Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09013 The question of whether prophets exist in the church today sits at the intersection of several important issues: the nature of spiritual gifts, the sufficiency of Scripture, the closure of the canon, and the practical experience of many believers who have received what they understand to be prophetic words. The answer requires careful…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 4089 Dreams occupy an interesting position in the biblical record. They are neither marginalised as purely psychological phenomena nor elevated as the primary channel of divine communication. Scripture treats them with a seriousness that neither the sceptic nor the enthusiast fully honours — the sceptic too quick to dismiss them entirely, the enthusiast too…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04050 Of all the gifts Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12, the gift of interpretation of tongues is perhaps the one most easily misunderstood, partly because it sounds technical, and partly because it is so closely tied to tongues itself. Yet Paul treats it as a distinct and necessary gift, not an add-on, and…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04051 Few topics in contemporary Christianity generate more heat and less light than healing. On one side, dramatic claims fill conference stages and television screens; on the other, sceptical evangelicals dismiss the whole category as a relic of the apostolic age. Scripture, characteristically, is more measured than either extreme, and what it actually says…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 04052 The gift of miracles occupies a specific place in Paul’s description of the Spirit’s distributions, yet it tends to be either exaggerated into something sensational or quietly passed over in churches that are uncomfortable with the supernatural. Neither response does justice to what the New Testament actually says. Understanding this gift requires looking…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 04054 The phrase “word of knowledge” appears once in Paul’s list of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, and has generated considerable debate ever since, not least because charismatic ministry has attached a very specific meaning to it that may or may not reflect what Paul had in mind. Understanding this gift means returning to…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 04055 Wisdom is one of Scripture’s great themes, running from the Proverbs through to Paul’s letters, and it is no surprise that the Spirit distributes a gift identified with it. But the “word of wisdom” Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12:8 is something more specific than wisdom in the general biblical sense, and distinguishing…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04056 Few questions in contemporary church life generate more confusion and, in some quarters, more dangerous claims than this one. The rise of the New Apostolic Reformation, with its assertion that God is restoring apostles and prophets to the church with governing authority and fresh revelation, has made this question urgent. But the answer…