Rev. Delbert Rossin
During my 37+ years of pastoring, members would occasionally share with me "revelations" they believed they received from the Lord. Sometimes they were received as visions or dreams. On other occasions they were ideas or thoughts which unexpectedly came to them at times like prayer or Bible reading. These "words" sometimes contained wisdom or knowledge that seemed to be beyond the natural capacity of the person. Most commonly they were in the form of "prophecy," one of the Biblical gifts of the Spirit, which is defined as a message from God for an individual or group, such as a local congregation Few believers would deny that the Holy Spirit can do such things, but how do we know if they are from God?
It is essential to make clear that we are talking here about "providential guidance" not doctrinal revelation. Divine truth has "once and forever been delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) in Sacred Scripture. God is not giving new doctrines today. Our topic has to do with possible subjective stirrings of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
"The Lord told me . . ." or words to that effect were usually part of the sharing of these "revelations." What was really a challenge was when two different people shared opposite thoughts and both with claims like "The Lord said."
Obviously, one or even both of them could be wrong. I found it best to instruct people not to use such terms, but rather to humbly say, "I think the Lord may be showing me..." and phrases like that. I also encouraged people to submit their "revelations" to the pastors and elders of the congregation to "weigh" what was said (1 Cor. 14:29-33).
Subjective guidance should be nothing new for LCMS people. For example, our pastors have always prayed and expected guidance when considering a call to another congregation. God does care about every situation in our personal and congregational life, and he is pleased when we ask for wisdom (James 1:5). Sometimes it may come in strange ways and even then we may not have absolute certainty. But that is OK for even St. Paul said that "we prophesy imperfectly" (1 Cor. 13:9). Sometimes dreams can be the result of "eating onions" rather than a thought from God.
And yet there have been times when these "words" were a real blessing to individuals or the congregation. So how does one test the Spirits to judge the possible veracity of such subjective revelations? Note that even in the pristine atmosphere of first century NT church life, there was the necessity of tests. They had the OT Scriptures and the Apostles themselves and their teachings! They (and we) needed tests because there were false prophets around and well meaning but misguided Christians who were in danger of getting into left field through their imaginations, immaturity and flesh. Also, the Devil has his counterfeits. Thus I submit the following as a list (not exhaustive) of tests:
1. Does the "word" agree with the Word of God?
Here is a call to a disciplined study of the Bible, for how can a believer judge whether a subjective revelation agrees with the Word if he doesn't know the Word? These revelatory words must still be subject to the disciplined study of the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Spirit never contradicts himself (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Cor 1:17-20, Is.8:19-20).
2. Does the person and his "words" magnify Jesus?
The work of the Spirit is to "bear witness to" and "glorify" Jesus (Jn. 15:26 and 16:14). "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10). Be on guard when any kind of revelation lays greater emphasis on something or someone rather than on Jesus Christ.
3. What are the fruits of the person's life?
Eph. 5:9 and Gal. 5:22-23 remind us that when the fruit of the Spirit is not in the lives of those who minister, be on guard. (C.F.W. Walther claims "orthodoxy" is a good "fruit" to be expected of a true prophet.) Pride, arrogance, boastfulness, exaggeration, dishonesty, covetousness, immorality, etc., are not marks of a man or woman of God. Our Lord warns against false prophets who come in sheep's clothing. You will know them by their fruits (Matt. 7:15ff).
4. If the "words" are predictions, do they come true?
But this does not guarantee that if the prediction comes true it is always from the Holy Spirit, for if it turns people away from obedience and service to Jesus . . . it is still false prophecy (Deut. 13:1-5; 18:20-22).
5. Does it edify and bring liberty in Christ?
Any message not directed to build up, admonish, and encourage the Christian or the Church is false (1 Cor. 14:3). Romans 8:15 indicates that the Holy Spirit never brings God's people into a condition where they act like slaves motivated by fear.
Subjective "revelations" that pass these tests and are "weighed" by mature Christian leaders are still just that . . . subjective revelations. Thus we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our human judgment about the veracity of such words. Sometimes we just don't know at the time and only in looking back can one have a measure of certainty. Other times we may be quite convinced that God has revealed something to us by his grace. In either case it is never like the divine certainty that we have with the words of Sacred Scripture.
As a result of Holy Baptism and the faith which receives it, the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian as in a temple (1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:21-22). Christians should not speak of prophecy, dreams, visions, etc. as being a result of a direct or immediate operation of the Holy Spirit, but rather as a "stirring" (2 Tim. 1:6-7) of the Holy Spirit who dwells within the believer already made "holy" through the "external Word" of his/her Baptism (SA, III, Art VIII, 13). Of course, such revelations and prophetic utterances, though providential in nature and not doctrinal, require testing (1 Thess. 5:19-22) according to the criteria laid down in Holy Scripture.
Rev. Delbert Rossin
1065 Kings Way
Nekoosa, WI 54457