And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
There are different services, roles and lines of work under the same Lord, with Christ as the one Head and the same Spirit working through all, and God sets every member in the body as He pleases at a post of duty. He gives different gifts, talents and opportunities to different members to best advance His cause and to meet varied minds and classes that no one worker could reach alone. No one has all gifts or wisdom by himself, so the varied forms of work are meant to complement one another and be blended in harmonious action under one Head. Each worker is answerable to God and must do his own appointed work faithfully without being dictated to in mind and conscience or leaving it to take charge of and spoil another's work. Such unity amid diversity requires sinking self out of sight and loving one another, with no pride, envy, contempt or measuring of one gift by another, but respect for each other's gifts.
Words and Context
Differences of administrations mean different services, roles, ministries and lines of work under the same Lord, with Christ as the one Head and the same Spirit working through all. Different members have distinct gifts and ways of serving, yet they are to act in unity under Christ rather than independently or in rivalry. These different forms of service are entrusted for the good of the church and of the whole body, each member using what is given him in harmony with the others. Recognizing their common source and purpose guards against rivalry, pride, envy and contempt, while strengthening unity and mutual love. Each gift becomes useful for God because He works with the laborer, so even a seemingly small gift is to be used faithfully in the Master's service, with gifts of mind and body guarded and kept ready, since misuse of any part can diminish the usefulness of the whole.
God sets every member in the body as He pleases, placing each at a post of duty with an assigned work to be found by praying for guidance. Being guided and controlled by the same Spirit does not require all to have the same gifts, for God does not give everyone the same line of work, and He brings the different services into perfect harmony under His supervision. Christ as the great Master-worker gives each laborer a distinct administration and definite, special work for the advancement of His cause, knowing just what each should do to meet the necessities that arise, seeing the end from the beginning and fulfilling His purposes through the one He has entrusted. Each must therefore faithfully do the work placed in his own hands and attend closely to it, and must not leave it to take charge of another's work, find defects in what God moved another mind to do, or take up heavy responsibilities belonging to others that worry the mind and crush out life and courage. When this is learned, all parts of the cause move in harmony without lost time, shaken confidence or hindered work, with less friction in the church, and giving weight to this truth shuts believers in with heaven in trial and testing so the wicked one has no power over them. The Lord bestows on different individuals different gifts and different measures of grace and means of influence, and for the wisest of reasons has ordained that every man shall fill his own place and be blessed in doing the work appointed him; all do not have the same gifts or the same disposition. All need to feel daily the converting power of the Holy Spirit that they may bear much fruit, for it is not the one who preaches who provides the efficiency that makes his efforts successful, but the unseen Worker standing behind him who brings conviction and conversion to souls. Through Christ God has mysteriously linked all together under the same Lord while assigning to every man some special line of service different from another's, so no one is to interfere with workers whose work is not precisely the same, spoil a fellow laborer's work by taking it in hand, or be made a master to rule the mind and conscience of a fellow being, but fellow laborers must be recognized as men of God's appointment who fall into the same errors and share the same ambitions and infirmities, and as His blood-bought heritage must be dealt with very carefully.
The members are like the different members and offices of the human body from head to feet, all of one body centering in Christ the Head. As two members do not act the same part, no member is to entertain self-sufficiency or say to another that he has no need of him, for no one person has every qualification needed for the work, so believers must depend on one another and act in harmony as the members of a body do. Among the members there is to be no crowding, no judging and no measuring of one gift by another, but respect for each other's gifts, since many gifts are called for yet all are members of one body. They are also like branches of one vine drawing nourishment from one source, and like vessels large and small and flowers in a garden each with its own value. This diversity of operation of gifts, all by the same Spirit, is in the economy of God to meet the varied organizations and minds in the world, so the strength of one servant is not the strength of another and each one's independent natural traits give access to a class that others could not touch. Each is therefore to cultivate the gifts given him and develop the powers and qualities given as endowment, keeping will and identity instead of being governed into sameness, and to develop what God has given without despising or envying the gifts and work of others. No one should govern too much, seek to bend other minds to his own ideas, or mold their judgment and character to himself, lest he destroy their will, identity and individual strength and spoil them for their work; every man must be left free for God to convict and operate upon the heart, call forth his powers, and develop in him an experience and individual strength for his special work.
The verse belongs to the teaching of 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 to be committed to memory and written in mind and heart, studied, digested and applied with love, and not ignored. That teaching calls for the continuous humbling of individual self, beginning with self-examination whose very first step is denying self and taking up his own cross of self-denial, self-humiliation and self-sacrifice, not laying his cross on somebody else to carry. It requires walking humbly with God in the path of obedience. It corrects prejudice, false reports, wrong spirits and division, calls for putting away wrong influences, and restores union, love and spiritual power so believers can act together under God. Differences among believers must not lead them to form factions, for division undermines their witness to the truth and fails to show its power. Faith and understanding are to move every believer to sanctified action.
The verse is part of a formal declaration that certain gifts of the Spirit have been placed in the church for its edification and instruction to the end of time, showing how Christ's promise to send the Holy Spirit as Comforter and guide to lead into all truth would be fulfilled to the church. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are received according to the Spirit's choice, and the Spirit enables people to live out what Christ made possible through His death. When these gifts are not slighted or neglected, they live in the church to encourage those who are fainthearted and to correct and reprove those who err. God places these gifts, including visions, in the church for its benefit, and the church should not deprive believers of their benefits and privileges; members who are unsure should be treated with patience and brotherly love, but opposition to gifts one has not experienced can endanger others and should be addressed. False visions and deceptive spiritual displays do not make the genuine gifts of God unreal. Noisy excitement, false tongues and other claimed gifts can be manufactured rather than placed in the church by God, and such displays are not reliable evidence of faith; their fruits show their source, while genuine spiritual advancement is associated with solemn self-examination, humility and learning from Christ.
