What Is a New Testament Prophet? Understanding Their Role in the Modern Church

Prophets did not end with the Old Testament, however the function and mission of the New Testament prophet is different from that of the Old. It is beneficial for all prophetic voices of today to study both so that they may see the distinction in how they operated during their times. New Testament prophets, which is what we have today, do not have the same assignment and the same goals as those in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament ministered during a time where access to the Holy Spirit was not widespread. The Spirit of God rested on select people including leaders, prophets, and priests, so these people served as intermediaries or mediators during that time, because they were the only ones who could hear God. The people needed someone to tell them what thus says the Lord, because the people did not have access to the Holy Spirit. So, they needed to have proximity to those who did, so that they understood what was needed and what was required of them.

When the Lord wanted to send a message of rebuke, He used those that had access to His Spirit to relay the message to the people. The Old Testament prophets would speak whatever God had shown them, calling the people back into covenant, relationship, and obedience. They anointed kings as God gave them instructions. The prophets also were sources of warning for impending danger, and they were the foundation layers for scripture. When the Bible speaks about the church being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20), the Old Testament prophets are the ones that contributed to the foundation that the church would later be built upon.

Upon the death and resurrection of Christ, we entered into a new covenant with Christ. In Acts, we read about the day of Pentecost when the Comforter that Christ promised arrives. That Comforter is the Holy Spirit that everyone now has access to. Under the Old Covenant, access to the Holy Spirit was limited and selected to those that God chose to place His Spirit upon. Under the New Covenant, everyone has access to the Holy Spirit. So, this changes the prophetic.

The way the prophets functioned in the Old Testament was by bridging the gap, because they were one of the few with the Holy Spirit. Now that we are under a new covenant, and everyone that desires has access to the Holy Spirit, that changes how prophets are needed. A person with relationship to God can have direct communion with Christ, and they do not have to seek out a prophet to inquire of God for them, because the same Holy Spirit has been made available to them.

Some may ask, well, if that is the case then are there any true prophets today? Are prophets even needed? That is one of the arguments of those that believe the sign gifts like prophecy, tongues, miracles, and healings have ceased for today's believer. There are scriptures that suggest that these things will cease one day, however the church is still being built and that time has not come.

Prophets today are not building a foundation like the Old Testament prophets, but they are building upon that foundation, like all other believers. There is a gift of prophecy spoken of in the Bible (1 Corinthians 12:10), meaning that there are those that possess the gift of prophecy. However, scripture also states that not one person has all the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:29-30), so if there are some that have the gift of prophecy, there are some who do not, as with all other gifts.

The biggest difference I see in the operation of the gift of prophecy and the New Testament prophet is their call to a certain lifestyle. In the Bible we see where the gift of prophecy can be widespread, especially within a meeting of believers. People tend to prophesy who have never prophesied before when in such a meeting, though they do not do so regularly. The prophet, on the other hand, is one who regularly and consistently lives in this vein. It is not a one time thing here or there, but this is a consistent pattern of their lifestyle. However, the goal of their ministry under this new covenant is different.

This post will look at nine responsibilities and characteristics of the new covenant prophet. There is often confusion around what the assignment must look like, so it is often that we see modern prophets overstepping their boundaries in ministry, believing that they are laying a foundation versus building upon a foundation. They end up mimicking the word choices of the Old Testament prophets, instead of just being themselves and being who God called them to be, instead of believing they have to be something greater, or deeper, or this mysterious person that almost comes off as spooky. If the goal of the Old Testament prophet was to be a mediator between God and the people of God to help maintain covenant, then the goal of the New Testament prophet is to edify the people of God, helping them to strengthen their faith, build them up in encouragement, and push them to maturity.

Responsibilities and Characteristics of a NT Prophet:

1. Belonging to Christ

The New Testament prophet must steward their assignment as a gift from God, one that they are only placed here on earth for a season to complete. The prophet must never lose sight that they belong to God, and that their will and desires must submit to His assignment for them. A prophet that does not understand that they belong to God and that their assignment is whatever He wills, is a prophet that will end up in rebellion and building their own kingdom.

