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Originally Posted by OBW
Not really. You say that you think "all can prophesy" means. . . But you don't provide anything that really explains how you conclude that anything actually says that all (meaning the whole assembly) can prophesy.
OK. So you simply accept that Lee was correct to suggest that this one sentence following a detailed discussion about 2 or 3 prophesying (and effectively in the same paragraph) means everyone? It mocks the purpose of the 2 or 3.
But, it is more enjoyable. And I guess that is better than sound teaching and in order. And if it takes strong leadership, then it is not quite true that all can prophesy because the strong leadership can sit you down.
I'm just pushing a button to see if anyone is catching what is screaming at me. The context of "all" is 2 or 3 speaking in order. If one suddenly has something important, the one already speaking should sit down first then the other start. But in the end, they all can prophesy. But it is in a context. 2 or 3.
I honestly think that to conclude that Paul pulled another ADHD "squirrel" and jumped from 2 or 3 to the whole assembly without any warning is highly unlikely. Just like he didn't do it in 1 Cor 15:45. If there is an obvious reading, it would seem to be that "all" refers to the 2 or 3 and that any other reading needs more than "that's the way I read it." That is essentially what Nee and Lee did.
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I do not disagree that the word "all" can mean two or three in order. What I see the word meaning is that it can be anyone who has a burden, not the 2 or 3 chosen by the Pastor.
So if a Christian assembly follows a sermon with two or three testimonies / prophecies by a select few that are preapproved for this function, that to me is not what Paul was saying. On the other hand, If everyone in the assembly knows that they can stand up and speak at some point, if so moved by the spirit, then it doesn't matter if they actually do. It doesn't matter that for a congregation of several hundred that only two or three ever do get up in any particular meeting.
I agree that the word "all" does not imply that everyone is supposed to get up and speak, or that everyone should get up and speak. I am pretty sure I said exactly this in the previous post, so why do you now say that "I simply accept that a discussion about two or three prophesying means everyone"?
I understand that "all can prophesy" means that there is no prerequisite to speak in a church meeting. You don't have to graduate from seminary before speaking. Just as in a family "all can speak". That does not mean that during a church meeting you want "everyone to speak". What it means is that if someone is moved by the Lord to speak, their should be an opportunity to do this. Once again, saying this doesn't mean that the church leadership has abdicated their authority or control over the meeting. It doesn't mean that some individual can hijack the meeting. Those who take the lead continue to do so, but they provide an opportunity and environment that promotes the attitude that all can speak.
I thought I already shared this in the previous post, so I don't understand what it is that still needs to be defined.