Rom 12:6 | TNotes | STEP | 12:6 The ability to prophesy was one of the most important of the New Testament gifts (see also 1 Cor 12:28 ; Eph 4:11 ). Although prophets are mentioned in several passages in Acts as predicting the future (see Acts 11:28 ; 21:10-12 ), the prophet’s most fundamental responsibility is to communicate God’s message to the community of believers (1 Cor 12:3 , 24-25 , 29-30 ; see also 1 Cor 14:1-40 ). • as much faith as God has given you (literally in proportion to the faith ): Proportion (Greek analogia ) is a word drawn from mathematics and logic, where it refers to the correct proportions in a relationship among things, quantities, or ideas. Paul uses the phrase to remind prophets to make sure that their utterances are in right proportion to faith, whether the amount of individual faith the prophet has been given, or the Christian faith in general (see study note on Rom 12:3). This passage has given theology the phrase the analogy of faith, which refers to the importance of bringing the interpretation of any particular passage into line with the teaching of all of Scripture.

a12:6►

b1 Cor 12:28►

cEph 4:11►

dActs 11:28►

e21:10-12►

f1 Cor 12:3►

g24-25►

h29-30►

i1 Cor 14:1-40►

‏ Romans 12:6

12:6 ^a The ability to prophesy was one of the most important of the New Testament gifts (see also 1 Cor 12:28 ^b; Eph 4:11 ^c). Although prophets are mentioned in several passages in Acts as predicting the future (see Acts 11:28 ^d; 21:10-12 ^e), the prophet’s most fundamental responsibility is to communicate God’s message to the community of believers (1 Cor 12:3 ^f, 24-25 ^g, 29-30 ^h; see also 1 Cor 14:1-40 ⁱ).

• as much faith as God has given you (literally in proportion to the faith): Proportion (Greek analogia) is a word drawn from mathematics and logic, where it refers to the correct proportions in a relationship among things, quantities, or ideas. Paul uses the phrase to remind prophets to make sure that their utterances are in right proportion to faith, whether the amount of individual faith the prophet has been given, or the Christian faith in general (see study note on Rom 12:3). This passage has given theology the phrase the analogy of faith, which refers to the importance of bringing the interpretation of any particular passage into line with the teaching of all of Scripture.