Gregory the Great, the 6th century leader of the church in Rome (making him the most influential man in Christendom at the time), gives us the language we need to understand what is required of those who purport to speak on behalf of the Father. First, we ought not be quick to prophesy:

“…during the early years of our adolescence or youth we must abstain from prophecy, so that the plowshare of our tongue does not dare to cleave the land of another's heart. For as long as we are immature, it is our responsibility to contain ourselves, lest while we show tender virtues too swiftly, we lose them.”

John Cassian was an incredibly influential man in the 5th century. He traveled throughout Egypt learning the spiritual life from the Desert Fathers and Mothers near the end of the 4th century. Cassian chronicled their teachings in his two main works: the Conferences and the Institutes. The Institutes were a codification of what the desert monastics practiced and were written for the western church. The Conferences were a collection of conversations Cassian had with the monastic fathers in Egypt. Though the voice was the Desert Fathers, the pen was Cassian. What comes across is not the exact teaching of each Desert Father, but a reinterpretation for the western church.

The Apostolic Constitutions are a collection of eight works detailing early church life, structure, moral conduct, church discipline, and worship. The work was compiled and written between 350-400AD. It was considered a compilation of what had been handed down from the first century. Book eight begins by dealing with the nature of spiritual gifts. It drew some of its inspiration from the earlier Didache.

In the 2nd century a man named Hermas recorded a series of visions. In these visions a heavenly figure appears to Hermas and makes himself known simply as the Shepherd. The Shepherd shares with Hermas things relating to nature of life in God and issues pertaining to the church. What followed was a series of ethical and moral lessons and instruction in the Christian life. Righteousness and repentance is heavily emphasized. It was instructive in the same way a work like Pilgrim’s Progress was in its day.

The Didache, otherwise known as the Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles by the Twelve Apostles, was an early church document that served as a series of instructions on spiritual and community life. The first part consists of juxtaposing the way of life with the way of death. The second part deals with specific practices within the church, the individual’s spiritual life (i.e. food, baptism, prayer, fasting, eucharist, etc...) and church governance. The Didache essentially functioned as a guide for new disciples to understand what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.

In the first 500 years of church history, aberrant uses of the gifts of the Spirit did not serve as a reason to reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit. What we have seen happening in the history of Christianity, we have seen happening today. Just as in years past, the true mark of Christianity was not the rejection of the ministry of the Spirit wholesale, but the rejection of the aberrant practices. Let no man call what God intended for good an evil thing. Rather, the problem lies within the heart of people, not the gift itself. As we have said earlier in this series, the gift is the Spirit, it is not the ability to work great things. Let us never reject the Holy Spirit and His working the people of God.

Writing a couple hundred years after Palladius’ account of Valens, Isaac the Syrian, a 7th century Christian monk, recounts that there were many people in the history of the church that had accomplished great things through the exercise of spiritual gifts:

“From history, we see that many have performed astonishing miracles, have raised the dead, and have labored to return those who are erring to the straight path and the true Faith; they worked great miracles and by their efforts led many to knowledge of God.”

In the 5th century, a man named Palladius wrote the story of Valens, a monastic from Palestine. Valens was a well regarded monastic whose fervor for discipline had won him favor in the church. The story of is Valens’ is of his slow descent into pride.

“By virtue of the great hardship that he endured, he attained to the highest measure of ascesis but fell into pride, being so deluded by the demons that he thought angels were conversing with him and ministering to his every need.”

In the 2nd century, in an area known as Phygria (present-day Turkey), a man named Montanus had been recently converted to the Christian faith. Asterius Urbanas, who wrote about the Monastist movement, described Montanus as a man with “excessive lust of his soul after taking the lead”. Montanus wanted to be the leader. In meetings, Montanus would become overwhelmed by some spiritual influence and he would prophesy. Eventually, he drew a number of people away from the churches in Phygria and they began calling themselves The New Prophecy movement.

“If somebody appears to have received the gift of healing or revelation, a hand is not laid on him, for the facts of the matter will reveal whether he has spoken the truth.” The Apostolic Tradition

The “facts of the matter” simply meant was the thing true, right or accurate. That prophetic ministry was alive and well in the first few hundred years of the church is not a question up for debate.