Last week we addressed how there is no substitute for maturity and experience in Christ. This week we will begin to identify some of the ways that the Lord speaks to us. In the coming weeks, we will go deeper into understanding all of these, while keeping in mind that we are not seeking the understanding of a science, a formula for knowing His voice, but rather a relationship to God by which we come to know His voice. As discussed, there are basically only two ways that we know others—by their face and by their voice.
True spiritual maturity comes from being with Him and being changed into His image by the glory we behold. Those who understand this and are devoted to this can mature much faster than those who have known Him much longer but do not pursue this relationship. In our relationship to Him, we must understand that the Lord is the same today as He was in the beginning. He speaks to His people the same now as He did from the beginning. New Covenant prophets have a different purpose than their Old Covenant counterparts, but the gifts and revelation come in the same ways.
There are levels of prophetic revelation. These may or may not relate to the importance of the revelation, but have to do with the clarity with which they come, and therefore how much confidence that we can have in their purity. The lowest level of prophetic revelation is an impression. The higher levels would begin with visions, dreams, hearing the audible voice of God, like angelic visitations, being caught up before the throne of God, and so forth, all of which are biblical and are still happening today.
Regardless of how great or high level the revelation is, one basic to understanding prophecy is I Corinthians 13:9, which says we know in part and prophesy in part, meaning that no one has the entire picture or word. So if we are going to have the whole picture or message, we are going to need the humility to work with others, listen to others, and put our parts together. In the Scripture from Amos that we addressed last week, this is why the Lord said that He will not do anything without first sharing it with His servants the prophets—this is plural, not just a single prophet.
This is why the true and maturing prophets are always found in groups, in fellowship with other prophets whom they are constantly sharing and working with. The “lone ranger” prophets may have real gifts, but I have not known any who did not drift from true prophetic integrity and sound doctrine when they did not stay in a strong committed fellowship with others. Because “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (see Romans 11:29), the prophetic gifts they continue to operate in can be very real and they can amaze you with them, but you probably do not want the fruit of their ministry sown into your work.
Neither is it enough for a New Covenant prophet to just be in fellowship with other prophets; they must have a committed relationship to the whole team of equipping ministries listed in Ephesians 4, and they must have a real and vital local church life. One reason for this is because a basic purpose of the prophet as seen in Ephesians 4 is to help equip the saints for the ministry, not just to prophesy. It is the basic purpose of the saints, which includes the prophets, to be a functioning part of the body, which we see in this same text.
I appreciate and have a relationship with many prophetically-gifted people around the world. I listen to them, and at times have received very important words from them, but if they do not have a strong and vital local church life, I do not let them minister in our local church. There is a saying in Spanish that goes something like “that dog already bit me,” and I’ve been bitten by that one too many times. These can come and amaze people with their gifts, and get them stirred up about seeking the prophetic, which can be useful. However, in relation to the church, I’m not trying to get people to grow up into prophetic ministries and gifts, but rather to grow up into Christ. This includes having those with prophetic callings to grow in Christ, not just their gifts. To fully accomplish the purpose of the prophetic, we must have a vision for the body of Christ and how it is to grow up into Him, and we must be vitally connected to it to be a part of this.
As we see in Revelation 19:10 “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Therefore, the true and maturing prophetic ministry is always testifying of Christ and seeking to help His people grow up into Him. The vehicle for accomplishing this is His church. I have experienced virtually every form of prophetic revelation and have many friends who have as well, but it has been a long time since I’ve been impressed by gifts or experiences. I’ve learned to look for fruit. The fruit that I’m looking for is that someone’s ministry turns people to the Lord, not to them, and that the character and nature of the Lord is demonstrated and imparted.
For this reason, as we begin to discuss in some detail how the gifts function and the revelations come, I will continue to remind about the fundamentals. The most successful people in every field are those who do the basics best, and this is no less true of ministry. The most basic of all for us is that we love God above all, and we love His people. This is why the greatest prophetic gifts in the New Testament were given to John, whose basic message was loving God and one another. There is nothing that exempts prophets from having the fruit of the Spirit in their lives just like everyone else, and the truly great New Testament prophets will be fundamentally devoted to the greatest message of the New Testament—love. They will demonstrate this by being vitally connected to His people in real, living relationships.
