The Prophet in the Church of God

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether My word will befall you or not.’ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other was Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, an­swered and said, ‘Moses, my Lord, forbid them!’ Then Moses said to him, ‘Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!’” Num. 11:23-29.

A prophet’s primary task is to be a mouthpiece or spokes­man for God on earth. In the days of Noah all flesh had cor­rupted its way on earth; God spoke to men, but only Noah had an ear to hear God’s Words. Abraham was also a prophet. We read that when King Abimelech intended to marry Sarah, God spoke to him in a dream in the night. “‘Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.’ But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, ‘Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, “She is my sister”? And she, even she herself said, “He is my brother.” In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.’ And God said to him in a dream, ‘Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; there­fore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.’” Gen. 20:3-7.

God has a special care for His prophets. Like Amos they often have lowly thoughts about themselves and are aware of their poverty after hearing what God has spoken to them.

“Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah: ‘I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.”’” Amos 7:14-15. God has found the proph­ets faithful and He knows their hearts. He places them in the ministry and watches over them. They have an authority in the Spirit when they continue in faithfulness and do not seek their own.

A prophet needs to be trained by another prophet. When David sinned, God immediately raised up another prophet to correct him, and He sent Nathan to David to tell him how He viewed the situation. “Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’” After the prophet explained the situation to him, David said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” See 2 Samuel 12:1-13.

Prophets are also especially vulnerable, because they are God’s spokesmen to mankind. God watches very closely and is careful to keep and protect His prophets. Jesus was a prophet, and God awakened His ear every morning. A prophet’s ears are keenly attentive to hear the voice of God in the moment, and he allows himself to be led by the Holy Spirit to speak and do what is most beneficial for the church. “We have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private inter­pretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Pet. 1:19-21. In the prophetic Word there is no smell of the sweat that comes from the will of man. The prophetic Word only comes in purity when a person has the attitude, “I was born yesterday and know nothing.” God will never allow the will of man to overpower Him. Those who place their hand on the ark will be struck down to the earth. God Himself will care for the work of His hands, and the church is the cen­ter of His attention.

It is not always easy to understand the actions of a prophet and why he does what he does. And he himself does not al­ways understand, but it is a matter of following the leading of God within him. That is why the Scriptures exhort us not to despise the Word of prophecy. 1 Thess. 5:20. The people have always, in every age, mocked and persecuted the prophets. The prophets stood in God’s counsel and exposed the sins of their generation and preached about the things to come. Such words are not well received except by those whose whole heart’s desire is to live a God-fearing life.

Often a prophet’s lot is to say or do things that don’t seem very “Christian” to others and which are not so easily under­stood but which, nevertheless, are prompted by God’s thoughts and His care for the church. Therefore a prophet cannot submit himself in a human way under a shepherd or teacher in his home church, unless not doing so would cause discord in the church. In many ways, a prophet must remain more free within the church structure than the other servants of God need to be. He must be free in his spirit to serve the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to allow the Spirit to have complete control of him. “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” 1 Cor. 14:32-33. No strife or discord will result from this, because He who works all these things is the Savior of His body.

It requires a special faithfulness to remain in the counsel of God and not allow yourself either to be flattered by the people or to stand before the face of man. “And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, ‘Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.’ Then the mes­senger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, ‘Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord en­courage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.’ And Micaiah said ‘As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.’” 1 Kings 22:12-14. When a prophet has this heart and mind, the other servants in the church should take heed to the prophet. Among those who stand in the counsels of God, a divine order reigns in these matters. Often, the other servants of God do not understand the matter the way the prophet expresses it from his own insight and from the grace that is over him. From among the prophets, God has taken out for Him­self some to be apostles. Apostles are emissaries who have been sent out, and they possess all of the spiritual gifts in varying degrees of fullness.

A prophet’s ministry is to lead people to God, as it is also written about Jesus: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” 1 Pet. 3:18. God can lead us into certain circumstances in life where it can seem to the human eye as if a righteous man is unrigh­teous; if at the same time in the church an unrighteous man is being regarded as righteous, this by no means decreases the prophet’s suffering.

Without a prophet, a church cannot be built—unless it re­ceives help from others. A prophet has the ear needed and the ability to do what is necessary to build the church, so that each individual member can grow and develop. He has a clear vi­sion of the church in his mind’s eye and labors consciously and purposefully, as Paul writes in Colossians 1:28 and 29: “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.”

David was a shepherd and a prophet—a very blessed com­bination. People with these spiritual gifts often become a tre­mendous blessing to the church when they are faithful. With­out a shepherd’s mind, however, they can easily become spiri­tual tyrants. Light is never given to rule over people or to dominate them. It is given to enable you to serve and give your life for the others!