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Paul exhorted us to test all things and to hold fast to the
good. Because of the context it is clear that Paul wanted us to test prophecy
given by fellow believers. Jesus also wanted us to test the prophets, even
those in sheep’s clothing. Additionally, it appears that this testing could be
extended to all Spirit ministry. The purpose of this testing was for the
believer to be able to tell the difference between what has truly come from the
Spirit of God and what has not. This testing is so that we will be able to
separate the good from every form of evil, preventing our deception.
Why be so concerned about deception? Jesus and his apostles
taught us that in the last days deception would be the main danger. When we are
deceived we believe a lie, but are not aware of it. Since belief is the basis
for all action and relationships, wrong beliefs result in destructive actions
and relationships. Ultimately we will be judged on what we have believed as evidenced by
our actions. True beliefs lead us into a love relationship with God and
others while false beliefs do not. Deception then is a means by which our
healthy relationships with God and others are broken.
Because of this we can see how important it is that we are
not deceived. Now it is true that not all false beliefs are equally dangerous.
Believing that Jesus is not our savior is far more dangerous than believing in,
say, a limited atonement. (I can feel a discussion brewing!) There are areas in
which differences of opinion are not necessarily debilitating and there are
other areas that will destroy our relationship with God. It is important that
we maintain a sense of proportion.
How then can we tell whether or not some spiritual activity
is from the Holy Spirit or not? We will have to have some authority guide us
here. We will have to be taught. Why do I say this? How would any of us know
the answer to this question, for sure? Who has the right to say anything about
this but those who undoubtedly have known this Spirit? This is why I propose
scripture, the Old and New Testaments. No one in scripture has our cultural
biases. And for my money, they are ones who undoubtedly knew the Holy Spirit.
Throughout time people have had to deal with the problem of
who speaks authoritatively for God. Prophecy is where someone speaks for God as
God directs, often in the first person singular. (Rev19:10, 22:6-9; Amos3:8)
People who wanted to know the truth have always had to choose between those who
spoke for God and those who claimed to speak for God. How were they able to
distinguish between the two? What happened in the past and what can we learn
from them?
The first situation that comes to mind is when Noah tried
unsuccessfully to warn the world of the impending flood. Only his family
listened. Even with the evidence of all these animals coming to the ark in
pairs, people didn’t listen. No one had ever seen what Noah was talking about.
Noah spoke of rain, floods, worldwide judgment, and cataclysm of a degree never
before known. Besides, people didn’t want to repent. So Noah got no converts.
Was Noah’s message from God? Yes. But people couldn’t tell because their hearts
were hardened. They wanted their own way regardless. Noah’s message was right
and he persisted with it for 120 years. He built an ark and gathered the animals
(maybe even miraculously) and his family, demonstrating his sincerity. Still,
his message went unheeded.
This shows us several things. The first is just because the
message is strange and no one is listening does not prove that the message is
not from God. It also shows that the reason we are not listening may have more
to do with our hard heart than some flaw in the message. Herein is a key to
knowing the voice of God รป the receptivity of our heart. Do we really want to
hear from God, or do we only want God to confirm our own opinions? Unless we
are open to correction we will have a very hard time hearing from God. Does
this mean that when God speaks he only speaks correction? Of course not. But
unless we are open to whatever God might say, we will have trouble hearing.
Unless we hear, we cannot decide whether the message is from God or not.
Since Moses was afraid that the people would not believe
that God had met with him, God gave him confirmatory signs. This method was
used throughout the Bible. Jesus, the prophets, the apostles all had miraculous
signs to confirm that their message was from God. Yet signs were never given
total confirmatory power. In other words, signs could confirm the message, but
the message had to conform to the standard already given. Signs alone, or signs
with a suspicious message, confirmed nothing. Signs alone cannot accredit the
messenger. But signs can confirm that the message, when the message was
consistent with previous messages from God, is indeed from God. (Dt 13:1-3,
18:21-22)
Why the need for signs if the message was consistent with
previous messages from God? Sometimes it is because the people who are being
communicated with have not understood the previous messages. Take for instance
the coming in of the Gentiles into the people of God. It took many signs from
the Spirit of God to lead Peter to the house of Cornelius. It also took a
mighty demonstration of the presence of the Spirit in the lives of those
Gentiles for the Jewish believers to accept the Gentiles and baptize them. Even
then Peter was called to task by the leadership in Jerusalem. His answer was
simple. Who am I to resist God?
Sometimes signs are used when the message challenges our
accepted beliefs. If it weren’t for the signs, we would not reconsider our
beliefs. Yet signs do not have the strength to change our beliefs on their own.
The message must be, as the Bereans noted, consistent with what God has
communicated before in the scriptures.
Jesus also taught us to Watch out for false prophets. They come
to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their
fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs
from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears
bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good
fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matt 7:15-20 NIV So we can
tell if the Spirit is working through someone by their fruit. This presupposes
a few things. One is that we know this person life well enough to test for
fruit. The second is that we know what good fruit looks (tastes?) like. Knowing
the person who ministers by the Spirit is essential.
I suggest that the fruit Jesus mentions is the same as the
fruit that Paul lists in Gal 5:22 as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. So also in Eph 5:9 the
"fruit of light" is found in "all that is good and right and
true." Contrasted with this are "the unfruitful works of
darkness" (v. 11), the "fruitless trees" of subversive teachers
in Jude 12. One of the characteristics of the "wisdom from above" is
that it is "full of mercy and good fruits" (Jas 3:17, 2 Pet 1:8). In
order to see such things we need to actually know that person. The more a
person is disassociated with the local church the harder it is to assess fruit,
and the easier it is to hide bad fruit.
If the prophetic word is consistent with scripture and is
being communicated through a person of good fruit, it passes the initial test.
All of this needs to done through a relationship with the Holy Spirit. You
might remember when Agabus warned Paul of the binding he would receive by the
Gentiles in Jerusalem. Paul wasn’t hard of hearing, he knew that what was said
was true. He also knew the Lord was sending him and that he was willing to
suffer for the Name. How the prophetic word given to Paul was to be interpreted
by Paul, not others to whom this word was not addressed. So how the word is to
be applied needs discernment.
Paul warns the Thessalonians not to put out the Spirits fire
by looking down on prophecy. Instead they were to test everything and hold on
to the good. Prophecy is one way that God mediates his presence though his
people. If there is a need for anything now, it is for God to lovingly
intervene in peoples lives. Prophecy is one way God does this. Lets avoid evil
by not putting out the Spirits fire.
