Aligning Prophetic Ministry

With the restoration of the apostle and apostolic order in the church today it is imperative that we understand the significant effect that this has on the position and function of the prophet in the church.

And God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration and those speaking in different tongues 1 Cor 12:28

The word appointed is the Greek word titheemi, meaning to set, to make, or to set in place. Matthew 22:44 also uses the word titheemi where the father tells the son, "Sit at My right hand until I make all your enemies your footstool." In both uses it is clear that God has a definite requirement of how the Body of Christ is to be arranged and set in order. One of the key elements of 1 Corinthians 12:28 is that apostles are first, the Greek word proton, meaning first in time, place, influence, rank and order. The word can be understood from its use by John the Baptist in describing his relationship with Jesus. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before (Protos) me.'" John 1:15 John recognised that Jesus came after him in time but realised He was before him (Protos). In other words he was saying, "His coming redefines my position and role in the divine purposes of God." Now that Jesus had arrived John could not fully and accurately express the purposes of God apart from Jesus.

In reference to apostles being 'first' it should not be understood as meaning more important or significant than other ministries. First does not mean that apostles are more favoured by God. With the restoration and positioning of apostles in the Body of Christ there is now a realigning of the rest of the Body of Christ. This includes a redefinition of prophets who are noted as 'second.'

During the 80's and 90's prophets predominately found their operation outside the influence of apostolic ministry which had not been fully restored to the church. During this period of time prophets would travel to churches and give prophetic words in order to activate and restore the voice of God to the church. This was part of the restoration process in the plan of God. However, in this present season for a prophet to function only in this mode is ineffective. Prophets are coded to build and cannot fully express this divine attribute apart from understanding what it means to be second and functioning out of this position accurately. Like John the Baptist, prophets must now recognise that they cannot function in their role accurately apart from being in correct relational alignment with the apostolic. In fact, the ability of prophets to build is directly proportional to their relational connection to apostolic grace. With the establishing of apostles and apostolic grace the church is now moving from a 'bless me' mentality to a building aspect.

According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let every man be careful how he builds. 1 Cor 3:10

The word 'another' is the Greek word allos, meaning "another of the same kind," indicating that all who build must have the same frequency, insight and design. As a prophet connects to apostolic grace it releases an ability to see architecturally and construct accurately. Hence Paul's directive, "be careful how you build." Being connected to apostolic grace empowers a prophet to have a more accurate perspective to the plans and purposes of God globally. In the past season prophets primarily operated out of a gift-based perspective which limited and restricted true sight to the purposes of God in the earth.

With the realignment brought by the apostolic today, prophets are required to relate within a building context. Prophetic ministries, which are primarily orientated towards personal blessing and individualism, will find themselves outside the order of God and unable to be effective in the advance of the kingdom.

In fact, I will go as far to say that it is crucial that prophets are fathered by an apostle, in a building context, in order for the prophet to be sent out in a correct and biblical manner. Unfortunately there are some who 'went' rather than submitting to the kingdom order of being fathered and 'sent'. As a result many are functioning outside of their correct spheres of authority, and therefore lawless, in their operations. Jude 13 says, "They are wild waves of the seas�wandering stars�" Acts 15:24, "We have heard that some went out from us without our authorisation and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said."

Being connected and fathered accurately is the key to ministry success and the cornerstone to prophetic legitimacy.