The high peak of the God-ordained way to meet and to serve in the church is prophesying for the building up of the Body of Christ. We all need to learn to take the lead not only to enjoy the Lord, love the Lord, and experience life to minister life, but also to prophesy for the building up of the Body of Christ.
The Bible says that, He who prophesies builds up the church (1 Cor. 14:3) – it doesn’t say that he who brings hundreds to the Lord builds up the church or that he who does great things for the Lord builds up the church. It is through our prophesying that Christ can be dispensed into all the saints for the organic building up of the organism of the Triune God, the Body of Christ.
Oh that all the Lord’s people would prophesy!
When someone told Moses that there were 2 more people that “were not in the meeting” and were prophesying in the camp, Moses cried out, “Oh that all Jehovah’s people were prophets, that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them!” (Num. 11:29) Moses desired that all the people of God would be prophets – that all would speak for God and speak God’s word!
To prophesy does not necessarily mean to predict the future, but to speak for God and speak God forth into others. Aaron spoke for Moses and he was Moses’ spokesman – today we speak for God, not our own words but God’s words, that we may be God’s spokesman! This is what God desires and also what Moses desired – that all God’s people would prophesy, that all would speak for God and speak God forth!
To prophesy is not simply to stand up in the meeting and share an experience, a story, or something inspiring; to prophesy is to speak for God and to speak God forth so that you may minister life to others for the building up! We need to earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that we would prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1).
The whole chapter 14 in 1 Corinthians stresses one thing, treasures one thing, uplifts one thing, recommends one thing, and exalts one thing – prophesying! This is the topmost gift, the excelling gift, for the building up of the church. The excelling gift God has given to us for the building up of the church is prophesying. Why do we say this?
- Prophesying is excelling in revealing God’s heart, God’s will, God’s way, and God’s economy to His people. When we speak for God and speak God forth, God’s heart is revealed, we see God’s will and His way, and we have a clear vision of His economy (1 Cor. 14:26).
- Prophesying is excelling in convicting people, exposing people’s real condition, and showing people their real spiritual need. If we all prophesy for the building up of the church, and an unlearned or unbelieving person enters, he will be convicted and exposed by all, his spiritual condition will be exposed, and he will admit, God is among you (1 Cor. 14:23-25)!
- Prophesying is excelling in speaking forth Christ to minister and dispense Christ to people for their nourishment. A sea story or an interesting experience we share with others doesn’t nourish others, but when we prophesy we speak Christ into others to dispense Christ into them for their nourishment.
- Prophesying is excelling in building up the church in an organic way as the organism of the processed Triune God for His fullness, His expression. As Paul says in 1 Cor. 14:12, this is the most excellent way to build up the church as the Body of Christ.
Christ prophesied: He spoke God’s word
Moses prophesied in Deut. 18:15 that God will raise up another prophet from among the people of Israel and everyone should listen to Him, and Acts 3:22 applies this word to Christ. Christ prophesied for God by not speaking His own word but the Father’s word (John 7:16), thus seeking not His own glory but the Father’s glory (John 7:18).
Again and again, we see that the Lord Jesus didn’t speak of Himself, but the Father who sent Him spoke through Him and His words are eternal life (John 12:48-50). It is the Father who abode in Christ that did His works (John 14:10). This is the real prophesying – not speaking our own words but God’s word, speaking for God and speaking God forth.
The meaning of prophesying
What does it mean to prophesy? This whole week we will spend on this topic, and we need to see in a fresh way that to prophesy means to speak for God and to speak God forth. The proper, real, and successful prophesying dispenses God into people and builds up the church as the Body of Christ. It is through prophesying that the church is built up.
We need to learn from the Lord Jesus and spend adequate time with the Lord to be infused with His Word, have an inward burden, and even have divinely given words that express and interpret that burden. We speak not our own words, but the Lord’s Word for His glory and for the building up!
We need to practice to prophesy – we shouldn’t just prophesy in the Lord’s day prophesying meeting when we all get together to speak. All throughout the week, we need to practice prophesying! With our friends, at work, with our colleagues or classmates, we need to take the lead to speak God’s word and speak God into people.
As we enjoy the Lord and experience Him daily, we build up a history before God, and there’s an inward burden for us to speak. We need to cooperate with the Lord within us who wants us to speak by seeking the Lord’s face to have the divinely given words that will express what He has put in us. Amen, we all need to practice to prophesy!
Lord Jesus, cause us to see the importance and the real meaning of prophesying! Put in us such an aspiration and a deep desire that we would prophesy for the building up of the church! Lord, we want to learn to prophesy by practicing to speak forth God and speak God into people. May we learn from You, dear Lord, to spend time with You in the Word that we may speak forth Your words for the dispensing of God into man.
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from, The Advance of the Lord’s Recovery Today (by Witness Lee, chs. 6-7), and brother Benson P’s sharing in the message, as partially quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones, week 4.
- Further reading: Deut. 18:18, footnote 1; Num. 11:29, footnote 1;
- Hymns on this topic:
# Now the church life is so precious with all the saints so dear. / Enjoying all Your riches, our vision is so clear, / That all would prophesy of Christ from what they’ve seen,
# Let us exhibit Christ; / We’ll bring His surplus to the church / And thus exhibit Christ.
# Jesus, O living Word of God, / Wash me and cleanse me with Your blood / So You can speak to me. - Picture source: sunrise over the sea.
Amen!