From everything we read and know of the Old and New Testament, we realise that the main reason God gave prophecy was to keep His people on the straight and narrow or encourage and warn them to come back to Him if they were living in a wilfully sinful way or living according to ways that were right in their own eyes, but not right according to His ways. Primarily, this is the same reason God gives prophecy to His people today, and this is why it is edifying and it is considered a 'gift' to the people of God through Jesus Christ. Prophecy is always edifying for a few reasons (notice how all of these things are based on and encourage our faith, love and walk with the Lord):
1) If we are already rightly following after the Lord, it encourages us to keep doing so, knowing that spiritual protection is guaranteed if we continue, and also being aware that physical protection will often be granted as well (although not always if the Lord has a special purpose in mind, usually connected with our service or our being more conformed into His image through the fellowship of His sufferings).
2) If we are already rightly following after the Lord, it reminds us of the hope that we have to know that we have a God who is in control of all things, even those things that seem chaotic, random, and that may involve hardship, suffering and loss.
3) When prophecy we’ve been given in the past starts to be fulfilled when we go through very tough times, if we are rightly following the Lord, it protects our faith and trust in God and strengthens it (1 Timothy 1v18-19)
4) Prophecy shows us just how much God loves us and is concerned about our lives- both spiritually and physically.
5) Prophecy shows us that we have a heavenly Father that loves us so much that He does not want us to be harmed or destroyed by a sinful life (and He doesn’t want us harming others because of our sin), both for the present and for eternity. We have a Father who is concerned enough about us to do everything to prevent us from going down a destructive path as a result of the consequences of our sin.
6) Prophecy shows us that we have a heavenly Father that, if we are not swayed by His grace, loving kindness and His voice, is even willing to give us extra discipline (above what we already receive if we are true children of God- see Hebrews 12v7-11) us to get us back on the right bath, or to protect our salvation/eternal destiny (*1 Cor 11v30-32). However, prophecy shows that the Father would rather us avoid extra disciplinarian judgment by turning back to Him before the prophetic event happens (if that event is to do with hardship or judgment or both).
7) Through prophecy the Lord can give us hope for the future to know that there are good things ahead. These can come in the form of promises (2 Peter 1v4) or revelations which show us what God is going to do in the future, either to pour out His Holy Spirit or work great works amongst His people or to save the unsaved.
8) God gives ministerial gifts through prophecy:
1 Timothy 4v14: Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
We know that anything the Lord or the Holy Spirit reveals to us is edifying and is important, as it comes from a loving God who cares greatly about us. Prophecy is essentially the Lord’s voice giving us knowledge of something to come for a definite reason and purpose, and that purpose is always good. At the end of the day, the Bible tells us that the gift of prophecy’s purpose, just like every other gift’s purpose, culminates in the following:
Ephesians 4v11-16: ‘v11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.’
So, in this coming new year, may God bless you through each of the gifts of the Spirit, including the prophetic, not only so that your faith and love for Him will be protected, strengthened and grow, but so that you’ll be equipped for ministry, edified, become unified with others in the Body of Christ, know the Lord and not be carried about by all kinds of ungodly doctrine and deceitful men. And also so that you’ll be able to speak the truth in love, grow up in Christ, benefit others in the body of Christ by what the Lord has given you for that purpose (and so allow the Lord to join and knit you more closely with other Christians), and so edify yourself and others in love.
No comments:
Post a Comment