2. Guarding the Purity of the Message

Prophecy should never override the written word. Words given must align with the message of scripture and the nature of God. No, this does not mean that the prophet is saying word for word, verbatim what a scripture says, but it does mean that their words and behaviors must align with the heart of the message of scripture. Giving someone a word that goes against scripture, or causes people to fall into error or sin is not a prophetic word. It is important that the prophet knows the difference between when they are speaking prophetically versus when they are speaking something from their soul, because in a moment of excitement or heightened emotion, they both may feel similar. That is why it is important to weigh words carefully, not be presumptuous or rushed to just speak or do.

Scripture says in Matthew 12:36 that we will be accountable for every idle word that we speak. So, as a prophetic voice, one to whom much has been given, how much more do you believe God will hold you accountable for every ill-given presumptuous word you give? I truly believe that if people understood the consequences of what is done and spoken in the name of Christ, that people would not be as careless and eager to wear the title.

3. Submitting to Testing and Correction

This is a responsibility that we do not see biblically exercised in the way that it should be exercised, but it would cut down on a lot of false acts and false words given. In the New Testament, unlike the Old Testament where whatever the prophet spoke was understood to be the word of God, in the New Testament prophetic words must be weighed and tested. This means you do not get to just speak all kinds of things and not have that challenged by the body of Christ and held up to the plumbline of scripture.

This is accountability that is present which limits a lot of the abuse that we see, where people can say "God told me" or "God said" and it is taken at face value because of who they are title wise, instead of tested by the sufficiency of scripture. This also is a mechanism to help distinguish authentic prophets from grifters, because it forces a prophet to be humble in receiving corrections when they are wrong. It is the grifter that lashes out when people ask questions about their words. A prophet has to be a humble person, not given to pride and above correction from the body of Christ. First Corinthians 14:29 instructs, "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate."

4. Edifying the Church

The New Testament prophet is called, like other gifts, to edify the church. The goal is to help the body of Christ reach maturity, so the prophetic assignment may look like encouragement, comforting, teaching, or counseling. The prophet has been graced, or empowered to build those things to support the body of Christ, to help usher them into a place of maturity in God.

This is not just about serving within the four walls of a church building. This may look like fulfilling needs within the community, based on what God has laid upon your heart to be a need. If God has led you to start a fatherhood program in the community, or a substance abuse program in the community, the people in need are still a part of the body of Christ, and the edification or building up that they get will help usher them to a place of wholeness. Maturity in Christ often requires for people to reach a place of healing and wholeness.

So, edification will look different from prophet to prophet. Some have been called to start weekly Bible studies, because God desires for them to teach people how to effectively study the Bible. All of this is edifying to the body of Christ because it encourages and pushes people to maturity.

5. Living as an Example

The prophet's life must match not only the message they preach, but the character of Christ. A mean, vindictive, hateful, prideful, arrogant prophet is a disservice to the message of the cross. You must not only do ministry, but you must live it. Your character must display the fruit of the Spirit in how you live and how you treat people. The character of a prophet matters, because accuracy and good deeds do not matter if your heart is ugly.

6. Intercession and Watchfulness

Prayer is the foundation of prophetic ministry. Prayer is the foundation for all ministry. A prophet that does not have a prayer and worship life is a prophet that is out of tune with their assignment. The majority of prophetic ministry will take place in prayer and intercession, not everything you see or God impresses upon you is for you to speak and declare. Just because you see it does not mean it is something for you to say.

In most cases, God will allow you to see or reveal things to you for you to pray about them, not for you to jump on a YouTube or Facebook live and make an entire sensationalized message about it. You cannot be trusted in the secret place if you are a chatterbox and always have a "word" for someone. One thing I have learned is that God will never give you enough prophetic words to build an entire channel off of just words given. When you see people do this, they always have a word, always have a thus says the Lord, every day, multiple times of day. Those people are pulling words from their soul. How can I say this so boldly? If you look at the biblical patterns of God in the Bible, nowhere do you see God operating in this nature and in this way.

The prophet must study the nature and ways of God. We will never understand all that encompasses God, but part of being watchful is being discerning, and in order to have discernment, you must know something about the character of God and how God has interacted with His people for ages, so that you can see red flags when they arise so that you may warn the people or intercede effectively.

7. Counting the Cost: Suffering and Rejection

The prophetic ministry has never been a glamorous ministry, which is why people have become so broken when they finally understand that what we often see masquerading as glory filled on social media and in popular conferences is not the true reality of what the life of a prophet entails.

