In a short video of Ghanaian-based Prophet Elisha Salifu Amoako of Alive Chapel International, which has been circulating on social media, he is heard making the following remarks:
“Most of the churches we go to, we go and people will be talking talking talking for hours. It’s a waste of time because people that are talking are just quoting the Bible but they are not hearing rhema word for the individual lives. It is not this written word that transforms your life. It is the sure word, the rhema word, the now word, sure prophecies. God is watching over His word to perform is not talking about the written word but the rhema word, the now word…”
This statement is hard to swallow because it has terrible implications for biblical preaching and the word of God.
Deadly Effects
For over 1,000 years, the Roman Catholic Church discouraged the populace from reading the Bible on their own and also prohibited translation of the Bible into native languages.
The Decree of the Council of Toulouse (1229 C.E.) stated,
“We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books.”
Indeed, during the Slave Trade, slave owners deliberately kept slaves illiterate and ignorant so that they cannot be educated to eventually question the syetem and seek freedom.
An inscription on a statue in North Carolina stated that,
“Slave owners saw literacy as a threat to the institution of slavery and their financial investment in it; as a North Carolina statute stated, “Teaching slaves to read and write, tends to excite dissatisfaction in their minds, and to produce insurrection and rebellion.””
It is obvious that such utterances are bound to discourage people from reading their Bible and rather chase prophetic directions for their lives.
I would therefore like us to discuss two major things that jumped at me from the statement above in line with what the Bible teaches.
#1. Undermining Faithful Bible Preaching
“Most of the churches we go to, we go and people will be talking talking talking for hours. It’s a waste of time because people that are talking are just quoting the Bible but they are not hearing rhema word for the individual lives.”
The first issue I want to raise regarding the statement of Prophet Amoako is that it undermines faithful biblical preaching in every sense. Biblical preaching in a Bible believing church is about preaching the revealed word of God.
On Alive Chapel International website, this is their own statement of belief which contradicts what he said:
“At Alive Chapel International our vision is to raise a Prophetic Generation through the teaching of God’s Word and establishing people in the Kingdom of God for greater works….”
In Acts 2:14-39, we see ingredients of faithful biblical preaching delivered by Apostle Peter. Let’s take some few lessons from there:
- Biblical Preaching Is Under The Spirit’s Guidance
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4 NKJV)
We see here that Peter, in the company of the other disciples, experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit for the work of witnessing unto Christ as He promised them in Acts 1:8. There can be no biblical preaching without the Spirit.
- Biblical Preaching Is Word Driven
The second thing we learn about biblical preaching is that it is Scripture driven. Peter’s preaching was saturated with Scriptures.
Below are some of the Scripture references he made:
“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.” (Acts 2:16 NKJV)
“For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.” (Acts 2:25 NKJV)
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.” (Acts 2:29 NKJV)
“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand.” (Acts 2:34 NKJV)
Peter used Scripture to explain Scripture.
- Biblical Preaching Produces True Converts
The third and last thing we learn from Peter’s first sermon is that biblical preaching causes people to ask: what must we do to be saved?
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 NKJV)
“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” (Acts 2:41 NKJV)
The Holy Spirit in us helps us to understand Scriptures to be able to preach in order to turn people’s hearts to God.
In Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Wayne Grudem wrote,
“Throughout the history of the church the greatest preachers have been those who have recognised that they have no authority in themselves and have seen their task as being to explain the words of Scripture and apply them clearly to the lives of their hearers.”
What did Peter really do to get over 3,000 sinners to come to saving faith? He simply preached the word of God. He was only explaining Scripture with Scripture. Paul said we preach Christ and Him crucified. In Romans 1:16, Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
#2. Undermining Biblical Authority
“It is not this written word that transforms your life. It is the sure word, the rhema word, the now word, sure prophecies. God is watching over His word to perform is not talking about the written word but the rhema word, the now word…”
The second effect of the statement by Prophet Amoako is that it undermines biblical authority. The same Alive International website stated concerning their belief in the Bible that, it is,
“The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.”
How can the Bible be trustworthy for faith and conduct, when it has no potency to transform lives. Well, the Prophet goes ahead to say that it is the rhema word and not the mere written word of God that changes lives.
In Fresh Revelation? “Rhema” Versus “Logos”, Dr. Craig Nelson wrote about logos and rhema when he said,
“There is a teaching in the church today that the Greek word ‘rhema’ is the spoken Word ‘from’ God to people today, and the Greek word ‘logos’ is God’s written Word as we have in the Bible. This has caused the belief that a ‘spoken’ word through prophecy, dreams, visions, or a Word of Knowledge is ‘fresh revelation’ that is greater than, and supersedes, the written Word, the Bible. This belief is being used to validate and justify teaching that is contrary to traditional orthodox Christianity. A simple word study of the original Greek language used in the New Testament (NT) quickly reveals that there is no major difference between the words ‘rhema’ and ‘logos.’”
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Therefore, the word is inherently useful for various purposes at different times. Pastor John F. MacArthur has stated that, “The Bible doesn’t depend on the experience of its readers to become the inspired Word of God.”
Let’s consider some Scriptures to settle this matter:
The Nature Of The Word Of God
2 Peter 1:19 (NKJV) says,
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
Psalms 19:7-10 (NKJV) says,
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”
The Power Of The Word Of God
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) notes that,
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Our Attitude Towards The Word Of God
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NKJV)
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
We see in the Scriptures above the authority of the word and how we must respond to it. We are supposed to keep all the commandments of God. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that, “…‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Whether rhema or logos, God has simply commanded us to obey His whole counsel through reading and studying the word for practical application to change our lives. If we neglect this, we cannot grow spiritually.
We can see from the above that the utterances of Prophet Amoako are not healthy for the church. It will make a lot of Christians dull towards the word of God but rather be chasing ‘prophecies’. But as the Psalmist has noted, we are supposed to meditate in the word day and night so that it will bear fruit in our lives. (Psalm 1)
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