You can all prophesy

1 Corinthians 14:18-40 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

¹⁸ I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; ¹⁹ nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. ²¹ In the Law it is written: “By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. ²² So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. ²³ Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are insane? ²⁴ But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; ²⁵ the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

²⁶ What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification. ²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret; ²⁸ but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹ Have two or three prophets speak, and have the others pass judgment. ³⁰ But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; ³² and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; ³³ for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints, ³⁴ the women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. ³⁵ If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. ³⁶ Or was it from you that the word of God first went out? Or has it come to you only?

³⁷ If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. ³⁸ But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

³⁹ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰ But all things must be done properly and in an orderly way.

In today’s text Paul says: I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written: “By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are insane? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret; but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God. Have two or three prophets speak, and have the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. 

In Amos 3:7, God speaking through the prophet says: Certainly the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret plan To His servants the prophets. God not only reveals His plan to the prophets, He reveals His plan through the prophets. Prophecy is not predicting the future, although what a prophet says will come to pass because it is a revelation of what God plans to do. Prophecy is not just quoting scripture and saying thus says the Lord. Prophecy is not saying what God said, it is speaking what God is saying now. It is revealing God’s plan for someone or something.

Daily Nuggets is in part a fulfillment of a prophecy that I was given in the early 2000’s. I went to a meeting and was in a room where I knew no one but my wife, and no one knew us. That night God spoke to us through the prophet who spoke as if he was reading from the pages of our hearts. It was revealed that God would have me share the truth of His word, like nuggets of gold that would become like rich veins. I waited for years for God to open the doors and bring His plan to pass and nothing happened. Then in September of 2014, during a difficult time in my life, I began the “Daily Nuggets” devotion and meditation. I have continued to write and share each day since then and it has recently reached over one million views. It may not look the way I envisioned it all those years ago, but God’s plan was and is being revealed and fulfilled.  

In the text, Paul says: All things are to be done for edification. Again, prophecy is the revelation of God’s plan for someone or something. It is not to be used as a stick to discipline or manipulate people. It may include an exhortation to draw near to God. How else can we know or experience the fullness of His plans, unless we abide with Him? Psalm 37:4-5 says: Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.  In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: I know the plans that I have for you, plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  God has a plan to give a future and hope to each one of us, and to use us for His purpose. If we will delight and trust in Him, He will reveal it and bring it to pass.

Every plan needs to have a beginning, a first step, and the beginning of God’s plan for each one is found in Romans 10:9-10: That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. I pray that You would continue to reveal Your plans to me and through me. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, in and through my life. Amen.