One lesson that I had to learn early and get over is that people will acknowledge that you are a prophetic voice until you do or say something that convicts them. As long as you speak against sins that are not theirs, or questionable actions that are not theirs, they will call you man or woman of God, or prophet of God all day long. However, as soon as you preach or teach something that just happens to be something they are doing in their private lives, or maybe they know someone that does it and they love that person so they refuse to acknowledge it as sin, it is easier for them to call you a false prophet or lying prophet than to acknowledge what scripture says about a matter.

A prophet cannot live off the applause of men, and they have to be content with the fact that while you are called to a level of consecration in your life, other people, including other leaders, may not adhere to that level or any level of consecration. So you must learn how to face opposition, rejection, being mistreated and mishandled, and still show the love of Christ.

The world has this thing where it says "I match energy," meaning you treat people how they treat you. However, scripture says that believers do not adhere to those standards. We are to forgive with the forgiveness of Christ and love with the love of Christ. Unfortunately for the prophet, they will find themselves having to forgive and love from a hard place far more than the average believer.

8. Pointing to Christ

All prophetic words and acts must always point back to Christ. There should never be a point where the prophet has elevated themselves above Christ. If people know your name, your image, how you move and function and not the God you serve, you have failed in ministry. If people are more excited to come see you and see what you are going to say that night, you are placing yourself in a position to usurp the glory of God in that person's life.

The prophet must make sure that they let the people know that all glory belongs to God. Make sure that it is clear and there is no area of doubt. Some people like to say "all glory to God" as an addition to the accolades they get or some byline, because it is typical or customary to say. However, may it never be confused or the lines blurred that all glory belongs to God at every waking, walking, ministry point.

The prophet must always decrease and allow Christ to increase, just as John the Baptist declared in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

9. Student of Scripture

The prophet must be a student of the word. So much error has entered the church on the backs of error and heretical views clothed in the language of modern prophetic movements. Study your word and learn how to properly study your word. It must be a regular daily habit in your life. If you have so many speaking engagements and so much going on that you cannot spend time studying your Bible and praying, you are too busy and it is possible that those engagements, while good opportunities to you naturally, may be spiritual distractions.

The enemy does not always operate in obvious evil actions, but things like having a lot of activities clothed in the name of a spiritual assignment or church event may be actual distractions instead of ordained meetings. If you have so many speaking engagements that they interfere with your ability to study effectively, you have overcommitted and you are too busy. You have to pray and seek God on what to be a part of and what you may need to turn down.

Some may ask, why does it seem like there are different rules for the prophet to live by versus any other church person? Leadership in the Bible is held to a higher standard, even in the New Testament. The Bible says that leaders are to live above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2), which means that if you are in a place of leadership that you cannot do what everyone else does. Scripture also says in James 3:1, "Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment." So if you are in a place where you are leading and teaching others, you will also be judged more strictly than they are. The layperson can use the excuse, "I am only human" when they deal with grave sin issues. The leader should be a person that has gotten past those types of issues to be in a leadership capacity. If they still struggle with major sin issues, then they should not be in leadership. People should not be following them. They should be sitting down learning as well.

Closing

The call to prophetic ministry is not one of glamour or glory, but one of humble service and deep consecration to Christ. As we have examined these nine responsibilities and characteristics of the New Testament prophet, it becomes clear that this calling requires a life of sacrifice, accountability, and unwavering commitment to the truth of God's word. The prophet must remember that their primary role is not to build their own platform or to be seen by men, but to build up the body of Christ and to always point people back to Jesus.

If you sense that God has placed a prophetic calling upon your life, I encourage you to measure yourself against these biblical standards. Are you spending more time in prayer than in public ministry? Are you willing to be corrected by scripture and by the body of Christ? Does your life reflect the character of Christ, not just your words? Are you studying the word of God daily, allowing it to shape and form you? These are the questions that every prophetic voice must wrestle with honestly before God.

Remember, First Corinthians 14:3 tells us, "But the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and comfort." This is your assignment under the new covenant. May we embrace this calling with humility, walk in it with integrity, and fulfill it with the grace that God has so freely given us. The church needs prophetic voices that are consecrated, accountable, and firmly rooted in the word of God. Will you be one of them?

Wisdom for the Consecrated Voices Newsletter

A monthly newsletter by E. Micah Reed for prophets and consecrated believers who desire to walk in truth, reverence, and biblical clarity.Receive fresh writings, teachings, and reflections once a month to strengthen your walk and steady your voice.

👉 Subscribe Here