Chapter 2 - Tim Mast

One of the things that hit me in this chapter was the same thing that Erik talked about in his comments on the chapter when he mentioned God speaking through human lips. I, like Erik, immediately thought of the gift of prophecy and how that applied to the topic at hand. However, I came at it from a different direction.

I believe that God can and does speak to people in modern times through the gift of prophecy. I believe that it is entirely fitting and proper that people ask for words from God. However, we no longer live in a time when we receive Grudem's type 2 Word of God (God's words of personal address). That means that every word of God that is given to us is subject to misinterpretation both by us and, if the word is given to someone else, on the part of the receiver. This means that that we, when we are the one's receiving and passing on the word, should be humble in recognizing that our own prejudices and opinions may color our judgement of what we belief God has said. Likewise, on the receiving end, we need to recognize that the word may have been colored by the opinions of the giver.

This may sound rather negative and one could rightfully ask if I believe that God can pass on an accurate word at all in these circumstances. Certainly I do. However, I believe that it is up to the Holy Spirit in each believer to help interpret these words. We must always test each word and ask God to make clear what is being said. It's not enough for a person to simply say "This is from God" to make us believe something. Each word must be tested to see that it is true.

This also means that we, when giving a word, should be humble. I personally am much more likely to listen to someone who begins "I think that God is giving me this word for you ... " than I am to someone who begins "God has told me to tell you ...". The first phrasing just says to me that the person recognizes that we, as humans, are imperfect communication channels and is being sensitive to this fact.

Why do I bring this up at all? Whenever we get on the topic of God speaking or prophesy, I'm reminded of the verses in Deuteronomy that Grudem quotes on pg. 49 (Deut. 18:18-20). In this Old Testament verse, God commands that if the words of a prophet don't come true, he should be put to death. I don't believe that this holds true today, but I do believe that the same God who uttered this command is the same one that we worship today. And his character does not change. When the punishment for speaking falsely hasn't changed, I think that the sentiment behind the verse has not. God does not like for us to put words in his mouth. And He's very unhappy with those people that do. This in itself should make us very sensitive to our words when we're passing on a word that we have received.