1 Peter 4:7-11

[Hidden In Him]

Speaking As The Oracles Of God, The Responsibility Of Every Believer



Were the works of the Old Testament prophets just painting a picture from the past that we are no longer supposed to walk in, or should the great prophetic gifts of old still be in operation today? And is prophecy exclusively the domain of those who walk in the office of prophet, or was it a gift the entire church was called to walk in? Joel 2:28 suggests that the entire end-time church will continue to operate in them, and that from youngest to oldest they will all move in dreams, visions and prophetic utterance. And while this may not be where some of the churches are today, it appears this was indeed how things were during Peter's time, for he will now encourage those who received this letter to "speak only as the oracles of God."

7 The end of all things has drawn near. Therefore be sound-minded and watchful unto the prayers. 8 But above all, possess earnest love amongst yourselves, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, speak as the oracles of God. If anyone serves, serve as through the strength which God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the might for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11)

"Faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God" here meant they needed to be faithful stewards of the supernatural gifts that God had distributed to all of them as congregants. The supernatural gifts were indeed manifold, and being distributed by the Spirit of God to each as He willed:

8 To one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by [f]the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthian 12:8-11)

But notice Peter did not say, "Let only the elders who speak," or "Let only the pastors who speak," or even "Let only the prophets who speak." He simply said, "Let him who speaks speak as the oracles of God," meaning any and all believers were called and required to speak as the oracles of God. This was the same thing Paul insinuated when he told the Corinthians that they could all prophesy. The gift of prophecy was much more prevalent in the early church, and the number of believers who operated in it was therefore much more pervasive:

23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed. And so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. (1 Corinthians 14:23-25)

Paul also told the Corinthians that if anyone was NOT operating in the gift of prophecy that they should pray for the ability to do so. (1 Corinthians 12:31, 14:1) And Peter was now communicating the same thing, and not stressing that only the prophets speak, but that if anyone spoke it should be as the oracles of God, meaning that if anyone gave an utterance before God's people it should be by supernatural means, and he stipulated the reason very clearly: It was specifically so "that in all things God might be praised through Jesus Christ." As in Paul's teaching, when they spoke accurate prophecy over the lives of others, including non-believers, the result was often that falling down they would worship God, and profess that God was truly among them, giving Him alone the praise on honor through all they said and did.

Is prophecy still needed today? I have friends who practice evangelism through prophetic means in a similar manner, and as I will also get into, prophecy is extremely valuable in the spiritual war, and for receiving directives from the Spirit of God on what to do and what not to do. It is like hearing directly from high command, so that ministry is carried out with pinpoint accuracy rather than just haphazardly. But anyone with experience knows that there are and were complications involved, so it pays to become educated on the matter before venturing out into engaging in it.


Dealing With Complications

Similar terminology for prophecy was used throughout ancient cultures, including here, where Peter used the word λόγιον, a word commonly used by the Greeks to refer to the prophetic utterances of their own culture from antiquity. The Jews also used it when referring to prophetic matters, such as in reference to the ephod, an oracular breastplate that was worn and used by the Jewish High-Priest to discern prophetically concerning certain matters (Exodus 28:26 [30], LXX). But there was a difference between prophecies uttered by the Spirit of God and those uttered by demons, and sometimes someone within the congregation of God could be prophesying through an evil spirit. This is why they engaged in what was referred to as "testing the spirits" (1 John 4:1-6). If a spirit prophesying through someone did not attest that Jesus was God and had come in the flesh, it was an evil spirit that was speaking through the person and not God. To allow such a spirit to continue prophesying would be the same thing as allowing a demonically-possessed human vessel from the Oracle at Delphi to prophesy over the people of God, and the churches were not to allow it.



The same thing is unfortunately still possible today. As has been reported by former Satanists who have come to Christ, they regularly attend churches posing as true believers, and in churches where no restraint is placed over making sure the spirits are tested or utterances in tongues are properly interpreted, the result can be that they - or rather the demons in them - are free to utter any blasphemous things they want. The following testimony from a former High Priestess and Bride of Satan attested to this in He Came To Set The Captives Free:

If the particular church is a Charismatic church which places great emphasis on the gift of speaking in tongues, the Satanist will speak in tongues. This is no problem, as demons can speak in tongues very easily. Remember that when I was indwell by Mann-Chan I was able to address any of the foreign dignitaries in their own language fluently... But it is the custom in Charismatic churches for many people to speak and pray in tongues and the same time and without interpretation during their services and prayer meetings. Satanists take great advantage of this. During the time I served Satan, I spoke in tongues regularly in all the meetings and prayer meetings, and so did the other Satanists I was working with. No one interpreted. We were curing the church, the pastor, the members, and God, and no one knew. (Brown, He Came To Set The Captives Free, P.235-236)

