- Grudem next appeals to 1 Thes. 5:19-21 - “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
- Grudem assumes here that within a given prophecy there can be both good and bad. Paul doesn’t explicitly state this. His exhortation could just as easily mean, ‘hold fast only to the good prophecies’. There’s no direct indication that Paul was referring to a single prophecy that might contain both good and bad.
- It is interesting that Grudem splits NT prophecy into two categories: 1) authoritative apostolic writings and declarations and, 2) imperfect everyday Christian utterances that could contain both good and bad within the same prophecy.
- Next, Grudem addresses 1 Cor. 14:29-40. Here are verses 29-31: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;”
- There is nothing here to hint that the prophecies done in a corporate setting were something other than doctrine related…the oracles of God. In fact, the text seems to give weight to the view that these prophetic revelations were related to truth and doctrine.
- V. 31 “so that all may learn and be exhorted”
- V.29 “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment (or make a distinction)”
- The context here is that judgment (or weighing what’s been said) can and is to take place right there on the spot. The plain reading of this instruction from Paul seems to indicate that as prophets were speaking, what they were saying could be judged and weighed right then in that same corporate setting. There is no indication from Paul that the believers would have to come back at a later time once some uncertain prophecy containing impression on the mind or heart had been made to declare whether or not it in fact turned out to be true. How can this happen except with prophecies concerning known truth…already revealed doctrine?
- NOTE: I am not saying that I believe with 100% certainty that the type of prophecy Paul was speaking of was nothing but the oracles of God. What I am saying is that the text supports the view that whatever was being prophesied, it could be verified or refuted right there in the same corporate setting.- Finally, I want address something regarding some of Grudem’s comments on the type of prophecy he states was in the NT church and which [he believes] exists today. He makes these two statements:
- “There are many indications in the New Testament that this ordinary gift of prophecy had authority less than that of the Bible, and even less than that of recognized Bible teaching in the early church”
- “So prophecy has less authority than “teaching,” and prophecies in the church are always to be subject to the authoritative teaching of Scripture.”
- If this is the case, then why did Paul place prophecy above teaching in 1 Cor. 12:28?
- “And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.”
- There is a clear order here, and one that I believe Piper even acknowledged in one of his sermons. Paul was not randomly listing gifts, but was specifically giving a list in a particular order.
- I have not looked into this aspect at any great depth, but it seems problematic to Grudem’s view of prophecy from an initial examination. IF the prophecy mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:28 is the same type as described by Grudem, then it is troubling that Paul gives it more importance than teaching, yet Grudem gives it less importance than teaching.
- Paul mentions some of the gifts in Eph. 4:11, and prophecy is again listed before teaching.
- “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,”
CONCLUSION:
- Grudem’s attempts to find biblical support for what he calls reporting something that God has laid on the heart or brought to the mind are weak at best, and are misleading and do damage to Scripture at worst. He provides no biblical examples of personal, private revelations from God (apart from those that foretell the future), and the exhortations he appeals to from Paul of how to handle prophecy are solely in the context of corporate worship.
- My conclusion from Grudem’s material is this: IF the kind of prophecy Grudem attempts to put forth is still in operation today, then it is to be done only in a corporate setting, and the body should be able to test it on the spot. There is no basis from Grudem’s material for private, personal guidance or impressions or callings. The only non-corporate examples he provided were prophecies which detailed future events. I still can’t get over the fact that Grudem used direct prophecies that foretold of future events (which came true) to prove the existence of personal impressions that God might lay on the heart or mind, and that are subjective and may contain error.
- I’ll go ahead and jump the gun on my review of Piper’s material to say that, although he assumes the existence of private, personal guidance from God, Piper also does not provide any biblical support for it at all (I will clarify that as I go back through his sermons to make notes and be sure of that statement…but I can’t recall right now any specifics from Piper of personal revelatory guidance from God).
- I do not find Grudem’s position convincing that there existed in the 1st century what he and so many are claiming is happening today in the form of people receiving personal messages from God that contain impressions, leadings or instructional guidance on how to live or details of specific things to do (what Phil Johnson calls IM’s from God…instant messages). From a Scriptural perspective, it just seems to be a total non-issue (unless, of course, people want to claim that they have and are receiving direct revelations from God via audible voices, angels, visions, etc.).- In the larger context of things outside Grudem’s material here on prophecy…am I still a cessationist? I think so. And I will continue to ponder this subject as I study more, including Piper’s material, which is my next task to tackle.
FINALLY:
- The implications of this type of prophecy are critical, because…IF it is true that the type of prophecy Paul instructs about in 1 Cor. 14 is still around today and is supposed to be in practice (and it involves Spirit-led revelations), then aren’t churches who don’t practice this type of prophecy quenching the Spirit? And wouldn’t this be a very serious matter needing the attention of churches and their elders?
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