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)