{"id":59973,"date":"2026-05-12T11:49:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kernbeisser.ch\/?p=59973"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:36:21","slug":"god-has-told-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kernbeisser.ch\/en\/god-has-told-me\/","title":{"rendered":"God has told me"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”136862″]It sounds particularly pious, convincing and supposedly based on the Bible. When someone says, “God told me”, what happens? Do you feel intimidated or just strongly confirmed in your beliefs?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”403029″]Does God speak to you? Such an assertion is part of a relevant understanding of faith in some communities. It’s great when God speaks to you in person. That marks relevance, doesn’t it? I would like to devote some attention to this in this article. I would also like to doubt it. Whenever I hear something like “The Lord told me”, “Jesus showed me” or “God told me”, I start to wonder. What drives a person to make such statements? What is happening here? Are there prophets today like in the old days or is this just an outgrowth of pious beliefs? How should I assess this?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”700380″]<\/p>\n

In concrete terms<\/h3>\n

It sounds pious when you hear such phrases. This is most common in charismatic communities. Don’t we read something similar in the Bible? In Isaiah, for example, we read: <\/p>\n

“The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it comes down to Israel<\/em>”
\n Isa 9:8<\/em><\/p>\n

This is written directly in the Bible. Isn’t everything in the Bible supposed to be eternally valid and always and at all times “true”? Isaiah then speaks this word. Does this automatically mean that God is sending his word to you or me today? This is an important question, because the wording alone does not make a statement about a divine utterance. Isaiah also writes: <\/p>\n

“For the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, is carrying out destruction and a firmament in the midst of the whole earth<\/em>”
\n Isa 10:23<\/em><\/p>\n

Does such a statement now allow one to say anything about the church or about the lives of others today and for God? Is it particularly meaningful to make such a pronouncement about others? <\/p>\n

If someone claims to speak in God’s name, you should ask specifically: Where and how did you hear this? Are you a self-declared prophet or has someone forced you to do so? How is it that people suddenly start prophesying in God’s name? <\/p>\n

Isaiah spoke in God’s name. He said something like: <\/p>\n

“Therefore thus says the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, ‘Do not be afraid, my people who dwell in Zion, of Assyria, when he strikes you with a rod and raises his staff against you after the manner of Egypt.<\/em>”
\n Isa 10:24<\/em><\/p>\n

He also says something like this:<\/p>\n

“For thus has the Lord spoken to me: Go, set a watchman; let him report what he sees.<\/em>”
\n Isa 21:6<\/em><\/p>\n

Now if someone stands up and uses the same words, what happens? Is this person a prophet like Isaiah? It is appropriate to ask how this person heard the message. More on this later.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”131294″]<\/p>\n

A warning against the wording<\/h3>\n

Doubts are appropriate when someone claims a divine origin for their statements. Because not everyone who cries “Lord, Lord!” does so in the right sense. In the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus speaks about the Messianic kingdom, it says: <\/p>\n

“Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord! Did we not prophesy through your name, and through your name cast out demons, and through your name perform many miracles?” And then I will confess to them: I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers!” <\/em>
\nMt 7:21-23<\/p>\n

So the wording alone is not enough. According to Jesus, it should be supplemented with “whoever does the will of my Father”. This is how it reads in Matthew 7. Anyone who claims something like “The Lord told me” does not fulfill a divine ISO standard for prophecy. As everywhere in Scripture, it is not the statement but the effect in everyday life that is important. <\/p>\n

“But what do you call me, Lord, Lord! and do not do what I say?<\/em>”
\nLuke 6:41<\/p>\n

You shouldn’t fantasize about a reverse conclusion here, i.e. “If I do the right thing, I can say what I want afterwards”. It doesn’t work like that. But what if you take a few steps back and look at these customs and “Lord, Lord!” cries from a distance? What claim do people derive from this? Why do they say it like that? Here are two possibilities: <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Arrogance<\/strong>
    \nOne demands obedience from other people as confirmation of one’s own assumptions or acceptance by others is “proof” of one’s own self-righteousness, rightness and piety.<\/li>\n
  2. Insecurity<\/strong>
    \nBy referring to God or Jesus, people conceal their own insecurity or it is an attempt to “belong” in this community, in which such statements are particularly important.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Anyone who presents themselves as a divine oracle, perhaps with the label “prophet” stuck on them, does not win a fictitious cup of faith. There are warnings and one should not prematurely deduce a divine origin from human words.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”109877″]<\/p>\n

    Your word or God’s word?<\/h3>\n

    Which origin applies? Bible writers also give answers other than “I am a prophet, so I speak in God’s place”. Paul writes humbly: <\/p>\n

    ” … for the sake of the grace given to me by God.<\/em>”
    \nRom 15:15<\/p>\n

    He also clearly differentiates between the Lord’s words and his own thoughts:<\/p>\n

    ” … I instruct, that is, not I, but the Lord.<\/em>”
    \n1 Corinthians 7:10<\/p>\n

    “… I have no command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as (one who is credible on the basis of) the mercy obtained from the Lord.<\/em>”
    \n1Cor 7,25<\/p>\n

    Of course Paul’s word has a meaning. He is an apostle. However, he does not state this here as if we had to “blindly believe”, but rather he reports on his own knowledge based on the mercy he received from the Lord. His experience and the mercy he experienced from God should make him credible. This is sober and makes his statements more credible.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”556828″]<\/p>\n

    Hear the message<\/h3>\n

    How do people hear a message? Well, I have heard various comments on this. <\/p>\n