The Duration of Prophecy: How Long Will Prophecy Be Used in the Church? (Part 3) by Wayne A. Grudem
So I wonder if there may be room for more joint theological reflection on this area. Charismatics would have to realize that cessationists are skeptical about the scope and frequency of such “illumination,” whether it is right to call it New Testament prophecy, whether it really does have value for the church, and whether we are right to seek it. And cessationists would have to realize that their own highly developed and carefully formulated doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture in guidance is not usually shared or even understood by much of evangelicalism, including those in the charismatic movement. Nevertheless, perhaps the Reformed idea of “illumination” is not far from what is happening in prophecy today, and may provide a category in which it would not be seen to challenge the sufficiency of Scripture.
As another model for comparison, it is helpful to hear the conclusion of Donald Bridge:
What authority does prophecy carry? The same authority as that of any other Christian activity in the church, like leadership, counselling, teaching. . . . If it is true, it will prove to be true. Spiritual people will respond warmly to it. Wise and proven leaders will approve and confirm it. The enlightened conscience will embrace it.24
When this perspective on guidance in prophecy is coupled with the many biblical evidences we have seen concerning the non-divinely authoritative nature of prophecy in the New Testament, there seems to be no reason to object to its continuing use today.
So in the larger area of the relationship between the gift of prophecy and Scripture, we see no reason to think that prophecy would cease. Just as it functioned simultaneously with the actual presence of living apostles in the churches and did not compete with or pose a challenge to the unique ruling authority of the apostles, so today prophecy can exist and function simultaneously with the presence of the completed, written Scripture in our churches without challenging or competing with the unique ruling authority that Scripture and Scripture alone has in our lives.
Category: Fall 2001, Pneuma Review, Spirit
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