There is also the potential problem of believers simply "prophesying" in the flesh, i.e. through their own soulishness rather than by the Spirit of God. The church in Thessalonica was warned that this was a possibility, and to therefore keep the good but discard the bad, yet do NOT forbid to prophecy because of it (1 Thessalonians 5:18-22). But sometimes people feel the need to look "important" in the things of God, so they fake it even when the Spirit of God has not moved upon them to speak. There are even certain factions within the Charismatic movement that encourage everyone to "prophesy," telling them that "anyone can do it, for we all have the Spirit of God within us." This is unfortunately misleading, for while all believers who have received the word of God have the Spirit within them, it takes the Spirit resting upon someone in abudance to operate in the supernatural gifts. The Spirit must be present within them to overflowing, such as took place when the Holy Ghost would be poured upon entire congregations during New Testament times and they would all prophesy and speak in tongues (Acts 19:6). He inhabits the praises of His people, so if someone is heavily involved in Spirit-filled worship then the stage is set. His words are Spirit and Life, so if someone is deeply involved in receiving Spirit-filled revelation from the word of God then the stage is set. But if they're a lukewarm or stone cold believer who is spending no time with God and are out in the world 24/7, or worse yet deeply caught up in strife and bitterness? Telling such a believer that they will "prophesy by the Spirit of God" if they simply open their mouth and speak when the Spirit is barely present is a very spiritually misleading thing to do.

 

[Hidden In Him]

We Bear A Responsibility

So if prophecy can be so complicated to sort out, and if the enemy can use his servants to mimic it through demonic means, why still engage in it? The reason is because God protects us spiritually through the prophetic gifts for one thing. The enemy works to destroy lives, and the prophetic gifts serve to expose his plans and thwart what he is planning on doing so that his strategies will not succeed.

I had a friend whose whole life was under attack just recently. Those serving the darkness were practicing witchcraft on him, and attempting to destroy his ministry. He was under severe depression already, and the witchcraft was on the verge of destroying his marriage and then his life. Events might have soon unfolded that would have left him divorced and living on the street, and utterly incapable of engaging in ministry any longer. But that didn't happen. The dreams we received exposed what might be coming, and he took the necessary steps to see to it that the enemy's plans were thwarted. Those dreams were supernaturally confirmed to us, though for the sake of privacy I cannot state specifically how, but who was using the witchcraft was also revealed, and we know where the trouble is coming from now. We also more recently receiving dreams that a friend of his daughter's is being targeted by a man who practices witchcraft, and she needs to be careful about not succumbing to his stalking behavior, and acquiescing just to think she will be left alone when she will be all the more subjected to spiritual enslavement by him.

We also bear a responsibility to even those serving the darkness. I once heard a prophet speaking a message in church and he spoke about this. He preached off off a passage in 2nd Kings to point out that the gift of prophecy operating through the church proves to them that there is a God in Israel, as it were. In the days of Elisha, the King of Syria became distraught, and wanted to know who was betraying his plans and strategies to the Israelites so that they were always prepared for his attacks. The answer was no one. His problem was that the prophet Elisha was simply reading his mail.

8 Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” 9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” 10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” (2 Kings 6:8-12)

Is this supposed to be some strange thing that the people of God operate in prophetic gifts that protect them from the works of the enemy? Not at all. Peter was here teaching that if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God, meaning it should be the natural thing for those indwell by the Holy Spirit to speak divine utterances that protect us from harm. Moreover, God's word promises that in the end-times the Spirit of God will be poured out, and everyone from youngest to oldest will move in the prophetic gifts and receive dreams, visions, and prophesy by the Spirit of God. We should all speak as the Spirit gives us to speak, to protect, minister, heal, deliver, evangelize, and teach as the Spirit supernaturally gives us to. As Peter stated, we should be using the gifts each of us has received to serve others "as faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God," and do so through the supernatural strength which only HE provides. We are called to do this so that in all things our God may be praised through our Lord Jesus Christ.


Questions & Applications

1. Have you ever heard examples of people witnessing to others by prophetic means, such that the Spirit of God Himself revealed secret details of the person's life and they were so overcome that they gave their life to Christ as a result?

2. Have you ever received dreams that you felt were a prophetic warning, either about your own life or about someone else's?

3. Have you ever prayed for the ability to prophesy or receive dreams and visions, and if so did you feel you might be "unworthy" to receive them? I ask this because while it does take abiding in the Spirit to operate in the gifts, some also face the problem of having a poor self-image, and feeling as though they are somehow "unworthy" of being used. This is of course patty false, yet the enemy uses the mindset to discourage some from ever walking in what should be considered their divine right.