Prophetic Grace
What
it is & What it Looks Like
What we mean by ‘Prophetic Grace’ is a grace
that God gives, which brings spiritual insight for another
(or others) about something. This grace is in keeping
with how Jesus lived, and the experience of the early
church, and the church since even if in a limited way.
A
classic example of this grace in the context of evangelism,
is the way in which Philip was led by the Lord, and
obedient to this leading, through an angel, as well
as the Holy Spirit’s specific directive, found
in Acts 8:26-40:
Now
an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south
to the road—the desert road—that goes
down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out,
and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important
official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake
(which means "queen of the Ethiopians").
This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on
his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the
Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip,
"Go to that chariot and stay near it." Then
Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading
Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you
are reading?" Philip asked. "How can I,"
he said, "unless someone explains it to me?"
So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He
was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb
before its shearer is silent, so He did not open His
mouth. In His humiliation He was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was
taken from the earth” (Isaiah 53:7-8).
The
eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is
the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture
and told him the good news about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road, they came to some
water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water.
What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both
Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the
water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip
away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went
on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at
Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in
all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
The
Primary Purpose of this Grace
The primary purpose of this grace is to bring strength,
courage and reassurance. And also, as in the case through
Philip, to bring salvation that is only found through
Jesus.
We
value this grace at Shiloh, because, as much as anything,
we cannot be who we are intended to be as God’s
faithful people without it. The encouragement that it
is cannot be sufficiently expressed for those who have
known its riches. It is the same grace that enables
us to hear from God in the first place in order to come
to the saving grace that is in Jesus. And such grace
gladly continues after we have first wholeheartedly
received it for the love that it is from God to hear
from Him and do the works that Jesus did, and even greater
things.
That
this grace is available to us today is without argument.
Both God’s word and experience confirm this.
Our
heart at Shiloh is to see that this grace has room to
be known for the blessing it is. We desire to see God’s
people grow and mature in their understanding of it,
as one of the ways of God, along with confidence to
walk in this grace, both in the context of fellowship
and evangelism.
Jesus
Walked In This
This grace is indeed for today just as it was in the
way Jesus walked in it. An example of this is in John
1:47-51:
When
Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, "Here
truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit."
"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus
answered, "I saw you while you were still under
the fig tree before Philip called you." Then
Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, You are the Son of
God; You are the king of Israel." Jesus said,
"You believe because I told you I saw you under
the fig tree. You will see greater things than that."
He then added, "Very truly I tell you, you will
see 'heaven open, and the angels of God ascending
and descending on’ the Son of Man."
Jesus
saw what we do not see “normally” speaking.
Yet what Jesus knew about Nathanael that was revealed
to Him by the Holy Spirit was quite normal for Jesus.
It is meant to be that way for those who would know,
like Jesus, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
In
addition to this, Jesus spoke to Nathanael about what
he would see with the eyes of his spirit, because of
what the Spirit would reveal to Nathanael in seeing
heaven open, and God’s kingdom coming and His
will being done “on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus
was also speaking to the heart of what Paul later sought
to exhort believers about regarding this grace:
But
those who prophesy speak to people for their strengthening,
encouragement and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3).
For
you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may
be instructed and encouraged (I Corinthians 14:31).
But
if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone
is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are
brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their
hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship
God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
(1 Corinthians 14:24-25)
Do
not put out the Spirit’s fire. Do not treat
prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on
to what is good, reject whatever is harmful (1 Thessalonians
5:19-22).
Shiloh
– A Prophetic Base
Shiloh, in the ‘Old Testament’ in the Bible,
referred to a place that, as much as anything, was a
prophetic base. Part of our mandate at Shiloh, is to
give the necessary room for this Prophetic Grace we
are speaking about, to flow and to flourish. And may
God our Father and Jesus our Lord be greatly glorified,
His people grow, and His kingdom increase.
