WHEN REVELATION BECOMES A DOCTRINE OF MAN…
In God’s timeline, He is continually revealing Himself and the fullness of His plan to every generation. Paul indicates that God purposely withheld revelation to a previous generation because they weren’t ready for it. Because every generation deals with different issues and challenges, God lovingly shows us what we need to know at the right time. This is so that His ultimate plan of redemption for all mankind can come to fruition. And we will likely never have the “full” revelation of who He is – probably not even after we enter eternity! But the fact is, revelation is still happening – both personally, and corporately.
Consider the prosperity gospel. When that teaching first came into the Church, there were many who believed that true humility and holiness were best demonstrated by being poor. There was a poverty mindset over a large segment of the Church because they assumed that was what pleased the Lord. I believe the revelation the Lord intended at that time was to reveal how generous He is and how much He loves to see His children flourish. He never intended for His family to just survive – but thrive! That’s a very biblical truth that reveals the heart of a gracious Father. And yet, some men took that revelation and decided to build an entire ministry upon it. Writing books and centering every message around this one revelation, they got locked in, unable to adjust or grow with the changing times and seasons of the Spirit. The initial revelation about God being generous turned into a get-rich-quick message that appealed solely to the flesh. And this is how doctrines of men come about. They often start with a true revelation of the Lord, but morph into a fleshly faith practice that ends up being destructive instead of life-giving.
Why is this important? Because we need to learn how to steward revelation rightly. I see the enemy sneaking into our debates about prophecy, healing, accountability, and many other aspects of our faith, in hopes that the Church will throw away the precious revelations of the Lord – simply because of the abuses. (Ex: See how much damage prophecy does to people! Stop prophesying!) It’s akin to calling for the ban of guns because too many people are getting shot.
One solution to this issue is to simply be aware. As debates arise concerning our faith practices and policies, look for where the true revelation of the Lord starts – and ends. What aspect of a particular teaching is meant to bring blessing and not trouble? Consider what man is trying to add to the equation and hold fast to what is good. Test the rest (1 Thessalonians 5:21)! Pray that the Word of God would rightly divide flesh from the spirit.
Let’s not allow doctrines of men to hijack what God has birthed. He loves to reveal Himself in greater measure. We just need to measure rightly.
