As promised, here is an additional chapter for the E-Book “How do we know?” I recognise that not all readers will be continuationalists on the gifts of the Spirit and not all will agree with my approach to prophecy. However, I hope this is helpful for you too and you can make use of some of the stuff here by way of analogy.
We have seen that there are two categories of Revelation. General Revelation describes the way in which all that God does reveals something of who he is. God’s General Revelation is seen in creation and in God’s providential care for us through history. Special Revelation describes God’s specific revelation about redemption in Scripture, it’s about The Law and the Prophets and the foundation provided by the Gospels and ultimately, Christ himself is the Word, God’s special revelation to us.
I’ve also argued that a lot of the debates and concerns about contemporary prophecy, words of knowledge, dreams, visions and pictures are best resolved by recognising the distinction between Special and General Revelation. Concerns that prophecy might undermine the authority and sufficiency of Scripture are dealt with when we see it as coming under the category of General Revelation.
This also helps us to think about how such revelation is to be treated. It is to be checked, weighed, discerned. More importantly, it is to be understood and interpreted through the lens of Scripture. This goes beyond ensuring that the prophecy doesn’t contradict Scripture. Scripture has true authority because it governs the interpretation and application of the prophecy.
Encouraging prophecy in the church
In 1Corinthians 14:1, Paul tells us to especially “eagerly desire … prophecy.” This does suggest that it should be encouraged in the life of the church. How do we do that? Well, I think there are five things we can do.
First, we should be teaching our churches about gifts of the Spirit and this should include teaching about prophecy. This might form part of a topical/themed sermon series or it could be that attention is drawn to the topic when preaching through a passage as part of an expository series (e.g. 1 Corinthians 12-14 or Ephesians 4).
Secondly, we should be spotting people with a particular gifting. I think the nature of gifts is that anyone at any given time might use a gift for the benefit of the Church, However, there will also be those who consistently show a gifting in a particular area. We should recognise when and where this is happening with prophecy, just as we would with musicians and preachers. This means that we will value people and their gifts. This means spotting and encouraging those who are inexperienced in gifting. It also means identifying those who are experienced in a gift and valuing them in the life of the church. The aim is that gifts are multiplied. Just as one of our concerns is to see evangelists encouraging and equipping others in evangelism, so too, we want to see prophets encouraging and equipping others in prophecy.
Thirdly, it means training and equipping people in the gift. I don’t see a conflict between recognising gifting and encouraging training and practice in a gift. We can recognise natural talent for languages or music but expect the linguist or musician to put the work in. Similarly, we expect those supernaturally gifted to preach to train, study and prepare. I believe it is true for the prophet as well. There may be ways in which we might apply this to those praying with faith for healing.
Fourthly, it involves giving space for prophecy to happen in the life of the church. This means that we need to make sure that we aren’t rushing things in our gatherings. It also means signposting ahead at the start of a meeting to let people know what they can expect to happen. Sometimes, the space for prophecy is given during corporate worship floing out of singing and prayer. However, if we want God’s Word to govern what is said, then perhaps a good time to create space is after preaching and this can be one of the ways in which people respond.
How we hear
It is worth observing that we are all wired differently and I think that God works with this. So, for those of us who are more visual in our thinking and communication we might expect more visual encounters whether in dreams or getting a picture of something in our mind. Others among us tend to be more verbal/oral and that’s where what has been termed “Words of knowledge” tends to come in. Then there are those who are naturally sensitive and intuitive to emotions and feelings.
I also wonder whether, as much as hearing God, what we see with some aspects of prophecy is a particular intuitive ability to read General Revelation. It is notable that the Old Testament prophets were referred to as seers and partly that’s about seeing, or getting a vision of God but it is also about seeing the world around us from God’s perspective and seeing what God is doing.
