Does God Still Speak Today?

The short answer: Yes. All Christians agree that God speaks today, above all through the Bible, and that any message claiming to come from God must be tested by it. Whether God still gives new prophecies, visions and the gift of tongues is a question faithful Christians genuinely disagree about. This chapter sets out the main views and doesn’t pick a side.

At a youth camp, someone stands up and says, “I believe God is saying this to someone here tonight.” A friend tells you God spoke to her in a dream. Meanwhile another church you visit says those things stopped with the apostles. Who’s right? Does God still speak, and how would you know?

Where Christians agree

Start with the large common ground.

• God speaks supremely in Jesus. “On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2).
• God speaks through Scripture. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). It isn’t a dead book. “For the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). Every time you open it, God is speaking.
• Jesus’ people hear Him. “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). The Spirit helps believers understand the Bible, convicts them of sin and guides them through prayer, wise advice and circumstances.
• Nothing overrules the Bible. Any claimed word from God must agree with Scripture. Paul said that even if “an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!” (Galatians 1:8).
• Everything must be tested. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1).

Where Christians differ

The continuationist view. Many Christians, including Pentecostals, charismatics and others, believe that all the gifts of the Spirit in the New Testament continue today, including prophecy, tongues and healing. They point out that Peter said the age of the Spirit had begun: “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). Paul told Christians, “eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14:1), and, “Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:20–21). They read “when the perfect comes” (1 Corinthians 13:10) as the return of Christ, so the gifts last until then. Most continuationists say that today’s prophecies are never equal to Scripture and must always be weighed.

The cessationist view. Many other Christians believe that prophecy and tongues as new revelation from God were given to lay the foundation of the church, which is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20), and that you don’t keep laying a foundation once it’s done. They stress that the faith was “entrusted once for all to the saints” (Jude 1:3), and that Scripture is all we need to know God’s will. They firmly believe God still guides, answers prayer and can work miracles. What they doubt is that He gives new revelation alongside the Bible.

Many Christians sit somewhere in between: open to these gifts, but cautious. Both main views love the Spirit and honour Scripture.

How to test what you hear

Whatever your church believes, you can ask these questions about any “word from God”:

• Does it agree with the Bible?
• Does it point to Jesus and make you love Him more?
• Do mature Christians weigh it and agree? When prophets spoke, Paul said “the others should weigh carefully what is said” (1 Corinthians 14:29).
• If it predicted something, did it come true? (Deuteronomy 18:22)

And be very careful when someone uses “God told me” to control you. If anyone says God wants you to keep a secret, date them, give them money or do something that feels wrong, that isn’t God. Tell a trusted adult.

If you want to hear God

Here’s something all Christians can agree on. If you want to hear God speak, open your Bible. That’s the one place everyone agrees He speaks clearly, every time.

Think about it: If someone told you “God told me” about something, what questions would you ask before believing it?

Go deeper: The Key Teachings of Hannah Whitall Smith — she believed God really guides His people, but taught that every inward impression must be tested by Scripture, by sanctified common sense and by circumstances, because God’s voice never contradicts itself. Start with chapter 9, “The Four Voices of Guidance”.