«　WEEK 3　DAY 6　»

　　1 Cor. 12:4-6 But there are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are distinctions of ministries, yet the same Lord; and there are distinctions of operations, but the same God, who operates all things in all.

　　While we are functioning either as supplying joints or as operating parts, the Triune God, who is within us, moves together with us. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 the Triune God is mentioned. There are God the Father’s operations, God the Son’s ministries, and God the Spirit’s gifts. The gifts of the Spirit are to carry out the ministries of the Lord, and the ministries of the Lord are to accomplish the operations of God the Father. The Triune God does not move apart from us. He is waiting for us. When we move, He moves. When we speak, He speaks. If we do not speak in a meeting, God cannot speak. The Spirit exercises His gifts, the Lord carries out His ministries, and God operates while we are functioning. The organic function of the church by the move of the Triune God is for the building up of the church as the organic Body of Christ, the fullness of the all-inclusive One who fills all in all. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to Be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God,” p. 303)

　　There are differences in the gifts for the manifestation of the Spirit; there are diversities [distinctions] in these gifts. The gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4 refer to the outward gifts, the abilities or enablings for service. Some of them are miraculous, and some are developed out of the initial gifts mentioned in 1:7.

　　In 12:5 Paul continues, “And there are distinctions of ministries, yet the same Lord.” The ministries here are services. The gifts in verse 4 are for these services, and they are for the operations in verse 6.

　　Verse 6 says, “And there are distinctions of operations, but the same God, who operates all things in all.” The operations here are works. The ministries or services in verse 5 are for these works.

　　The gifts are by the Spirit; the ministries, the services, are for the Lord; and the operations are of God. Here the Triune God is involved in these three things: gifts, ministries, and operations. The gifts by the Spirit are to carry out the ministries, the services, for the Lord, and the ministries for the Lord are to accomplish the operations, the works, of God. This is the Triune God moving in the believers for the accomplishment of His eternal purpose to build up the church, the Body of Christ, for the expression of God.

　　In these verses Paul speaks of the Trinity. He speaks of the Spirit in verse 4, the Lord in verse 5, and the Father in verse 6. The gifts are by the Spirit, the ministries are for the Lord, and the operations are of God. The gifts are the enabling. When we exercise our gifts, the ministries come forth. Thus, the gifts are for the ministries. In Greek the word rendered “ministries” [in verse 5] simply means services.…When we use our gifts to function, spontaneously that function becomes a service.

　　God is the Administrator, the One who is administrating by means of the operations. These operations are the works to carry out the divine administration. These operations, these works, are accomplished by the services, the ministries. Jesus Christ the Lord, the anointed One, takes care of all these ministries. Hence, they belong to Him and are of Him. But how does the Lord obtain these services? It is by the Spirit’s gifts. Furthermore, the use of these gifts depends on our cooperation. If we do not speak, if we do not utter anything of the Lord and for the Lord, the Spirit has no way. The exercise of the gifts carries out the ministries, and the ministries accomplish the operations. These operations are for the carrying out of God’s administration, which is for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 513-515)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 57