SDA and Spiritual Gifts,

Hi Bob, Good post, thanks for making me think, though sometimes thinking hurts . Anyway read the definitions of the two words, from the Greek words used in 1 Cor. And Eph. and see if you detect the difference that I see. I believe God built the foundations on Prophets who were special and those with the gift today are for “church” building up not “church” building as capital “p” Prophets are shown to be.

Prophet = in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation

Prophecy = prophecy
a. a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events

Notice in the Greek translation of the words there is a difference, though admittedly the root word is the same. I just think it is interesting how the main meaning of a prophecy is to declare the purposes of God. That is equated to what I see someone with the “gift of prophecy” doing in this dispensation. A Prophet with a capital P in the Greek, right off the bat in the definition, speaks of things hidden. The future telling of a prophecy is at the very end of the definition and therefore is the least of what the word means. Remember a Prophet tells prophecies of future events sometimes and at the time the 1 Cor was written it was still happening so the Greek word would indeed need to include future telling in its definition. Perhaps I am not being clear or it looks like I am taking a Bill Clinton approach to the word usage here but I am trying to give you some practical proof that there is a difference. I could just say that things are different in different dispensations but that probably would not be acceptable to you.

OK, a solid forehand from Brian, Bob chases it down and-----------
Your shot,
In Christ,
Brian

 

The problem with your theory is that you "need" two different dispensations to be addressed in the NT (one that covers events that go PAST the writings of ALL NT authors and even goes PAST their lifetimes).

And ANOTHER dispensation that begins AFTER all NT authors have died - having its own "different" defintion for "Prophecy". You would "need" a text that goes something like "and so bretheren once we have passed on and all those prophets today that are using the gift of prophecy given to us by God for these past 4000 years - there will come a new form of prophecy and this one we use today will become invalid. From then on when you speak of revelation and prophecy you will mean something entirely different than what you read about happening in our day or any day previous to this".

Such a text - I have never found.

In Ephesians 2 it does not say "one day you will be built upon the foundation of Christ and the Prophets" - it says that NOW you are built upon that foundation - and that was at a time when the Apostles AND the prophets were still prophesying and the spiritual gifts were still being handed out by the Spirit "To each one as HE wills".

Context - the primary audience "could not" have concluded "well then we have no prophets today" because even by your own dispensational model they were due for prophets until the death of the last one of their generation.

In Christ,

Bob