1 Corinthians 12-14

The major passage that deals most directly with the question of prophets and prophecy in the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 12-14. The Corinthians want to know about the workings of the Holy Spirit in the church. Paul, however, is more concerned about the unity of the church (cf. the one-body imagery of 12:12-27), which is a co-theme of this section. In 1 Corinthians 12, the work of the Spirit is divided into two lists of gifts (verses 7-11 and 28-31), which are commonly assumed to be equivalent. However, there are significant differences between the two lists.UEGW 21.5

The first list (1 Cor. 12:7-11) is made up of “manifestations” that are accomplished by the Spirit, not offices or roles. The focus of this list, therefore, is on specific expressions of the Spirit’s work, such as words of wisdom and knowledge. So this list concerns the products of the Spirit’s work in human beings, manifested in actions. Therefore, you do not find “apostle” or “prophet” in this list, but there is mention of “prophecy.” In contrast to the second list, individuals have no steady claim on these manifestations, they are given by the Spirit to whomever He wills and whenever He wills.UEGW 22.1

The second list (verses 28-31) is made up of gifts in the form of offices into which God has placed people. These roles in the church are listed in plural, with “apostles” and “prophets” being the first two. In contrast to the first list, these offices are not arbitrary on the part of the Spirit; they can be sought or “eagerly desired” (NIV and ESV of verse 31; cf. 11). As we have seen above, they are listed in a hierarchical order of authority.UEGW 22.2

This passage explicitly articulates the New Testament distinction between the office of the prophet (the few) and the general manifestation of prophecy and prophesying among all the believers. In order of church leadership, a prophet stands above all other offices except that of apostle (cf. 1 Cor. 14:5). The message of the prophet is incomplete in comparison with the clarity of eternity (1 Cor. 13:9-12). God’s revelation to us is like an adult attempting to explain adult things to a two-year-old. It is the clearest revelation of God’s will available to us, yet it is incomplete on account of our own limitations of understanding.UEGW 22.3

Coming to chapter 14 we must note a number of facts: (1) It was not the purpose of this chapter to lay out the nature of prophecy. Its purpose was to bring order and unity into the worship services in Corinth (cf. verse 40). (2) The Corinthian situation was an aberration, not the norm. Thus we must not assume that Paul’s discussion of the question there is normative for us in every detail. (3) The apostle clearly exercises his apostolic authority over those in Corinth who would claim to be prophets (verse 37). It was the function of an apostle as a founder of the church to have leadership authority. The quality of special revelation is the same for apostle and prophet. There are no degrees of inspiration.UEGW 22.4

The use of prophet to describe individuals in Corinth seems to contradict the earlier distinction between the office of the prophet and the manifestation of prophecy and prophesying in a more general sense (1 Cor. 12). Certainly, if the Corinthians manifested genuine gifts from God, the use of prophecy and prophesying would better fit what occurred in their midst. Yet in 1 Corinthians 14:29, Paul regulates these activities by ordering the Corinthian “prophets” to limit their activities to two or three at a time. Having said that, however, Paul himself seems to doubt that these are real prophets. In verse 37, he challenges the would- be prophets: “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet . . .” (italics added). Therefore, while some statements in chapter 14 (such as verses 3-6, 22-25) seem to be universally applicable, much of what we find here is colored by the bizarre situation of the Corinthian church, a situation so bizarre that a Corinthian prophet could curse Christ and think he was in the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). The temptation to diminish the role of the New Testament prophet on the basis of 1 Corinthians 14 must be tempered by the evidence of Revelation.UEGW 23.1