B. The NT Ministry of Prophet.
Luk 7:15 And the one who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother.
Luk 7:16 And fear came on all. And they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has risen up among us; and, God has visited His people.
Luk 7:26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet.
Luk 7:27 This is he of whom it is written, "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall prepare Your way before You."
Luk 7:28 For I say to you, Among those who are born of woman there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. But he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
IN the OT the prophet was a Seer
nabiy', from naaba' "to bubble forth as a fountain," as Psa_45:1, "my heart is bubbling up a good matter," namely, inspired by the Holy Spirit; 2Pe_1:19-21; Job_32:8; Job_32:18-19; Job_32:20. Roeh, "seer," from raah "to see," was the term in Samuel's days (1Sa_9:9) which the sacred writer of 1 Samuel calls "beforetime"; but nabi was the term as far back as the Pentateuch, and roeh does not appear until Samuel's time, and of the ten times of its use in seven it is applied to Samuel. Chozeh, "seer," from the poetical chazeh "see," is first found in 2Sa_24:11, Fausset
The meaning of Prophet in the NT
G4396 προφήτης prophētēs
Thayer Definition:
1) in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things
2) 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
2a) the OT prophets, having foretold the kingdom, deeds and death, of Jesus the Messiah.
2b) of John the Baptist, the herald of Jesus the Messiah
2c) of the illustrious prophet, the Jews expected before the advent of the Messiah
2d) the Messiah
2e) of men filled with the Spirit of God, who by God’s authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges salvation of men
2f) of prophets that appeared in the apostolic age among Christians
2f1) they are associated with the apostles
2f2) they discerned and did what is best for the Christian cause, foretelling certain future events. (Act_11:27)
2f3) in the religious assemblies of the Christians, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, having power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate, their hearers
Strongs prophētēs
prof-ay'-tace
From a compound of G4253 and G5346; a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy an inspired speaker; by extension a poet: - prophe
The Free Dictionary <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/prophet>
1. A person who speaks by divine inspiration or as the interpreter through whom the will of a god is expressed.
2. A person gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression.
3. A predictor;
Christ as a Prophet of God
The Jews in Jesus Day were expecting the Prophet promised by Moses to be raised up to deliver them from the Romans.Deu 18:15 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (Moses) from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—ESV
IV. Christ the Prophet ISBE
Christ's ministry illustrates the prophetic office in the most extensive and exalted sense of the term. He was designed and appointed by the Father (Isa_61:1, Isa_61:2; compare Luk_4:16-21; Mat_17:5). In 1Co_1:30, Christ is declared to be made to us wisdom. His intimate knowledge of God (Joh_1:18; Mat_11:27; Joh_16:15), the qualities of His teaching dependent upon His nature, both Divine and human (Joh_3:34); His authority (Joh_1:9, Joh_1:17, Joh_1:18; Luk_4:18-21); His knowledge of God (Mar_12:29; Joh_4:24; Mat_11:25; Joh_17:11, Joh_17:25; Mat_18:35) - these all peculiarly fitted Christ to be the Revealer of God.
Besides His doctrine of God, His ministry included the truth concerning Himself, His nature, claims, mission, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, and the religious life of man. He taught as none other the foundation of religion, the facts on which it was based, the essence of Divine service, the nature of sin, the grace of God, the means of atonement, the laws of the kingdom of God and the future state. By the acknowledgment of even those who have denied His Divine nature and redemptive work, He has been recognized as the Supreme Moral Teacher of the world.
His claim to be the Prophet is seen in that He is the source of the ever-extending revelation of the eternal. His own words and works He declared were only part of the fuller knowledge which would be furnished by the system which He established (Luk_9:45; Luk_18:34; Joh_12:16; Joh_14:26; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:12, Joh_16:13, Joh_16:14).
1. Christ's Manner of Teaching
How remarkable was His method of teaching! Parable, proverb, absolute affirmation, suggestion, allusion to simple objects, practical life - these all made His teaching powerful, easily understood, living; sometimes His action was His word - and all with a commanding dignity and gracious winsomeness, that was felt by His hearers and has ever been recognized (Mat_7:29). So perfect and exalted was the teaching of Jesus that many have supposed that revelation ceased with Him, and the immediate followers whom He especially inspired to be His witnesses and interpreters. Certainly in Him the prophetic ministry culminated.
2. Christ as Prophet in His Church
An important aspect of Christ's prophetic office is that of His relation to the church as the source, through the instrumentality of His Spirit, of ever-enlarging knowledge of Divine truth which it has been able to gain. This is the real significance of the claim which some churches make to be the custodians and interpreters of the tradition of faith, with which has also gone theory of development - not as a human act but as a ministration of the Lord through His Spirit, which is granted to the church.
Even those who hold that all Divine truth is to be found in the sacred Scriptures have yet maintained that God has much truth still to bring out of His word by the leading and direction of the Spirit of Jesus. The Scripture itself declares that Christ was the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (Joh_1:9).
He Himself promised that the Spirit which He would give would guide His followers into all truth (Joh_16:13).
The apostles claimed to receive their teaching and direction of the church from the Lord (1Co_11:23).
The testimony of Jesus is definitely declared to be the spirit of prophecy (Rev_19:10).
Indeed, all the apostolic writings in almost every line affirm that what they teach is received from the Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Lord.
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| The Temple Mount Jerusalem in the Time of Christ |
3. Christ the Prophet of Prediction
Mat 24:1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."