God's Design in Diversity
Differences of administrations mean God Himself assigns different gifts, talents and opportunities to different members of the body as He pleases, to best promote His glory and advance His kingdom for the good of the whole. These include ready speaking, ready writing, sincere earnest fervent prayer, singing, clear explanation of the Word, the word of wisdom, knowledge and faith, as well as speech, intellectual ability, good taste, skill, refinement and courage to follow duty even at cost. One gift is given to one person and another to another, including calling some to teach others to fit them for service, and each gift becomes a power for God because He works with the laborer under the same Lord, one Head and the self-same Spirit. Recognizing this order guards against rivalry, carnal emulation, pride, envy, contempt, judging and refusing a fellow laborer, and strengthens unity, mutual love and harmonious action. To covet earnestly the best gifts is not to seek to be first, but to strive earnestly for power to follow Christ's example and be heralds of His gospel, with the heart blended with Christ and conformed to His will while walking straight forward in His light despite temptation, suspicion and evil surmising.
This diversity belongs to the economy of God to meet varied organizations and minds in the world, because a variety is essential when ministering to human minds and diverse gifts are needed to reach different people and complete the work. Different strengths reach different classes and places, with one worker strong in arousing campmeetings and cities while another reaches those the first cannot, and one servant's strength need not be another's. No one man's method and way of working is sufficient to mold souls after his own ideas, and no church is wholly efficient without varied gifts, for God moves upon ministers of varied capabilities to feed the flock with food convenient for them and to reveal truth on points a brother laborer did not regard as essential. In His providence He sends various workmen, one strong on some essential point where another is weak, so that contrasted talents make each other's work more complete, as counsel and influence complete power to arouse slumbering worldlings. Different ways of presenting truth can reach different people, so all are to labor together under the same Head and Spirit with kindness and love, each following his own line while looking to Jesus.
No one person is given all knowledge, wisdom and gifts, for God distributes what is needed among many and brings different minds together so they can contribute to the work. No teacher, physician, minister or other worker is a complete whole alone, can accomplish every branch of the work, or by gift, effort, methods and ideas alone can carry through a series of meetings and give perfection to the work. Several workers with varied gifts must therefore serve together in harmony, each doing his God-given work, filling his appropriate position and supplying the deficiency of the fellow worker who left alone would think himself a complete whole. The work is thus built up strong and proportional and made complete under the Lord's direction only by a variety of gifts and agencies in harmonious cooperation, with those of careful thought checking exaggerated action, with slowness and delay avoided, and with responsibilities shared to lift burdens from ministers. These differences are meant to complement and not divide, calling for humility, teachableness, cooperation without one person controlling others or relying on his own judgment, and harmony even when views or plans differ.
God can use anyone willing to serve humbly and trust in Him, and He has a place and work for all who will surrender to Him. Even the poor, unlearned, illiterate and those with limited religious or intellectual training have work in seeking to save souls, and a humble devoted worker who lives his religion reveals divine wisdom and power and promotes the gospel as successfully as a talented and eloquent minister. Like a garden with many kinds of plants, the church does not require every member to have the same gifts, stature or training, and no gift is too small to serve the cause, for the church needs this variety rather than uniformity. As the rill does not refuse its narrow channel, the grass does not refuse to grow and the star does not refuse to shine, so every man and woman has his own peculiar sphere and vocation without murmuring at position, each to do his little work to glorify God. The interest God requires is proportionate to the entrusted capital according to the measure of the gift of Christ, and the work is done not by judging others but by showing what the Lord has done in transformation of character, with faith, sympathy, forbearance, love, gentleness and temperance shining as a light in a dark place.
Unity in Harmonious Service
Different kinds of service and different words are given to be a help to the whole body, complementing and balancing one another and blending in harmonious action under the same Lord with one Spirit moving through all. Each person has an assigned place and special sphere, and the church is called to receive the Holy Spirit and serve in unity, brotherly sympathy and love, for Christian unity is a mighty agency. The Lord directs varied forms of service so that different workers with diverse gifts and approaches serve different people while laboring together, and their differences do not divide the work. Varied gifts and ways of working are essential to build up the work, since no one worker's gift or ideas are sufficient to shape the whole, and the Lord directs and equips workers according to ability so that city, missionary and departmental lines advance together. Recognizing this order guards against rivalry, pride, envy, contempt and judging, calling instead for showing what the Lord has done in transformed character.
Gifts are given so that workers feel their need of one another, connect with one another, and become mutual helps who supply one another's deficiencies in carrying out distinct responsibilities to complete God's work. God has ordained that people be associated in His service so the varied talents of many minds are blended, for no teacher, physician, minister or other laborer is a complete whole alone or can carry a series of meetings to perfection by himself. Contact of mind with mind quickens thought and increases capabilities, while careful thought checks exaggerated action, and when physicians and teachers thus unite the youth receive a symmetrical, well-balanced education for service. Gifts are to be used in service not for the possessor's glory or human exaltation but to uplift Christ and benefit all, with no thread of selfishness drawn into the web and no worker tearing down another's work to please himself, but relying on the Lord, consulting Him for wisdom and taking hold of the unseen by faith to prepare a people to cooperate with God. This requires not walking independently of counsel but listening humbly even when counsel conflicts with personal wishes, banishing self-confidence, frankly stating plans for close investigation with earnest prayer, overlooking little points of difference on questions of no vital consequence, denying self and yielding personal opinions on minor matters, speaking plainly and firmly when occasion demands with Christlike kindness that gives no offense, growing in Christian courtesy and refinement through association, and managers of the Lord's institutions in close proximity uniting their forces to labor unselfishly and untiringly for the upbuilding of one another's work with far-reaching results for good.
Unity amid diversity requires first obtaining the grace of Christ to sink self out of sight, deny self, and stop insisting that the work be molded to one's own ideas, so different workers can labor together in perfect harmony. A union of all the gifts is essential so the work is not one-sided but a complete whole, and this comes only by loving one another as Christ loved, not merely as self is loved, which is the perfection of Christian character and the condition for standing perfect before God. Each has liberty of expression, yet no one is to work out a problem of his own invention in raising means, supporting schools or sustaining the ministry, but all are to blend capabilities with those chosen with equal interest, prayer and promise to do the work of every conference without selfishness, aiming at the perfection of the character of Jesus Christ the great Leader and launching out against no man. Pledged union in action with unity and love and the glory of God in view avoids confusion and diversity in place of unity, meets fanaticism and heresies, sustains the truth as the Bible presents it, and gains victories. When members receive the Holy Spirit and bind interests together in love as one body and one Spirit, one with one another and with Christ and in Christ one with God, barriers of selfishness and territorial lines of distinction and barriers of color and caste disappear, heart is bound to heart, believers grow in grace and are complete in Christ, and many more souls are converted.
