Do we have prophets in the Church of the Lord Jesus today? Some people tend to believe we have. In the Reformed Church we believe “prophets” were a temporary gift just like “apostles”. Together with the apostles, they were the foundation of the Christian Church.
Eph 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Generally, the gift of prophets had two functions …
(1) They brought new revelation as well as truth from God to His people. Theologians called this “revelatory”.
(2) They foretold what was to happen, Theologians call this “predictive”.
We understand that being temporary like many of the other gifts mentioned in the Scriptures that God used to authenticate the Early Christian Church, His use of prophets would end … but when? We believe that once the New Testament’s Revelation was completed (once the Canon of Scripture was completed), God withdrew this gift together with others. Having the full and complete Bible which is inerrant, inspired, infallible and authoritative … and all we need for life, salvation, holiness, service and heaven. So … Do we have prophets in the Church of the Lord Jesus today? Let’s answer the question like this …
(1) We do have men speaking prophetically today. These are pastor teachers (teaching elders) who spend time in the Word of God and Prayer, seeking God’s mind to reveal to His people. In other words, they expound the Word of God before His people in the congregation. Once they have found the true meaning of God’s Word, they speak it prophetically to His people.
(2) The Gift of prophecy as in the Old and New Testament no longer exists. It has been withdrawn. Having the Bible we no longer need this gift! Please read:
Ac 15:30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
1) The Missionaries and the delegation from Jerusalem set off to Antioch.
Ac 15:30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
We do not know how long they journeyed, nor how long it took before the Church Gathered. What we do know is that Paul and Barnabas would have played the major role in assembling the Christians for a meeting. It was vital that the whole Church be together because of the content of the letter. This is the reason most Churches issue a minimum two week notice before they have a members meeting. The more members gathered the better so that everyone get exposed to all the information needed to be disseminated.
2) Receiving the letters content.
Ac 15:31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
Although the text says the people read it, perhaps a better rendering would be … “It was read to the people”. Passing the letter around might have happened, but most likely it was read to the full assembly first. The content of the letter was an encouragement to the Church. The restrictions it contained were a small price to pay for their full acceptance into the faith. Further, compared to the discouraging words brought by the Judaizers, the information now received was a huge encouragement to them. This letter contained an overriding message of love and acceptance. Gospel grace was evident. They now knew without doubt they were saved and were right with God. The joy experienced was not only inward. The letter’s content was the cause that found an outward expression. We can only picture the letter’s content to be an answer to the Church’s prayers. Again this reminds us that we need to be in prayer about many things, especially …
(1) Problems in the Church, that it would be resolved by God, for His will is safer than man’s will.
(2) That the spiritual leaders of the Church might be quick to find God’s directive about problems in the Church, and His ways to resolve them. (3) As His people, we need to be in prayer for those who bring God’s Word to us. Just as preparing a sermon and preaching it is a spiritual gift, so is readying oneself to listen to the message and be open to hear what the Spirit has to say to us. Mostly and sadly, the biggest problem in most Churches is one of prayerlessness. Maybe the problem lies with the spiritual leadership who don’t use the blessings of prayer correctly and sufficiently resulting in little taught about prayer resulting in little prayer in the pews. If we want to know God’s mind and see fruit in our lives and in the Church, we need to pray!
3) The encouragement of Judas and Silas.
Ac 15:32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
It’s possible that the phrase … who themselves were prophets … was these men adding their gifts to those of Paul and Barnabas for the purpose of encouraging the Church. Every ministry of the Christian Church needs to exist for …
(1) The purpose of comfort (encourage). Many of God’s people are lonely and insecure. They live in and amongst families that might not be Christian. They are often treated badly, abuse and ignored. They need to be comforted, especially through the Word of God being shared with them.
(2) The purpose of securing them in the faith (strengthen). The word means “to make fast”. Again this is done through the Word of God. To tighten one to the “Faith”, to bind them to the Lord Jesus more and more, people need to be taught the Bible carefully, to their understanding. Often people are thrown into deep doctrine before they can nibble on the elementary truths. Never forget babies need milk before soft food and then solids. This is true for new born Christians.
4) A settled Church.
Ac 15:33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
Peace and love prevailed. The delegation could then return to Jerusalem after spending time with the Body refreshing them together with Paul, Barnabas and the others (likely the elders who were appointed in chapter 14:23). Two observations for all Churches would be …
(1) Teaching. The word “taught” here means teaching or instruction in the widest sense. Just as the apostles and prophets were the foundation of the Early Church, their teaching remains the foundation of the Church on earth. This means, according to Matthew 28:20, disciples are made through teaching the whole Bible. Please note that when a believer has no desire to grow in Scripture that person might not be a believer at all. The reason this is said, is because the Holy Spirit grants a hunger in the soul for spiritual food and this food is in and from the Bible and no other place!
(2) The word “preached” relates to “proclaiming the Good News”. It is evangelizing the lost. It is preaching the Gospel. Both these aspects of ministry are vital and need to be in every Church. Preaching the Gospel is important to reach the lost but equally, it is important to remind believers where they come from. Teaching the Bible is important because without knowing the deeper truths from the mind of God, real change from the mindset of the world to the mindset of God shall not take place.
Father, we rejoice that the hardships the Antioch Church experience were sorted in the most beautiful way. As they pursued teaching and preaching, help our Churches to be committed to do the same. Amen.