Review
The concept of a “fivefold ministry” is the modern belief developed in the 1960’s that there should be 5 offices in every local church. People who ascribe to this idea refer to Eph 4:9-11 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” I addressed this passage in detail and gave a history of fivefold in my article about the office of apostle in part 1.
Prophet
The title of prophet in the bible is most often used in the old testament. The Hebrew word ‘nabi’ is from a root meaning “to bubble forth, as from a fountain,” hence “to utter”. Also translated seer. These men spoke the word of God and were held accountable by death if prophecies did not come true.
In the New Testament, the focus is primarily on Jesus as prophet ( Luke 13:33 ; 24:19 ). Most references in the new testament are to the prophets in the old testament and how they pointed towards or spoke of Jesus. There are many references to prophesying as a gift of the Holy Spirit and available to everyone. There is also a few mentions of prophets in the New Testament church but it is unclear at best what their role was in the local church. ( 1 Corinthians 12:28 ; Ephesians 2:20 ; 3:5 ). The term prophet is one who made new revelations from God public. But it is unclear what this role would be after the closing of prophecy in revelation. We can see in the Didache that prophets were still around in the early church but it is also VERY clear that they did not hold any office in the church. It says they were to be considered a false prophet if they stayed more than 2 days at any given church.
” Let every apostle who comes to you be received as the Lord. But he shall not remain more than one day; or two days, if there’s a need. But if he remains three days, he is a false prophet. And when the apostle goes away, let him take nothing but bread until he lodges. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet. And every prophet who speaks in the Spirit you shall neither try nor judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. But not everyone who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he holds the ways of the Lord. Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known. And every prophet who orders a meal in the Spirit does not eat it, unless he is indeed a false prophet. And every prophet who teaches the truth, but does not do what he teaches, is a false prophet. And every prophet, proved true, working unto the mystery of the Church in the world, yet not teaching others to do what he himself does, shall not be judged among you, for with God he has his judgment; for so did also the ancient prophets.” -Didache
The New Testament does talk quite a bit about the gift of prophecy and does not seem to make any distinction between it and a prophet. To prophecy literally means “to speak forth” and a prophet is one who speaks for the word of God. Certain people were gifted to give guidance, direction, and counsel to God’s people. The gift of prophecy is specifically mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and Ephesians 4:11. Please note that this gift was given for the building up of the church (Ephesians 4:12). Thus, prophets were to speak the Word of God to the church so that believers would know the mind of the Lord and how the church should function. I believe that true prophetic ministry today is simply the preaching of God’s Word accurately and clearly by an elder shepherd of the church.
What does the Fivefold Ministry say about the office of Prophet:
“The prophet functions in revelation and points the way for believers. The office of the prophet is different than the gift of prophecy—it carries a governmental authority and role with higher responsibility. The gift of prophecy is for edification, exhortation and comfort, whereas the prophet flows in areas of guidance, instruction, rebuke, judgment and revelation—whatever Christ chooses to speak for the purification and perfection of His church. Prophets are also given the special ability to recognize God’s gifts and callings.” Diane Lake
“Prophets are Heart Revealers in the Kingdom of God. They are effective in revealing God’s heart for His people where ever they go. They can accurately discern God’s heart for a situation. They help people experience God’s voice for the very first time and help them develop hearing the voice of God in their own life.” Eric Knopf
“Prophets bring supernatural revelation and insight, giving vision of the times and seasons of God so that saints know what to do.” Dr. Bill Hamon
There is no office of prophet recorded in the New Testament church. But a prophet is not even something that a church could choose, or hire or assign if it wanted to. Let’s review what we are told in the only passage brought up by the Fivefold ministry about a prophet. “Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The Bible does not say that the apostles and prophets were built upon the church but that the church was built upon the apostles and prophets. This is an important distinction. The church has no authority to grant the office of apostle or prophet. The church cannot grant apostolic and prophetic authority to anyone. It was the Holy Spirit who chose people to receive and deliver the Word of God. God alone chooses prophets. The church calls deacons and elders. The church is given qualifications and criteria for ordaining them. The church cannot and never has authorized a prophet. The most we could do is recognize one as true or false. Prophet is not an office within the church. It is much more likely that Ephesians 2:20 was referring to the Old Testament Prophets and the Twelve Apostles and was referring to scripture itself.
“Neither the congregation of Israel, during the time of the Old Testament, nor the church, during the New Testament era, ever ordained anyone to the prophetic ministry.” -Don Stewart
Danger! Fancy word ahead:
Sola Scriptura is a Latin phrase that means “by scripture alone”. It is a core doctrine held by all orthodox churches that the scriptures, the Bible, the Word of God are the sole source of authority for Christian faith and practice. It means that we can always appeal to the Bible to settle matters when we disagree. The idea that modern “prophets bring supernatural revelation and insight” is apposed to this core doctrine. God does still speak in our lives with specific direction but special revelation is the Word of God (see my article for more on the subject.) God has provided all we need concerning doctrine in the scriptures and we do not need to look to modern man for more ‘revelations’.
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