Differences of character, disposition, ideas, views, methods, manner, bearing, gifts and religious experiences are by the Lord's own order and appointment, who brings people of varied minds into the church because many different minds must be met and different gifts are needed. It would be deplorable if all were of the same mind and exactly alike, for then there would be great lack of fullness in church labor, and it is cause for thankfulness that all are not the same, as John was not the same as Peter. Not being of the same stamp is no reason to draw apart, stand in one another's way or be at variance, for children of the heavenly King are to work in perfect harmony under Christ the Head, who in heaven teaches angels how to minister to His church on earth. In Wesley's time people with different gifts carried out their appointed work, and although Whitefield and the Wesleys differed on points of doctrine the Spirit moved them toward the shared aim of winning souls, with meekness, mutual forbearance and charity reconciling their differences. Different temperaments can thus be brought by God's power into harmonious action to speak the truth in love, as each subdues peculiarities, softens temperament, has the same spirit that dwelt in Christ, seeks more of Jesus and less of self, thinks and speaks no evil of anyone, and keeps the lips as with a bridle.
Respect Without Domination
Differences of administrations mean the Lord gives different kinds of work in His service, and each worker is answerable to God for that trust and must receive instruction from the Lord and seek His direction for himself. No man or council may dictate how another must work, rule mind and conscience, place another mind under human control, merge individuality, or prescribe duty contrary to conviction of duty, and no one is to be made a mere echo of another's judgment, but is to use his own mind and conscience under the working of the Spirit. God does not expect everyone with distinct temperaments, abilities and adaptability to be suited to every task, for people have different value and trust, and lack of fitness for one work such as canvassing does not mean faithlessness or unwillingness, as different members each have peculiarities and value of their own like different flowers in a garden and the Lord does not unreasonably require the same place of all. Hands are to be kept off fellow workers to let the Lord teach and train them to labor in right lines, with each left free to seek wisdom from God and prosper under His training rather than being given one certain mold for every line of work.
Each is to carry out faithfully his own appointed work and place rather than leave it to take charge of another's distinct work, spoil it, tear it down, crowd a fellow laborer, or narrow the work to his own precise lines and exact way of laboring. God assigns work suited to each and does not place on one worker burdens that others can and should bear, and taking unappointed burdens confuses the worker, interferes with appointed work, and crowds out proper duties including sharing truth and preparing people for the coming crisis. No worker is qualified to do school work successfully alone without aid of others who can plan, devise and advance in God's appointed way, for the Lord in mercy brings in laborers of other talents to relieve heavy burdens and carry forward what others begin in new fields, and workers of varied talents must harmonize, advance steadily, ponder carefully at every step, and not block the wheels by criticism or appeals to sympathy over supposed unjust treatment. Christ gives different abilities to be exercised in different lines, some strong for one line while others are fitted for another line or another way to the same result, so no one is to turn from a fellow worker as unneeded because he does not work in his precise lines, but men and women are to be given room to work without indifference or opposition even when one the Lord sends works differently, since all the different gifts are needed to convict and convert sinners and gather them in church capacity.
There is to be no crowding, judging, measuring one gift by another, emulation, pride, envy, contempt, belittling, suspicion or evil surmising and demeriting of another's gift and work, for Christ Himself appoints positions and offices and gives all talents as His gifts. Each is to be careful of the estimate placed on another because human nature is frail, ignorant and liable to misconception and one person's ways may not be another's, to recognize the position and capabilities God gives to another, to respect gifts, guard one another's interests even when mistakes are made, and to speak good words that help and strengthen brethren in counsel instead of standing apart to watch for a chance to criticize and condemn. Servants with different gifts and tasks are used together by the Holy Spirit to win souls, their work is to exalt Christ and not themselves or their own ministry, no worker should belittle or judge another's work, and God alone judges each labor and gives the just reward, while all are to unite in genuine Christian service true to faith and duty with the same unceasing tenderness the Lord shows, leaving each to gain experience from a higher source. Varied gifts and forms of service under the same Lord are meant to be joined in cooperative, active missionary labor and not divided by selfishness, with grace given to every worker for the task.
God leads individual workers to special places and methods that few are fitted to do, entrusting different gifts, sending particular workers to particular places, and working in different ways, so servants must not limit the work to their own ideas but cooperate to advance His purpose. Leaders must guard against condemning, forbidding, criticizing or fearing to trust methods not in perfect harmony with their own, must never suppose every plan should reflect their own personality, must be slow to criticize such movements, and must give one another room, for withholding confidence from a humble, consecrated laborer doing his special appointed work retards the cause and presumptuous rulership that hinders it must be rebuked. No worker is called to administer sharp rebukes to a fellow worker or to crowd and press against him for not tracking in his exact footprints, but differences call for Christlike love, cordial respect, and faithful sentinel care over the mysterious, consequential influence that comes with talents received from God. This includes recognizing talents specially needed for work in the cities and encouraging each to do the work God has given him while helping one another come into closer touch with the work, so that even when laboring in the same city they do not get in each other's way, and includes the variety of gifts needed to share truth and teach others to work effectively, with physicians also to use their abilities including presenting health principles at campmeetings.
Christian unity does not mean one mind working another mind like a machine, one identity submerged in another, or requiring identical skills and one rigid stereotyped method with little details carried out as approved by one or two or three men. God gives different gifts and workings rather than giving all gifts to one man and does not expect any man to use talents he has not been given, so each is to keep will and identity, form opinions of his own under God, be encouraged to express them and stand in God-given accountability, use his own train of thought and tact, and develop his own powers for his special work. Such echoing of another's words, manners and thoughts does not raise a man in God's estimation even when praised as the best Christianity, while true unity honors differences of mind, leaves no place for pride, and labors together for perishing souls with room given for one another's work and for students to learn from Christ as the greatest Teacher. The diverse human agencies are diverse minds, elements and talents under one master Spirit of Him who is infinite in wisdom, and no man's or woman's mind is to exert controlling power in His institutions, for the Spirit working in and through the diverse elements produces harmony of action and brings them together in beautiful, matchless unity.
