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God has graciously given His children gifts. Seven of the gifts are listed in Romans 12: prophesying, serving, teaching, giving encouragement, giving, leading, and showing mercy. Each of the gifts is to be put to use—the Lord edifies the church through their exercise. And each believer is to exercise his or her gift in accordance with his or her faith. As the NKJV puts it, we use the gifts “in proportion to our faith” (Romans 12:6).
This passage on spiritual gifts covers Romans 12:3–8:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your a faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:6 addresses those with the gift of prophesying: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith.” Right away, we notice two things about the gift of prophesying in this passage:- The gift of prophesying comes from the grace and faith God gives. All the spiritual gifts are thus to be exercised from a place of humility, “in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” (Romans 12:3).
- The gift of prophesying is meant to be used. No one who has this gift should “sit it out” but should be “in the game” as our divine Coach instructs. The church needs the gifts the same way a team needs the skills its players bring.
Two basic questions are natural: what exactly is the gift of prophesying, and how is it used in proportion to one’s faith?
The spiritual gift of prophesying is a “speaking forth” or declaring of the divine will. Its purpose is to make known the truth of God in order to influence people. In the past, the gift of prophecy sometimes involved a knowledge of future events, but the gift has always been primarily a gift of proclamation, not prediction. There is more “forth-telling” than “fore-telling” in prophecy.
Today, a pastor or preacher who declares the Bible is prophesying in that he is “speaking forth” the counsel of God. He is not declaring new revelation but proclaiming the completed revelation God has already given. With the completion of the biblical canon, the Word of God does not need addition or refinement. Thus, prophecy today does not come in the form of extra-biblical revelation.
The other question regards how to implement the gift of prophesying according to the proportion of one’s faith. A couple modern translations of Romans 12:6 might make the meaning plainer:
“If God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.” (NLT)
“If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have.” (CEV)
The command in Romans 12:6 is linked to the command of Romans 12:3: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” God gives faith in different measures to different people, and He distributes the spiritual gifts in differing proportions (see Hebrews 2:4).“If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have.” (CEV)
When exercising the gift of prophesying, a believer should pay no heed to the expectations of others or to his or her own opinions; the gift of prophesying requires that one speak his or her convictions openly, as God gives confidence and within the limits of one’s own level of faith. The result will be a powerful presentation of God’s truth delivered in faith and humility for the glory of Christ.
