As
he continued his instruction concerning “spirituals”,
Paul the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “there
are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit”.
In
chapter twelve and verse five of First Corinthians, Paul shared with
the Corinthian church members concerning, “differences
of administrations”,
where we read:
And
there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
The
verse begins, “And
there are differences of administrations, ...”.
Paul began
with the word, “and”
which means “in addition, even, also and indeed” “there
are differences”
which means “there exist divisions, distributions and distinctions”
“of administrations” which
means “of offices, ministries and kinds of service”. In addition
to “diversities of gifts”,
Paul added there were “different kinds of service, ministries and
offices” within the church.
The
verse continues, “... but
the same Lord.” Paul
added the word, “but” which
means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was just
stated “the same”
or “the identical and selfsame” “Lord”
which refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which
he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the
Messiah”. Although there are “different”
kinds of “ministries and services” within the church, there is
“the selfsame” “Lord”
who is over all of them.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see his notation of different
ministries and services within the church. Although they vary and are
many, there is only “One Lord”
over them all. Jesus Christ is the “head”
of His church, and He, through the “Holy Spirit”
distributes the “spiritual gifts”
and the “administration” of
those “gifts” as
He sees best. The church of Jesus Christ functions best when He not
only oversees the church, but provides the blessing of “ministries
and services” as well as the “spiritual gifts”
by which it may prosper. Even so, Lord Jesus, give provision to your
church according to your will.
Next
time Paul shares with the church member how, “there
are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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