In 12:10 Paul speaks not only of operations of power, but also of prophecy, discerning of spirits, various kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Prophecy is miraculous only in part. The reason for this is that prophecy has more than one aspect. To prophesy is to speak for God and to speak forth God. Sometimes this speaking includes foretelling or predicting. Foretelling is miraculous, but speaking for God and speaking forth God are not miraculous.
Certain ones in the charismatic or Pentecostal movement like to hear predictions of the future. In 1963 and 1964 there were so-called prophecies that claimed that the city of Los Angeles would fall into the ocean. Those prophecies were even reported in the newspapers. However, those prophecies were not fulfilled.
The kind of prophesying I appreciate is the prophesying in which there is the speaking for the Lord and the speaking forth of the Lord. This prophesying is to speak to others concerning the Lord and also to speak out the Lord to them. This kind of prophesying is precious, and we all should learn to prophesy in this way.
In chapters twelve and fourteen of 1 Corinthians the noun “prophecy” and the verb “prophesy” are used a number of times. If we read these chapters carefully, we shall see that here Paul does not use these words mainly with the meaning of predict or foretell. Instead, in these chapters to prophesy is to speak forth, that is, to minister Christ to others. To prophesy is also to speak forth Christ. This prophesying is useful for edifying the individual saints and for building up the church corporately.
Many of us can testify of the help we have received through the kind of prophesying that speaks for Christ and speaks forth Christ. The church is built up through the speaking forth of Christ and the speaking for Christ. Furthermore, this kind of speaking is the dispensing of the Triune God. As someone is prophesying by speaking forth Christ and speaking for Christ, we are under the dispensing of the Triune God. As a result, we are nourished. This nourishment comes through the supply of the divine dispensing in prophesying. A brother may give a short testimony in a meeting, but that testimony may be a speaking forth of Christ and therefore a dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
Our speaking provides the best opportunity for the Spirit to function, for the Lord to serve, and for God to work. Our speaking is the key to the dispensing of the riches of the Triune God into the church. When we are silent, dumb, the “current” of the heavenly electricity stops flowing. This causes the church to suffer. We all need to learn to speak so that there may be in all the church meetings the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
Discerning of spirits is the ability to distinguish the Spirit that is of God from those that are not of God (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 4:1-3). This gift is not miraculous.
The last two gifts listed by Paul are various kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues. Tongues in verse 10 denote a proper language or dialect (Acts 2:4, 6, 8, 11) either of men or of angels (1 Cor. 13:1), not meaningless voices or sounds. The genuine and proper speaking in tongues is one of the many gifts of the Spirit, one of the many aspects of the manifestation of the Spirit. Some say that speaking in tongues is first the initial evidence of the baptism in the Spirit, but afterwards becomes a gift of the Spirit. According to this understanding, as the initial evidence, every believer must have the gift of tongues, but as a gift of the Spirit, every believer does not necessarily have it. However, this kind of teaching is groundless in the New Testament. The New Testament makes it more than clear that speaking in tongues is only one of the many gifts of the Spirit, and not all believers have it.
The interpretation of tongues is the gift to make the unknown tongues known, understandable (14:13). This is the ninth item of the manifestation of the Spirit listed in this chapter.