Prophets?

I am one who believes in the gift of prophecy and in the role of a prophet. However, just because one moves in prophecy and demonstrates the gift of prophecy, that does not mean the person is a prophet.

God wants people to move freely in the spiritual gifts and to prophesy (1 Cor 14:1; Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.)

Prophesying is a lot more common than people realize. It can be as simple as moving with revelation and sharing fresh insight. 1 Co 14:3 defines prophesy as, speaking edification and exhortation and comfort.

The role of the prophet is different; it is one of the five ministry gifts outlined in Eph 4:11. Granted, there are many who do not accept the office of the prophet and the apostle, but they are real, just as teachers, pastors, and evangelists are real.

There is much written on the role and the office of a prophet. How would you know one? Well, you would know one as a mature and proven ministry. It has to be one who functions in a local church and in the greater, or universal church with a consistently accurate word of prophesy. It must be a person who is accountable and in relationship with others, not one who does their own thing and calls themselves a prophet. This is similar to asking how do we know who a pastor is - just because one can lead and shepherd does not mean one is a pastor - the call will be proven and recognized, and not just because that one person says so.

The role of the prophet, along with the apostle is to help build the church and to help bring the body of Christ to maturity - as with the other ministry gifts mentioned in Eph 4 - make sure to read verses 11 through 16 for the purpose of the ministry roles.

One might say, this verse could mean that there could be all sorts of prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And yes, that would be the case - there is not only room for many prophets, but the need for many too.