesn’t mean that the temporary spiritual gifts were useless. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to desire the spiritual gifts. Of the various spiritual gifts, the one Paul deems most valuable is that of prophecy I Corinthians 12:31.

Paul explains why the preference by contrasting prophesy with speaking in tongues. The choice of tongues out of all the other gifts is likely because the Corinthians preferred this gift the most.

When a person speaks in another language, and the implication it is in a language that no one else present understands, God alone understands him. He might have important information to presented, but it remains a mystery.

In contrast, the prophet gives a message men can understand which edifies, exhorts, and consoles the listener. Both the speaker in another language and the prophet may have the same message from the Spirit, but only the prophet is able to give that message to other people if a common language is not used. The tongue speaker might benefit from his own message, but the rest of the church is unable to gain any benefit.

Again, Paul emphasizes that speaking in another language is not useless. He would be happy if everyone had the gift of languages, but he would be even happier if everyone prophesied because prophecy was the greater gift because it gives the greater benefit to people.

Often, others who proclaim using tongues today, they often want to ignore the Biblical prophesying. Mostly their connotation of prophesying is the telling of the future. But, it is much more than that and they can't acknowledge that God would rather they prophecy, to speak the truth and proclaim to all the word of God!

 

[B-A-C]

I agree that prophecy "is greater" than tongues. I also also agree that prophecy is rarely foretelling the future.
(although it happens on occasion in the Bible).

Prophecy can happen with or without tongues. Defining exactly what prophecy is is sometimes challenging.
For example a word of wisdom is not the same thing as a word of knowledge, and neither is the same thing as prophecy.
( see 1 Cor 12:8-10; )

I also tend to agree that at least in congregational tongues where someone speaks out in a tongue, it is usually an earthly
language. This is difficult for me to personally verify as I only speak two earthly languages and only one of those reasonably well.

However I have seen (more than once) circumstances much like Acts 2. Where the people speaking didn't know what they were saying, however there happened to be people in the congregation that spoke that language fluently and interpreted it. I have also seen
people I know fairly well, interpret languages they didn't study or know. It seems God gave them this ability (at least temporarily).

Prophecy can come through dreams, Such as Joseph's vision of the 12 stalks of wheat. Much like tongues, the person doing the dreaming doesn't always understand the dream and it has to be interpreted (see Daniel and Joseph).

Sometimes prophecy comes through an angel (such as telling Mary and Joseph or Abraham and Sarah they will have a baby).
Sometimes it comes through prayer with God, such as God telling Moses that Pharaoh will harden his heart and not let His people go.
I've never heard the physical voice of Jesus, but I still feel like I've heard His voice. In the case of Peter, Jesus told him he would deny
Jesus 3 times before the rooster crowed.

Prophecy can sometimes simply be a statement of something that is currently a fact, yet should be unknown by certain people.
For example the Samaritan woman at the well said she had no husband. Jesus replied "you're right, you've had 5 and the one you're with now isn't your husband". She tells Jesus "I see you're a prophet".

In most cases in the Old Testament with Prophets like Daniel, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, Ezekiel, etc... their primary message was "USUALLY" a warning, such as if you people don't turn and repent, God will do this or that. Sometimes people listened (Nineveh)
and sometimes they didn't (Sodom and Gomorrah).

Prophecy that is interpreted with tongues, sometimes has a stigma attached, people seem more doubtful.
Yet there is no more guarantee that when someone comes up to you and says "God told me..... " that this is
necessarily a true prophecy either.

 

[Grace]

Prophecy is supernatual utterance in a known tongue.
Divers kinds of tongues is a supernatual utterance in an unknown tongue.
Interpretation of tongues is a supernatual showing forth of that which has been said in an unknown tongue.
"...greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, EXCEPT he interpret..." (1 Cor. 14:5).
Speaking in tongues + interpretation is = to prophecy. Prophecy is the most important because it does not need another gift to complete it in the assembly.

 

[RJ]

I agree with all you say but I think you missed the point of the thread.
Biblical prophesying is not the same as speaking or telling prophecy , something about the future, or revealing something from a dream like with all the Prophets that you mentioned.
Biblical prophesying it the telling the truth about God's word, spreading the Gospel, preaching the word if you will.

 

[Grace]

Prophecy is more than preaching. "To preach" means to proclaim, to announce, to cry, or to tell. The scriptural purpose of the gift of prophecy is different from the purpose of preaching.
Jesus did not say that men would be saved by the foolishness of prophesying, but by the foolishness of preaching (1 Cor. 1:21). The manifestations of the Spirit are given to arrest people's attention, not to save them.

 

[B-A-C]

Eph 4:11; And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
Eph 4:12; for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Eph 4:13; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Eph 4:14; As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Eph 4:15; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
Eph 4:16; from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

1 Cor 12 is usually called the "gifts of the Spirit" chapter, and Gal 5 is usually called the "fruits of the Spirit" chapter, but we also Eph 4 which usually called the "administrations of the Spirit" chapter.

Some are apostles, some are prophets, some are evangelists, some as pastor and teachers. It seems that being a preacher/pastor/teacher is different than being a prophet. I would say prophecy is different than simply preaching the Bible. There were plenty of Rabbi's, Pharisee's, Sadducee's, and teachers. But it seems John the Baptist and Jesus were the only two prophets until the Holy Spirit came.

Other than John John the Baptist and Jesus, it seems most other people did not have the Holy Spirit yet. ( John 7:39; John 16:7; )
When the Holy Spirit did come ( Acts 2, etc... ) "regular" people in the church were given the powers that only a select few had in the
Old testament (prophecy, healing, miracles, etc..) but I think prophecy in the New testament, means exactly the same thing it meant in the
Old testament.

 

[T Man]

I can't speak in tongues, I can't teach, I can't preach, I only have dreams, but if you speak of such things you are told your evil or its an evil angel or some king of rubbish like that. what I would like to know is who put people in charge of God that they could instruct God on what is right or wrong? I have looked over churches in my searching and not to judge them or speak about them behind their backs, but based on a belief set according to them and not one has said a nice thing about my dreams I received , yet 3 out of 5 dreams have come true as I saw it, as it was given to me. Surely if 3 have come true out of 5, then there must be something in it? Also another thing that really upsets me, why do people give Satan more credit than they do God? Its as though they follow Satan as Father and Our Father is push out, again based on a belief set. I don't believe Prophecy is a gift, I know its a gift. A gift to all that give ear to it and understand were it comes from and why it comes. Prophecy is not preaching, Prophecy is hearing God and obeying the Fathers instruction to put it out there so other can change direction if falling away or following the wrong road. But trust me, prophecy is not a gift to the one that gets it and has to speak it, its a burden.