Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
In the kingdom of God, doctrine is the explanation of what God has done in the past. Prophecy, on the other hand, is telling what God will do in the future. It is the same holy Spirit that reveals both doctrine and prophecy. The only difference is that doctrine looks to the past and prophecy looks to the future. Both are works of the Spirit, and no man can teach God's doctrine without a revelation from God, just as he cannot prophesy of the future without a revelation from God. Man knows neither what God will do nor what He has done unless God reveals it.
It is amazing to hear a servant of God foretell of future events. It is equally amazing to hear a servant of God teach sound doctrine. Both prophecy and doctrine in God's kingdom are miracles of revelation wrought by the Spirit of God through holy men and women. May God bless His people with both!
Preaching the gospel is altogether different. It neither foretells of future events nor explains what God has already done. Preaching the gospel is demonstrating with power what God is doing right now. Preaching is inspired by the holy Ghost, and it is always with power. Healing the sick is part of preaching; casting out demons is part of preaching; taking up deadly serpents is part of preaching; speaking words of God to sinners or to saints can be a part of preaching. Preaching comes with "demonstration of the Spirit and of power". Words can be used in preaching, but preaching is never "in word only". Paul told the Thessalonians, "We came not unto you in word only", and neither does any other man whom God sends to preach. Doctrine and prophecy cannot exist without revelation, and preaching cannot happen unless God anoints a man with power and sends him to do it.
What many Christians call "preaching" is actually "teaching", and almost all of it in Christianity is false.
Have you ever noticed that the Bible never mentions "false preachers"? There are "false prophets" mentioned in the Bible because men can be deceived by demons to speak of things to come. There are also "false teachers" mentioned in the Bible because men are able to devise doctrines out of their own will and imaginations. But preaching is different. Nowhere in the Bible do we read of "false preaching" because "preaching" does not exist at all without the power of God's holy Ghost moving through a man. "How shall they preach," Paul asked, "unless they be sent?" The only way there could be a "false preacher" is if there is a false power of God.
Doctrine, prophecy, and preaching. They are among God's greatest gifts to the children of God. Each is beneficial in its time and place. Each is miraculous. But, according to the holy Scriptures, only two of them can be false.