DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
GIFT OF THE
PROPHET & PROPHESYING
One of the reasons there is
confusion today about the prophet gift is the failure to distinguish between
the “gift of the prophet” and “gift of prophesying”.
According to
Ephesians 4:11-16 “He (Christ: See v7)) gave some… i.e.,
prophets …for the 1) perfecting of the saints, 2) for the work
of the ministry, 3) for the edifying of the body of Christ…”. In the Greek,
this passage states that these equipping leaders were themselves a gift of
Christ to His church and it was not just the gift of prophecy that was
given. Even though to the casual reader it may appear to be just a play on
words, this fact is crucial in understanding the difference in the “gift of
the prophet” and the “gift of prophesying”. I Corinthians 12:28
adds, “And God hath set some in
the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets,
thirdly teachers…”
Only the prophet, as an
equipping servant-leader, is qualified according to Scripture to function in
what the KJV calls “office”. It is important to qualify this word “office”,
for the connotation today is that “office” implies position or rank. In
reality, the KJV’s use of the word “office” does not accurately translate
that Greek word in any of the above three cases.
All three uses of the word
“office” used in the KJV, which include Romans
11:13, Romans 12:4 and I
Timothy 3:1 should not be translated as
“office”. Romans 11:13 “I am the apostle of the
Gentiles, I magnify mine “office” (diakonia
service, ministry). Romans 12:4 “For as we have many
members in the one body, and all members have not the same “office”
(proxis work, action, use).” I Timothy 3:1
“This is a true saying, If a man desire, the “office”
(episcope oversite) of a bishop, he desireth a good
work.”
In truth, the “office” is
not a position nor a rank, but rather a descriptive function. The different
Greek names given to represent the various leaders in the church (i.e.
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, deacons, etc.), simply
describe who these leaders were and what their function was in the church.
The servant leaders who are
described in Ephesians 4:11 were themselves gifts to
the church. Their primary purpose was to serve and lead
by example. Their primary function was 1) “For the
perfecting of the saints,” 2) “for the work of ministry,” 3) “for the
edifying of the body of Christ:”
A person who serves in the
function of a prophet, that is as one who is a gift from Christ to the
church to equip the body, operates in this gift as a primary ministry and is
known and recognized by the church as a result of the confirmation of the
Holy Spirit.
The “gift of prophesying” on
the other hand, is a gift of the Holy Spirit available to any believer in
the Body of Christ. According to I Corinthians 12:7
“The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal.
I Corinthians 12:8, 10 adds, “For to one
is given by the Spirit…i.e. prophecy…” In I Corinthians 12:11
it states, “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing
to every man severally as he will.”
I Corinthians 12:18 says, “But now hath God set the
members every one of them I the body, as it hath pleased him.”
In I Corinthians 12:29 it says, “Are all apostles?
(Greek: ‘No’) Are all prophets?” (Greek: ‘No’) Are all teachers?” (Greek:
‘No’)
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