1 Corinthians 12:5
There are different ministries, but the same Lord.
There are different ministries
The Greek word for "ministries" here is "diakonia," which refers to service or ministry. This term is foundational in understanding the role of believers within the body of Christ. Historically, "diakonia" was used to describe the work of a servant or attendant, emphasizing humility and dedication. In the early church, this concept was revolutionary, as it elevated the act of serving to a divine calling. The diversity of ministries reflects the multifaceted nature of the church, where each believer is called to serve in unique ways, contributing to the edification of the whole body. This diversity is not a cause for division but a celebration of the manifold grace of God, as each ministry is empowered by the Holy Spirit for the common good.

but the same Lord
The word "Lord" in Greek is "Kyrios," a title of authority and divinity, often used in the New Testament to refer to Jesus Christ. This phrase underscores the unity that exists within the diversity of ministries. While there are various forms of service, they are all under the lordship of Christ. This unity in diversity is a central theme in Paul's letters, emphasizing that all believers, regardless of their specific roles or gifts, are united under the leadership and authority of Jesus. Historically, this was a radical concept in a world divided by class, ethnicity, and religion. The early church's recognition of one Lord over all ministries served as a powerful testimony to the transformative power of the Gospel, breaking down barriers and fostering a community rooted in love and mutual respect. This unity calls believers to focus on their shared mission and purpose, serving together for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Apostle Paul
The author of 1 Corinthians, Paul was writing to the church in Corinth to address various issues, including spiritual gifts and unity within the body of Christ.

2. Corinth
A major city in ancient Greece, known for its diverse population and cultural influences. The church in Corinth faced challenges related to division and the proper use of spiritual gifts.

3. The Church in Corinth
The recipients of Paul's letter, this early Christian community struggled with issues of division, immorality, and misunderstanding of spiritual gifts.

4. The Lord (Jesus Christ)
Central to Paul's message, emphasizing that all ministries and gifts are under the authority and lordship of Jesus Christ.

5. Spiritual Gifts
The context of this passage involves the discussion of spiritual gifts, which are diverse but serve the same Lord.
Teaching Points
Unity in Diversity
While there are different ministries, they all serve the same Lord. This calls for unity among believers, recognizing that diversity in gifts and ministries is part of God's design.

Christ-Centered Service
All ministries should be centered on serving Jesus Christ. Our focus should be on glorifying Him, not on elevating our own status or abilities.

Embrace Your Calling
Each believer has a unique role and ministry. Embrace your calling and use your gifts to serve the body of Christ effectively.

Avoiding Division
Recognize that differences in ministries should not lead to division. Instead, they should be celebrated as part of the richness of the body of Christ.

Stewardship of Gifts
Be a good steward of the gifts and ministries entrusted to you, using them to build up the church and advance God's kingdom.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the diversity of ministries help us appreciate the unity in the body of Christ?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our ministries remain Christ-centered and not self-centered?

3. How can you identify and embrace your unique calling and gifts within your local church community?

4. What practical steps can we take to prevent division and promote unity among different ministries in the church?

5. How can we be good stewards of the gifts and ministries God has given us, and what impact does this have on the church and the world?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Ephesians 4:11-13
This passage also discusses the diversity of ministries and gifts within the church, emphasizing unity and maturity in Christ.

Romans 12:4-8
Paul speaks about the different gifts given to believers and how they should be used to serve one another, highlighting the unity and diversity within the body of Christ.

