Discernment is desperately needed in the Body of Christ. We need a clear, clean stream of prophetic grace to flow in our day. The apostle John warns believers of every age:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world (1 John 4:1-3).
As we noted earlier, we have to test the spirits because prophecy, like the other gifts of the Spirit, is delivered through imperfect people.
God has chosen to deliver the prophetic to the Church through the flawed and often immature vessels of humanity. Although “scriptural revelation” was perfect and inerrant, “prophetic revelation” in the Church of Jesus Christ does not function on this level of inspiration.
This is because prophecy is not our only source or way to hear God’s voice. We have the living God dwelling in our hearts and the Holy Spirit leading and guiding each of us daily. Perhaps most importantly, since Calvary, the seer and the prophet serve in a supportive and secondary role to the Bible, which is God’s “more sure word of prophecy” (see 2 Pet. 1:19 KJV), and to the indwelling Spirit of Christ in the heart of each believer.
Another reason discernment is needed is because God has chosen to speak through many people prophetically instead of using just one or two “perfected” people in a generation. Thus there is always the possibility of mixture in the revelatory word, because He chooses to use wounded people with clay feet (see 1 Cor. 14:29). At the same time, all believers have the basic tools to discern truth from falsehood for themselves. The fact that revelation is open for judgment in this age proves its present, imperfect state. But remember, the imperfect state of prophecy is directly linked to the imperfect state of the
people who deliver it—not to an imperfect God!
Evil and deceived false prophets are not the major source of erroneous revelation to God’s people today. Though this is on the rise, the vast majority of “diluted stuff” comes from sincere people who are simply adding their own insights to what started out as authentic, God-given revelation. They “add” to the nugget of God’s prophetic message by drawing from things in their own human psyche, heart, emotions, concern, or sympathy. We need to learn to discern when God has stopped talking and people have continued on.
Some of us over the years have called this “hamburger helper”!
Whenever we share a revelation or vision that God has given us for someone else, we must be very careful to give what God has given and then to clearly label or preface anything else we say as our own interpretations and views concerning that revelation or vision.
God’s Word tells us that we must prove all things and hold fast to that which is good (see 1 Thess. 5:21). At all times we must seek the Lord’s wisdom while refusing to use “wisdom” as an excuse for fear.
We must be careful not to become offended at the genuine things that the Holy Spirit is doing, no matter how strange they may appear to us. Divine revelation and visionary experiences come in many different forms, and it is vital that we understand how to discern the true from the false.
With this in mind, let me share with you briefly five tests to apply to a prophetic message or ministry to help in discerning whether or not it is valid. These tests were suggested by Roger Olson of Bethel College, a scholar with strong ties to the Open Bible Standard Churches; they were included in an editorial by David Neff in
Christianity Today:
1. The Christ Touchstone. If a prophecy promotes Christ and not the prophet, it may be valid.
2. The Apostolic Norm. If it is consistent with the message of the gospel as found in the didactic writings of the New Testament, it may be valid.
3. The Unity Criterion. If a prophecy does not promote spiritual elitism or schism, it may be valid.
4. The Sanity Check. If it does not require the sacrifice of intellect and the mindless acceptance of newly revealed teachings, it may be valid.
5. The Messiah Test. If it does not exalt some individual into an object of veneration, it may be valid.4
Now I know that some of you are waiting for me to dish out
“some of the deeper things” to you by this point. But from my perspective, I would be remiss not to make sure these foundational truths are laid well before taking us further on our “mystical journey.”
With this in mind, we would do well to study the 15 “wisdom issues”
listed below. They will help us learn how to wisely judge the various forms of revelation we will encounter in our adventure with Christ.