1 Cor. 14:31 says, For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged. This shows us that we as believers in the Lord have a capacity that enables us to speak for the Lord and speak Christ to others. We need to see that the divine life in us has such a capacity, and we need to practice to prophesy!
As we eat the Lord, enjoy Him, drink Him, breathe Him in, and meet with the saints, there’s something bubbling in us, some words that are coming out of us for building up! As we practice speaking in the meetings, again and again, we are perfected in our prophesying for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ.
For you all can prophesy!
I am so glad this verse is in the Bible! This shows us that we not only have the obligation to prophesy (see 1 Cor. 14:24) but we also have the capacity to prophesy (v. 31). Just as in our human life we have certain capacities like tasting, breathing, touching, smelling, hearing, and speaking, so in the divine life in us there’s a capacity to prophesy.
The capacity to prophesy is in the divine life in us – we just need to develop it until it becomes our ability. There’s another life in us which, whether we can / like / can’t / don’t like to do this in our natural man, this life can prophesy! As we daily grow in life, we daily need to develop our ability to prophesy for building up!
Right after someone receives the Lord Jesus into his heart, he wants to speak about this wonderful One he received! As he begins to speak in the meetings of the church, his speaking function develops. It is very important that we all practice speaking for the Lord – we learn to prophesy by prophesying, by practicing constantly.
As we enjoy the Lord personally and corporately, as we attend the meetings and are being instructed and perfected, our ability to function by prophesying is being developed. Don’t stop speaking and don’t listen to the thoughts that your speaking was “poor” or “bad” – another member in the Body has received life and was encouraged through your exercise to dispense Christ!
Eat, drink, enjoy, and speak Christ!
This is our normal Christian life – we daily eat Christ, enjoy Christ, drink Christ, breathe in Christ, and speak Christ for the building up! It is very important to spend time with the Lord in His Word, enjoy Him every day, and then exercise to speak our enjoyment in the meetings.
The goal of our enjoyment of Christ is that we may minister Christ through prophesying in the meetings and that we would help others develop their function to prophesy. When everyone speaks in the meeting, the riches of the Body of Christ are expressed. We don’t just speak words that encourage people – we speak spiritual words coming from the Spirit of life, which give life to those who hear!
We can all testify that this is our experience in the church life in the Lord’s recovery. Today the Lord is recovering each one’s function to prophesy for the building up of the church. Even the new ones, as they enjoy the Lord and touch Him in the Word or in the meetings, they have a function to minister Christ through prophesying!
It is so sweet when you come to the meeting and the saints are standing up one by one to prophesy from their enjoyment in the Word during the week. Personally, I am looking forward to each Lord’s Day prophesying meeting, where there’s no leader or pastor to direct us, but we all exercise our spirit and our capacity to speak for God and to speak God forth!
Three constituting elements of prophesying
In the book, Prophesying in the Church Meetings for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ, brother Lee points out three constituting elements of prophesying. Firstly, we must possess a knowledge of the Word of God (the human element of learning; see 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Ezek. 3:1-4). The second element is the instant inspiration of the Holy Spirit (the divine element of inspiration; see 1 Cor. 14:32, 37).
Thirdly, we need to have a vision concerning God’s interest and His economy, the church as the Body of Christ, the local churches, the world, the individual saints, and ourselves (the view through the enlightening of the divine light; see Eph. 1:17-18; 1 Cor. 2:11-12).
Thank You Lord Jesus for the capacity of the divine life in us to speak! Lord, make us those who are not silent or deaf but speak Christ in the meetings. Keep us eating You, drinking You, enjoying You in Your Word, and praying over the words of the Bible, so that we may have Your word deposited into us and constituted into us. Lord, we want to cooperate with You as You inspire us to speak in the meeting, out of our enjoyment of You!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from, The Advance of the Lord’s Recovery Today, and, God’s Way in Life (ch. 4), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Taking the Lead as Elders and Responsible Ones, week 4.
- Further reading: more on the elements constituting a prophecy;
- Hymns on this topic:
# We love the church life, eating, / drinking, breathing Jesus. / We love the church life, taking / in God’s Word.
# I want to encourage you all, / Without your supply I would fall. / Never think that your Christ is small. / Christ needs you, and so do we all.
# Lord, we would our every thought be captured / By the rich enjoyment in Your Word. - Picture source: green field.
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amen!