Prophesy in the Dispensation of the Church

Dr. Couch, I've heard you say that in the NT there is no one who prophesied except the apostles and also Agabus (Acts 11:28). But is this true?

Yes, this is true, but I was talking about the dispensation of the church. There are those who were under the dispensation of the law, mentioned in Acts 1, who were able to give prophetic utterances, such as Zacharias (Luke 1:67), Simeon (2:25) and Anna (v. 36). Of Simeon it was said "The Holy Spirit was upon him" (v. 25).

But you cannot find the average Christian, once you get into the dispensation of the church, who prophesied into the future. There were prophets who were "teaching" prophets but not giving prophecy into the future.

Remember, the key to understanding the Bible has to do with OBSERVATION! We observe what the text is saying. We don't come to the Bible with our preconceived ideas; we let the Bible speak to us—we do not tell it what to say!

Key words for Bible study are: OBSERVATION, INTERPRETATION, and APPLICATION. And, the word CONTEXT is also most important. If we do not interpret by Context we will get terribly confused!

Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch (3/11)

Power and Wisdom

Dr. Couch, I have two questions on 1 Corinthians 2:1-4: Do we have the same power and wisdom Paul spoke of in these verses? Paul said that he did not go to the Corinthians with persuasive human wisdom but with the power of the Spirit and of God. Is the "we" in verse 6 all and any believer who went to Corinth with Paul, or is he referring to the other apostles as well? Do all believers have apostolic wisdom or is this only for the apostles?

ANSWER: All believers can have wisdom but apostolic authority and wisdom is something else.

Many argue that we today, have that same Spirit guided wisdom and can give revelation just as the apostles did, as well as Paul. But the inspiration of Scripture comes from the writings of the apostles, including Paul, and not the average believer, though the Spirit is certainly working with us in giving forth truth, but we have to be careful, we are not writing-inspired apostles. Spiritual revelation was only given to the apostles and not us today.

The Corinthian church knew that Paul was referring to the other apostles. We can show verses that substantiate this.

Paul asks the Corinthians were they the first to receive the word of God, or had it come to them only? (14:16). It went to many people before it arrived in the Corinthian church. Anyone who does not recognize that Paul was giving to them "the Lord's commandment" (v. 37) is not recognized by the Lord (v. 38). He has an apostolic mission as a writing disciple—something that others do not have.

Because Paul was a late-comer he says that he was "the least of an apostle" since he had persecuted the church of the Lord (15:9). But the Lord still appeared unto him as one with authority (v. 8). By God's grace "he is what he is" (v. 10a). In fact, he labored even more than the other apostles and disciples (v. 10). With God-given authority, "the grace of God was given to him" to be a writing apostle (v. 10b). He adds, "Whether then it was I (alone) or they (the other apostles), we preach[ed] and so you believed" (v. 11). They believed because Paul was using his authority and giving them what the Lord wished him to say!

By putting himself forward, and boasting, Paul had "become foolish" being compelled by the Corinthians to defend his position (2 Cor. 12:11a). He was not "inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though "he was a nobody" (v. 11b). The signs of a true apostle were performed before the Corinthians through Paul "with all patience, by signs and wonders and miracles" (v. 12). The "true apostles" were the big apostles; this is not referring to us!

Paul had made three trips to the Corinthian church (13:1a) and others confirmed his authority, "Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witness" (v. 1b). It was Christ who was speaking in Paul (13:3). Paul was weak in his ministry in the eyes of the Corinthians but "mighty" in helping them grow up (v. 3b). God's power, was directed toward the Corinthians, through Paul (v. 4b). Paul was writing to the Corinthians, though absent from them, "in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave him, for building up [the church] and not for tearing [it] down" (v. 10).

Thanks for asking,
Dr. Mal Couch (1/11)

Who Are "We"?

Dr. Couch, Who are the 'we' in Romans 1:5? ANSWER:  The "we" would possibly be the apostles but it could also include the church saints to whom Paul is writing. Note verse 6 where he writes "among whom YOU ALSO (the church saints) are the called of Jesus Christ." The larger body of church saints are added to the "through whom we (the apostles) have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake" (v. 5).    Paul then adds, "To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints ..." (v. 7).    Good question; thanks for asking.    --Dr. Mal Couch (8/10)

Apostles and Prophets in the OT Economy

Dr. Couch, it seems to me the "apostles and prophets" in Ephesians 2:20 has to do with the apostles and prophets in the OT economy. How would you answer? ANSWER:  Remember we determine doctrine by "observation" of the context, and by the Greek grammar of the sentence. This issue is settled by the grammar of the passage. In the commentary written by Dr. John Witmer and myself, we point out (p. 150) that prophets are listed following apostles, church prophets are in view (cf. 3:5; 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28-29). Verses 19-20 say "We no longer are strangers (the church saints) and aliens, but you are fellow citizens ... having been built UPON the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ..." The same is repeated in 3:5. "What was (in the past) not made known to the sons of men, revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit." And, to the church He had given "some as apostles, and some as prophets, ..." (4:11). And to the church "God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets ..." (1 Cor. 12:28).    It is important to note that in 2:19-20 we have one proposition: "foundation OF the apostles and [EVEN] prophets." This virtually makes the two offices equal, that is, the same thing. So also in 3:5: "His HOLY apostles and [even] prophets." Though the offices are separated in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and in Ephesians 4:11.    The greatest commentary on Ephesians ever written is by Dr. Harold Hoehner (he took 20 years to finish it). He taught Greek that long at Dallas Seminary. He writes: "First, there is only one article for both nouns. ... The one article may indicate that 'groups more or less distinct are treated as one for the purpose in hand.'"    The old Greek scholar Armitage Robinson writes: "Paul is not taking us back from the New Covenant (which he is writing about here in Ephesians 2) to the Old—not speaking of Old Testament prophets in the past—when he says that the apostles and prophets are the foundation of the new House of God."    Even amillennialist Charles Hodge gets it right. He writes: "The prophets here mentioned are those of the new dispensation [of the church], is evident—first from the position of the terms. It would more naturally be prophets and apostles if the Old Testament prophets had been intended. ... The statement here made that the apostles and prophets are, or have laid, the foundation of that house of which the Gentiles are a part, is more obviously true of the New (Covenant), than of the Old Testament prophets. ... The apostle-prophets—or apostles who are prophets. ... Both apostles and prophets belong to the class of Christian teachers [not of the Old Testament]."    Finally, the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC) (old Dallas Seminary) says "The 'prophets' are of the New Testament era, not the Old Testament. 'Prophets' follows the word 'apostles' here and in 3:5 and 4:11. These men received the revelation of the mystery of the church in the present Age, which had been hidden in days past, that is, in Old Testament times (3:5)."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (7-10)

Why Pray when God is Sovereign?

Dr. Couch, why pray if God is sovereign? ANSWER: Don't you imagine that this same question was asked a thousand times by the prophets and apostles of old! We forget that God "ordains both the ends and the means" to accomplish His purposes. And He uses human agents, though He is actually working within us, as His agents, to fulfill His plans. Paul writes "For it is God who is working in you, both to the willing and the doing for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). "Working" is a Present Participle with the idea: "He is continually and progressively working (producing energy) in us" for His purposes. "To be willing" and "To be working" are both Present Infinitives. "God" is emphatic in the verse. "IT IS GOD who is doing these things ..." We can never reconcile God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, but the Bible speaks of both. God is 100% sovereign and we are 100% responsible. I can't understand this! Yet, one does not cancel out the other. Both are true and are operative in life. We must take the Word of God at face value. It is consistent in what it teaches even though we may not be able to reconcile it all. Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch (Jan., 10)