gifts abstractly, ver. 8-10, as being all given
to profit the Church withal, ver. 7; but
here, ver. 28-30, he speaks of these gifts as they
are in several distinct subjects, for the benefit
of the organical body the church; else what saith
he here, more than he said before? 2. That all
these eight here enumerated, one as well as another,
do denote, not distinct offices or acts of the same
officer, but distinct officers, having distinct administrations,
and distinct gifts for those administrations, is evident,
partly by the apostle’s form of enumeration,
first, secondly, thirdly, afterwards, then
or furthermore: if he had intended only
three sorts of officers, he would have stopped at thirdly,
but he goes on in an enumerating way, to show us those
that follow are distinct officers as well as those
that go before; partly, by the apostle’s recapitulation,
ver. 29, 30, which plainly points out different officers,
persons not gifts, besides those three: Are
all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers?
(and here he stops not, but reckons on) are all
workers of miracles? have all the gifts of healing?
&c. If it should be replied, But he doth not add,
Are all helps? are all governments? therefore these
are not to be accounted distinct officers from the
rest; otherwise why should the apostle thus have omitted
them, had there been any such distinct officers in
the Church in his time? It may be replied, These
two officers, helps and governments, are omitted in
the recapitulation, ver. 29, 30, not that the Church
then had no such officers, for why then should they
have been distinctly mentioned in the enumeration
of church officers, ver. 28? But either, 1.
For that helps and governments were more inferior ordinary
officers, and not furnished with such extraordinary,
or at least, eminent gifts, as the other had, (which
they abused greatly to pride, contention, schism,
and contempt of one another, the evils which the apostle
here labors so much to cure,) and so there was no such
danger that these helps and governments should run
into the same distempers that the other did.
Or, 2. For that he would instruct these helps
and governments to be content with their own stations
and offices, (without strife and emulation,) though
they be neither apostles, nor prophets, nor teachers,
nor any of the other enumerated, which were so ambitiously
coveted after; and the last verse seems much to favor
this consideration, but covet earnestly the best
gifts, viz. which made most for edification,
not for ostentation.[60]
Except. 3. But helps here are placed before governments, therefore it is not likely that governments were the ruling elders; Helps, i.e. deacons, which is an inferior office, seeming here to be preferred before them.[61]