In this post I would like to give some Scriptures that, to me, demonstrate what I've called this seamless tapestry between the written Word, the Scriptures, and the prophetic word. One is communicated on stone tablets or on the black and white of written letters on pages of a scroll or book. The other comes through less tangible means, but is equally real and equally authoritative and powerful. We can try and tease the two apart by saying the Scriptures are given to establish doctrine while prophecy is intended to be limited to specific times, circumstances and strategies. But what the two have in common is that they both are direct communications from God to us and they both require faith to receive. I don't have the intellectual gift to be a theologian or a Bible expositor to be able to get into all the intricacies of this matter. But I simply want to bring to your attention the following Scriptures and ask you to consider the possibility that Scripture and prophecy must be held together, not separately.
Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from [present tense] the mouth
of the LORD. (Deut.8:3c)
You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey
his voice . . . (Deut.13:4a)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.
These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (Jn. 5:39)
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various
ways, but in these last days he has spoken to to us by his Son . . . (Hebrews 1:1)
What I love about that last Scripture is that it shows how the movement of God toward us is one of increasing intimacy. And that is precisely why I have appreciated prophecy so much. Prophecy says to me that God is a personal God who loves me enough to communicate in the most personal and intimate of ways. When Jesus prepared his disciples for his having to leave them and return to heaven, he didn't say that he would send them the Bible to comfort them and be their guide. No - they already had the Scriptures! He promised them something much more intimate and personal, but just as authoritative - his presence, in the form of the Holy Spirit. Could we be led astray by "just following the Spirit"? Sure! Just like we could be led astray by just following Scripture (prime example: Pharisees). My point is, we need both. Scripture tells us that truth is established by at least two witnesses. We need the Bible and the Spirit - words on paper as well as revelation that comes by less tangible but equally real means.
I recently heard it said that the rock on which Jesus would build his church was the revelation of the Father. After Peter made his famous confession of Jesus being the Christ, Jesus tells him that flesh and blood did not reveal this to him, but rather the Father did. All the other "rocks" that Christians have argued that Jesus was going to build his church on cannot stand without this revelation of the Father to an individual's heart. And that is the essence of prophecy: God speaking, through his Spirit, directly to us, without the need of the Bible or a church authority. Prophecy is the sine qua non ("without which not") of the Bible and church authority. You can't have either of these without prophecy, but you can have prophecy without the Bible or church authority. God was speaking to anyone who wanted to listen to Him generations before the Bible was ever written (consider Enoch, Noah and Job) and He was obviously speaking during the time of the Scriptures. He is still speaking today to any and all who have a love for the truth. If it sounds like I am putting down either the Scriptures or proper Church authority I would say that I'm only wanting to put them in their proper place, which I believe is also the witness of Scripture and the apostles.
The Word became flesh . . . full of grace and truth . . . and from his fullness have we all
received grace upon grace. (John 1:14,16)
". . . the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."
(Deut. 30:14)
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
the Word of God
I grew up in a conservative, evangelical church tradition which used the phrase, "Word of God". or simply, "the Word", as a synonym for the Bible. Bible study could also be referred to as "getting into the Word" and someone who preached from the Bible was a preacher of "the Word". But the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements of the 20th century added a new dimension to "the Word". A long lost gift of the Spirit - namely prophecy - was coming back into use. More and more believers began to experience what Peter called the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Joel 2:28-32) on the day of Pentecost. Years later the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, exhorting them to "eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy (ICor. 14:1). It was this gift, Paul said, that would cause a visiting unbeliever to "be convinced that he is a sinner . . . and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you (I Cor. 14:24-25)!" Now good, Holy Spirit inspired, Bible preaching can have a similar effect. But what is unique to the prophetic gift is that it doesn't require Bible study and preparation. All that is needed is the anointing or inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And because prophecy comes from the heart and mind of God, it can indeed reveal knowledge and wisdom that would otherwise not be available to us.
