Discover Your Spiritual Identity!
The Revelation of the Names and Titles God Has Given His People
“If anyone speaks, let him speak as the ORACLES OF GOD” (1 Pet. 4:11, MEV, emphasis added).
The word “oracle” means a divinely inspired utterance; it can also mean the person used as God’s mouthpiece. The prophetic statement is an oracle and the one speaking prophetically is an oracle.
This term is found three other times in the New Testament and is always a reference to the Word of God (translated from the Greek word logion, pronounced log’-ee-on):
– Acts 7:38: Luke explains how Moses received the “living oracles to give to us” (the revelations he received from God on Mount Sinai).
– Romans 3:2: Paul explains the advantage of being Jewish, “because the oracles of God were entrusted to them” (a reference to all Old Testament Scripture).
– Hebrews 5:12: the writer explains that his readers should already be teachers but needed someone to teach them again “the first principles of the oracles of God” (this included New Covenant revelation).
The New Living Translation of our main title-scripture exhorts believers to “speak as if God Himself is speaking.” This is fulfilled on several levels.
First, believers should purge out of their speech all words of fear, doubt, bitterness, resentment and selfishness—the kind of negative words that God would never speak—and instead speak words of faith, confidence, love, forgiveness and unselfishness.
Second, believers should fill their speech with references to God’s Word, “speaking the truth in love”—conducting themselves as living “letters of Christ” (“epistles of Christ”) in all their day-to-day encounters (Eph. 4:15; 2 Cor. 3:3, MEV).
Third, the NIV translation renders this verse, “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). On the highest level, this relates to far more than just maintaining positive, godly attitudes or quoting the Bible. It means sharing truth with others under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Eph. 4:29, KJV). At times it may involve being used in “the word of knowledge” or “the word of wisdom”: flashes of inspired insight concerning situations in people’s lives and God’s divine directives to them. This manner of communication is often referred to as “speaking prophetically.”
Fourth, when believers not only speak but pray as oracles of God, they tend to imitate the firstborn Son of God in the way He prayed. Jesus did not plead with the Father to heal the sick or deliver the oppressed. Knowing that He was God’s mouthpiece, He commanded them to be healed and set free. He taught His followers to use a similar method, as in the following often-quoted passages:
“The Lord said, ‘If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,” and it would obey you'” (Luke 17:6, MEV).
“For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you” (Matt. 10:20).
Certainly, there are many qualifying factors that determine what believers can say, how they can say it and when it will be effective. We cannot indiscriminately decree whatever we want, whenever we want and, without fail, watch it come to pass. To think so would be absurd. However, these passages do reveal that Christians have an authority, an ability to speak with as God’s representatives that is really astounding. The key is prayerful surrender, as Jesus indicated in the following passage:
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7, NKJV).
Of course, as you truly fulfill this charge, His words will blend with your words and the world will be changed dramatically and supernaturally. As dark and wicked as this generation is becoming, God knows we need oracles to rise up now!
To explore this wonderful subject more deeply, listen to a past episode of Mike Shreve’s weekly podcast, “Discover Your Spiritual Identity.” {eoa}
A product of the Jesus Movement Era, Mike Shreve has traveled evangelistically in the United States and overseas since 1970 with an emphasis on healing and the prophetic. His primary biblical teaching for over 35 years has been the spiritual identity of believers. This powerful insight is featured on his weekly podcast on cpnshows.com and his TV program—both titled Discover Your Spiritual Identity. It is also the theme of his Charisma House book titled WHO AM I? Dynamic Declarations of Who You Are in Christ. The first three categories on his YouTube website expand on this amazing revelation: YouTube.com/mikeshreveministries.
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