THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians
Message Five
The Excelling Gift for the Building Up of the Church—Prophesying
Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 14:1, 3-5, 12, 24-26, 31-32, 37, 39; Matt. 16:18; Col. 2:19; 2 Tim. 3:17; 1 Thes. 5:17-20; Eph. 1:17
I. Prophesying is the excelling gift produced in the growth in life through the enjoyment of Christ for the building up of the church—1 Cor. 14:12; Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 14:4b: (2002 WT, msg. 10)
A. Prophesying in 1 Corinthians 14 is not in the sense of predicting, foretelling, but in the sense of speaking for the Lord, speaking forth the Lord, to dispense Christ into people—vv. 1, 12, 39a. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
B. God’s desire is for all of His saints to prophesy—Num. 11:29; 1 Cor. 14:31. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
II. Prophesying is the excelling gift among all the gifts, making its seekers excelling—v. 12: (2002 WT, msg. 10)
A. Prophesying is excelling in revealing God’s heart, God’s will, God’s way, and God’s economy to His people—cf. 12:8. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
B. Prophesying is excelling in convicting people, exposing people’s real condition, and showing people their spiritual need. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
C. Prophesying is excelling in speaking forth Christ to minister and dispense Christ to people for their nourishment. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
III. All the believers have the capacity, the ability, to prophesy, and all have the obligation to prophesy—14:31, 24: (2002 WT, msg. 10)
A. The capacity to prophesy is in the divine life, which the believers possess and enjoy and which needs to increase within them so that this capacity may be developed unto their ability—Col. 2:19; cf. 2 Tim. 4:5. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
B. The obligation to prophesy is the fulfillment of our spiritual service, in which we are indebted to God’s salvation—Rom. 1:14-15. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
IV. All the believers have been charged by the apostle to pursue, to seek, and to desire earnestly to prophesy— 1 Cor. 14:1, 12, 39a: (2002 WT, msg. 10)
A. We are enabled to prophesy by learning in the Word of God, in the growth of life, and in our contact with God—v. 31; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Thes. 5:17-20; Gal. 5:16, 25: (2002 WT, msg. 10)
1. We need to be revived every morning—Prov. 4:18; Lam. 3:22-24; Psa. 119:147-148. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
2. We need to live an overcoming life every day by calling on the Lord’s name in every place and living in the index of His eyes—1 Cor. 1:2; 12:3b; 2 Cor. 2:10. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
3. To live an overcoming life is to live a prophesying life by loving the Lord to the uttermost, fellowshipping with Him moment by moment, walking according to the spirit, and speaking the word of the Lord in season and out of season—1 Cor. 2:9; cf. 1 John 1:6; Rom. 8:4b; 2 Tim. 4:2a. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
B. We are enabled to prophesy by being perfected by the prophets—Eph. 4:11-12. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
C. We are enabled to prophesy by practicing to speak in all the meetings and by telling people about Christ—1 Cor. 14:26; Phil. 2:16a; 2 Tim. 4:2a, 5. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
V. In order to practice 1 Corinthians 14, there is the need for the highest meetings of the church, meetings in which “each one has”—v. 26: (2002 WT, msg. 10)
A. The proper church meeting is a “one another” meeting, a “round table” meeting, in which we speak to one another, teach and admonish one another, consider one another and exhort one another, and listen to one another—Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Heb. 10:24-25; 1 Thes. 5:20. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
B. The proper church meeting makes the believers living by developing their organic ability and function—Eph. 4:16. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
C. Before coming to the meeting, we should prepare ourselves for the meeting through our experience of the Lord or through our enjoyment of His word and fellowship with Him in prayer. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
D. After coming into the meeting, we need not wait, and should not wait, for inspiration; we should exercise our spirit and use our trained mind to function in presenting what we have prepared to the Lord for His glory and satisfaction and to the attendants for their benefit—their enlightenment, nourishing, and building up. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
E. We must labor on Christ, our good land, so that we may reap some produce of His riches to bring to the church meeting and offer to God—Deut. 16:16. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
F. Thus, the meeting will be an exhibition of Christ in His riches and will be a mutual enjoyment of Christ shared by all the attendants before God and with God for the building up of the saints and the church. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
VI. We must speak with the three constituting elements of prophesying—2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Cor. 14:32. 37a; Eph. 1:17; 1 Cor. 2:11-12: (2002 WT, msg. 10)
A. We must possess a knowledge of the Word of God—the human element of learning—2 Tim. 3:16-17; Ezek. 3:1-4. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
B. We must have the instant inspiration of the Holy Spirit—the divine element of inspiration—1 Cor. 14:32, 37a; 1 John 1:6-7; Rom. 8:4. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
C. We must have a vision concerning God’s interest and economy, concerning the church as the Body of Christ, concerning the local churches, concerning the world, concerning the individual saints, and even concerning ourselves—the view through the enlightening of the divine light—Eph. 1:17; 1 Cor. 2:11-12. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
D. We speak what we see with the living words of this life under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and with His enlightenment—Acts 5:20. (2002 WT, msg. 10)
E. For the sake of the building up of the church, we need to build up a habit of speaking the word of the Lord by letting His word dwell in us richly—Col. 3:16; cf. 1 Tim. 6:20. (2002 WT, msg. 10)