1 Peter 4:10-11
Peter encourages believers to use their gifts to serve others, underscoring the idea that all gifts are to glorify God through Jesus Christ.
The Spiritual Gifts of the ChurchE. Hurndall 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Concerning Spiritual GiftsM. Doris, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Of Spiritual GiftsC. Hodge, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual GiftsCanon Liddon.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual GiftsK. Gerok, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual GiftsC. Lipscomb 1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Spiritual Gifts and InspirationF. W. Robertson, M.A.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
The Christly AssemblyD. Thomas, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
The Unity of the Christian Church is its DiversityPastor Pfeiffer.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
The Work of the Spirit in Modern LifeC. Short, M.A.1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Allegorical Time-KeepersT. Kelly.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Diversities of GiftsJ. Riddell.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Diversities of GiftsJ. Flavel.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Diversities of Gifts in the ChurchCanon Scott Holland.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Diversity and SamenessR. Tuck 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Diversity of NatureJ. Ruskin.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
The Dispensation of the SpiritF. W. Robertson, M.A.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
The Gifts of ChristianityH. A. James, B.D.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
The Gifts of the SpiritR. South, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
The TrinitiesBp. Andrewes.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Unity in DiversityProf. Momerie.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Unity with DiversityJ. McCosh, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Differences of AdministrationsSt. Augustine1 Corinthians 12:5-6
The Agencies of the ChurchJ. Lyth, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:5-6
The Diversity of the Divine OperationsU.R. Thomas.1 Corinthians 12:5-6
The Diversity of the Spirit's OperationsT. H. Leary, D.C.L.1 Corinthians 12:5-6
The Divine OperationsJ. Lyth, D.D.1 Corinthians 12:5-6
People
Corinthians, Paul
Places
Corinth
Topics
Administrations, Differences, Different, Distinctions, Diversities, Forms, Kinds, Ministrations, Ministries, Official, Servants, Service, Services, Sorts, Varieties, Various, Yet
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Corinthians 12:5

     5522   servants, work conditions
     8344   servanthood, in believers

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

     5110   Paul, teaching of
     6182   ignorance, human situation

1 Corinthians 12:3-7

     3212   Holy Spirit, and mission

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

     1513   Trinity, mission of
     5886   individualism
     7025   church, unity

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

     6670   grace, and Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:4-8

     8437   giving, of talents

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

     3257   Holy Spirit, gift of
     7943   ministry, in church

1 Corinthians 12:4-12

     7026   church, leadership
     7924   fellowship, in service
     7967   spiritual gifts, responsibility

1 Corinthians 12:4-13

     7032   unity, God's people

Library
Tenth Sunday after Trinity Spiritual Counsel for Church Officers.
Text: 1 Corinthians 12, 1-11. 1 Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led. 3 Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema [accursed], and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

List of Bible Passages
Address. Page. Genesis iv, 9 LXX 176 Exodus xx, 1-7 LXXXIII 207 Deut. xxxiii, 27 XXXIII 83 I Ks. xix, 1-13 LXXV 187 II Kings vi, 17 XC 212 Mat. ii, 1-11 XXIX 74 iv, 1-11 XLVIII 171 v, 3 XXII 58 v, 4 XXIII 60 v, 5 XXIV 62 v, 6 XXV 64 v, 7 XXVI
Francis Greenwood Peabody—Mornings in the College Chapel

May the Twenty-Ninth Many Gifts --One Spirit
1 CORINTHIANS xii. 1-13. There is no monotony in the workmanship of my God. The multitude of His thoughts is like the sound of the sea, and every thought commands a new creation. When He thinks upon me, the result is a creative touch never again to be repeated on land or sea. And so, when the Holy Spirit is given to the people, the ministry does not work in the suppression of individualities, but rather in their refinement and enrichment. Our gifts will be manifold, and we must not allow the difference
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

May the Thirty-First Connection and Concord
"By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." --1 CORINTHIANS xii. 12-19. It is only in the spirit that real union is born. Every other kind of union is artificial, and mechanical, and dead. We can dovetail many pieces of wood together and make the unity of an article of furniture, but we cannot dovetail items together and make a tree. And it is the union of a tree that we require, a union born of indwelling life. We may join many people together in a fellowship by the bonds of a formal creed,
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

