The Prophethood of Every Believer

The Prophethood of Every Believer November 13, 2018

The Prophethood of Every Believer

“Prophecy” means many different things to different people. Here I mean by “prophet” someone who speaks God’s truth to God’s people and to people with power. Often this includes making people uncomfortable by pointing out their sins—personal and social.

The Bible describes certain people as called by God to be prophets and to prophecy. From the earliest extra-biblical writings we know there were prophets among late first century and early second century Christians especially in the Middle East.

Many people have come to equate “prophecy” with foretelling the future. Most biblical scholars say that in the Bible most prophecy was forthtelling—speaking truth to God’s people and to rulers.

The New Testament mentions a “gift of prophecy” and in 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul expresses his wish that all of his readers in Corinth would seek the gift of prophecy or at least that they would all prophecy. Some biblical scholars interpret that as hyperbole because in the same context Paul asks whether there is any one gift of the Spirit given to all.

*Sidebar: The opinions expressed here are my own (or those of the guest writer); I do not speak for any other person, group or organization; nor do I imply that the opinions expressed here reflect those of any other person, group or organization unless I say so specifically. Before commenting read the entire post and the “Note to commenters” at its end.*

I think the best way to interpret this apparent paradox is to believe that Paul had in mind two distinct types of “prophecy.” On the one hand was a special gift given to some to speak the word of the Lord to the congregation—probably addressing certain specific issues and problems. On the other hand was a general gift offered to all believers to speak God’s truth to God’s people and to people with power.

Today, in the twenty-first century, there are many Christians in the world who claim to have a special gift of prophecy. This is especially common among Pentecostals, charismatics, and so-called “Third Wave” Christians. (All can be lumped together as “Renewalists.”)

Protestants especially have believed in the priesthood of every believer and that has been interpreted differently by different Protestants. At the most basic level it simply means freedom and ability to go directly to God in petitionary prayer for oneself and for others—without any needed human intermediary.

I want to suggest that we need to develop a parallel concept of the prophethood of every believer in which “prophecy” simply means speaking truth to God’s people and to all people, especially people with power, without regard to whether it is comfortable truth or uncomfortable truth.

By no means am I denying a special gift of prophecy such as mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians, but I admit I don’t know exactly what that is. I have seen and heard it exercised on rare occasions, but I don’t claim to have a systematic theological account of it that answers all questions.

I suspect that true prophecy challenges the status quo and calls for God’s will to be done in specific circumstances. It is usually discomforting, although it can also be comforting. I believe it is always discomforting in a context of complacency or outright sin and/or injustice.

Some years ago I, after my transition from Pentecostal to Baptist, I sat in a “solemn assembly” church service where the church leaders gathered on the “platform” and asked the congregation to pray and wait on God for God’s will for the church in a time of crisis. After long silence a woman relatively new to the church spoke out with a “message” that, in my opinion, was exactly what God wanted that congregation to hear at that moment. It did not sound at all like a mere opinion; it sounded like a biblical event of prophecy.

I believe Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prophet without a special “gift” of prophecy. Others I could name are Alexander Solzhenitzyn, Dorothy Day, David du Plessis, Foy Valentine, Mother Theresa, Walter Rauschenbusch, William Stringfellow, and, yes, Stanley Hauerwas. Obviously I do not mean that everything these people or any other prophets were or are right about everything. What I mean is: they had/have the courage to speak out to Christians and people with power in ways that troubled the status quo and pointed toward God’s will that would require sacrifice.

Of course I do not expect everyone to agree with my list. And I expect many people will want to add it. I am not inviting such responses; I am only expressing my own, personal opinion.

My opinion here, today, is not so much who have been prophets (without a special charismatic “gift” of prophecy) but that all and every one of God’s people are called to speak truth even when it makes others uncomfortable—if it is God’s truth.

How does one know if a message is God’s truth? First, of course, it has to be consistent with biblical revelation, continuous in some way with biblical prophecy (as forthtelling). Second, it has to bring attention to that truth rather than to the prophet himself or herself. Third, and finally, it must offer hope with obedience.

The New Testament gives clear instruction that such prophecies should be tested by the people of the congregation especially noted for their spiritual depth, wisdom and ability to hear God’s voice.

But it is possible that a congregation or other community (including nation-state) is so deaf to God’s voice that a prophet among them is only a “voice crying in the wilderness” whose words are rejected because they trouble the status quo and call for sacrifice.

Here is my opinion offered for response. Please stick to this in your responses. Every Christian church ought to encourage every Christian to speak God’s Word, as he or she hears it, and give him or her a platform (metaphorically speaking) for expressing that message. Every mature Christian ought to speak out in some forum, in some form, about injustices among the church and/or secular rulers. When the prophetic “forthtelling” message is given to the congregation, the elders (whether called that or not) ought to discern prayerfully whether it is from God. When it is given to the secular rulers only the priesthood of the believer prevents the prophet’s congregation from interfering even if they disagree with the message.

Jürgen Moltmann is, I believe, a prophet without a supernatural gift of prophecy. In his book Ethics of Hope he calls for Christians to act on behalf of the downtrodden of the earth and on behalf of the earth itself and for generations yet to come whose “shalom,” well-being, we are endangering with debt and devastation (of the environment). Clearly one of his “models” is the late German evangelist and theologian Christoph Blumhardt who was the only Protestant state church minister to refuse to support the German war policy in 1914.

*Note to commenters: This blog is not a discussion board; please respond with a question or comment only to me. If you do not share my evangelical Christian perspective (very broadly defined), feel free to ask a question for clarification, but know that this is not a space for debating incommensurate perspectives/worldviews. In any case, know that there is no guarantee that your question or comment will be posted by the moderator or answered by the writer. If you hope for your question or comment to appear here and be answered or responded to, make sure it is civil, respectful, and “on topic.” Do not comment if you have not read the entire post and do not misrepresent what it says. Keep any comment (including questions) to minimal length; do not post essays, sermons or testimonies here. Do not post links to internet sites here. This is a space for expressions of the blogger’s (or guest writers’) opinions and constructive dialogue among evangelical Christians (very broadly defined).


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