Divine Counsel
The Scriptures clearly indicate God's objective in sending prophetic
messages: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
Of
all these worthy divine purposes, it seems that the most difficult for
human
beings to accept is correction. It is, nevertheless, one of the most
necessary. Since the entrance of sin, the human mind has been limited in
its
ability to perfectly discern between good and evil, truth and error;
between
what is correct and what is not. Even after experiencing the new birth,
believers still need the divine Corrector for each step on the road to
eternal life.
Correction and Counsel in the Old Testament
In Old Testament times, prophets generally transmitted the divine message
directly. God's servants were instructed to confront erring persons,
whether
kings or common citizens, the high priest or a member of the congregation.
On occasion, the correction encompassed all of God's people, or at least a
majority who were on the road toward apostasy.
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On other occasions, the recipient of God's message was a pagan nation or
an
impenitent city. The message to Nineveh, transmitted by the wandering and
elusive prophet Jonah, is a good illustration of the mercy of God toward
sinners. Jonah criss-crossed the entire city on foot to proclaim a warning
message that, hearkened to and accepted by its inhabitants, saved the city
from sure destruction.
Oral and Written Messages
Although we may not understand precisely the process and circumstances
that
influenced the preparation of the prophetic writings of the Old Testament,
it seems that in most cases oral transmission preceded written
communication. The illustration we have just used is a good example. Jonah
transmitted the divine message orally to the city of Nineveh. At a later
date it was written down and included in the prophetic writings. The same
thing happened in the case of Moses. When this great prophet and leader
was
called to act as God's messenger, he personally transmitted God's orders
to
Pharaoh to free His people in the Egyptian ruler's palace itself. Later
they
were recorded in the narrative of the Exodus. When Jehovah invited His
servant to ascend Mt. Sinai to receive the laws and counsel for the
people,
all the instructions, except for the Ten Commandments, were first shared
orally with the people, then later in written form. The biblical record
states that "When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and
laws . . . Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said . . . Then
he
took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people" (Exodus 24:3, 4,
7).
God's reason for requiring His servants to write the messages is also
recorded in the prophetic writings:
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So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi,
who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of
Israel. Then Moses commanded them: 'At the end of every seven years, in
the
year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel
comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you
shall read this law before them in their hearing. . . so they can listen
and
learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this
law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to
fear the Lord your God' (Deuteronomy 31:9-13).
Future generations should hear the divine counsel, without waiting for a
repetition of the powerful and supernatural manifestations that
accompanied
the initial communication on Mt. Sinai. The written counsel fulfilled the
function of conveying the will of God to the people in general and to
individuals in particular. The written message was just as much the
message
of God as was His initial oral communication.
Human beings, however, are prone to give less im****tance to a written
message than to a dynamic manifestation of divine presence. With the
passage
of time, the written message-the book of the law-lost its im****tance for
both leaders and followers. Eventually it was lost, and no one knew what
happened to it. The discovery of the book of the law in Josiah's time
produced a major revival and reformation.[46] This event demonstrated that
written communication,
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when accorded its rightful place by faithful leaders and accepted by those
willing to recognize their errors, produces the same results as a direct
manifestation of the divine presence, or the personal intervention of a
prophet.
However, when the leaders, or the people, are not willing to listen to
divine correction, God's message will be rejected, whether transmitted
personally by the prophet or through written communication. During the
time
of Jehoiakim, the wicked son of the faithful king Josiah who had produced
the great revival, the prophet Jeremiah communicated God's messages until
he
was prohibited from speaking. When that happened, God ordered him to write
the reprimands in a scroll and read them before the people. Using the
services of a scribe, Jeremiah obeyed the order, but the wicked king
burned
the book. Even a second roll containing the divine counsel was
rejected.[47]
Divine Counsel In The New Testament
The first prophet of New Testament times is John the Baptist, the servant
chosen by Heaven to prepare the way for the Lord. John arrived with his
message of repentance and shared it with the people in oral form. There is
no evidence that he ever wrote out his messages. Then, "when the time had
fully come," Jesus, the maximum revelation of God, arrived. His message
surprised and shook the society of His day. Thousands met to listen to His
sermons. Hundreds followed Him wherever He went. Like John the Baptist,
Jesus left no written record of His miracles, sermons, or instructions.
Nevertheless, divine wisdom inspired the evangelists to record the history
of the birth of Jesus and the events of Calvary, of His perfect life and
undeserved death, of His
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teachings and actions. Every new generation should know the facts about
redemption, so they may surrender their lives to the Saviour and receive
His
pardoning grace.