Barnes :There shall not be left here one stone upon another - At the time this was spoken, no event was more improbable than this. The temple was vast, rich, splendid. It was the pride of the nation, and the nation was at peace. Yet in the short space of 40 years all this was accomplished exactly. Jerusalem was taken by the Roman armies, under the command of Titus, 70 a.d. The account of the siege and destruction of the city is left us by Josephus, a historian of undoubted veracity and singular fidelity. He was a Jewish priest. In the wars of which he gives an account, he fell into the hands of the Romans, and remained with them during the siege and destruction of the city. Being a Jew, he would of course say nothing designed to confirm the prophecies of Jesus Christ; yet his whole history appears almost like a running commentary on these predictions respecting the destruction of the temple. The following particulars are given on his authority:
Mat 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray.
Mat 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.
Mat 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Mat 24:8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
Mat 24:9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
Mat 24:12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
Mat 24:13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Mat 24:15 "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
Mat 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Mat 24:17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house,
Mat 24:18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
Mat 24:19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
Mat 24:20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
Mat 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
4. Agabus, a Prophet of the Early Church.
Act 11:27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
Act 11:28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).
Harold Horton spoke of big Prophets and little Prophets. The Big Prophets were people such as Agabus who were the the Ministry Gift of Christ to the Church. Their ministry was often larger than just one local church. These prophets in Acts 11:27 came down to Antioch from Jerusalem. Barnabas was already in Antioch where a great number of Greeks had believed on the Lord.
Agabus foretold the worldwide famine in the days of Claudius
The Little prophets were those of 1 Corinthians 12 where it says that all may prophesy.
Act_21:10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
Act 21:11 And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'"
Act 21:12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Act 21:13 Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
V.11And when he was come unto us,.... In Philip's house:
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| The prophet Agabus predicting Paul's Arrest in Jerusalem |
he took Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet; and so prophesied by types and symbols, and gestures, as the prophets of old did; as Isaiah in Isa_20:2 and Jeremiah in Jer_13:1, and Ezekiel in Eze_4:1 and Hosea in Hos_1:2, some understand this of his binding Paul's hands and feet, but it seems rather to design his own:
and said, thus saith the Holy Ghost; who was in Agabus, and spoke by him, and foretold some things to come to pass; and which did come to pass, and is a proof of the foreknowledge, and so of the deity of the blessed Spirit:
so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this girdle; meaning Paul, and who accordingly was bound in like manner, a very little time after this; see Act_21:33
and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles; the Romans, as they afterwards did.
5. The Prophets of 1 Corinthians 12,14
Spiritual gifts
The charismata, or special endowments of supernatural energy, such as prophecy and speaking with tongues. “Before this consciousness of a higher power than their own, the ordinary and natural faculties of the human mind seemed to retire, to make way for loftier aspirations, more immediate intimations of the divine will, more visible manifestations of the divine power.... It resembled in some degree the inspiration of the Jewish judges, psalmists, and prophets; VWS
1Co 12:11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
The Gift of Prophecy.
1Co 12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
1Co 12:8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
1Co 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
1Co 12:10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
So in the List of Spiritual Gifts of 1 Cor 12 we see the Prift of prophecy for the common good of the church.
1Co 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
But rather that ye may prophesy (mallon de hina prophēteuēte). Distinct aim in view as in 1Co_14:5. Old verb from prophētēs, common in N.T. Present subjunctive, “that ye may keep on prophesying.” RWP
So in the pursuit of the Charismata (Spiritual Gifts) we should earnestly desire to prophesy.
earnestly desire G2206 ζηλόω
zēloō Thayer Definition:
1) to burn with zeal
1a) to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger
1a1) in a good sense, to be zealous in the pursuit of good
1b) to desire earnestly, pursue
1b1) to desire one earnestly, to strive after, busy one’s self about him
1Co 14:2 For he who speaks in an unknown tongue is not speaking to men, but to God; for no one understands him. Yet in the Spirit he is speaking secret truths.
1Co 14:3 But he who prophesies speaks to men words of edification, encouragement and comfort.
To edification - See the note at 1Co_10:23. Speaks so as to enlighten and strengthen the church.
And exhortation - See the note at Rom_12:8. He applies and enforces the practical duties of religion, and urges motives for a holy life.
And comfort - Encouragement. That is, he presents the promises and the “hopes” of the gospel; the various considerations adapted to administer comfort in the time of trial. The other might do this, but it would be in a foreign language, and would be useless to the church.Barnes
1Co 14:5 I wish all of you to speak in languages, but rather that you may prophesy; for greater is he prophesying than he speaking in tongues, unless he interpret so that the church may receive building up.
1Co 14:6 But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you, except I speak to you either in revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophecy, or in teaching?
1Co 14:24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
1Co 14:25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
Barnes : His secrets are made manifest to himself in a surprising and remarkable manner. He shall be led to see the “real” designs and motives of his heart. His conscience would be awakened; he would recall his former course of life; he would see that it was evil; and the present state of his heart would be made known to himself. It is possible that he would “suppose that the speaker was aiming directly at him, and “revealing” his feelings to others; for such an effect is often produced. The convicted sinner often supposes that the preacher particularly intends “him,” and wonders that he has such an acquaintance with his feelings and his life;
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| Darrell Alexander prophesying |
Speak two or three - On the same days, or at the same meeting; see the note at 1Co_14:27.
And let the other judge - The word “other” (οἱ ἄλλοι hoi alloi, “the others”), Bloomfield supposes refers to the other prophets; and that the meaning is, that they should decide whether what was said was dictated by the Holy Spirit, or not. and deliberate on what was spoken, and determine whether it had evidence of being in accordance with the truth.
1Co 14:30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
1Co 14:31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
1Co 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
The evident meaning of this is, that they were able to control their inclination to speak; they were not under a necessity of speaking, even though they might be inspired. There was no need of disorder.Barnes
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| Releasing the prophetic Word in Sri lanka 2011 |
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