We note Paul’s three purposes of prophesy, that it speak to edify, exhort, and comfort men (1 Cor. 14:3). All good preaching does at least one of these. It forth-tells God’s Word today, even without prophetic revelation, by accurately interpreting Scripture and applying it to a given situation. Even saints who do not preach, however, should want to edify, exhort, and comfort privately. The lowliest Christian can accurately forth-tell God’s Word and declare it with the full authority of Scripture.

We know Martin Luther’s famous dictum “priesthood of all believers.”  Are we also a “prophethood of all believers”? Rev. Dr. Iain Duguid, professor at Westminster Seminary (Philadelphia) thinks so. He wrote: “…the pouring out of the Spirit on all of God’s people means that we can now speak of the prophethood of all believers”.[i]

Duguid, of course, referred to Pentecost, when Peter announced that the believers’ speaking in known languages they had not learned fulfilled Joel: “Even on my manservants and maidservants in those days I will pour out my spirit and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:18, quoting Joel 2:28). Paul commanded the Corinthians to seek especially the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1, 5), and Moses wished that all Israelites were prophets (Num. 11:29).

Most Christians believe that we are no longer to seek prophetic revelation since the New Testament canon is closed. The Scriptures, however, were written for our instruction (Rom. 15:4). Are there characteristics of prophecy that we should emulate?

Prophesy is most commonly known as foretelling future events by divine revelation. What is not as commonly understood is that foretelling is subsumed under forth-telling, the declaring or interpreting God’s will and truth to a target audience.

Peter at Pentecost delivered the first apostolic foretelling after Christ’s Ascension. He cited Joel’s figurative language of the sun to be turned into darkness and the moon into blood to foretell judgment against Israel (Acts 2:19-20, quoting Joel 2:30-31, fulfilled in 70AD with Jerusalem’s destruction), and proclaimed Israel’s murder of her Messiah as the sin that merited judgment (Acts 2:22-23, 36).

But what about us?

The Christian’s principal responsibility toward those outside the church is to foretell Christ’s return in judgment, urging everyone to repent and believe in Him for forgiveness of sin. The Great Commission to disciple all nations is therefore a prophetic foretelling without need of special prophetic revelation; we need only share the Scriptures in pertinent part.

Peter’s Pentecost sermon also prophetically forth-told (declared) God’s Word to his hearers. He then announced to an audience under deep conviction that whoever called on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ by repentance and baptism into his Name would be saved (Acts 2:38; see also Acts 2:21, quoting Joel 2:32).

Again, what about us?

We note Paul’s three purposes of prophesy, that it speak to edify, exhort, and comfort men (1 Cor. 14:3). All good preaching does at least one of these. It forth-tells God’s Word today, even without prophetic revelation, by accurately interpreting Scripture and applying it to a given situation.

Even saints who do not preach, however, should want to edify, exhort, and comfort privately. The lowliest Christian can accurately forth-tell God’s Word and declare it with the full authority of Scripture. (1) We can all edify with the Scriptures, for saints always need instruction; (2) we can exhort anyone who lies, fornicates (including LGBTQ+), steals, or favors aborting a child, to STOP; and (3) we can comfort those in distress with the promises of Scripture.

Should not the post-New Testament application of the command to seek especially to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1) be to grow in knowledge of Scripture and more fully apply it in these three ways?

Is anyone exempt from this responsibility? Christ commanded “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, if he repents, forgive him” (Lk. 17:3). Was it only the Twelve who were to rebuke one another? No, He was speaking to “the disciples” (Lk. 17:1). It was the Apostles who responded, “Increase our faith!” (v. 5). Were they asking for faith to receive rebuke from a milkmaid? [ii]

Why did He say, “Take heed to yourselves”? Hebrews commands us to watch lest anyone defile many with a root of bitterness (Heb. 12:15), and Paul warned, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6). No wonder that, when addressing “the disciples” (Lk. 17:1), Jesus commanded them all to be ready to rebuke even an apostle.

What about forth-telling outside the church? How do we edify, exhort, and comfort unbelievers?

Like John the Baptist, we edify the world with the Gospel message that the Kingdom of God has come, and they need to repent. To John’s message we add, “The King is Jesus Christ.”

We can also imitate John who exhorted Herod for all the evil deeds that he did (Lk. 3:19-20). We do not need prophetic office to do this because, as Paul taught, we all were once darkness but are now to walk as children of light. We are not to have fellowship with the works of darkness, but rather expose and reprove them (Eph. 5:8-11).[iii]

We offer no comfort for those who refuse to repent. But for those who do repent, we offer all the consolations of those who belong to Christ.

Let us therefore be a “prophethood of all believers”, both inside and outside the church.

John E. Taylor is a lifelong Presbyterian, first by birth (to missionary parents in Japan), then by conviction. He currently is a member of Coddle Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Mooresville, NC. He blogs at blog.thetaylorhome.org.

[i] Iain M. Duguid, Daniel (Reformed Expository Commentary), Chapter 11, Praying in the Darkness (9:1-19).

[ii] See also Luke’s naming the Twelve (Lk. 6:12-16) as a special group among the disciples. Since Luke gives citations of Jesus taking the Twelve aside (Lk. 18:31, 22:14), whenever Luke records Jesus addressing “His disciples” we should count on disciples other than the Twelve being present.

[iii] Most English versions translate ἐλέγχετε in Eph. 5:11 as “expose”. KJV translates it “reprove”. Light cannot expose darkness without reproving (rebuking) it.