In a message marked by bold conviction and spiritual clarity, prophetic voice Joseph Z delivered a powerful teaching on the distinction between the natural and spiritual realms—and how understanding that difference helps believers navigate prophecy and the prophetic office.
“The spiritual is not first,” Z said, quoting 1 Corinthians 15:46. “But the natural.” He emphasized that many believers mistakenly assume that the spiritual realm precedes the natural in experience or development. But according to the apostle Paul and echoed by Z, it is the natural realm that comes first.
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“You wake up in the morning and everything you see is natural,” he said. “Some people wake up in the Holy Ghost… the harp is playing… good morning, Lord. Others wake up like, ‘Good Lord, it’s morning.’”
Despite the humor, Z pressed into a critical principle: spiritual maturity requires moving past our five senses. “The five senses are a part of this soulish area or the veil,” he said. That veil, he explained, is made up of “your mind, your will, your emotions.”
Drawing from Hebrews 5:14, Z reminded listeners that “those who through reason of use, they exercise their senses to discern the difference between good and evil.” In other words, training the senses through faith and use leads to discernment and spiritual growth.
To bridge the divide between the natural and spiritual, Z taught that believers must discipline themselves to align with God’s Word. “What we are moved by is the word of God,” he said. “When you begin to discipline your five senses and bring it under the authority of the word of God, you start to participate in what is in the spirit.”
Z broke down the elements of salvation using the Greek roots for “sozo” and “soteria,” saying, “You’re saved, you’re delivered, you’re preserved, you’re protected, you are prosperous, you are healed, and you are whole.”
In the natural realm, Z said, faith becomes the mechanism to access what’s already complete in the spirit. “Everything you need is right here. Everything is in the spirit. By grace through faith, we receive.”
He then tied this understanding directly to the prophetic: “This is also how prophecy works.”
For Z, prophecy is not a mystical status but a gift and a calling that must be grounded in biblical authority. “Prophets, if you’re craving to be a prophet, you’re probably not called to be one,” he said. “I ran from that. I’m like, ‘No, Jesus. I don’t want to wear the name tag or anything.’”
He also drew a sharp line between those who operate in the gift of prophecy and those who stand in the office of a prophet. “The difference between the gift of prophecy and the office is responsibility,” Z said. “God calls you, Ephesians 4:11 and 12, to edify and build up the body of Christ… to encourage, edify and equip the body.”
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Rejecting a culture obsessed with titles, Z added, “I go on TV programs and they’re like, ‘Joseph, should we call you prophet?’ I’m like, ‘How about Joseph? I like that better.’”
At the heart of his message was this: “We’re here to serve the body of Christ.” Whether operating in gifts or standing in the fivefold ministry, Z reminded believers that the goal is not clout, but calling.
“We need to get back to the fundamentals of the word of God,” he said. And for Z, that starts with recognizing the difference between the natural and spiritual, and stepping boldly into the calling God has placed on your life.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
