Summary
Wayne Gruden’s book, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today (Wheaton, Crossway Books, 2000), is a comprehensive and biblical review of prophecy in the Scriptures. With balanced hermeneutical methods, he unveils the nature of the Old Testament prophets, the prophetic ministry of the New Testament, and the value and practice of prophecy in the contemporary church. Combining sound deductive reasoning with a relevant didactic approach, he also discusses the issues that have emerged within evangelical Christianity regarding the office of apostle and prophet, clearly rejecting their contemporary usage with solid exegetical evidence. He also tackles those who position themselves on both sides of the spiritual gift spectrum- the “cessationists”, who believe that the prophetic gifts are no longer for today, and those in the charismatic camp who place an overemphasis on prophecy. He strikes a practical balance, encouraging both sides to take a closer look at the biblical data and be receptive to a new approach. With Scriptural safeguards in place, he also encourages those who have never been exposed to the gifts of prophecy to expand their understanding and be open to the experience of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Beginning in the Old Testament, Grudem states that the prophets functioned as messengers from God who spoke with absolute divine authority. Since the prophets’ words were the very words of God, the messages were beyond challenge and demanded strict obedience. However, in the New Testament, the apostles took over where the Old Testament prophets left off. Citing a number of parallels, Gruden notes how the apostles were divinely appointed, spoke with absolute divine authority, and wrote the inspired books that make up the canon of the New Testament (27-29, 235). Though the apostolic ministry ended when the apostles passed away, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost bestowed the gifts of the Spirit upon the church, enabling people to prophesy revealed messages from the Lord. Though the nature of the gift of prophecy is delivered through imperfect human means and requires evaluation by the church, it is for the church’s benefit and is intended to be in operation until the return of Christ.
Reflection
Grudem, as an ordained Baptism pastor, is surprisingly refreshing in his approach toward spiritual gifts. He repeatedly highlights Paul’s exhortation in 1 Corinthians to “eagerly desire” the gifts of the Holy Spirit and especially the gift of prophecy. Throughout the book, he highlights how prophecy is intentionally designed for the “upbuilding”, encouragement, and comfort of the church and is a ministry all believers can potentially participate in and develop through sound biblical teaching and the leading of the Holy Spirit (140).
Regarding the controversial issue of the office of the prophet in the contemporary church, Grudem provides a number of biblical examples that deny the existence of the office of the prophet even in the early church. He states that there is no evidence of tension between the gift of prophecy and the office of prophet anywhere in the New Testament (157). In other words, there did not exist any privileged group who held a leadership position over those who had a prophetic gift among the churches. He also states that no one had the ability to prophesy at will, but the gift of prophecy was instead a spontaneous gift, used whenever someone received a revelation from the Holy Spirit (170). Additionally, Grudem notes how the prophetic gift was something that could mature and develop through faith, and was not something someone had ownership of, emphasizing the “progressive” over the “possessive” nature of prophecy in the New Testament (175). Thus, the office of prophet was not in operation in the early church and is therefore incongruent with the context of the contemporary church.
The author also illustrates how the gift of prophecy, or congregational prophecy, was never considered on the same level with Scripture. Instead, prophetic utterances were subject to the authority of Scripture and the careful evaluation of the church (209). He provides five different examples in the New Testament where prophecy was placed in a subordinate role to Scripture, citing how the church is called to “test” and “weigh” prophetic words, and how, on at least two occasions, prophecy was either inaccurate or disregarded (286). The nature of prophecy in the New Testament is thus, not authoritative, but is instead the impartation of divine revelation conveyed to and through an imperfect human being, or as Grudem defines it as, “an unreliable human speech-act in response to a revelation from the Holy Spirit” (76).
The author’s description of apostles, as an exclusive group of divinely appointed and empowered men who operated under the same authority as the Old Testament prophets, is a novel perspective that has significant theological implications for the evangelical church. If it is true that the apostles held a divinely appointed position that enabled them to preach repentance, deliver people from demons, and heal the sick with greater authority and spiritual power than the rest of the church, then any contemporary teaching that suggests that the believer has the same authority as the apostles would be inaccurate. As an example, the passage in Matthew 10, where Jesus gives his disciples authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness, is often preached and applied to contemporary Christians who believe they too, possess the same authority for deliverance and healing in their own context. However, if this authority was only granted to the apostles, who operated under a parallel authority to the Old Testament prophets, this exclusive authority cannot be applied to other followers of Christ. Though there are other passages in Scripture that denote the believer’s authority in Jesus’ name, Christians would be in error if they appropriated apostle-only passages and applied them to their own lives. However, since this is a common belief among evangelicals, could these Christians have a false sense of spiritual authority, believing they have the same authority as the apostles? Though Grudem does not address these issues, his theological understanding of apostles necessitates a reexamination of how certain apostle-only New Testament passages are personally applied in the contemporary church.
Another area that Grudem discusses is the role of women in regards to prophesying and judging prophecies in the church. He states that New Testament teaching clearly encourages women to participate fully in the prophetic gifts but forbids them, or exhorts them to “keep silent” with regards to the evaluation of the prophetic words. Paul’s instructions, though considered gender disparate by the current cultural context, conversely highlights the inclusive nature of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Understanding that the divinely imparted message is filtered through the human mind, men and women will prophecy differently, according to the uniqueness of their gender, enabling a creative interpretative method that has the ability to speak intimately and powerfully to everyone in the church. Though the ecclesiastical leadership roles differ when it comes to judging the validity of the prophecies, the prophetic gifts are equally available to both genders and are designed to operate corporately and speak personally.
Grudem has also confirmed most, if not all, of the commonly held doctrines regarding prophecy in The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC). Though there are divergent opinions at times, generally speaking, the PAOC has historically promoted the operation of the public gifts of prophecy in the local church. They have also emphasized that prophetic utterances are not considered the word of God, but are merely human words about something that God has brought to mind. The PAOC has also encouraged the evaluation of prophecies according to Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians, with the right to reject utterances that do not build up or encourage the church. The primacy of Scripture has been maintained and continues to be the only divinely inspired authority of the revealed will of God. Though people have attempted to bring new revelations or teachings about prophecy, the traditional views remain consistent with the teachings of Scripture for the benefit of the local church.
