While preaching and prophecy are similar, I find it an exegetical stretch to equate the two. Scripture doesn’t seem to do this. In fact, whenever they are mentioned together, they are clearly separate gifts and functions. The prophet and the preacher, in a sense, speak for God, but not in the same way. Both preaching and prophecy are given with authority and directed by the Holy Spirit, but it could be said that they are two separate branches from the same vine.

What is preaching? A simple definition could be the faithful exposition of divinely inspired text that has been preserved and handed down through the ages. Preaching examines, interprets, and applies the biblical text, often by referencing the preaching done by generations of predecessors. While the text that informs the act of preaching is inerrant and infallible, the preaching itself is not.

What is prophecy? Prophecy is special revelation directly from God, given through a human agent—a prophet. It is authoritative, inerrant, and infallible. Prophecy is not always foretelling, but is always forthtelling. True prophecy is absolutely, and entirely true.

I know that many gifted and respected preachers claim that preaching is prophecy. I think this stems from a brand of cessationism that, I believe, incorrectly interprets 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. Often called the “love” chapter, the context of chapters 12-14 is actually spiritual gifts. Chapter 13 speaks of the superiority of love over other gifts including tongues, knowledge and prophecy. What follows is telling.

“Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.” (1 Corinthians 13:8–10, NASB95)

The gifts of tongues, knowledge and prophecy were critical gifts in the infancy of the church. Special knowledge and prophecy molded and directed the formation of the church prior to the completion of the canon of Scripture. Tongues lent credence to message given. A correct view of this passage, I believe, hinges on one’s interpretation of “the perfect”.

If you interpret “the perfect” to be the coming of Christ, or the eternal state, tongues, prophecy, and knowledge have not ceased. So, you must give an account of how those gifts are manifested today. If, however, they have ceased, ”the perfect” must be something that has already come. It should also be noted that the Greek word for perfect is teleion, which can also mean “complete”. From the context, what is, or will be, complete? It must refer to complete knowledge and complete prophecy. I maintain that the best interpretation is, in light of the context, that “the perfect” is the complete canon of Scripture.

To put it another way, every place in the New Testament where teleion or teleios is used, it refers to something becoming, or something that has become complete, mature, full, etc. Here, the immediate context is referring to what will become complete in knowledge and prophecy. When referring to Christ, Paul rarely uses this kind of language—he uses the word, Christos. The perfect in prophecy, tongues, and knowledge is the complete canon of Scripture. The Bible, that we hold in our hands, renders special knowledge and prophecy unnecessary.

It should be noted that verse 12 speaks of a future time, future for Paul at least, when he will see fully and know fully. Many use this to support the notion that Paul is speaking, generally, of the eternal state. However, this falls far short of making a definitive case for a broad definition of knowledge and prophecy.

I should say that this interpretation is not my own. It was first brought to my attention by one of my theology professors. At first, I pushed back on it, but after spending time studying and reading, I became convinced that the majority view of this passage was not the most contextually viable.

The primary reason for my commitment to a narrow definition of prophecy is the preponderance of individuals claiming to have received specific and special revelations directly from God. People who make bold claims to have so special a relationship with God that they continually receive personal messages from Him. This is simply modern-day Gnosticism. We must always exercise discernment when evaluating the words of all those who assume the role of preacher or teacher. As Jesus said:

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15–16, NASB95)