“and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.”
1 Corinthians 14:32
Here’s the thing, now that covid is over ( even if it’s just a break in the clouds of war ) it might be a good time for a church culture debrief on how we broadly absorbed and handled the prophetic leadings over the last two years.
The above verse positively swells with truth. The prophet can’t claim he can’t stop talking, under the guise that the Spirit is speaking, is the start. The inherent idea here is that my spirit is subject to me. A solid truth to keep in mind.
The thought goes deeper though. In it’s fuller context it suggests that the prophets, all sitting and listening, have the right and obligation to call a halt to the speaker and either add or refine what’s so far been said.
This makes sense, as we all know in part and prophesy in part. Paul said in another place ‘we see through a glass darkly’ so the idea that one prophetic voice is always sufficient to suss the mind of God is probably not as biblical of a New Testament model as we think.
The idea of a strong prophetic voice, declaring hidden mysteries ( even if they’re of a mundane nature) is certainly biblical. But it’s Old Testament, and that’s the rub.
In the Old Testament the prophet, priest and king pretty much held the franchise on who might be consistently, repeatedly, Spirit filled. That’s not the New Testament model though. As believers, we are all born of and potentially always filled with the same Holy Spirit that animated those great souls that we love to read. This is why, ministry gifts for growth not withstanding, we do not need any man to teach us. The Spirit of Truth living in us bears witness with our spirit…on everything that is a question in our peculiar world.
To allow ourselves to be lead by another’s voice, which we can’t test, into a truth that we haven’t first handled for ourselves is both folly and unbiblical. Beyond that- it positively abdicates the Spirit’s role in our walk to another human being’s understanding and expression of the will of the Lord. This defeats God’s intention for our spiritual endowment.
Of course I’m not saying we shouldn’t listen to other voices. We all need each other and we all need each other’s understanding of who Christ is to them. I’m simply saying one can’t relinquish his own relationship with the Lord and live off of someone else’s revelation- the question is bigger than whether they’re right or wrong. It’s a question of personal responsibility and integrity.
A clever soul might ask how that came to be but that’s THE story for another day. And it’s the story that needs telling the most.