Learning to see and to hear
What might prophetic training look like? Well, I think there are four aspects to this. First, if a prophecy is governed by Scripture, then we want those who prophecy to be governed by God’s Word too, so that the Word of Christ lives richly in them. So, it may be surprising to hear but the starting point means helping prophets to know their Bibles and handle them correctly. The lst thing you want is the prophet who unwittingly offers a distorted, conflicting interpretation of Scripture. Additionally, if they don’t know how to read and handle the Bible well, then how will they be able to use it to check and discern their prophecies? I would encourage those who are regularly prophesying to take the same kind of training that preachers do, this will include some Biblical exegesis and some doctrine.
I used to train people in approaches to process improvement, particularly around lean manufacturing techniques. One of the main parts of that training was about teaching them to learn to see, to be able to observe what was happening. Indeed, the approach that Japanese companies such as Toyota would use would be to get new engineers to go onto the factory floor and spend a whole day simply watching and observing. Part of this is I think helping people to learn how to observe the big picture. Teach them some church history so that they can see how God has been at work over time. Help them to learn how to observe human behaviour too. Teach them Christian ethics. Then, closer to home, encourage them to make observations about your church without asking them to prophecy. Simply get them to make observations about what they see and hear. This is the second part of training.
Thirdly, there’s the practical side to things, actually helping them to learn to hear what it is that God is specifically saying at this time and in this context. This is why I talked above about the different ways we hear. Partly this is about helping people to know themselves and be aware of how they hear. We’ve found it helpful to sometimes set aside a life group meeting for this and to give people space to pray, reflect and then share what they think they are seeing or hearing.
Fourthly, we need to train them how to discern. In fact, I would argue that this is the most important part, for two reasons. First because I think this is where things often go wrong. We rush to both share what we’ve heard or seen and to interpret it. Often, the problem is not with the reporting of a word of picture but when the person giving it offers their own interpretation which primarily reflects their own priorities and prejudices. Secondly, because if General Revelation means that everything that God does acts as self-disclosure or revelation, then I do think we can say that God is speaking all the time. Thst’s why I would ecnnourag epeople just to start by sharing what is on their mind, or what they have seen, even what they have dreamt. God may be speaking even in those funny , late night cheese induced dreams. The discernment is two-fold. First, it is about recognising the relevance and nowness of something, that is is not just something for my personal reflection but rather needs sharing with another person or the wider church. Secondly, it is about helping them to learn to read that revelation through the lens of Special revelation. Helping them to see how Scripture governs and interprets it. This also means recognising where the World or the Devil is seeking to distort our vision, filtering out the things that go against God or distort his word.
Preparing to prophesy
As I’ve suggested, there will be space for spontaneous prophecy but I also think we should be encouraging people to prepare to share. I think this would sharpen things and raise expectancy if we knew that there were people who had committed to listen to God in the week. This preparation should include:
- Prayer: Specifically taking time to ask God to show us what he is doing and saying.
- Reading Scripture: This will include reading the passage for the coming Sunday. It will help at times for the preacher to share in advance what they are going to say too.
- Jotting down notes
- Talking with others. I think at times there can be a secretive, mystical and individual approach to prophecy. However, if we were to share what we were beginning to hear with others, especially church elders and those with a prophetic gift, then this will sharpen our approach.
- Sifting: They should be doing their own discernment
- Crafting: Just as a preacher takes responsibility for communicating effectively, so too the prophet needs to choose their words and images carefully and be ready to share something that is punchy and persuasive.
Discerning prophecy
Finally, when the prophecy has been delivered, it needs to be discerned. I think that at times, we can rush and miss this but it is perhaps the most crucial part of weighing and valuing prophecy. Discernment might include the following considerations.
- Has the person heard/seen and reported accurately?
- Is what they have shared pertinent? Who is it for? Was it just for them, for a specific person or people? Or was this pertinent and relevant for the whole church?
- Is it for now or for later?
- Do we have the right interpretation? Remember, the person may have heard/seen/reported accurately but may have brought their own interpretation.
- Is the prophecy being shaped and governed by Scripture? This is more than just looking for a simplistic example of contradiction.
- Does it glorify God so that we are saying “Jesus is Lord?”
Faithroots 