Saturday, June 18, 2011

So brothers, earnestly desire to prophecy...

In the OT, prophecy was in many cases prediction of the future. It was reporting and recording the exact words of God, and the phrase “thus says the LORD” made it known that the message to follow had divine authority.

But as we turn the pages to the NT, who is speaking with divine authority? Are these men described primarily as prophets? The answer is no, they are described as Apostles. In fact, any time Paul, Peter, or any other writer wants to claim divine authority, they do not appeal to the title of prophet but rather, Apostle.

As we begin to study “prophecy” in the NT, it becomes clear that it is not on the level of Isaiah’s “thus saith the LORD”. I Thess. 5:19 says, Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. I Cor. 14: 29 says “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.” Do you think an Old Testament prophet like Isaiah would have said, “Listen to what I say and weigh what is said—sift through it and make sure it’s right!" Doubtful. And why should they judge other’s prophecies if they were really the authoritative word from God? Paul, in instructing the Corinthians in the proper use of the gift, even makes the distinction clearer when he says, “Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.” (I Cor. 14:36-37) So Paul is saying that his words are God’s words, but prophecies are something less.

So what then is prophecy in the NT? I agree with Wayne Grudem’s definition: “telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind.” It is not on the level of Scripture, and should always be tested. It is fallible, and can be wrong as it has come through merely human words. (So, for example, “I think the Lord is showing us”…, or “I feel the Lord is moving me to tell you…”) It is not fallible, but is being open to direction from God and speaking it. We are commanded to earnestly desire this gift. Why? I believe that we should so have our minds saturated with the Bible, and our hearts in tune to the heart of Christ, and our spirits so in sync with the Holy Spirit, that we can be moved, led, and guided by him in our lives, and thus prophesy to the edifying of the body of Christ. Rom. 12 says that we should prophecy according to the measure of faith, and as a persons’ faith grows through knowledge of the Word, God will guide, partially, through this gift. This study has caused me to take a hard look at how I operate as a Christian. I don’t think I have been open enough to God’s leading, and in his prompting to speak to others! I have been so skeptical and leery of what I have seen (which has been extremes mostly), that I think I have closed myself to this ministry of the Spirit in my life.

But won’t some people abuse this gift and claim that everything they say is from the Lord?
I’ll end this post with the caution and encouragement that Grudem gives in his discussion of prophecy:
“If the gift of prophecy begins to be used in a church, the church should place
even more emphasis on the vastly superior value of Scripture as the source to which
Christians can always go to hear the voice of the living God. Prophecy is a valuable
gift, as are many other gifts, but it is in Scripture that God and only God speaks to us
his very words, even today, and throughout our lives. Rather than hoping at every
worship service that the highlight would be some word of prophecy, those who use
the gift of prophecy need to be reminded that we should find our focus of joy, our
expectation, and our delight in God himself as he speaks to us through the Bible.
There we have a treasure of infinite worth….”

So for discussion: Do you agree with this understanding of prophecy in the NT? If you somewhat agree, how can this function in the church in a practical way, and how can we benefit from it? What fences could we build to protect against abuse of the gift?

7 comments:

  1. Thanks Fitzy for bringing up another topic in the 'things in the Bible that I've really never thought about but probably should' category. I know I've heard the prophecy=preaching explanation a few times and never really thought through it enough to challenge it. Doesn't seem to be a fair interpretation though. As for the definition proposed here, I don't know. Seems to be middle of the road enough to appeal to cessationalists and non-cessationalists both. Not sure how it works though. If the message is divine in origin, but prone to misinterpretation by the receiver, and additionally must be checked against the scriptures, what purpose does it serve? What separates it from 'inspired' expository preaching? I tend to see it much like I see the previously mentioned gift. Could it be for today? Maybe. Is it for today? I don't know, I'm skeptical. I will be skeptical of anyone saying they've got a message from God. Not because I'm certain God doesn't work that way anymore, but I just haven't experienced Him doing it.

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  2. I find that most people I hear talk on prophecy are just using the term in foretelling the future events in regards to end times. But as I read I Corinthians it seems to be referring to encouraging, building up, strengthening the believers. What if prophetic speaking would be as practical as telling someone "if you continue to spend more than you make you will end up bankrupt" or to encourage someone who down? A friend of ours tells the story of a time when she had taken a group of kids to creation music fest and two students from the group wandered off and got lost. They were searching all night long and at one point she was praying with a lady who was speaking in tongues yet our friend (who is not a tongues speaking charismatic) understood what this lady was saying and turns out they found the kids the next morning exactly how this lady prophesied it would. Granted that is the only story I have heard of that is that sensational; however, I believe it shows that the gifts of the Spirit are still active today. I believe as Paul says we should seek the gifts but he also states we should seek love more than sensationalism (my paraphrase). I would interpret that as saying we can show love at all times to those around us which would include prophesying in the way of encouraging, exhorting-more practical ways but be open to the possibilities that he may do something amazing through us.

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  3. Sorry, I was trying to preview and ended up posting before I signed off.
    Keith

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  4. Keith - I think what you wrote is how I am feeling about this whole subject. I am not into sensationalism, but at the same time I wonder if I am short-changing my brothers in Christ if I don't even give a second thought to desiring and exercizing this gift, and if maybe they could be helping me and others.

    Krook - I guess the difference between expository preaching and prophesying would be the spontinaety and the specificity of the message. The Bible doesn't speak to every detail. I'm with you though, if someone says "God told me....", and there 100% certain, I would be leery. I'm kind've working through this issue via the blog, so I don't know myself what I think yet:)

    Fitzsy

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  5. is prophecy a gift for every dispensation? I Cor 13:8
    -Huff

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  6. Hey man, good to have you on here! To comment on your question, I guess it would depend on your definition of 'prophecy'. Prophecy as found in the OT dispensation I would say no longer exists. But prophecy in the NT as I defined it earlier in the post, I would say is for the present dispensation (I think:)) Still thinkning through it a bit.

    Fitzsy

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  7. I know I am late on this subject but i want to jump in. First we have to look at when the scriptures say the gift exists do we have a right through our reasoning to say it doesn't exist regardless of what our interpretation of it is. But to go deeper I would say it is partially what you described originally, but also Paul in Corinthians describes it as an understanding of the deeper things of God. Which I think does agree with your original thought. How do we monitor it? By allowing it to be judged and discerned by others. No matter what principle or doctrine comes forth in the name of Christ there will always be those twisted self-seeking people there ready to abuse it or pervert it. We cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater simply because others have misused it, but we must take the gift that God gave us and use it as he intended for His glory.

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