Lesson 29
1. When Christ ascended, He gave what unto men?
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
2. What are some of the gifts that He gave?
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
The word apostle is a transliteration of a Greek word meaning “one sent forth,” or in other words, a missionary.
3. Why did Jesus give these spiritual gifts to members of His church?
Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Unlike natural talents which anyone might possess, spiritual gifts are given to God’s people so that each believer will have some specific ministry he may perform in the service of God.
4. How long will each of these gifts be needed?
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Until the church reaches the perfection which measures with the fullness of Christ’s stature she will have missionaries, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All the gifts were to continue operating until the end of time.
5. These gifts are to protect us from being tossed to and fro, and carried about with what?
Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
6. Which two gifts were noted at Antioch?
Acts 13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
7. What was Philip’s gift?
Acts 21:8 And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
8. The same man had four daughters which did what?
Acts 21:9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
God often endowed women with the spirit of prophecy: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Hulda (2 Chronicles 34:22), Anna (Luke 2:36).
9. What has God set before us, for us to walk in?
Jeremiah 26:4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
10. What second source of instruction are we also to hearken to?
Jeremiah 26:5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
11. Since the law and the prophets go together, what happens when the law is upheld no more?
Lamentations 2:9 Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.
12. How did God reply to some who inquired of Him?
Ezekiel 20:3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
13. Why did the Lord refuse to give them any new counsel at that time?
Ezekiel 20:11-13 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. 12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. 13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
If people forsake God’s law and break His Sabbath, they cannot expect to receive the gift of prophecy. But restore the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus appears again also (See Revelation 12:17).
14. When would it come to pass that the spirit of prophecy would be manifested again?
Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
15. How does God give messages to His prophets?
Numbers 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
The natural possession of keen insight or the gaining of knowledge by study do not constitute the gift of prophecy. Prophecy is when God speaks directly to His chosen messenger through a vision or dream, giving specific information which the prophet had no other way of obtaining. The prophet is not the source of the information he reveals, but simply the channel through which God speaks.
16. He that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a what?
1 Samuel 9:9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
17. What prophet and what seer wrote books which are not in our Bible?
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer
From the above text it is clear that a prophet’s writings do not have to be in the Bible in order for that prophet to be inspired. When Ahab disregarded the counsel of the prophet Micaiah (who never wrote a single word of the Bible) he suffered the consequences for disobedience just as if it had been Isaiah or Jeremiah who had given the warning (1 Kings 22). When the Lord inspires a prophet, whether the message serves only to meet a specific need at a specific time, or whether it is canonized in the Scriptures for people in all ages, the degree of inspiration is the same. And the messages of all true prophets of God, whether they are Bible writers or not, will be in perfect harmony with the written Scriptures, by which all things must be tested.
18. What two vital roles did the gift of prophecy play in the experience of ancient Israel?
Hosea 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
“Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7.
19. How important is it to believe God’s prophets?
2 Chronicles 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
In the Light of God's Word...
I understand that the spirit of prophecy and other spiritual endowments are Christ’s special gifts to His church.
I understand that God planned for these gifts to be present in His church until the end of time.
I am aware that the gift of prophecy has indeed been manifested in the church in these last days.
Next Lesson: Testing the Gifts
Christ said that during the end-time, false prophets would arise with the intent to deceive anyone and everyone. Every now and then, you'll hear a religious leader make predictions about things or events concerning the end-time. If you take a peak at the local grocery store tabloids, especially around December, quite often you'll see people making predictions about the upcoming new year. How can you tell if someone is a true prophet of God or if they are some self-proclaimed prophet who is just out to try and make a profit? Lesson 30 examines how we can know if someone is truly of prophet of God or not. The Bible gives some tests in which a true prophet will completely pass everytime but a false prophet will fail in one or more points everytime. It will also examine what the Bible has to say concerning the gift of tongues.
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
2. What are some of the gifts that He gave?
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
The word apostle is a transliteration of a Greek word meaning “one sent forth,” or in other words, a missionary.
3. Why did Jesus give these spiritual gifts to members of His church?
Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Unlike natural talents which anyone might possess, spiritual gifts are given to God’s people so that each believer will have some specific ministry he may perform in the service of God.
4. How long will each of these gifts be needed?
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Until the church reaches the perfection which measures with the fullness of Christ’s stature she will have missionaries, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All the gifts were to continue operating until the end of time.
5. These gifts are to protect us from being tossed to and fro, and carried about with what?
Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
6. Which two gifts were noted at Antioch?
Acts 13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
7. What was Philip’s gift?
Acts 21:8 And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
8. The same man had four daughters which did what?
Acts 21:9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
God often endowed women with the spirit of prophecy: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Hulda (2 Chronicles 34:22), Anna (Luke 2:36).
9. What has God set before us, for us to walk in?
Jeremiah 26:4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
10. What second source of instruction are we also to hearken to?
Jeremiah 26:5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
11. Since the law and the prophets go together, what happens when the law is upheld no more?
Lamentations 2:9 Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.
12. How did God reply to some who inquired of Him?
Ezekiel 20:3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
13. Why did the Lord refuse to give them any new counsel at that time?
Ezekiel 20:11-13 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. 12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. 13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
If people forsake God’s law and break His Sabbath, they cannot expect to receive the gift of prophecy. But restore the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus appears again also (See Revelation 12:17).
14. When would it come to pass that the spirit of prophecy would be manifested again?
Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
15. How does God give messages to His prophets?
Numbers 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
The natural possession of keen insight or the gaining of knowledge by study do not constitute the gift of prophecy. Prophecy is when God speaks directly to His chosen messenger through a vision or dream, giving specific information which the prophet had no other way of obtaining. The prophet is not the source of the information he reveals, but simply the channel through which God speaks.
16. He that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a what?
1 Samuel 9:9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
17. What prophet and what seer wrote books which are not in our Bible?
1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer
From the above text it is clear that a prophet’s writings do not have to be in the Bible in order for that prophet to be inspired. When Ahab disregarded the counsel of the prophet Micaiah (who never wrote a single word of the Bible) he suffered the consequences for disobedience just as if it had been Isaiah or Jeremiah who had given the warning (1 Kings 22). When the Lord inspires a prophet, whether the message serves only to meet a specific need at a specific time, or whether it is canonized in the Scriptures for people in all ages, the degree of inspiration is the same. And the messages of all true prophets of God, whether they are Bible writers or not, will be in perfect harmony with the written Scriptures, by which all things must be tested.
18. What two vital roles did the gift of prophecy play in the experience of ancient Israel?
Hosea 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
“Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7.
19. How important is it to believe God’s prophets?
2 Chronicles 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
In the Light of God's Word...
I understand that the spirit of prophecy and other spiritual endowments are Christ’s special gifts to His church.
I understand that God planned for these gifts to be present in His church until the end of time.
I am aware that the gift of prophecy has indeed been manifested in the church in these last days.
Next Lesson: Testing the Gifts
Christ said that during the end-time, false prophets would arise with the intent to deceive anyone and everyone. Every now and then, you'll hear a religious leader make predictions about things or events concerning the end-time. If you take a peak at the local grocery store tabloids, especially around December, quite often you'll see people making predictions about the upcoming new year. How can you tell if someone is a true prophet of God or if they are some self-proclaimed prophet who is just out to try and make a profit? Lesson 30 examines how we can know if someone is truly of prophet of God or not. The Bible gives some tests in which a true prophet will completely pass everytime but a false prophet will fail in one or more points everytime. It will also examine what the Bible has to say concerning the gift of tongues.