For by the grace (χάριτος, a form of χάρις)^[1] given to me, Paul continued describing the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect,^[2] I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.^[3]  To offset my own tendency to think that sober discernment is necessary because God has distributed a niggardly measure of faith (μέτρον^[4] πίστεως^[5]) to me, I want to look at two other occurrences of χάριτος.  The first described the words Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:18, 19 NET):

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

After Jesus returned the scroll to the attendant and sat down, he added, Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.^[6]  Luke wrote, All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious (χάριτος, a form of χάρις) words coming out of his mouth.^[7]  So proclaiming 1) good news to the poor, 2) release to the captives, 3) the regaining of sight to the blind, 4) setting free those who are oppressed, and 5) the year of the Lord’s favor were called gracious (χάριτος) words.^[8]  There was nothing niggardly about it.

For if, by the transgression of the one man, Paul wrote the first time he used χάριτος in his letter to the Romans, death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace (χάριτος, a form of χάρις) and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!^[9]  Sober discernment entails all of these facts without implying a niggardly measure of faith, but the realization that any of the recipients of this χάριτος is one person among many.  For just as in (ἐν)^[10] one (ἑνὶ, a form of εἷς)^[11] body we have many members, Paul continued, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one (ἓν, another form of εἷς) body in (ἐν) Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one (εἷς) another.^[12]

I think sober discernment was equivalent for Paul to walking worthily of the calling with which [we] have been called, as he wrote the Ephesians, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.^[13]  For here, too, a description of oneness followed (Ephesians 4:4-7 NET).

There is one (῞Εν) body and one (ἓν) Spirit, just as you too were called to (ἐν) the one (μιᾷ, yet another form of εἷς) hope of your calling, one (εἷς) Lord, one (μία)^[14] faith, one (ἓν) baptism, one (εἷς) God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in (ἐν) all.  But to each one (Ἑνὶ, still another form of εἷς) of us grace (χάρις) was given according to the measure (μέτρον) of the gift of Christ.

And we have different gifts (χαρίσματα, a form of χάρισμα)^[15] according to the grace given to us, Paul continued to describe the diversity of this oneness in Romans, a theme he revisited often:

I want to consider these different^[18] gifts (χαρίσματα) individually.   If the gift is prophecy (προφητείαν), that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.^[19]  I am assuming that in proportion (ἀναλογίαν, a form of ἀναλογία)^[20] to his faith relates back to that measure (μέτρον) of faith God has distributed to each.  In the law the Lord said to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18-20 NET):

I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites.  I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.  I will personally hold responsible anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet speaks in my name.  But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.

Now if you say to yourselves, the Lord continued, “How can we tell that a message is not from the Lord (y^ehôvâh)?”^[21] – whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it; the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear (gûr)^[22] him.^[23]  But a fulfilled prediction alone was not sufficient to declare one a prophet of y^ehôvâh (Deuteronomy 13:1-5 NET):

Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods” – gods whom you have not previously known – “and let us serve them.”  You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being.  You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him.  As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go.  In this way you must purge out evil from within.

The prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah (apparently a false prophet), From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably prophesied war, disaster, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.  So if a prophet prophesied peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.^[24]  In this light I can begin to appreciate the proportion of Jesus’ faith when He read those gracious words—The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor; He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor—and added, Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.

And so Paul wrote, If the gift is prophecy (προφητείαν), that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.  And if I have prophecy (προφητείαν), he wrote the Corinthians, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.^[25]  I can’t tell if this was a hypothetical consideration to highlight the preeminence of love, or an actual concern.  It is difficult to imagine an individual who received so many of the different gifts^[26] (Διαιρέσεις δὲ χαρισμάτων) of the Spirit, not shared by all (For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom^[27]…to another prophecy [προφητεία]^[28]…), and yet did not have the love that is given by the same Spirit to all believers.  If such a monstrosity is actually possible it would seem to be someone with a religious mind believing something other than the word of the Lord to quench the love that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Love never ends, Paul continued to contrast love and prophecy in Corinthians.  But if there are prophecies (προφητεῖαι, another form of προφητεία), they will be set aside^[29]…when what is perfect comes…^[30]  Pursue love, he wrote, and be eager for the spiritual gifts (πνευματικά, a form of πνευματικός),^[31] especially that you may prophesy (προφητεύητε, a form of προφητεύω).^[32]  Then he contrasted prophesying to one speaking in a tongue.

Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, Paul concluded, seek to abound in order to strengthen the church.  So then, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.^[33]  And, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, but in the church I want to speak five words with my mind to instruct others, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.^[34]  Then he quoted the Old Testament prophecy concerning tongues: By people with strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, yet not even in this way will they listen to me…^[35]  So then, tongues, he concluded, are a sign…for unbelievers.  Prophecy (προφητεία), however, is…for believers.^[36]

So if the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and unbelievers or uninformed people enter, will they not say that you have lost your minds?^[37]  In other words, the Old Testament prophecy holds true: unbelievers hearing strange tongues will not listen to the Lord.  Rather, they say, you have lost your minds.  But if all prophesy (προφητεύωσιν, another form of προφητεύω), and an unbeliever or uninformed person enters, he will be convicted by all, he will be called to account by all.  The secrets of his heart are disclosed…^[38]  So prophecy is for believers, their rightful occupation that brings an unbeliever or uninformed person to faith and repentance, and in this way he will fall down with his face to the ground and worship God, declaring, “God is really among you.”^[39]

Still, It was [Jesus] who gave…some [not all] as prophets (προφήτας, another form of προφήτης) …to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.^[40]  And God has placed in the church…second prophets (προφήτας, another form of προφήτης)…Not all are prophets (προφῆται, another form of προφήτης), are they?^[41]  No, because we have different gifts (χαρίσματα, a form of χάρισμα) according to the grace given to us.^[42]  For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.^[43]

Addendum (7/18/2015): Jim Searcy has published that the Septuagint is a hoax written by Origen and Eusebius 200 hundred years after Christ.  “In fact, the Septuagint ‘quotes’ from the New Testament and not vice versa…”  His contention is that the “King James Version is the infallible Word of God.”  So, I’ll re-examine the quotations above with the KJV.

My thoughts on Luke 4:18, 19 are too long to append to this essay.  This addendum is found as Study: Luke 4:18-19.