I wonder if those who are constantly prophesying about the body of Christ have ever considered that the body of Christ, biblically speaking, refers to all of God’s family in Heaven and earth (Ephesians 3:15) and is constantly changing on earth because there are saints who die every day and there are new members being added throughout the world daily.
Unlike some who call themselves apostles and/or prophets, the New Testament apostles never once attempted to guide the whole body of Christ through prophetic words. Such prophesying is man made.
In the New Testament, addresses were made to different churches within the body of Christ. We can see that the words of Jesus to the seven churches was different from church to church.
Also, when Paul addressed the church at Corinth, he addressed them as the body of Christ. Yet, his appeal to other churches (as the body of Christ) was different because of other concerns.
The Corinthians were carnal believers and not spiritual (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) and so Paul addressed them as carnal men. Yet Paul’s letter to the Philippians is completely different, and his exhortations to Timothy and Titus was different as well, because unlike the Corinthians, Timothy and Titus were spiritual men with oversight among local believers.
A trend within American church culture is the ideology of many so-called apostles and prophets who think they receive words from the Lord to direct a large potion of the body of Christ.
Such thinking is a fallacy.
The church is led by the Holy Spirit of God, and the gifting of an apostle or a prophet serves only on a limited scale (1 Corinthians 12:28). God did not set apostles and prophets in the church to guide and direct the church.
The church is under the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ and is guided by his Holy Spirit. Apostles and prophets serve within a limited capacity as they are to work in harmony with all the other gifts God bestows on believers.
Rooted and Grounded In Christ 