Is everything a true prophet says under inspiration to be accepted or can we evaluate the messages and decide what to accept and what to reject? Some theologians think that Paul teaches this approach in 1 Cor 14:29, appealing to versions such as the NIV in support: “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.”

In practical terms, this would mean that when God gives a specific message to a prophet the rest of the congregation should sit in judgment on whether the message is valuable or not, whether it should be accepted or not. However, Jesus did not say “Beware of the false elements in the sayings of my prophets” but “Beware of false prophets,” calling them “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matt 7:15). The idea that every church member should “listen carefully and evaluate each statement, distinguishing what he or she felt to be good from the less good, what was thought to be helpful from the unhelpful, what was perceived to be true from false”¹ is utterly at variance with the rest of Scripture. The driving force behind this new understanding of 1 Cor 14:29 is not biblical exegesis but the justification in Protestant churches of modern “prophets” who admit that sometimes their prophecies are wrong.

To understand what Paul means here, it should be recognized that the Corinthian church had many problems: division in the church (1 Cor 1–4); immorality (1 Cor 5); members taking members to court (1 Cor 6), etc. In 1 Cor 14 Paul deals with spiritual gifts and their misuse. The key issue in v. 29 is the meaning of the word “judge” (Gk. diakrinō). Does it mean to judge the words of a true prophet or does it mean to judge between true and false prophets? Diakrinō has a variety of meanings one of which is “distinguishing” between people. Peter says that God “made no distinction [diakrinō]” between Jewish and Gentile believers in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:9); Paul asks the Corinthians, “Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge [diakrinō] a dispute between believers?” (1 Cor 6:5 NIV); and James says to fellow Christians, “have you not discriminated [diakrinō] among yourselves” by making a difference between the rich and the poor? (Jas 2:3-4). This meaning of diakrinō also makes perfect sense in 1 Cor 14:29 as the NASB shows: “let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment [as to who is a true prophet].” Eric Wright, therefore, concludes, “The discrimination believers are to make is not just between truth and falsehood in a prophecy [as some people claim], but between true and false prophets. Any error denoted a false prophet.”²

Similarly, in 1 Thess 5:21, after exhorting the believers not to despise prophecy (v. 19) Paul says, “Test (dokimazō) all things; hold fast what is good.” Paul did not encourage the acceptance of every message claiming divine authority and even warned that false teachers would enter the church (Acts 20:29-30). Paul’s teaching is consistent, admonishing Christians to test anyone claiming to be a prophet, including whether this new “revelation” is in harmony with previous revelation (cf. Acts 17:11). Once a prophet is recognized as from the Lord, however, fallible human reason should not sit in judgment on the messages God gives. We must seek to understand it and apply it to our lives.