Church Order and Leadership
Differences of administrations under the same Lord mean simple organization and church order ordained for the unity and perfection of the church. There is a destined order of arrangements reaching from the highest angel down to finite mortals, all connected together in one great web to God and to humanity so closely as parts of a great whole that no one can become detached and independent. Holding office itself gives no new ability or Christian character and no kingly authority to order and command fellow laborers or to control and rule them. One in office is to stand as leader, adviser, counselor and helper in carrying the burdens of the work and as a leader in thanksgiving, treating fellow laborers with the same consideration he would wish to receive. God appoints people to responsibilities and the Holy Spirit qualifies them to bear them, which calls for consecration and devotion, with each using and improving the talents and judgment given him in his own responsibilities.
Not all work is of the same order and responsibility does not rest on one or two men, for no one, not even a conference president, is to be the voice for the whole ministry but a voice among voices of capability. Each is given his own work and is to place himself under the great Director and carry it on with an eye single to the glory of God, moved by the Spirit, accountable for faithful use and looking to eternal reward. Both medical missionary workers and gospel ministers are called as gospel missionaries in their respective posts, and no one man is given spiritual grace to be lord and chief over all physicians and other workers to control their efforts by his authority, carry things his own way irrespective of fellow workers, or ignore ministers who disapprove of some of his ideas. All whom God has called are to be respected and trusted to work as Christ works through them, laboring unitedly in soul-saving work in perfect unity without division, praying and counseling together in unity of effort and faith rather than relying on own ability and wisdom.
God does not give all understanding to one person but teaches different people, so they should share plans and thoughts, speak freely, and receive one another's counsel with confidence and kindness. Workers with varied gifts, minds and methods are each to do the work suited to ability and position toward a united purpose, consulting and praying together, helping supply one another's deficiencies, valuing the talent given without treating it as the only talent needed, listening humbly even when counsel conflicts with personal wishes, and overlooking minor differences. Physicians are to be united with teachers and schools with sanitariums for balanced education, and varied capacities are to work harmoniously toward bringing truth to all nations and peoples, each doing his part faithfully and thoroughly in unity and order under Christ the Head and direction of the church. Each must fill his proper place according to ability to uplift, to release and to break every yoke, with Jesus the Center and Source of all life and power pervading the whole, every member pledged to promote the happiness of all and finding personal happiness in making others happy. By this order God trains people to humble dependence on Him who is all-sufficient and to imitation of His own order of goodness, making the hand and heart of every worker a consecrated channel through which His love flows to others, so that he who approaches nearest to the character of Jesus advances toward perfection of Christian character.
The same Lord Himself directs this diversity by impressing heart and mind to go to certain places and do a certain work, and wherever an interest in the truth is started He works by providence to bring different gifts together in connection with those bringing the truth before the people. Because the Lord directs, no man handling sacred responsibilities may arbitrarily command a fellow worker that he shall not do this or must do that, and no human mind may interpose itself to forbid work God has bidden to be carried forward. Presumptuous rulership over God's heritage must be rebuked and undue exercise of human authority that hinders the work and discourages God's people must be refused, with safety found only when each individually commits fully to works of righteousness so that words and spirit testify to the glory of God. Gifts are never to be used to separate believers or to form separate parties under different heads, and no minister is to be conscience for other men or gain an experience for them. Contention and party spirit violate unity under one Lord and must be investigated and called by their right names, for all dissension comes from the narrow conceptions of unsanctified minds and shows where work needs reformation.
Prophecy and Faithful Service
In the last days of the work of the third angel's message there will come diversities of operations through the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the outpouring of the Spirit, and that outpouring is the time of the latter rain. They come at the same time that Satan works with increasing power because he knows his time is short, in the closing days of earth's history.
The same Lord has placed various gifts and administrations in the church for a great world work and the grand finishing work of earth's history to bring truth to all nations. Every professed son and daughter of God is to act his part in that work by appreciating these gifts, and success depends on the heart being impressed by the Holy Spirit, on communion with God, on experiencing the sanctifying power of His grace, and on submissive willingness to do the appointed work. To every individual member is given his own individual personal work, responsibility rests on every person with none excused, none can be an idler in the vineyard, but all are to be diligent workers together with God and with Jesus Christ, for all have not the same gift and there is a variety of gifts and all are needed to do the appointed work.
Christian service takes different forms while all service belongs to the same Lord, and people should use their gifts in the work for which they are suited and be trained each for the line for which each is best adapted. Some can do more good in colporteur work than in preaching, by visiting families and sharing the word through conversation and prayer, and directing such workers into preaching instead can leave both them and a needy field poorly served. City and campmeeting labor calls for the very best varied talent, and each person is given work by God with the Holy Spirit bringing the affections into harmony with the divine will, while heavenly angels stand ready to cooperate as people watch, pray, and work.
The Lord God of heaven who made the world and created man guards the interest of every soul and gives to every man and woman his own work with diversities of gifts as moral and spiritual capital entrusted according to ability for service as laborers together with God. Every person must appreciate what is entrusted, must not treat it with indifference, must trade on it by working where he can and doing the best possible service for the Master, must not complain of the smallness of gifts, and is not accountable for talents never had. Gifts come from God and not from self and are to be used for His glory without pride or self-exaltation, and their influence depends on being kept by God's power through faith unto salvation. Faithfulness to the grace given, continuing in His love and abiding in Christ as the branch abides in the vine, brings the joys of salvation and bears fruit. Jesus assigns different work in the vineyard to every son and daughter, every member of the household of faith has an appointed responsibility with no idle ones, and growth in grace is made manifest by efficiency in that service as earnest workers not slothful practice self-denial and learn by exercise of God-given powers how to work most efficiently, how to give a testimony, how to pray, and how to be a living witness. That grave and weighty responsibility includes duty to one's own people where one is loved and respected with a Christlike interest identified with theirs, even requiring leaving the privilege of remaining through meetings elsewhere in order to return to loved ones and an island home and fulfill the responsibilities resting there.