June the First the Beauty of Variety
1 CORINTHIANS xii. 20-31. God's glory is expressed through the harmony of variety. We do not need sameness in order to gain union. I am now looking upon a scene of surpassing loveliness. There are mountains, and sea, and grassland, and trees, and a wide-stretching sky, and white pebbles at my feet. And a white bird has just flown across a little bank of dark cloud. What variety! And when I look closer the variety is infinitely multiplied. Everything blends into everything else. Nothing is out of
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Making and Breaking Connections.
Many Experiences, but One Law. In mechanics power depends on good connections. A visit to any great machine shop makes that clear. There must be good connections in two directions--inward toward the source of power, and outward for use. The same law holds true in spiritual power as in mechanical. There must be good connections. These nights we have been together a few things have seemed clear. We have seen that from the standpoint of our lives there is need of power, as well as from the standpoint
S.D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on Power

The Universal Gift
'The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.'--1 COR. xii. 7. The great fact which to-day[1] commemorates is too often regarded as if it were a transient gift, limited to those on whom it was first bestowed. We sometimes hear it said that the great need of the Christian world is a second Pentecost, a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of God and the like. Such a way of thinking and speaking misconceives the nature and significance of the first Pentecost, which had a transient
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The True Gentleman
1 Cor. xii. 31; xiii. 1. Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. My friends, let me say a few plain words this morning to young and old, rich and poor, upon this text. Now you all, I suppose, think it a good thing to be gentlemen and ladies. All of you, I say. There is not a poor man in this church, perhaps, who has not before
Charles Kingsley—Sermons for the Times

Public Spirit
Preached at Bideford, 1855.) 1 Corinthians xii. 25, 26. That there should be no division in the body; but that the members should have the same care, one of another. And whether one member suffer, all suffer with it; or whether one member be honoured, all rejoice with it. I have been asked to preach in behalf of the Provident Society of this town. I shall begin by asking you to think over with me a matter which may seem at first sight to have very little to do with you or with a provident society,
Charles Kingsley—Sermons for the Times

Sponsorship
1 Cor. xii. 26, 27. Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or whether one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. I have to tell you that there will be a confirmation held at . . . on the . . . All persons of fit age who have not yet been confirmed ought to be ready, and I hope and trust that most of them will be ready, on that day to profess publicly their faith and loyalty to the Lord who died for them.
Charles Kingsley—Sermons for the Times

The Dispensation of the Spirit.
Preached Whitsunday, May 19, 1850. THE DISPENSATION OF THE SPIRIT. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."--1 Corinthians xii, 4. According to a view which contains in it a profound truth, the ages of the world are divisible into three dispensations, presided over by the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In the dispensation of the Father, God was known as a Creator; creation manifested His eternal power and Godhead, and the religion of mankind was the religion of Nature. In the
Frederick W. Robertson—Sermons Preached at Brighton

Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity
(From the Epistle for the day) Admonishing each man to mark what is the office to which he is called of God, and teaching us to practise works of love and virtue, and to refrain from self-will. 1 Cor. xii. 6.--"There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." ST. PAUL tells us in this Epistle that there are different kinds of works, but that they are all wrought by the same Spirit to the profit and well-being of man. For they all proceed from the same God who
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

Antipathies
(Tenth Sunday after Trinity.) 1 Cor. xii. 3, 4, 5, 6. Wherefore, I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. We are to come to the Communion this day in love and charity
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Judgments of God.
LUKE XIII. 1-5. There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I
Charles Kingsley—Westminster Sermons

The Work of the Holy Spirit in Prophets and Apostles.
The work of the Holy Spirit in apostles and prophets is an entirely distinctive work. He imparts to apostles and prophets an especial gift for an especial purpose. We read in 1 Cor. xii. 4, 8-11, 28, 29, R. V., "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.... For to one is given through the Spirit wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; and to another workings
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

