Prophesying is highly recommended by the apostle in 1 Corinthians. In 12:31a Paul said, “Earnestly desire the greater gifts.” Some gifts are minor and others are greater. We have to desire earnestly the greater gifts. In 14:1 Paul said, “Desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy.” At the conclusion of chapter fourteen, Paul said, “Therefore, my brothers, desire earnestly to prophesy” (14:39a). The first verse of chapter fourteen and the conclusion tell us that we need to desire earnestly to prophesy. Verse 5 says, “I desire that you all...may prophesy;...greater is he who prophesies...that the church may receive building up.” Paul repeatedly charged us to desire to prophesy. His speaking in 1 Corinthians 14 is a great encouragement to prophesy, and a great recommendation and uplifting of prophesying.
Verse 12 says, “Since you are zealous of spirits (lit.), seek that you may excel to the building up of the church.” Actually in the Greek text “zealous” is a noun, so Paul was telling the Corinthians that they were “zealots of spirits.” J. N. Darby indicates that before believing in the Lord, the Greek Christians were zealous for certain kinds of spirits. Of course, these spirits were actually demons. The Corinthians were zealots of demonic spirits. In the Lord’s salvation, however, the main thing is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now that they are saved, they should seek the excelling Holy Spirit and the excelling gift of prophesying for the building up of the church. They should seek to excel to the building up of the church. The word “excel” may also be translated “abound.” According to the context of verse 12, however, there is a comparison between prophesying and speaking in tongues, so “excel” is the best translation. If we desire spiritual gifts, we should desire the top one, the one that excels—prophesying. Other gifts are not as excelling as prophesying is. In building up the Body of Christ, you are not excelling if you do not prophesy. Prophesying is the excelling gift for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Verses 24 and 25 say, “If all prophesy and some unbeliever or unlearned person enters, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all; the secrets of his heart become manifest; and so falling on his face, he will worship God, reporting that God is really among you.” “Convicted” and “judged” also prove that prophesying in chapter fourteen is not in the sense of predicting. Predicting cannot convict people or judge people. A particular kind of speaking is needed to convict people, to judge people, and to make the secrets of their heart manifest.
Verse 31 says, “You can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all be encouraged.” It is possible for all to prophesy one by one. If this were not possible, the Apostle Paul would not have said it. Our prophesying is so that “all may learn.” If we do not learn first, how can we say something for others to learn? Whenever a mathematics professor teaches his students, they learn something, and whatever he has taught them, he has learned first. Before someone teaches mathematics, he must study mathematics. In order to teach in a college, an undergraduate degree is not sufficient. One must have either a master’s or a doctor’s degree. If others learn when we prophesy, this means that we had to learn first.
We may speak many things, yet what we speak may be common and ordinary talk. To prophesy requires learning. We learn to prophesy through experiences, by being equipped with the Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17), by praying unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17-20), by praying ourselves into the Spirit, by living and walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25), and by practicing. If we do these things, we will learn to speak in a particular way for the Lord. If we love the Lord and we mean business with Him, day by day we will learn to experience Him by enjoying Him. We will learn to get into the Word in order to be equipped with the Word. We will not read the Word in a shallow way, but we will dive into the Word and be immersed and transfused with the Word. We will also pray unceasingly to pray ourselves into the Spirit, and we will live and walk by the Spirit in our spirit all day long. Then our speaking will be particular and not ordinary.
In the past we encouraged all of the saints to function, to speak in the meetings. Most of us did this in the way of giving a testimony or in a way of exhorting others. Many times our speaking was just human speaking in a natural way. To prophesy, however, is divine. Because you have experienced the divine life, have been equipped with the divine word, have been praying yourself into the Spirit all the time, and have been walking in the Spirit, you are not natural but spiritual. You are not living in a natural way by your natural life. You are living by the divine Spirit, and you are a person in the Spirit practicing to speak for the Lord.
Among so many chapters of the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 14 stresses one thing, treasures one thing, uplifts one thing, recommends one thing, and exalts one thing—prophesying. Without prophesying, there is no possibility of building up the Body of Christ. This is why we cannot see a meeting like that described in 1 Corinthians 14:26 in all of Christianity. In the entire history of the church, it is hard to find the practice of such a meeting of mutuality. This is because it is not that easy to practice. It requires you to live a life that experiences Christ all the time and that dives into the holy Word to get saturated and equipped with the Word. Because the holy Word has become one with your being, you will not speak in a natural and ordinary way but with the equipping, holy Word. As a person who prays unceasingly and who walks and lives in the Spirit all the time, you make yourself a divine person, a spiritual person who lives by the divine life. As such a person, you will speak in a divine way with a divine word. Whenever you come to a meeting, you will have something to present to others. You will not speak ordinary things in a natural way. Instead, you will speak a word in a divine way with the divine element by the divine life. Only this can build up the Body of Christ.