There are different services, roles and lines of work under the same Lord, with Christ as the one Head and the same Spirit working through all, and God sets every member in the body as He pleases at a post of duty. He gives different gifts, talents and opportunities to different members to best advance His cause and to meet varied minds and classes that no one worker could reach alone. No one has all gifts or wisdom by himself, so the varied forms of work are meant to complement one another and be blended in harmonious action under one Head. Each worker is answerable to God and must do his own appointed work faithfully without being dictated to in mind and conscience or leaving it to take charge of and spoil another's work. Such unity amid diversity requires sinking self out of sight and loving one another, with no pride, envy, contempt or measuring of one gift by another, but respect for each other's gifts.
Words and Context
Differences of administrations mean different services, roles, ministries and lines of work under the same Lord, with Christ as the one Head and the same Spirit working through all. Different members have distinct gifts and ways of serving, yet they are to act in unity under Christ rather than independently or in rivalry. These different forms of service are entrusted for the good of the church and of the whole body, each member using what is given him in harmony with the others. Recognizing their common source and purpose guards against rivalry, pride, envy and contempt, while strengthening unity and mutual love. Each gift becomes useful for God because He works with the laborer, so even a seemingly small gift is to be used faithfully in the Master's service, with gifts of mind and body guarded and kept ready, since misuse of any part can diminish the usefulness of the whole.
God sets every member in the body as He pleases, placing each at a post of duty with an assigned work to be found by praying for guidance. Being guided and controlled by the same Spirit does not require all to have the same gifts, for God does not give everyone the same line of work, and He brings the different services into perfect harmony under His supervision. Christ as the great Master-worker gives each laborer a distinct administration and definite, special work for the advancement of His cause, knowing just what each should do to meet the necessities that arise, seeing the end from the beginning and fulfilling His purposes through the one He has entrusted. Each must therefore faithfully do the work placed in his own hands and attend closely to it, and must not leave it to take charge of another's work, find defects in what God moved another mind to do, or take up heavy responsibilities belonging to others that worry the mind and crush out life and courage. When this is learned, all parts of the cause move in harmony without lost time, shaken confidence or hindered work, with less friction in the church, and giving weight to this truth shuts believers in with heaven in trial and testing so the wicked one has no power over them. The Lord bestows on different individuals different gifts and different measures of grace and means of influence, and for the wisest of reasons has ordained that every man shall fill his own place and be blessed in doing the work appointed him; all do not have the same gifts or the same disposition. All need to feel daily the converting power of the Holy Spirit that they may bear much fruit, for it is not the one who preaches who provides the efficiency that makes his efforts successful, but the unseen Worker standing behind him who brings conviction and conversion to souls. Through Christ God has mysteriously linked all together under the same Lord while assigning to every man some special line of service different from another's, so no one is to interfere with workers whose work is not precisely the same, spoil a fellow laborer's work by taking it in hand, or be made a master to rule the mind and conscience of a fellow being, but fellow laborers must be recognized as men of God's appointment who fall into the same errors and share the same ambitions and infirmities, and as His blood-bought heritage must be dealt with very carefully.
The members are like the different members and offices of the human body from head to feet, all of one body centering in Christ the Head. As two members do not act the same part, no member is to entertain self-sufficiency or say to another that he has no need of him, for no one person has every qualification needed for the work, so believers must depend on one another and act in harmony as the members of a body do. Among the members there is to be no crowding, no judging and no measuring of one gift by another, but respect for each other's gifts, since many gifts are called for yet all are members of one body. They are also like branches of one vine drawing nourishment from one source, and like vessels large and small and flowers in a garden each with its own value. This diversity of operation of gifts, all by the same Spirit, is in the economy of God to meet the varied organizations and minds in the world, so the strength of one servant is not the strength of another and each one's independent natural traits give access to a class that others could not touch. Each is therefore to cultivate the gifts given him and develop the powers and qualities given as endowment, keeping will and identity instead of being governed into sameness, and to develop what God has given without despising or envying the gifts and work of others. No one should govern too much, seek to bend other minds to his own ideas, or mold their judgment and character to himself, lest he destroy their will, identity and individual strength and spoil them for their work; every man must be left free for God to convict and operate upon the heart, call forth his powers, and develop in him an experience and individual strength for his special work.
The verse belongs to the teaching of 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 to be committed to memory and written in mind and heart, studied, digested and applied with love, and not ignored. That teaching calls for the continuous humbling of individual self, beginning with self-examination whose very first step is denying self and taking up his own cross of self-denial, self-humiliation and self-sacrifice, not laying his cross on somebody else to carry. It requires walking humbly with God in the path of obedience. It corrects prejudice, false reports, wrong spirits and division, calls for putting away wrong influences, and restores union, love and spiritual power so believers can act together under God. Differences among believers must not lead them to form factions, for division undermines their witness to the truth and fails to show its power. Faith and understanding are to move every believer to sanctified action.
The verse is part of a formal declaration that certain gifts of the Spirit have been placed in the church for its edification and instruction to the end of time, showing how Christ's promise to send the Holy Spirit as Comforter and guide to lead into all truth would be fulfilled to the church. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are received according to the Spirit's choice, and the Spirit enables people to live out what Christ made possible through His death. When these gifts are not slighted or neglected, they live in the church to encourage those who are fainthearted and to correct and reprove those who err. God places these gifts, including visions, in the church for its benefit, and the church should not deprive believers of their benefits and privileges; members who are unsure should be treated with patience and brotherly love, but opposition to gifts one has not experienced can endanger others and should be addressed. False visions and deceptive spiritual displays do not make the genuine gifts of God unreal. Noisy excitement, false tongues and other claimed gifts can be manufactured rather than placed in the church by God, and such displays are not reliable evidence of faith; their fruits show their source, while genuine spiritual advancement is associated with solemn self-examination, humility and learning from Christ.
