Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Love and Communication
3. How Prophecy is Different Than Scripture
4. The Nature of God’s Word
5. The Absolute Necessity of Prophecy Today
6. Notes

Introduction

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the need for leadership cross-pollination in church leadership contexts, highlighting the importance of the teacher role. In this series, we will discuss the nature of prophecy and the nature of Scripture. The apostle Paul stressed the importance of prophecy, probably above all the others (1 Cor. 14:1). There can be some confusion around what prophecy even is, and how Scripture is authoritative over the practice of prophecy in church settings (and outside the four walls too). Conservative brothers and sisters have some reservations about the gift of prophecy which shouldn’t always be dismissed out of hand. There have been many people who have tried to prophesy to someone, only to be completely wrong or misleading. People can abuse God’s name by claiming to hear God, and manipulating people. But when used right, prophecy can provide massive empowerment and encouragement.

The charismatic movement has rightly pointed out the need for prophecy, and there has been some fierce debate on both sides about how to properly integrate the practice of prophecy with the authority of Scripture. Prophecy and Scripture are both manifestations of the voice of God, but usually one side will over-emphasize prophecy at the expense of Scripture, and vice versa. The result has been that leaders from both sides of the debate have become more than a little heated in their exchanges.

Love and Communication

While both charismatic and conservative Christians criticize each other’s practices and theologies in practical terms, usually referencing over-emphasizing Scripture or over-emphasizing prophetic experiences, I think this is the wrong way to view thinking about Scripture and prophecy. How we handle the Scriptures is a matter of love and communication, not simply about a practice in church. When we charismatics prefer experiencing God directly through prophecy instead of through Scripture, it’s sort of like a spouse preferring one form of communication in order to connect.

Suppose your spouse had a journal or diary that contained the deepest part of their hearts, and contains the intimate history about their character, and explains why they are the way they are today. In fact, this diary is actually what drew you to your spouse. Wouldn’t it be odd to say, “sorry honey, but I prefer to talk directly to you and experience you face to face instead of reading your diary” (the charismatic way). Conversely, wouldn’t it be equally odd to say, “sorry honey, I don’t really need to have new experiences with you when I have your wonderful diary” (over-emphasizing Scripture).

No, there should be an equal fascination with both your spouse’s history and experiencing them in the present! When we view one form of experience as higher than another, there is a real risk that the relationship can become lopsided. Those who emphasize the importance of Scripture often miss the fact that Scripture itself expects everyone to be able to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:31). But on the flipside, charismatics can often treat Scripture like an outdated training manual that was there for the past but not so much the present.

Both opposing mindsets actually do not honor Scripture in its fullness. Conservatives will pick and choose what parts of 1 Corinthians apply today, and charismatics may sometimes not believe that Scripture really is what we need for training in righteousness so that we can be equipped (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Both mindsets are in some way sawing off the branch they are sitting on, because they both in different ways reject the foundation of Scripture.

One mindset may obsess over the branch so much so that they never actually use it for its intended purpose, while another thinks the branch is too boring and outdated. Scripture and prophetic revelation are meant to go hand-in-hand, and prophetic revelation is always subservient to Scripture. But Scripture also demands prophecy and experiences with the Holy Spirit to be ongoing.

How Prophecy is Different Than Scripture

Scripture is inspired by God, and therefore “sets the standard” for all future revelation; prophetic utterance is never meant to be of human origin and can never contradict Scripture, because God cannot contradict Himself. So if anyone ever attempts to give a word from God that contradicts the fundamental doctrines of the faith and goes against Scripture, we know that prophecy is being given in error; we should tell that person that they are contradicting Scripture and that they need to search their hearts.

But oftentimes Christians narrowly define the “word of God” to mean only Scripture. The problem with this view is that Scripture itself does not define the “word of God” this way. In fact, the authors of Scripture didn’t have a compiled New Testament, because they were writing it!

For the authors of Scripture, God’s “word” was an ongoing phenomenon in and through the body of Christ, especially the 12 apostles. We’ve already seen how Paul expected every member of the church to be able to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:31). When people say “I don’t have the gift of prophecy” or “that’s not my gift” I always think of this verse, because it shows us that everyone can grow in hearing the voice of God! If there is any gift that everyone can have, it is prophecy. Instead of thinking that this gift is predetermined by God for us, Scripture actually presents this gift as a wide open door for anyone to pursue. In my personal life, I have grown leaps and bounds in this gift from where I first started. This is because it is a gift the Spirit wants every person to grow in. If we don’t believe we can grow in it, it is either because of bad teaching or unbelief.

