7 marks to aim for that would bring balance to prophetic ministry
When we covered the Prophetic Manifesto on our podcast, Voices from the Desert, a number of you have asked me to put out the seven markers that would balance prophetic ministry in a clear to read format. I offer these seven points to the body of Christ to give us something to aim for. When our aim is amiss even by a fraction, we miss the mark. But when our aim is true, there are few things more satisfying than hitting the center of the target.
In studying the earliest movements of prophetic ministry, there are some significant markers that begin to crystalize. Here are what I believe to be seven distinct marks of early church prophecy that produced health in the body of Christ. May we recapture these distinctives today.
Mark Number 1:
Our aim is to recapture the reputation of the prophets in the early church.
One such prophetic figure was Macarius the Great. Here is what one of his contemporaries said about him:
“Every time I met Abba Macarius I did not say a single word without his already having knowledge of it because he was a Spiritbearer and possessed a prophetic spirit, like Elijah and all the other prophets, for he was clothed with humility like a cloak through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him. He possessed foresight and was filled with the grace of God; the glory of the Lord shone on his face; the consolation of the Consoler, the Holy Spirit, which was with him, came down upon everyone sitting around him. When we were filled with the joy and rejoicing and gladness of his life-giving words filled with grace, we would go to our dwellings, glorifying God and his servant Abba Macarius.”
Just a few notable points about the ministry of Macarius:
He was clothed with humility and it was owing to the power of the Holy Spirit.
He was filled with grace.
The comfort of the Holy Spirit was evident in the hearts of those who encountered him.
He left people full of joy, rejoicing, and gladness.
He caused people to give glory to the Father.
Recapturing the reputation of early prophetic ministry does not mean that we are known for great exploits, rather that we are known for the great comfort we bring.
Mark Number 2:
Authentic prophetic ministry aims for a solid interpretation of scripture.
The earliest defenders of Trinitarian theology were the prophets of the early church. They offered a robust defense of the Apostolic faith throughout the first 500 years of Church history. Anthony, the desert prophet in the 4th century, was integral to the formation of the Athanasian Creed. Here is one such recounting:
"On one occasion, some Arians went to Abba Sisoes, on the mountain of Abba Anthony, and immediately began to denounce the Orthodox. The Elder did not say anything to them; he merely called his disciple and said to him: ”Bring the book by St. Athanasios and read it.” They remained silent as their heresy was disclosed, and Abba Sisoes subsequently dismissed them, after wishing them a good journey."
Mark Number 3:
The primary function of the gift of prophecy is to reveal the nature of God and the heart of Christ, it is not to predict the future.
Prophecy is the ability of man to reveal God. It is granted to mankind by God through His Spirit. This is evident in 1 Corinthians 2:10-12:
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
God fills man with his Spirit that man might be able to reveal the thoughts of God. In the Old Testament, prophets revealed the coming future not because prophecy is intended to predict/reveal the future, but because prophecy revealed the nature of God. God was coming and the prophets revealed his coming. They pointed ahead to the incarnation. Prophecy today ought to be pointing backwards to what God is like. If a prophetic utterance reveals the future, it is only because God has a thought about your future. Prophecy is still intended to reveal his nature, his ways, and his thoughts.
Mark Number 4:
Pursuing an intense regard for humility, silence, and solitude.
Humility recognizes that I can do nothing on my own. I can only move as the Father moves me. Regardless of my social media platform, greatness of gift, or degree of influence, I am capable of nothing apart from God. The problem is that we can accomplish many things in our own strength. And many of those things we claim as things God accomplished. But true humility can only be discovered in silence and solitude.
“Who sits in solitude and is quiet has escaped from three wars: hearing, speaking, and seeing. Yet against one thing shall he continually battle: that is, his own heart.” Anthony the Great
As we cultivate a hunger for silence and solitude, we learn to be visible less and be heard infrequently. A “prophet” or prophetic minister ought to desire silence and solitude far more than they desire to be seen and heard. In silence and solitude, we come to grips with who we are, our failures, weaknesses, and disgraces. We discover in solitude that there is an Other beside me. We find in silence that there is an Other speaking.
The word of the 4th century bishop, Ammonas, sum this up well:
"This is why the holy fathers also withdrew into the desert alone, men such as Elijah the Tishbite and John the Baptist. For do not suppose that because the righteous were in the midst of men it was among men that they had achieved their righteousness. Rather, having first practised much quiet, they then received the power of God dwelling in them, and then God sent them into the midst of men, having acquired every virtue, so that they might act as God’s provisioners and cure men of their infirmities. For they were physicians of the soul, able to cure men’s infirmities. This was the need for which they were dragged away from their quiet and sent to men. But they are only sent when all their own diseases are healed. For a soul cannot be sent into the midst of men for their edification if it has some defect of its own. And those who go before they are made perfect, go at their own will and not at God’s."
Mark Number 5:
We MUST de-shackle the function of prophecy from end-times eschatology.