God's Design in Diversity
Differences of administrations mean God Himself assigns different gifts, talents and opportunities to different members of the body as He pleases, to best promote His glory and advance His kingdom for the good of the whole. These include ready speaking, ready writing, sincere earnest fervent prayer, singing, clear explanation of the Word, the word of wisdom, knowledge and faith, as well as speech, intellectual ability, good taste, skill, refinement and courage to follow duty even at cost. One gift is given to one person and another to another, including calling some to teach others to fit them for service, and each gift becomes a power for God because He works with the laborer under the same Lord, one Head and the self-same Spirit. Recognizing this order guards against rivalry, carnal emulation, pride, envy, contempt, judging and refusing a fellow laborer, and strengthens unity, mutual love and harmonious action. To covet earnestly the best gifts is not to seek to be first, but to strive earnestly for power to follow Christ's example and be heralds of His gospel, with the heart blended with Christ and conformed to His will while walking straight forward in His light despite temptation, suspicion and evil surmising.
This diversity belongs to the economy of God to meet varied organizations and minds in the world, because a variety is essential when ministering to human minds and diverse gifts are needed to reach different people and complete the work. Different strengths reach different classes and places, with one worker strong in arousing campmeetings and cities while another reaches those the first cannot, and one servant's strength need not be another's. No one man's method and way of working is sufficient to mold souls after his own ideas, and no church is wholly efficient without varied gifts, for God moves upon ministers of varied capabilities to feed the flock with food convenient for them and to reveal truth on points a brother laborer did not regard as essential. In His providence He sends various workmen, one strong on some essential point where another is weak, so that contrasted talents make each other's work more complete, as counsel and influence complete power to arouse slumbering worldlings. Different ways of presenting truth can reach different people, so all are to labor together under the same Head and Spirit with kindness and love, each following his own line while looking to Jesus.
No one person is given all knowledge, wisdom and gifts, for God distributes what is needed among many and brings different minds together so they can contribute to the work. No teacher, physician, minister or other worker is a complete whole alone, can accomplish every branch of the work, or by gift, effort, methods and ideas alone can carry through a series of meetings and give perfection to the work. Several workers with varied gifts must therefore serve together in harmony, each doing his God-given work, filling his appropriate position and supplying the deficiency of the fellow worker who left alone would think himself a complete whole. The work is thus built up strong and proportional and made complete under the Lord's direction only by a variety of gifts and agencies in harmonious cooperation, with those of careful thought checking exaggerated action, with slowness and delay avoided, and with responsibilities shared to lift burdens from ministers. These differences are meant to complement and not divide, calling for humility, teachableness, cooperation without one person controlling others or relying on his own judgment, and harmony even when views or plans differ.
God can use anyone willing to serve humbly and trust in Him, and He has a place and work for all who will surrender to Him. Even the poor, unlearned, illiterate and those with limited religious or intellectual training have work in seeking to save souls, and a humble devoted worker who lives his religion reveals divine wisdom and power and promotes the gospel as successfully as a talented and eloquent minister. Like a garden with many kinds of plants, the church does not require every member to have the same gifts, stature or training, and no gift is too small to serve the cause, for the church needs this variety rather than uniformity. As the rill does not refuse its narrow channel, the grass does not refuse to grow and the star does not refuse to shine, so every man and woman has his own peculiar sphere and vocation without murmuring at position, each to do his little work to glorify God. The interest God requires is proportionate to the entrusted capital according to the measure of the gift of Christ, and the work is done not by judging others but by showing what the Lord has done in transformation of character, with faith, sympathy, forbearance, love, gentleness and temperance shining as a light in a dark place.
Unity in Harmonious Service
Different kinds of service and different words are given to be a help to the whole body, complementing and balancing one another and blending in harmonious action under the same Lord with one Spirit moving through all. Each person has an assigned place and special sphere, and the church is called to receive the Holy Spirit and serve in unity, brotherly sympathy and love, for Christian unity is a mighty agency. The Lord directs varied forms of service so that different workers with diverse gifts and approaches serve different people while laboring together, and their differences do not divide the work. Varied gifts and ways of working are essential to build up the work, since no one worker's gift or ideas are sufficient to shape the whole, and the Lord directs and equips workers according to ability so that city, missionary and departmental lines advance together. Recognizing this order guards against rivalry, pride, envy, contempt and judging, calling instead for showing what the Lord has done in transformed character.
Gifts are given so that workers feel their need of one another, connect with one another, and become mutual helps who supply one another's deficiencies in carrying out distinct responsibilities to complete God's work. God has ordained that people be associated in His service so the varied talents of many minds are blended, for no teacher, physician, minister or other laborer is a complete whole alone or can carry a series of meetings to perfection by himself. Contact of mind with mind quickens thought and increases capabilities, while careful thought checks exaggerated action, and when physicians and teachers thus unite the youth receive a symmetrical, well-balanced education for service. Gifts are to be used in service not for the possessor's glory or human exaltation but to uplift Christ and benefit all, with no thread of selfishness drawn into the web and no worker tearing down another's work to please himself, but relying on the Lord, consulting Him for wisdom and taking hold of the unseen by faith to prepare a people to cooperate with God. This requires not walking independently of counsel but listening humbly even when counsel conflicts with personal wishes, banishing self-confidence, frankly stating plans for close investigation with earnest prayer, overlooking little points of difference on questions of no vital consequence, denying self and yielding personal opinions on minor matters, speaking plainly and firmly when occasion demands with Christlike kindness that gives no offense, growing in Christian courtesy and refinement through association, and managers of the Lord's institutions in close proximity uniting their forces to labor unselfishly and untiringly for the upbuilding of one another's work with far-reaching results for good.
Unity amid diversity requires first obtaining the grace of Christ to sink self out of sight, deny self, and stop insisting that the work be molded to one's own ideas, so different workers can labor together in perfect harmony. A union of all the gifts is essential so the work is not one-sided but a complete whole, and this comes only by loving one another as Christ loved, not merely as self is loved, which is the perfection of Christian character and the condition for standing perfect before God. Each has liberty of expression, yet no one is to work out a problem of his own invention in raising means, supporting schools or sustaining the ministry, but all are to blend capabilities with those chosen with equal interest, prayer and promise to do the work of every conference without selfishness, aiming at the perfection of the character of Jesus Christ the great Leader and launching out against no man. Pledged union in action with unity and love and the glory of God in view avoids confusion and diversity in place of unity, meets fanaticism and heresies, sustains the truth as the Bible presents it, and gains victories. When members receive the Holy Spirit and bind interests together in love as one body and one Spirit, one with one another and with Christ and in Christ one with God, barriers of selfishness and territorial lines of distinction and barriers of color and caste disappear, heart is bound to heart, believers grow in grace and are complete in Christ, and many more souls are converted.