Heaven uses both means to communicate the message, orally for the
generation
privileged to experience the presence of God's messenger and in written
form
for those who will appear later. Both forms are inspired; both fulfill the
divine purpose of "teaching . . . reproving . . . correcting . . .
instructing" (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Apostolic Letters
With the growth of the church and its expansion to regions and territories
outside Palestine, it was necessary for the apostles to choose a means of
communication that allowed them to transmit the instruction, counsel-and
often correction-to the churches and their leaders. The apostolic letters
fulfilled that function. Like any other letter, these epistles contain
names, addresses, greetings, farewells, and even common requests that, of
course, required no special revelation from God.[48] Nevertheless, in
contrast to ordinary letters, these missives contain divine instruction
because they are produced by minds inspired by the Spirit of God.
The apostolic letters allow us to analyze yet another form or model the
Holy
Spirit uses to deliver the divine counsel. We might call it the
"epistolary"
model of inspiration. The apostles, as messengers of God and leaders of
the
church, were inspired and impressed by the Holy Spirit to write epistles
that, besides greetings and requests, contained divine counsel for the
church in general or for congregations or for individuals in particular.
This analysis of the apostolic letters can also help us
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understand the purpose and place of thousands of letters written by a
modern
prophet. The letters of Ellen White arrived in the hands of hundreds of
believers and leaders of the church who were facing particular situations
and needed counsel and instruction. Can these letters also offer counsel
and
correction to those of us who are not their initial recipients? Are the
letters of a prophet just as inspired as his visions?
The First Letter To The Corinthians: A Case Study
The first letter to the Corinthians, written by the apostle Paul, contains
almost all the necessary elements to understand how the epistolary model
of
inspiration works. First of all, this letter is a reflection of the
feelings
of a pastor concerned about his flock. The church in Corinth, founded by
Paul, was passing through difficult times. There were problems of
divisions
among the believers. There were serious moral sins being tolerated in the
church. There was the use and indiscriminate abuse of spiritual gifts and,
in short, problems similar to those that other communities of believers
have
faced in the past and continue to confront today.
Although the apostle might have received special revelations informing him
about the problems in Corinth, in this specific circumstance it was a
family
of believers, members of the church itself, who brought the information:
"My
brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are
quarrels among you" (1 Corinthians 1:11). In this case, the information
arrived by "natural," rather than supernatural means. As we stated in a
previous chapter, when a secret circumstance, known
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only to those involved, is revealed to the prophet, the message
immediately
takes on a kind of mysterious supernatural "halo." It is not always like
that, however. The prophet may receive information from various sources
without that fact weakening in any way the im****tance of the message that
may arrive as a result of that information. In the time of Ellen White,
some
recipients of counsel or correction accused the messenger of having
obtained
the information from her husband, her son, or from some other leader and
not
directly from heaven. They apparently felt that if the message was not
surrounded by that supernatural "halo," the prophet was not dependent on
God
for an inspired message. They confused the source of the information with
the Source of the message.[49] The first letter to the Corinthians shows
us
clearly that the information does not have come to the prophet through
supernatural means to make it im****tant. What is im****tant is the message
that results from the information received and the capacity of the
recipients to accept and acknowledge the counsel.
The Authority of a Letter
A second aspect that stands out in the epistle to the Corinthians is the
issue of the authority of a prophetic letter. There is a definite emphasis
on the part of the apostle to confirm that the counsel contained in the
letter is the result of the teaching and orientation of the Spirit, and
not
his own wisdom. In fact, any argument that could be used to weaken or to
destroy the im****tance of the letter's contents is analyzed by the apostle
and discarded as anathema. If anyone would question Paul's capacity to
give
counsel, the answer
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of the Lord's servant was: "But God chose the foolish things of the world
to
shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the
strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the
things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may
boast
before him" (1:27-29). There is no doubt, therefore, that the im****tance
of
the letter was not based on the human instrument that wrote it, but on the
message it contained.
If yet another believer was to doubt Paul's authority to give counsel,
Paul's answer was: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and
persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that
your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. . . . This
is
what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught
by
the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words" (2:4, 5, 13).
Clearly, the opinions expressed in the letter, although they were
communicated by Paul in his characteristic language, cannot be considered
his opinions but those of the Spirit.
"Only a Letter"
In our day believers have also appeared expressing similar objections
regarding the modern prophet. "Can Ellen White express theological
opinions
if she was not trained in theology?" some ask. "Her opinions regarding
health must have depended on the specialists of her time, since she had no
medical training," others say. These objections may be discarded out of
hand
if the believer accepts the postulate that the prophet has another Source
of
information-the Holy Spirit. In fact, this contem****ary prophet does not
need to be a theologian to transmit true theological information. Nor
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does she need to be a doctor to communicate correct health counsel. She
does
not need to be a teacher to offer correct counsel regarding teaching
methods
or orientation. The prophet has access to a different source of
information
that we describe as the "testimony of Jesus" or the gift of prophecy and
therefore does not need any of these things.
In her own day, Ellen White received objections to the authority of her
writings, especially her letters. The comment, "it's only a letter," was
often heard. The answer was not long in coming:
When I went to Colorado I was so burdened for you that, in my weakness, I
wrote many pages to be read at your camp meeting. Weak and trembling, I
arose at three o'clock in the morning to write to you. God was speaking
through clay. You might say that this communication was only a letter.