Many think of the gift of prophecy as the way to navigate end-times events. The problem with this framework is it tends to ask the question: “What future mystery must be revealed?” versus: “What is God like?” Prophetic ministry must always start with the question: “What is the nature of God?” When you start there, it is difficult to move beyond that question. How could you?
Here are a few quotes from contemporary works on prophetic ministry that underscore the problem:
“Prophets play a vital role in God’s predestined plan for the final return of Christ to the earth.”
“The prophets have been given the anointing and responsibility to receive from Christ the proper revelation and application of these Scriptures. They are hidden from the eyes of men until God’s time for that truth to be restored and established.”
This framework for prophecy must be discarded for authentic prophetic ministry to arise. Prophetic ministry reveals the heart of God, not eschatological events. Any mystery in scripture that has yet to be revealed would simply be another way of seeing the mystery of the Divine being. Truth is anchored in who God is, not in what God does or is going to do, or what events are going to happen. A prophet that finds his calling in revealing end-times events already strides amiss of the true mark. Even John the Revelator anchors all of his books in the revealed nature of Christ.
Mark Number 6:
A desire to see the gift used in hidden ways, rather than to build a platform.
Imagine not considering Matthew.
It is far to easy to use the gift of prophecy to build a platform. People are attracted to charisma. People want answers to the questions of our time. Anxiety has bubbled over into a full-blown epidemic. People are anxious for answers about what will come next and what will become of their jobs, finances, families, and inheritances. The difference between someone who speaks the words of God and those who answer empty questions are stark. They are laid out in an early church document called the Shepherd of Hermas:
“And that false prophet, having no power of a divine spirit in himself, talks to them in response to their questions and their evil desires, and fills their souls just as they themselves wish. For since he is empty himself, he gives empty answers to empty people. For whatever is asked, he answers according to the emptiness of the man who asked.”
Compare that with this:
“The one who has the Spirit from above…neither does he speak by himself, nor does the Holy Spirit speak whenever a man wishes to speak, but he speaks when God wishes him to speak.”
It is my opinion that ministries should not be built around the ability to prophecy. The temptation to use the gift for financial gain and to build influence is then directly tied into the fabric of the ministry. As the prophecy goes so goes the ministry. If the primary function of the ministry is to release prophetic words, then prophecies become currency.
The most prolific prophet in the Old Testament prophetic books would be Isaiah. There are 66 books in Isaiah (some claim that the book is written by two different prophets, this manifesto is not the place to debate such an idea). Between those books there are about 60 prophecies (depending on where you see one beginning and the other ending). Some in contemporary prophetic ministry have eclipsed the number of prophecies the most prolific prophet in the Old Testament gave many times over.
According to Ephesians 4, the function of the prophetic grace is to equip the church. Why has the function of the prophetic grace become predicting the future when scripture so clearly predicates prophecy in other ways?
Mark Number 7:
Willingness to revisit leadership structures
Right off the bat I’m not saying I have the answer to this. In the Charismatic/Evangelical church there is a tendency for some to anchor leadership structure in Ephesians 4. This is typically referred to as “5-fold ministry”. While not every corner of the church sees itself as “5-fold”, my observation is that where 5-fold ministry is pursued, it has not produced a healthy, thriving, vibrant Christian witness in our day. I have friends who would point out one or two examples of 5-fold ministry done right. That might be the case (I tend to believe them), but we are looking at the big picture here.
Churches and networks that adhere to a 5-fold ministry dynamic are still rife with financial problems, sexual sin, and fallen leaders. That is not to say that any other ecclesiological system is not filled the same kind of problems. I am only commenting on how 5-fold ministry has not produced health in the global body of Christ as Ephesians 4 claims it will do.
I believe, in part, that is due to inaccurate interpretations of Ephesians 4. An inaccurate interpretation easily becomes a misapplied principle. Ephesians 4 is all about Jesus, it is not about 5 offices for ministry leadership. The point of the passage is to show that Jesus has ascended and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The outworking of that is that certain graces have been established in the church for the work of ministry. That work is to establish the name of Christ in the people who are called by his name.
Reframing 5-fold ministry begins in reframing how we understand Ephesians 4. I love playing basketball. When my shooing rhythm is off, I shoot free throws. I go back to the basics to establish sound principles so that when I play a game, I can make more difficult shots. In fact, my whole warm up routine revolves around practicing the basics. There is a good principle in there for leadership and structure. Bring it back to the basics. When it gets convoluted and out of sync, lets re-examine how we interpret the relevant passages.
As the year has turned to 2024, I offer these seven distinct markers of authentic prophetic ministry to help people wade through what will undoubtedly be a cavalcade of prophecies claiming insight into what will happen in the next year. My test is this: If it doesn’t point me back to a loving trust in the Father I probably won’t listen to it. I hope these markers of the Prophetic Manifesto are an aid to you as you pursue the Father in your own life, in the life of your community, and in whatever ministry expression the Father has called you to. May the Father grant you peace and rest in the coming year.
~ Joshua Hoffert