Differences of character, disposition, ideas, views, methods, manner, bearing, gifts and religious experiences are by the Lord's own order and appointment, who brings people of varied minds into the church because many different minds must be met and different gifts are needed. It would be deplorable if all were of the same mind and exactly alike, for then there would be great lack of fullness in church labor, and it is cause for thankfulness that all are not the same, as John was not the same as Peter. Not being of the same stamp is no reason to draw apart, stand in one another's way or be at variance, for children of the heavenly King are to work in perfect harmony under Christ the Head, who in heaven teaches angels how to minister to His church on earth. In Wesley's time people with different gifts carried out their appointed work, and although Whitefield and the Wesleys differed on points of doctrine the Spirit moved them toward the shared aim of winning souls, with meekness, mutual forbearance and charity reconciling their differences. Different temperaments can thus be brought by God's power into harmonious action to speak the truth in love, as each subdues peculiarities, softens temperament, has the same spirit that dwelt in Christ, seeks more of Jesus and less of self, thinks and speaks no evil of anyone, and keeps the lips as with a bridle.
Respect Without Domination
Differences of administrations mean the Lord gives different kinds of work in His service, and each worker is answerable to God for that trust and must receive instruction from the Lord and seek His direction for himself. No man or council may dictate how another must work, rule mind and conscience, place another mind under human control, merge individuality, or prescribe duty contrary to conviction of duty, and no one is to be made a mere echo of another's judgment, but is to use his own mind and conscience under the working of the Spirit. God does not expect everyone with distinct temperaments, abilities and adaptability to be suited to every task, for people have different value and trust, and lack of fitness for one work such as canvassing does not mean faithlessness or unwillingness, as different members each have peculiarities and value of their own like different flowers in a garden and the Lord does not unreasonably require the same place of all. Hands are to be kept off fellow workers to let the Lord teach and train them to labor in right lines, with each left free to seek wisdom from God and prosper under His training rather than being given one certain mold for every line of work.
Each is to carry out faithfully his own appointed work and place rather than leave it to take charge of another's distinct work, spoil it, tear it down, crowd a fellow laborer, or narrow the work to his own precise lines and exact way of laboring. God assigns work suited to each and does not place on one worker burdens that others can and should bear, and taking unappointed burdens confuses the worker, interferes with appointed work, and crowds out proper duties including sharing truth and preparing people for the coming crisis. No worker is qualified to do school work successfully alone without aid of others who can plan, devise and advance in God's appointed way, for the Lord in mercy brings in laborers of other talents to relieve heavy burdens and carry forward what others begin in new fields, and workers of varied talents must harmonize, advance steadily, ponder carefully at every step, and not block the wheels by criticism or appeals to sympathy over supposed unjust treatment. Christ gives different abilities to be exercised in different lines, some strong for one line while others are fitted for another line or another way to the same result, so no one is to turn from a fellow worker as unneeded because he does not work in his precise lines, but men and women are to be given room to work without indifference or opposition even when one the Lord sends works differently, since all the different gifts are needed to convict and convert sinners and gather them in church capacity.
There is to be no crowding, judging, measuring one gift by another, emulation, pride, envy, contempt, belittling, suspicion or evil surmising and demeriting of another's gift and work, for Christ Himself appoints positions and offices and gives all talents as His gifts. Each is to be careful of the estimate placed on another because human nature is frail, ignorant and liable to misconception and one person's ways may not be another's, to recognize the position and capabilities God gives to another, to respect gifts, guard one another's interests even when mistakes are made, and to speak good words that help and strengthen brethren in counsel instead of standing apart to watch for a chance to criticize and condemn. Servants with different gifts and tasks are used together by the Holy Spirit to win souls, their work is to exalt Christ and not themselves or their own ministry, no worker should belittle or judge another's work, and God alone judges each labor and gives the just reward, while all are to unite in genuine Christian service true to faith and duty with the same unceasing tenderness the Lord shows, leaving each to gain experience from a higher source. Varied gifts and forms of service under the same Lord are meant to be joined in cooperative, active missionary labor and not divided by selfishness, with grace given to every worker for the task.
God leads individual workers to special places and methods that few are fitted to do, entrusting different gifts, sending particular workers to particular places, and working in different ways, so servants must not limit the work to their own ideas but cooperate to advance His purpose. Leaders must guard against condemning, forbidding, criticizing or fearing to trust methods not in perfect harmony with their own, must never suppose every plan should reflect their own personality, must be slow to criticize such movements, and must give one another room, for withholding confidence from a humble, consecrated laborer doing his special appointed work retards the cause and presumptuous rulership that hinders it must be rebuked. No worker is called to administer sharp rebukes to a fellow worker or to crowd and press against him for not tracking in his exact footprints, but differences call for Christlike love, cordial respect, and faithful sentinel care over the mysterious, consequential influence that comes with talents received from God. This includes recognizing talents specially needed for work in the cities and encouraging each to do the work God has given him while helping one another come into closer touch with the work, so that even when laboring in the same city they do not get in each other's way, and includes the variety of gifts needed to share truth and teach others to work effectively, with physicians also to use their abilities including presenting health principles at campmeetings.
Christian unity does not mean one mind working another mind like a machine, one identity submerged in another, or requiring identical skills and one rigid stereotyped method with little details carried out as approved by one or two or three men. God gives different gifts and workings rather than giving all gifts to one man and does not expect any man to use talents he has not been given, so each is to keep will and identity, form opinions of his own under God, be encouraged to express them and stand in God-given accountability, use his own train of thought and tact, and develop his own powers for his special work. Such echoing of another's words, manners and thoughts does not raise a man in God's estimation even when praised as the best Christianity, while true unity honors differences of mind, leaves no place for pride, and labors together for perishing souls with room given for one another's work and for students to learn from Christ as the greatest Teacher. The diverse human agencies are diverse minds, elements and talents under one master Spirit of Him who is infinite in wisdom, and no man's or woman's mind is to exert controlling power in His institutions, for the Spirit working in and through the diverse elements produces harmony of action and brings them together in beautiful, matchless unity.
