Difference between revisions of "Governments"

<p> In each of the five lists of spiritual gifts or of gifted persons which St. Paul places in his [[Epistles]] (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 12:8-10; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 12:28-30, &nbsp;Romans 12:6-8, &nbsp;Ephesians 4:11) there are at least two items which are not found in any other list. In &nbsp;1 Corinthians 12:28 we have ‘helps’ or ‘helpings’ (ἀντιλήμψεις) and ‘governments’ or ‘governings’ (κυβερνήσεις). In &nbsp;1 Corinthians 12:23 ‘gifts of healings’ are followed by ‘helpings’ and ‘governings.’ These two form a pair, and refer to management and direction in things external. ‘Governings’ is a word which comes from the idea of a κυβερνήτης, a shipmaster (&nbsp;Acts 27:11, &nbsp;Revelation 18:17) or pilot (&nbsp;Ezekiel 27:8; &nbsp;Ezekiel 27:27-28), directing the course of a ship. The word occurs nowhere else in the NT, but in the Septuagintwe have it in the sense of ‘wise guidance’ in peace or war (&nbsp;Proverbs 11:14; &nbsp;Proverbs 24:6). St. Paul probably uses it of those who superintended the externals of organization. It would therefore denote those who are over the rest, and rule them, the προϊστάμενοι of &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 5:12, &nbsp;Romans 12:8 and the ἡγούμενοι of &nbsp;Hebrews 13:7; &nbsp;Hebrews 13:17; &nbsp;Hebrews 13:24, &nbsp;Acts 15:22. The ‘governors’ are directors and organizers, not teachers; still less are they ‘discerners of spirits,’ as Stanley suggests. They are persons with a gift for management. It is possible that they afterwards developed into a class of officials as ‘elders’ or ‘bishops,’ but that stage had not been reached when 1 Cor. was written. See [[Helps]] and Church Government. </p> <p> A. Plummer. </p>