Is there an “office” of “prophet” in Christianity?
Friend: Do you see anything in the New Testament which would lead one toward using the term “Ephesians 4 Prophet” to designate the “office” of a prophet as opposed to just anyone with a prophetic gift? [Some people] point to 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul seems to imply very distinct roles—1. Apostle, 2. Prophet—but I dont think his overall gist would be that we start using those as definers of who we are. Me: First, the gist of the New Testament on contemporary prophecy is that it’s something lots of people can do (Matthew 7:22; Acts 2:17-18, 19:6, 21:9; 1 Corinthians 14:31) that’s subject to the judgment of all (Matthew 7:15, 1 Corinthians 12:3, 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20; 1 John 4:1). Second, the Bible does not draw a distinction between a “prophet” and “one who prophesies.” Those who read Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28 as doing so are baking their own ideas into the text. (Similarly, those who read the fivefold list in Ephesians 4:11 as a non-overlapping set of Christ...