The Government of the Church.
"No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."--1 Cor. xii. 3. The last work of the Holy Spirit in the Church has reference to government. The Church is a divine institution. It is the body of Christ, even tho manifesting itself in a most defective way; for as the man whose speech is affected by a stroke of paralysis is the same friendly person as before, in spite of the defect, so is the Church, whose speech is impaired, still the same holy body of Christ. The visible and invisible
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Spiritual Gifts.
"But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And a still more excellent way show I unto you." --1 Cor. xii. 31 (R.V.). The charismata or spiritual gifts are the divinely ordained means and powers whereby the King enables His Church to perform its task on the earth. The Church has a calling in the world. It is being violently attacked not only by the powers of this world, but much more by the invisible powers of Satan. No rest is allowed. Denying that Christ has conquered, Satan believes that the time
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Dr. Martin Luther Concerning Penitence and Indulgences.
In the desire and with the purpose of elucidating the truth, a disputation will be held on the underwritten propositions at Wittemberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Monk of the Order of St. Augustine, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and ordinary Reader of the same in that place. He therefore asks those who cannot be present and discuss the subject with us orally, to do so by letter in their absence. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1. Our Lord and Master
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

The First Wall.
Let us, in the first place, attack the first wall. It has been devised, that the Pope, bishops, priests and monks are called the Spiritual Estate; Princes, lords, artificers and peasants, are the Temporal Estate; which is a very fine, hypocritical device. But let no one be made afraid by it; and that for this reason: That all Christians are truly of the Spiritual Estate, and there is no difference among them, save of office alone. As St. Paul says (1 Cor. xii.), we are all one body, though each member
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Continuation of the Discourse on the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians xii. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, &c. 1. In the preceding Lecture, according to our ability we set before you, our beloved hearers [2095] , some small portion of the testimonies concerning the Holy Ghost; and on the present occasion, we will, if it be God's pleasure, proceed to treat, as far as may be, of those which remain out of the New Testament: and as then to keep within due limit of your attention we restrained our eagerness (for there is no satiety
St. Cyril of Jerusalem—Lectures of S. Cyril of Jerusalem

On the Article, and in one Holy Ghost, the Comforter, which Spake in the Prophets.
1 Corinthians xii. 1, 4 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant....Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit, &c. 1. Spiritual in truth is the grace we need, in order to discourse concerning the Holy Spirit; not that we may speak what is worthy of Him, for this is impossible, but that by speaking the words of the divine Scriptures, we may run our course without danger. For a truly fearful thing is written in the Gospels, where Christ has plainly said,
St. Cyril of Jerusalem—Lectures of S. Cyril of Jerusalem

But this is So Great, that Certain Understand it to be the Fruit An...
46. But this is so great, that certain understand it to be the fruit an hundred-fold. [2190] For the authority of the Church bears a very conspicuous witness, in which it is known to the faithful in what place the Martyrs, in what place the holy nuns deceased, are rehearsed at the Sacraments of the Altar. [2191] But what the meaning is of that difference of fruitfulness, let them see to it, who understand these things better than we; whether the virginal life be in fruit an hundred-fold, in sixty-fold
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Hence Too is Solved that Question, How is it that the Martyrs...
19. Hence too is solved that question, how is it that the Martyrs, by the very benefits which are given to them that pray, indicate that they take an interest in the affairs of men, if the dead know not what the quick are doing. For not only by effects of benefits, but in the very beholding of men, it is certain, [2760] that the Confessor Felix (whose denizenship among you thou piously lovest) appeared when the barbarians were attacking Nola, as we have heard not by uncertain rumors, but by sure
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead.

Epistle vii. To Peter, Domitian, and Elpidius.
To Peter, Domitian, and Elpidius. Gregory to Peter, Domitian, and Elpidius, Bishops [1688] . I rejoice exceedingly that you welcomed with great joy the ordination of the most holy Cyriacus, my brother and fellow-priest. And since we have learnt from the preaching of Paul the apostle that If one member rejoice, all the members rejoice with it (1 Cor. xii. 26), you must needs consider with how great exultation I rejoice with you in this thing, wherein not one member, but many members of Christ have
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

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