Some conservative Christians have mistaken the gift of prophecy for simply speaking the words of Scripture; they rightly understand that Scripture is from God, so anytime we speak Scripture we are prophesying. This is only half true, since the Scripture does not define the gift of prophecy as only words of Scripture. Theologian Sam Storms rightly points out that

Some have mistakenly equated NT prophecy with preaching, but Paul declares that all prophecy is based on a revelation (1 Cor. 14:30)…the apostle likely has in view the sort of divine disclosure or unveiling in which the Spirit makes known something previously hidden (Matt. 11:27, 16:17, 1 Cor. 2:10, Gal. 1:6, Eph. 1:17, Phil. 3:15). Thus, prophecy is not based on a hunch, supposition, inference, educated guess, or even sanctified wisdom. Prophecy is the human report of a divine revelation. This is what distinguishes prophecy from teaching. Teaching is always grounded in an inspired text of Scripture. Prophecy, on the other hand, is always based on a spontaneous revelation. Thus Paul clearly distinguishes between coming to the corporate meeting of the church with a “word of instruction” and coming with a “revelation” (1 Cor. 14:26). ¹

But this is not the only part of Scripture that assumes an ongoing process of receiving new “revelation”.

The author of Hebrews exhorts the congregation to “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns us from heaven.” (Heb. 12:25, NASB, emphasis mine). Note that the voice of the Lord is being depicted as something being heard in the present tense, not the past tense. The author of Hebrews expected the congregation to have a present, ongoing experience of hearing God in the now.

The author of Hebrews also makes an interesting connection to 1 Corinthians 14’s purpose for prophecy:

So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness…

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”

(Heb. 3:7-8)

In the middle of these two OT examples of hearing God’s voice, the author places a special emphasis on encouragement. Paul described the purpose of prophecy as encouragement (1 Cor. 14:3). These verses also use the present tense about hearing God, which clearly assumes an ongoing experience of hearing His voice! One might object and say, “well this is about hearing God through Scripture.” The problem with this objection is these verses are referencing a moment in Israel’s history where they heard the voice of the Lord through a present experience of Him in the wilderness when they rebelled. They shouldn’t harden their hearts as they “did in the rebellion” (v. 15).

These are examples of how we need to let Scripture define what the “word of God” means; it does not only mean the inspired text of Scripture, but any words that truly come from God. God is ultimately the Author of all truth. In the same way that we grow to understand our spouse by becoming deeply aware of their history, their heart, their pain, and their deep dreams or desires, we can judge whether or not a friend that claims our spouse said something is wrong or right. A human report of my spouse’s “direction” or “word” to me must be filtered through intimate knowledge of my spouse. This is how Scripture is to function—it is the deep intimate history of God that allows us to know Him, so when someone claims to hear something from God we have a standard by which we can judge prophecy. He chose to first reveal Himself through Scripture, and in this way Scripture is “authoritative” over every prophetic word, but prophetic words also carry their own “authority” in our lives if they come from God.

The Nature of God’s Word

In addition to God’s “word” being sharper than any two-edged sword, it is described as “living and active” (Heb. 4:12). As one commentator has written,

The description of God’s word as ‘living and effective’ signifies that it is performative; it possesses the power to effect its own utterance. ²

The Lord says of His own word, “…it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isa. 55:11). The word of God takes on a life of its own. Jesus even said that His words were full of “…the Spirit and life…” (Jn. 6:63).

Paul taught that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training are all verbs that Paul expects people to connect to Scripture; we should be using Scripture for all those verbs in our relationships. Every good work can be taught through Scripture; there is more in Scripture then we currently know.

But for Paul, God’s “word” was not limited to the words of Scripture, but also came through ongoing and dynamic prophetic revelation—and it came from the Author of Scripture. This is why we know that true prophecy cannot contradict the written word of God, because God is the source of His words. His word is consistent, and His first words are Scripture. Since God alone is perfect, and primarily spoke in the past through Scripture, He will not contradict it in the future. As we receive prophetic revelation, we are receiving it after the inspired canon of Scripture was closed. Because our prophetic revelation is second in time, we always have a prior reference to test it with; prophetic revelation is always wrong if it contradicts the written word of God.

I couldn’t help but notice the fact that the “living and active” nature of God’s word directly contrasts with the mindset of rest the author of Hebrews is encouraging the congregation to embrace; God’s word as “living and active” is placed in the center of the discussion on entering God’s rest in Hebrews 4. Instead of us being “living and active” in our own strength, it is the word that is performative, rather than our own willpower, “for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” (Heb. 4:10). Only two verses later, the author then describes the word of God as living and active.

