We Can All Be Good Prophets
“We are all priests to God and for God.”
The prophetic gift is the most important of all the spiritual gifts in the Bible. Scripture tells us that we should all desire earnestly to prophesy. This gift is essentially repeating God.
We listen to God and then repeat what we hear. But we must repeat it in a way that reflects his heart and character. The goal of prophecy is clear in scripture: to console and encourage.
Good prophets are committed to Scripture.
In the beginning, God set before Adam and Eve two trees, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. All knowledge is God’s and scripture does tell us to seek knowledge, but some sources of knowledge are illegitimate for Christians. For all of us, there is the possibility of deception so we must be discerning. The Bible says that in the last days there will be lots of deception. And Scripture becomes our objective standard to detect error.
Good prophets do not operate out of suspicion.
There is a difference between discernment and suspicion. It is amazing what intelligent people will believe without any real evidence.
Isaiah 8:12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
Regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.”
Our culture has tapped into a deep desire for hidden knowledge. The ancient heresy of Gnosticism is still alive. It is named after the Greek word Gnosis meaning “knowledge”. Gnostics believe the natural, created world is inferior to the spiritual realm. Yet, seven times God says that the physical creation is good. The goal of Gnosticism is to be enlightened by special knowledge and to escape the corruption of the physical world. It makes people super-spiritual and ungrounded. Gnostics often distrust earthly authorities and chart their own course. They say “This world is not my home; I’m just passing through.” But this world is God’s world and He has put us here to occupy, multiply, and rule over it.
Good prophets are loyal and committed to God’s people.
In other words, prophets are not independent voices living for themselves. They are committed to a church and submitted to spiritual authority. A revealing example of an unhealthy prophet in the Bible is Ballam. At a technical level, Ballam had all the skills. He could prophesy. While he was a famous Jewish prophet in his time, God said that he led Israel astray.
Numbers 31:16 “Behold, they caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to be unfaithful to the Lord.”
What was his flaw? For starters, his name means “a man without a people.” He was a loner and his services could be bought by being nice to him. He had no commitments. No loyalties. And no real deep love for others. He was a prophet for hire. Ballam was sought out for his supernatural power to bless or curse. But he was not known for his godly character or his morality.
A contrast would be Moses, the mightiest prophet who ever lived.
Numbers 12:7 - “It is not this way for My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My household.”
God trusted Moses and spoke to him face to face. God did not speak to Moses in mystical, unclear vagueness. Moses in turn spoke to God’s people in clear, understandable language too. He was very committed to God’s people and loved them even pleading with God to spare them.
Good prophets know that they are not the only ones who hear God.
We can all prophesy (1 Cor. 14:31). We are all priests to God and for God. God uses others to speak to us, yet we must each hear God ourselves.
Good prophets know that they know in part and prophesy in part.
No prophetic word or prophet has the final word on any matter.
Good prophets recognize God’s call on pastors and elders to lead.
Scripture always shows a plurally of leaders with a variety of gifts. There is a difference between gifting and a governmental office. We can never try to govern a church or other people by prophecy. So, if you prophesy to leaders of a church, realize there is a discernment process they must follow before any decisions are made. Since God has called them, let them do their job joyfully.
Good prophets know their job is to deliver the word & then let it go.
After you deliver a prophetic word, your job is done. You are a messenger like a mailman. The message is not yours but belongs to the recipient. They are the ones who get to decide what to do with the word.
Good prophets love those they prophesy to.
Never prophesy to anyone whom you do not love. If you are not in love toward them, wait until you are in love before you speak.
Good prophets are looking for gold, not dirt.
1 Corinthians 14:3 tells us that our role is not to expose but to edify, exhort, and console.
Good prophets WANT you to test their words by Scripture.
Scripture is the final authority for all matters of faith and practice. It may also help you if you are still unsure of a prophetic word you received, to take it to someone with experience or someone with spiritual authority.
God is happy to confirm His words and He will even align circumstances to confirm the word.
So, we can all prophesy and we can all be good prophets!
