The main function of a prophet in the Old Testament was to let people know they they are sinners who need to be judged and in need of a savior. However, in the New Testament the role of the prophet shifted. Malachi described the role of Elijah in the new covenant as a ministry of reconciliation. A prophet can see things not as they are, but as they should be.
We need to learn when God can give us insight, and we aren't to share it. Men are known on earth by the information they share, but in heaven by the information they keep.
It is vital for prophets to work strategically with others in the five-fold ministry in order to build up the body of Christ. Within these diverse relationships, the office of prophet can offer and be responsive to confrontation, a primary tool God uses to bring accountability. God is bringing all the gifts together in one pool in order to equip the saints to be laborers, no longer spectators.
The five fold ministry was given to the church to equip the church. To each person grace is given which is the operational power of God. Grace gives you the ability to do what you couldn't do what you couldn't do a moment ago. The gift of a five fold is not to do something, but to be something. The gift gives you the ability, and the calling gives you your identity.
