A Deeper Teaching by Kenton Cheek
Throughout the history of Christianity there have been individuals and groups who have focused on particular aspects of the collective understanding of God and our faith and practice. There are seasons when the universal Church needs to be reminded of certain truths and the Spirit has a way of using people’s unique strengths, supernatural insights and gifts to describe and explain those truths in greater detail and emphasis. This brings divine revelation to those who receive and study truth, but it is vital to remember that these revelations are nothing new to God and that for the follower of Jesus Christ, all understanding must be weighed and measured by the plumbline of His Word the Bible.
God will not contradict anything He has already said and this is where the value of having a written record of revelation in the closed canon of Scripture comes into play. Using this standard means that what prophets, men and women who speak the Word of God for such a time as this, communicate to those who listen is not only nothing new to God, but it is also truth that humanity has had access to all along in the pages of Scripture. What is new to us regarding divine revelation after the closing of the canon are the nuances with which truth is communicated, the depth of understanding that God is blessing us with and how scriptural truths are woven together in our faith journeys.
Part of why divine revelation by the power of the Holy Spirit is so special is that for people who hear, receive, and put it into practice is that the truth has been communicated in just the right way they needed. This is why there are so many different churches and ministries in the world today. God has created billions of unique individuals each with their own personalities, life experiences, and cumulative knowledge through which His love and light are filtered. What a blessing it is to live today and to have access to thousands of years documented revelation in the Bible and countless ways of explaining and practicing it from Christian history.
When studying any form of communication from Christian leaders from any time period, we hold what they say and write up to the light of Scripture. If it is in alignment with the written record, we may accept it and allow the truth to enrich our lives. The difficulty comes with the fact that no human being after the fall in Eden has ever been entirely perfect, excluding the Lord Jesus who was fully God and fully man.
This means that outside the perfect Word of God, we must take what people communicate with a grain of salt. The Bible advises us to “not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”[1] Therefore, accept what is righteous and in line with what we know God has already told us and reject what is not correct, even if it comes from the same person.
This allows me to admire, learn from and hold in high regard Christians who God has given special insight on spiritual topics, but it doesn’t mean that I must accept everything from them as ex cathedra. Take Martin Luther as an example. He brought to the Church a renewed emphasis on salvation by grace through faith, but he also was highly critical of the book of James because it shows us the importance of good deeds.
Luther’s knowledge of grace was profound but his lack of understanding of the relationship between faith and works is troubling. So, I will glean wisdom from Luther regarding redemption through undeserved favor accepted by trusting in Christ, but I will seek further wisdom from the Word illuminated by the Holy Spirit and insight from other Christians on how repentance bears good fruit in our lives. Does this means I consider Luther to be a false prophet? No, it means I glean truth from his writings and seek understanding from other sources in areas that were not his strong suit or where he simply got it wrong.
I know, we all want to believe that our heroes of faith never said or did anything wrong, but that is not what we see from anyone in the Bible except the Trinity. Look at the mistakes Moses, Samson, David, Peter, even Job made and yet we do not cancel them. In fact, that is part of how I know the Bible to be true is that God wasn’t afraid to publish the good, the bad and the ugly about His people, and yet He still loves them and propels them forward.
The Golden Rule ought to be applied to all humans throughout history. We should treat historical figures as well as our contemporaries with the same love, dignity, compassion, grace, mercy and respect that we would like to be treated with. This means celebrating their strengths, grieving their mistakes, and learning from both rather than looking at people with rose colored glasses or conversely, disregarding their contributions simply because of a few horrendous failures we find in their biography. All children of Heavenly Father are frail, imperfect humans who serve a perfect God. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good and don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
One form of divine revelation that every born again believe can identify with is the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. At the moment that a person decides to turn away from their sins and toward Jesus in faith and confess that He is God, they invite Him to become the Lord of their life and they are born again. The Spirit reveals the Truth to them and begins to lead them in the Way, guiding them in the new Life they now have.[2]
As children of God, we are spiritually washed, baptized in the blood of Jesus and this work is done by the Holy Spirit. He is also moving us forward in the process of sanctification, growing in holiness, becoming more and more like Jesus from glory to glory.[3] Along the way the Spirit reveals more and more truth to us personally as individuals. This personal, divine revelation is vital to our growth in faith, knowledge and practice. “Speak to our hearts, Lord” we pray as we seek His will for our lives on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Leaders in the Church also seek wisdom from God and it would be my hope that they listen for direction. I believe it should be the prayer of every follower of Jesus that our leaders in the faith ask for divine revelation as they lead congregations and ministries. This guidance may come in ways similar to how personal revelation comes to an individual.
God can speak through study, prayer, meditation, worship, conversation as iron sharpens iron, seeking the wise counsel of others, experiencing inspiration in nature which is God’s creation, and many other ways. As long as these messages are tested against the written record of the Bible and found to mesh with that harmonious tapestry of truth, they may be accepted. In any case it is not for the purpose of adding new Scripture, but leading us all into deeper knowledge of what has already been revealed and how to apply those principles in modern times as we all minister together.
A shining example of how we can receive truth is found in the book of Acts. “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”[4] This is why reading, studying and knowing the Bible is so vital to every believer. I’m sure that the Berean Jews respected Paul, but they were right to test what he said with the Scriptures they had.
When we get to know God through His Word, we are able to more easily recognize His voice. We deepen our relationship with our Heavenly Father by increasing communication with Him through prayer, worship, meditation, nature and most importantly head and heart knowledge of the Scriptures. Jesus told us, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”[5] Our earthly shepherds are imperfect and we must remember to treat one another with grace and mercy.
When a doctrinal mistake is made, gentle correction is needed. But a mistake is not grounds to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We can still value a person’s positive contributions to the faith without accepting everything about them as righteous. No one meets that standard but Christ. What a wonderful comfort it is to hear the voice of our Good Shepherd and follow Him in His path of life. His Word is trustworthy, tried and true.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
–I John 4:1
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of Godmay be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
–II Timothy 3:14-17
[1] I Thessalonians 5:19-22
[2] John 14:6, 16:13
[3] II Corinthians 3:18
[4] Acts 17:11
[5] John 10:27
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