The word of God as a sharp sword is probably following the tradition of the prophets in the Old Testament; the imagery is not new. For example, Isaiah says that “He made my mouth like a sharpened sword…” (Isa. 49:2). In the grand vision of Revelation, John sees a sword coming from the mouth of Jesus (Rev. 2:16, 19:15), and Paul admonishes the Ephesian church to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17). Paul also uses war-like language to describe prophetic revelation about Timothy’s calling (1 Tim. 1:18).

Jesus says “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (Jn. 6:63). “‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” (Jer. 23:29). “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.” (Ps. 29:3). I’ve written another article about what these “waters” actually mean, but in short, these “waters” refer to the spiritual realm and its effects in the natural world. These verses show us that God’s word (prophetic revelation and Scripture) carry spiritual power that affects the natural and spiritual realm; but it is not our word, but rather His word that carries latent supernatural power for performing the impossible. When we can trust in His word, the Lord will break spiritual “rocks” in pieces in and through us.

The Absolute Necessity of Prophecy Today

Having distinguished the difference between prophecy and teaching, it is certainly notable that prophecy is given a higher emphasis and encouraged more than teaching in 1 Corinthians 14. In the majority of the evangelical world, what churches practice is actually the opposite of what Scripture teaches; teaching and knowledge of Scripture is emphasized above prophecy, even though proper knowledge of Scripture should actually lead to a greater emphasis on prophecy. It is also notable that the apostle Paul gives a higher priority to the prophet role than he does the teacher role when listing the different gifts to the church (1 Cor. 12:28). Interestingly, while everyone is encouraged to seek the gift of prophecy, Scripture teaches that not many should become teachers (James 3:1).

Prophecy is also extremely important because where we stand on it determines a massive component in how we pray and relate to God on a day to day basis. There is a wisdom that we need that Scripture alone cannot provide. We do not always know the best way to handle a tricky situation that has no black and white answer (Prov. 24:4-5). Cutting out the ability to hear God’s voice is not egregious simply from a doctrinal point of view, but because it actually blocks us from receiving moment-by-moment wisdom from the Lord. What career path is God calling us to? What godly causes should I give to? Where should I live? Where should I plant a church? Who should be on a church planting team and who should not? When should I go into a dangerous area to do ministry? While Scripture can provide a nudge in the right direction, these questions require prophetic revelation. Wisdom from Scripture may provide multiple wise options, but ultimately the Lord knows the best option in any given situation. In fact, the most wise option may look like the most foolish option (1 Cor. 1:27), and the heroes of the faith in Scripture followed prophetic revelation from God. They did some things that looked like absolute stupidity (e.g., Abraham leaving his country, sacrificing his son, marching around a huge walled city for 7 days, marching out into battle with worship instruments at the frontline, etc.). Cutting out prophecy leaves us helplessly dependent on our own wisdom and strength, forfeiting God’s authority to direct our day to day lives in situations that are impossible without the Spirit’s guidance.

We may not always see this in Scripture, but Paul was really serious about encouragement. When reminding the Thessalonian church of his ministry to them, he says of himself that “…[he] dealt with each of [them] as a father does with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging [them] to live lives worthy of God.” (1 Thess. 2:11-12). In the same way that Paul prioritized the gift of prophecy and defined it in terms of “encouragement and comforting” (1 Cor. 14:3), Paul also understands his ministry to the Thessalonians first in terms of encouragement and comfort, and then urging/exhortation, which is more associated with teaching.

He also commands them to “…encourage and build each other up…” (1 Thess. 5:11) towards the end of the chapter, which is probably another allusion to prophecy and encouragement. While traveling through Macedonia, Paul was “…speaking many words of encouragement to the people…” (Acts 20:2). We shouldn’t underestimate the power of encouragement, no matter how large or small it can be. The Spirit of God is serious about our encouragement!

While prophetic encouragement was always present in the ministry of Paul, so was teaching and bringing words of instruction and writing Scripture. Paul’s entire world was shaped by the OT Scriptures, and this was the deep well he drew upon for his teaching ministry and his prophetic ministry which stands on the shoulders of Scripture. If we do not make this distinction clear, we are not properly honoring God’s authority in our lives.

Paul and Barnabas were included in a list of “prophets and teachers” in the book of Acts, which we will explore more in the next article in this series. In the biblical context then, prophetic encouragement and teaching go hand in hand, complement each other, and are channels of God’s “authority” in and through our lives.

<— Part 1: The Need For Leadership Cross Pollination

Notes