Church Order and Leadership
Differences of administrations under the same Lord mean simple organization and church order ordained for the unity and perfection of the church. There is a destined order of arrangements reaching from the highest angel down to finite mortals, all connected together in one great web to God and to humanity so closely as parts of a great whole that no one can become detached and independent. Holding office itself gives no new ability or Christian character and no kingly authority to order and command fellow laborers or to control and rule them. One in office is to stand as leader, adviser, counselor and helper in carrying the burdens of the work and as a leader in thanksgiving, treating fellow laborers with the same consideration he would wish to receive. God appoints people to responsibilities and the Holy Spirit qualifies them to bear them, which calls for consecration and devotion, with each using and improving the talents and judgment given him in his own responsibilities.
Not all work is of the same order and responsibility does not rest on one or two men, for no one, not even a conference president, is to be the voice for the whole ministry but a voice among voices of capability. Each is given his own work and is to place himself under the great Director and carry it on with an eye single to the glory of God, moved by the Spirit, accountable for faithful use and looking to eternal reward. Both medical missionary workers and gospel ministers are called as gospel missionaries in their respective posts, and no one man is given spiritual grace to be lord and chief over all physicians and other workers to control their efforts by his authority, carry things his own way irrespective of fellow workers, or ignore ministers who disapprove of some of his ideas. All whom God has called are to be respected and trusted to work as Christ works through them, laboring unitedly in soul-saving work in perfect unity without division, praying and counseling together in unity of effort and faith rather than relying on own ability and wisdom.
God does not give all understanding to one person but teaches different people, so they should share plans and thoughts, speak freely, and receive one another's counsel with confidence and kindness. Workers with varied gifts, minds and methods are each to do the work suited to ability and position toward a united purpose, consulting and praying together, helping supply one another's deficiencies, valuing the talent given without treating it as the only talent needed, listening humbly even when counsel conflicts with personal wishes, and overlooking minor differences. Physicians are to be united with teachers and schools with sanitariums for balanced education, and varied capacities are to work harmoniously toward bringing truth to all nations and peoples, each doing his part faithfully and thoroughly in unity and order under Christ the Head and direction of the church. Each must fill his proper place according to ability to uplift, to release and to break every yoke, with Jesus the Center and Source of all life and power pervading the whole, every member pledged to promote the happiness of all and finding personal happiness in making others happy. By this order God trains people to humble dependence on Him who is all-sufficient and to imitation of His own order of goodness, making the hand and heart of every worker a consecrated channel through which His love flows to others, so that he who approaches nearest to the character of Jesus advances toward perfection of Christian character.
The same Lord Himself directs this diversity by impressing heart and mind to go to certain places and do a certain work, and wherever an interest in the truth is started He works by providence to bring different gifts together in connection with those bringing the truth before the people. Because the Lord directs, no man handling sacred responsibilities may arbitrarily command a fellow worker that he shall not do this or must do that, and no human mind may interpose itself to forbid work God has bidden to be carried forward. Presumptuous rulership over God's heritage must be rebuked and undue exercise of human authority that hinders the work and discourages God's people must be refused, with safety found only when each individually commits fully to works of righteousness so that words and spirit testify to the glory of God. Gifts are never to be used to separate believers or to form separate parties under different heads, and no minister is to be conscience for other men or gain an experience for them. Contention and party spirit violate unity under one Lord and must be investigated and called by their right names, for all dissension comes from the narrow conceptions of unsanctified minds and shows where work needs reformation.
Prophecy and Faithful Service
In the last days of the work of the third angel's message there will come diversities of operations through the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the outpouring of the Spirit, and that outpouring is the time of the latter rain. They come at the same time that Satan works with increasing power because he knows his time is short, in the closing days of earth's history.
The same Lord has placed various gifts and administrations in the church for a great world work and the grand finishing work of earth's history to bring truth to all nations. Every professed son and daughter of God is to act his part in that work by appreciating these gifts, and success depends on the heart being impressed by the Holy Spirit, on communion with God, on experiencing the sanctifying power of His grace, and on submissive willingness to do the appointed work. To every individual member is given his own individual personal work, responsibility rests on every person with none excused, none can be an idler in the vineyard, but all are to be diligent workers together with God and with Jesus Christ, for all have not the same gift and there is a variety of gifts and all are needed to do the appointed work.
Christian service takes different forms while all service belongs to the same Lord, and people should use their gifts in the work for which they are suited and be trained each for the line for which each is best adapted. Some can do more good in colporteur work than in preaching, by visiting families and sharing the word through conversation and prayer, and directing such workers into preaching instead can leave both them and a needy field poorly served. City and campmeeting labor calls for the very best varied talent, and each person is given work by God with the Holy Spirit bringing the affections into harmony with the divine will, while heavenly angels stand ready to cooperate as people watch, pray, and work.
The Lord God of heaven who made the world and created man guards the interest of every soul and gives to every man and woman his own work with diversities of gifts as moral and spiritual capital entrusted according to ability for service as laborers together with God. Every person must appreciate what is entrusted, must not treat it with indifference, must trade on it by working where he can and doing the best possible service for the Master, must not complain of the smallness of gifts, and is not accountable for talents never had. Gifts come from God and not from self and are to be used for His glory without pride or self-exaltation, and their influence depends on being kept by God's power through faith unto salvation. Faithfulness to the grace given, continuing in His love and abiding in Christ as the branch abides in the vine, brings the joys of salvation and bears fruit. Jesus assigns different work in the vineyard to every son and daughter, every member of the household of faith has an appointed responsibility with no idle ones, and growth in grace is made manifest by efficiency in that service as earnest workers not slothful practice self-denial and learn by exercise of God-given powers how to work most efficiently, how to give a testimony, how to pray, and how to be a living witness. That grave and weighty responsibility includes duty to one's own people where one is loved and respected with a Christlike interest identified with theirs, even requiring leaving the privilege of remaining through meetings elsewhere in order to return to loved ones and an island home and fulfill the responsibilities resting there.