Yes,
it was a letter, but prompted by the Spirit of God, to bring before your
minds things that had been shown me. In these letters which I write, in
the
testimonies I bear, I am presenting to you that which the Lord has
presented
to me.[50]
This epistolary model of inspiration and revelation may seem to resemble
the
letters that we ourselves write regularly; but it is different. The
notable
difference is that the letters written by a prophet come from a mind
inspired by the Spirit of God. Their counsel and orientation may well be
blended with greetings, requests, and even the common matters that usually
appear in a letter. The counsel in the letter, however, is not
commonplace.
It is divine counsel received
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through a unique model of inspiration-the epistolary model.
Divine Counsel
The first letter to the Corinthians also allows us to analyze the form in
which we receive the divine counsel. Chapter seven of 1 Corinthians is an
excellent example. The apostle analyzes various aspects of family
relation****ps and answers some written questions he had received (v. 1).
What stands out in this chapter with reference to the topic we are
analyzing
is that the Lord's servant has two means or ways of getting God's counsel
to
the churches. The first is when the apostle has a definite revelation or
command from the Lord. The second is when the Spirit inspires him to give
his own counsel. Both forms intermingle as the various topics unfold. At
the
beginning of the chapter, speaking of the marital relation****ps between
spouses, Paul asserts that he is giving counsel that is not the result of
a
direct revelation: "I say this as a concession, not as a command" (v. 6).
Next, the apostle talks about divorce and separation. In this case, he
clarifies that it is not he, but the Lord, who gives the command of
staying
together (v. 10). Nevertheless, a few lines further on, the servant of the
Lord again expresses an apparently personal counsel in referring to
husbands
who have nonbelieving wives (v. 12). This combination of apparently
personal
and special revelation counsel continues throughout the chapter. Do both
orientations have the same im****tance? Can both forms be defined as
inspired
counsel?
The apostle himself was aware of the possibility that the believers might
make a difference between that which
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was the result of a revelation from God and what seemed to be personal
counsel. Paul clearly indicates with no hesitation that both forms are the
result of the work of the Spirit. One is the result of a revelation or
vision. The other form of divine revelation is when the Spirit impresses
and
inspires His servant to give counsel that comes from a mind inspired by
the
Spirit of God. At least twice the apostle specifies that, although the
counsel did not come through a vision or divine command, it nevertheless
comes from someone used by the Spirit to communicate His will to the
church.
Referring to young unmarried members, Paul says: "I have no command from
the
Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy"
(v. 25). Speaking to widows, the servant of God again gives his view with
the conviction that "I too have the Spirit of God" (v. 40).
The counsels coming from the apostle himself are just as much "divine
counsel" as those received through a vision or a prophetic dream. The only
difference is that the Spirit is using different modes of revelation and
inspiration. In this case, the prophet is inspired to act as a counselor
to
the people of God, and his mind is impressed and touched by the Spirit so
that he can give the appropriate and op****tune counsel.
"I Was Shown"
The expression, "I was shown" or similar phrases such as "I saw" or "it
was
presented to me" were used by Ellen White to refer to statements or
counsel
communicated through a vision or a prophetic dream. We find a variety of
these declarations in her writings. The overwhelming majority of her
letters, manuscripts, and even entire chapters of her books, however, do
not
contain any of these expressions.
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Should we consider these ****tions less inspired than those that contain
the
expression "I was shown"? Of course not. That would be the same as
limiting
the Holy Spirit to the use of a single model of inspiration. It is true
that
it is more fascinating, more spectacular, when the prophet receives a
vision, especially when this takes place in public. But the Spirit can
also
inspire the prophet to use his own judgment-judgment illuminated and moved
by the Spirit who controls the mind of God's servant.
In this inspired model of prophetic guidance, the prophet acts as an
instrument of the Spirit, offering direction and orientation to the church
in various matters related to behavior, human relation****ps, lifestyle
standards, church discipline, or anything else that the Lord considers
im****tant for the well-being of the members and the final victory of the
church.
Conclusion
Divine counsel comes to believers in various ways. Sometimes a
supernatural
revelation uncovers the deeply hidden secrets of someone's life, making
them
known to the prophet. God's purpose in this is to give the person going
down
the wrong road a second chance. In other cases, a simple letter transmits
the necessary counsel to avoid an error, or to correct one that has
already
been made. The letter does not even have to be directly addressed to us
personally to have a beneficial effect on our behavior. Here is how it was
explained by Ellen White: "I was directed to bring out general principles,
in speaking and in writing, and at the same time specify the dangers,
errors, and sins of some individuals, that all might be warned, reproved,
and counseled."[51]
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Reading an inspired book; or sometimes only a verse read during a quiet
hour
of meditation, may well wake us up in the desire to follow more closely
the
counsel, admonishment, or correction that we receive from heaven through
the
words of the prophet.
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