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DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THE
GIFT
OF One of the reasons there is
confusion in the church today about the prophet gift is the failure to
distinguish between the “gift of the prophet” and “gift of
prophesying”. One is a
“gift of the prophet” from Christ to the church and the other is a
“gift of prophesying” given by the Holy Spirit to individuals within
the church. Even though to
the casual reader this may appear to be just a play on words">
Back
to Download Teaching page - Back
to More Teaching page DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THE
GIFT
OF One of the reasons there is
confusion in the church today about the prophet gift is the failure to
distinguish between the “gift of the prophet” and “gift of
prophesying”. One is a
“gift of the prophet” from Christ to the church and the other is a
“gift of prophesying” given by the Holy Spirit to individuals within
the church. Even though to
the casual reader this may appear to be just a play on words, this fact is
important in understanding the difference in the “gift of the prophet”
and the “gift of prophesying”. According to Ephesians
4:11-16 “He(Christ: See v7))gave some… i.e., prophets(Note
the significance of the plural use of prophets emphasizing the
importance of functioning in plurality for mutual accountability and
judging of the prophesies given to the church)…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 clearly 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. 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 the “office” of a prophet.
However, 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 three times it occurs.
All three uses of the word
“office” in the KJV, which include Romans 11:13,
Romans 12:4 and I Timothy 3:1 , should not be translated as
“office”. In Romans
11:13 Paul said, “I am
the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine “office” (Gr.diakonia=service,
ministry). Romans 12:4
states, “For as we have many members in the one body, and all members
have not the same “office” (Gr.proxis=work, action, use).”
I Timothy 3:1 it says, “This is a true saying, If a man
desire, the “office”(Gr.episkope=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:” Those who serve in the
function or “office” of a prophet, that is as a “gift” from Christ
to the church, operate in this gift as their primary ministry and are
known and recognized through discernment by the church as a result of the
confirmation of the Holy Spirit. Because
the prophets are a “gift” to the church, the prophets function in a
continuing prophetic ministry and they consistently walk in that gift
because that is who they are in the Body of Christ. Now, concerning the issue
of the “gift of prophesying”. It
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 in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
In I Corinthians 12:29 it says, “Are all apostles?(Gr. ‘No’)Are
all prophets?”(Gr. ‘No’)Are all teachers?” (Gr. ‘No’) Thus we see that the
“gift of prophesying” is available from the Holy Spirit to all
believer in the Body of Christ. The
“gift of prophesying” can be ministered by the Spirit through any
believer in the Body of Christ at any time the Spirit chooses.
The persons who minister in the “gift of prophesying” do so by
the unction of the Holy Spirit. Persons
who are moved by the Spirit to prophesy may be led to prophecy “only one
time” or “many times” depending upon how the Holy Spirit leads.
The “gift of prophesying” is exercised by any believer within
the Body according to the order given in I Corinthians 14:22-33.
Another Scriptural safeguard is given according to I Corinthians 14:32, “The
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” Back
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