THE PROPHET IN ORDER

Ephesians 2:19-20

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

In this chapter we will talk specifically about the operation of the gift of the prophet. To do so, however, requires us to put the gift in perspective as to its place in the Body.

APOSTOLIC ORDER

I can most assuredly say that most of the chaos from the message in the Body of Christ is due to the lack of apostolic order. Most pastors, teachers and prophets in the Body are lone rangers as it relates to apostolic order. And let me be clear here for the benefit of those who might take issue with the term apostolic, because they might be of a Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic, etc., persuasion. Well that is neither here nor there. The term apostolic order is used here because God used the apostles to set up the structure of the church, install the revelation of Christ and set the boundaries of the faith. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). It is the apostles who defined and installed the doctrine of Christ in the church. This responsibility was not given to the prophets or to any of the other gifts. “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” (Matthew 13:10-11).

GOD’S ORDER IN THE SCRIPTURES

Ephesians 4:11

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

These are the gifts Jesus placed in the Body for the perfecting of the church. However, in the next passage is where we see the order in which these gifts were set.

1 Corinthians 12:28

28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

In the above passage we see the setting of the order of the gifts in the Body of Christ. Note that the prophets are placed in a secondary position to that of the apostle. It is the apostles who are the first to be given a completed revelation of Christ. They are the ones given the responsibility of installing that revelation in the Body of Christ. They are also sent to lay the structure of the church and its operations. In fulfilling all these responsibilities they are charged with setting the boundaries of the faith. It was the apostles who settled any disputes regarding the message of Christ. It was the apostle who gave instruction to how the gifts were to operate in the churches. It was the apostle who set the order of those gifts, even that of the prophets.

1 Corinthians 14:29-33

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

The apostle also settled the issue as to whether women were allowed to minister in the services of the Lord. And he did so in response to any man that declares himself to be a prophet or carrier of any other spiritual gift.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35

34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

When theologians, pastors and teachers are not led by the Holy Ghost in rightly dividing the word, there enters much chaos into the Church. A lack of knowledge and understanding can cause severe schisms in the Body of Christ. In their unlearned state, many practitioners cite these two verses using them to ban women from ministering in the church. However, they are not aware that this is indeed not Paul’s position concerning women ministers. He is simply sighting or referencing a women or rather the conclusion they informed him of that they had come to. It was their policy that women should not be allowed to say anything in the church. The next verses really express his feelings about the matter.

1 Corinthians 14:36-38

36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Now if you are truly a spiritual or if you are indeed a prophet, then you will be able to judge that the words I speak are not my own, but they are the commandments of the Lord, says the apostle.

SETTING THE PROPHET’S GIFT IN ORDER

Again, in each of the passages above, we see that the prophet’s gift is always mentioned after that of the apostle. This secondary place in the government of God has a very strong and powerful value. It is a witness and confirmer of the revelation of Christ given to the apostle. This is where we see the greatest operation of the gift of the New Testament prophet. Let us look into the testimony of the apostle Paul.

Ephesians 3:1-5

1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

Note that once again we see the prophet’s gift proceeding after that of the apostle. This is due to the measure of the grace of Christ that is given to every man to profit with. The apostle was given the charge of establishing the faith and setting the structure of the church. That structure included installing and identifying the role of the prophets of God, as we have seen in earlier scriptures. This, by no means, makes the apostles of the Lord any greater than the prophets of God. The excellency of the power of both gifts are of God. The two simply have different responsibilities.

So then, what is it exactly that the prophets of God do? As stated in an earlier chapter; Prophecy is also and quite primarily, the declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means. It is a declaration of the heart, mind, and will of the Father. This is also where the church has been cheated relative to this gift of the prophet. It is not readily understood that the role of the prophet is to declare the mind of God regarding His people and their tenure in this world. But in doing so, the prophet confirms the word or the revelation of the mystery of Christ given to the apostle.

The prophet is the witnessing voice of the apostle. The mystery was revealed to them, each in their own measure. Out of the mouth of two or more witnesses, every word shall be established. When the apostle speaks about his knowledge in the mystery of Christ, let it be known that such knowledge is to be confirmed by the ministry of the prophets of God.