Organization of the Church - Part 2
Allan E. McNabb

Last week we began a series on the organization of the church.  We learned it’s necessary to organize our congregation according to God’s word, to be a congregation of Christ’s church.  We saw that Christ is the head of the church; therefore, we must obey Him and be subject to Him.  Then we noticed that the apostles were appointed and commissioned by Jesus to communicate His law, convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment, and be ministers of the new covenant.

Prophets
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets. . . .” (Eph. 4:11).

The word “prophet” literally means one who speaks forth.  A prophet does not necessarily foretell the future, rather he speaks forth the mind of God, which can include foretelling of future events.

Appointment of Prophets
Prophets were appointed by the laying on of the apostles hands (Acts 8:17-19; 19:6), after which the Lord poured out of His Spirit upon them (cf. Acts 2:17-18).

Since the apostles are dead, and can’t lay their hands on people, there can’t be prophets upon the earth today.

Judged By Their Fruits
Jesus commands us to judge prophets by their fruits (Matt. 7:15-20). 

To judge a prophet, we see whether his prophesies come true.  If they don’t, we know he’s not a prophet of God (Deut. 18:15, 20-22).

For example, Joseph Smith and Ellen White predicted the world would come to an end in the 1800s.  Since an apostle had not laid his hands upon them, and since their prophesies didn’t come true, we must conclude they were false prophets.

Male and Female Prophets
Although there were male and female prophets in the first century (Acts 2:17), only men were permitted to prophesy in the church (1 Cor. 14:29-33).  Women were permitted to prophesy other places, if their heads were covered (1 Cor. 11:5; 14:34-35).

Philip’s daughters are examples of female prophets in the first century (Acts 21:8-9).

Work of Prophets
Prophets performed specific work.

• Eph. 3:4-5 They spoke the word of God.
• 1 Tim. 4:14  They revealed God's counsel.
• 1 Cor. 14:37  They distinguished between the word of God and the doctrines of men.
• Acts 15:32; 1 Cor. 14:3-4, 31  They encouraged, strengthened, edified, exhorted, consoled, and taught the brethren.
• Acts 11:27-28 They foretold future events.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us the following regarding prophesy:

• 1 Cor. 13:8 The gift of prophesy was temporary.
• 1 Cor. 13:9 With prophesy, people only knew in part and prophesied in part.
• 1 Cor. 13:10 Prophesy was done away with when the “perfect” came.
• 1 Cor. 12:31 There was a better way to live, other than being guided by the gift of prophesy.

The gift of prophesy ceased around the end of the first century.
The “perfect” came in the first century, marking the end of prophesy (1 Cor. 13:10).

• The “perfect” relates to the revelation of the “perfect law of liberty” (Ja. 1:25), which is the word (law) of Christ.
• Jesus said we will be judged by His words (Jn. 12:48).  And, James said we will be judged by the law of liberty (Ja. 1:25; 2:12).  Therefore, the words of Christ (spoken by Jesus or His apostles) constitute the law of liberty — the law of Christ and the law of liberty are synonymous (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2; Ja. 1:25).
• After the first century, no apostles were on earth to lay hands upon people.  Therefore, no one could receive the gift of prophesy (Acts 8:17-19; 19:6).

False Prophets
Since there are no apostles to lay hands on people today, we know that everyone claiming to be a prophet is a false prophet.

False prophets use lying wonders (fake miracles, magic tricks) to deceive people (2 Th. 2:8-12).  Elymas is an example of one of these individuals, a magician who opposed Paul, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith (Acts 13:8).

It’s interesting to see what Paul says to Elymas, referring to his deceitful religious practices:  “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10)?

Peter also tells us that false prophets use sin and lust to lure people away from God (2 Pet. 2:1-3, 10, 12-15, 18-19).

Today, some people lure people into their religion with fornication, like Warren Jeffs, prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who sanctioned polygamy and rape of 14-year-old girls, insisting it was God’s will for these girls to marry adult men, even against their will.

As with brethren in the first century, we must reject false prophets, and anyone who teaches a gospel contrary to the gospel in the New Testament.  Paul says, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed” (Gal. 1:8)!