The Prophets
I Corinthians 12:28-29; Ephesians 4:11-16
I. In the Greek, prophetes, means an inspired speaker
II. Only allowed to speak what God told the prophet
A. Example of Balaam - Numbers 22:18-20, 38; 23:12
B. Prophets had control of when they spoke - I Corinthians 14:29-32
C. Words must be carefully considered - I Thessalonians 5:19-22
III. Always possible for a false claim of being a prophet, so there were tests - I John 4:1
A. Since God doesn’t lie, what a prophet says is always true - Deuteronomy 18:20-22
B. It is always consistent with what God already said - Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Galatians 1:6-10
IV. Prophets were teachers before recorded doctrine was available - I Corinthians 14:26, 31; Ephesians 4:11-13; Acts 15:32
A. They also recorded God’s words. Some of the books of the Bible are written by prophets: Mark, Luke, Acts, and possibly James and Jude.
V. Prophecy was temporary - I Corinthians 13:8-10; Daniel 9:24; Zechariah 13:1-2; Matthew 7:21-23