But can prophecy be called "the Word of God"? Because of the long history of the Bible being referred to as "the Word of God" I would avoid equating the two. I agree with the teaching that says that only Scripture should be used to establish doctrine. The Bible is our ultimate weapon against the deceptions of Satan, as Jesus himself showed when he answered Satan's temptations with "It is written . . ." But, the fear that embracing the prophetic gift is to undermine the authority of Scripture is totally unwarranted. The opposite is true. When used properly, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Scripture and prophecy form a seamless tapestry that demonstrates the wonderfully creative and diverse ways that God will communicate with men and women. Scripture itself is the best witness to this reality.
In my pursuit of God, of intimacy, it has been the prophetic that has captured me, that has drawn me closer. I have had friends, best friends, who have turned their backs on me because of my continuing pursuit of prophecy. Both of these friends, when I first became friends with them, shared my interest in and belief in the prophetic gifts. But for some reason that eludes me, they both came to a point in their own spiritual journeys, where they saw the prophetic as a threat to the final authority of Scripture. They became what I call, "Bible only" Christians (and it also had to be King James only, interestingly enough). Now I really appreciated these two guys (whom I knew at two different periods in my life, not simultaneously) and would have liked to have continued the friendship with them. But because of my continuing interest in the prophetic, and their increasing suspicion of it, they ended their friendship with me. I felt like I had become contaminated material to them, that they had to keep their distance. Those were two of the most confusing experiences I've ever had. I told one of those friends (who went so far as to make sure that his children no longer played with ours) that his cutting off of our friendship felt, emotionally, like being stabbed in the back.
But do you know what it was that brought perspective and consolation to me at that time? It was a prophetic revelation, entitled, The Hordes of Hell are Marching. This word explained that Satan's number one tactic against God's people is to bring division at every level possible, beginning in the home between husbands and wives, and on up to governmental and national levels. As we draw closer to the end of this age there will be increasing division, and warfare, between light and darkness, and the church will become involved in an all-out civil war within its own ranks . . . Oh-h-h-h-h, so that's what I've been experiencing . . .
(to be continued)
But can prophecy be called "the Word of God"? Because of the long history of the Bible being referred to as "the Word of God" I would avoid equating the two. I agree with the teaching that says that only Scripture should be used to establish doctrine. The Bible is our ultimate weapon against the deceptions of Satan, as Jesus himself showed when he answered Satan's temptations with "It is written . . ." But, the fear that embracing the prophetic gift is to undermine the authority of Scripture is totally unwarranted. The opposite is true. When used properly, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Scripture and prophecy form a seamless tapestry that demonstrates the wonderfully creative and diverse ways that God will communicate with men and women. Scripture itself is the best witness to this reality.
In my pursuit of God, of intimacy, it has been the prophetic that has captured me, that has drawn me closer. I have had friends, best friends, who have turned their backs on me because of my continuing pursuit of prophecy. Both of these friends, when I first became friends with them, shared my interest in and belief in the prophetic gifts. But for some reason that eludes me, they both came to a point in their own spiritual journeys, where they saw the prophetic as a threat to the final authority of Scripture. They became what I call, "Bible only" Christians (and it also had to be King James only, interestingly enough). Now I really appreciated these two guys (whom I knew at two different periods in my life, not simultaneously) and would have liked to have continued the friendship with them. But because of my continuing interest in the prophetic, and their increasing suspicion of it, they ended their friendship with me. I felt like I had become contaminated material to them, that they had to keep their distance. Those were two of the most confusing experiences I've ever had. I told one of those friends (who went so far as to make sure that his children no longer played with ours) that his cutting off of our friendship felt, emotionally, like being stabbed in the back.
But do you know what it was that brought perspective and consolation to me at that time? It was a prophetic revelation, entitled, The Hordes of Hell are Marching. This word explained that Satan's number one tactic against God's people is to bring division at every level possible, beginning in the home between husbands and wives, and on up to governmental and national levels. As we draw closer to the end of this age there will be increasing division, and warfare, between light and darkness, and the church will become involved in an all-out civil war within its own ranks . . . Oh-h-h-h-h, so that's what I've been experiencing . . .
(to be continued)
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