Last week we began our study of the equipping ministries listed in Ephesians 4 with a brief overview of the apostolic ministry. This week we will continue with the next ministry that is mentioned—the prophets. Of course, the best we can do in such a short format is very superficial, but we will highlight some of each of these ministries.

As we discussed in relation to the apostle, we may perform all the functions of the apostolic ministry at times, but that does not make us an apostle. Likewise, we may be used to prophesy, but that does not necessarily make us a prophet. In fact, Paul wrote that “you may all prophesy…” (I Corinthians 14:31). We also read in Acts 2:17, “And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

Here we see that when the Lord pours out His Spirit, everyone will prophesy—young and old, male and female. So just having prophetic revelation does not make one a prophet. So what makes one a prophet? Again, these ministries listed in Ephesians 4 are offices to which one must be commissioned. There is a difference between being called to something and being commissioned to that ministry. Paul was called to be an apostle many years before he was commissioned.

So how does one know when they are commissioned? If you have to ask that question, then it has not happened yet. When the Lord commissions you to a ministry, you will know it. So what does the commission do for us that changes things from when we were not yet commissioned?

The time between the calling and the commissioning is the time of preparation for our ministry. We may do all of the things a commissioned ministry would do, and it should be a time when we are especially growing in the spiritual gifts that we have been given in preparation for our ministry. However, when the commission comes, there will be an increased authority and anointing that comes with it. The commission is a special endorsement from the Lord Himself that He recognizes and backs up our ministry.

In the world we recognize someone’s position and submit to his or her authority because of that position. If you are in the army and someone has on the bars of a captain, they will be related to according to their rank. Some will be compelled to submit to their authority, and those who are higher in rank will expect the lower ranking officer to submit to them. This is regardless of who is more intelligent, the more resourceful, or the greater leader. It is not supposed to be the same thing in the church. We seek to be led by the Holy Spirit, and therefore recognize the anointing and commissions that is on someone’s life. Only the truly spiritual can even understand this, much less do it. Even so, it is something we must mature into if the church is going to be what it is called to be in these last days.

So what does a prophet do that is disguisable from other equipping ministries? Again, here we must deal with this superficially. Basically, prophets are called to hear from the Lord on a strategic level. This has nothing to do with teaching, writing, or establishing doctrine, but rather revealing the will of the Lord in certain matters. This can be for individuals, churches, the church universal, or even for governments, businesses, or other entities to which the Lord wants to speak.

The ways in which prophets receive revelation from the Lord are quite diverse in Scripture. It can come by an impression, dreams, visions, a word of the Lord, angelic visitations, or being caught up in the Spirit even to stand before the Lord, which makes this an exceptionally exciting ministry. Even so, we are also told that we “prophesy in part.” This means that regardless of how spectacular our revelation came, it is but a part of the whole picture. Therefore, if we are to have the complete picture we must learn to put our part together with what others are seeing. That is why this ministry is almost always referred to in the plural.

In Matthew 23:34 the Lord said, “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes....” For the sake of clarity we need to make a distinction between these three specific emissaries that the Lord promises to send us—prophets, wise men, and scribes. Prophets are sent with words and revelation from the Lord. Wise men have the wisdom that builds the apostolic ministry, which we talked about last week. Scribes are writers. These each have a different function and authority.

We had a good example of spiritual authority a few weeks ago when the stock markets were tumbling. I watched with interest as the President tried to reassure and stabilize them with a speech about how well the economy was doing. The markets dropped even more. Then Alan Greenspan, the head of the Federal Reserve, basically said the same things the next day and there was an immediate positive effect. Certainly the President has more authority by his position than the head of the Federal Reserve, but he does not have more spiritual authority. Both were really trying to address a spiritual issue—fear. Alan Greenspan has built a long record of credibility that the business community respects. He is a wise man in this area. The President does not have that kind of record yet in relation to the economy. Even though he has a much higher position, Greenspan has more spiritual authority than he does in some areas.

Now, suppose someone has built up credibility that he hears from God, so that his message is believed to have come straight from God? That would be a different kind of authority than the wise man has by his wisdom, and much more powerful. This kind of spiritual authority does not happen overnight, unless it comes with spectacular, supernatural manifestations. We see prophets in Scripture gaining authority both ways. The Lord endorsed some them with great supernatural power. With others they grew in stature because none of their words “fell to the ground.” Usually prophetic authority is a combination of both.

However, we need to distinguish prophetic authority from the authority of the “wise men.” The prophets are sent to deliver messages from God, not just have good advice. Just as we discussed with the apostolic ministry, we do not want to settle for cheap substitutes.