Romans 12:6

whether prophecy, &c. The Gr. construction from hence to the end of Romans 12:8 is peculiar, because elliptical; but the E. V. well interprets the ellipses.

prophecy Here probably the charisma, or special miraculous gift, of preaching; of utterance in the Christian assemblies under immediate Divine impulse and guidance. It is now no longer possible to analyze minutely this sacred phenomenon; but we gather (from the great passage on the subject, 1 Corinthians 14) that up to a certain point the utterances were under the conscious will of the utterer, and (as we see in the present passage) might be, by negligence or extravagance of will, distorted and otherwise misused. See next note.

according to the proportion of faith Lit. according to the proportion of the faith, i.e. the faith of the utterer. The meaning "the (Christian) faith" would in itselfbe allowable, but in this Epistle(see note "on measure of faith" above) it is not probable. The Gr. word rendered "proportion" is analogia, (whence our analogy). It is used in classical Greek for arithmeticalproportion, and in its derived meanings closely resembles our word "proportion." Here, accordingly, we may fairly render in proportion to his faith; as regulated by his faith, in respect of less or more. This may be explained thus: The "prophecy" would, above all else, deal with Christ, His Person and Work; with Christ as made known to the "prophet" as the Object of his own faith; a faith which itself (if genuine) was based not on his own impulses and reveries, but on the solid ground of Divine revelation, verifiable as such. Accordingly the "prophet," in exercising his gift, was to watch over his utterances, and not to allow them to fluctuate with his own independent thinking or wishing, but to see that they were steadily adjusted to the eternal Truth concerning his Lord, already revealed to him as a believer.