The Divine Trinity in the Divine Operations, Ministries, and Gifts
One-minute Bible study
Please pray over these verses.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6
4 But there are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 And there are distinctions of
ministries, yet the same Lord;
6 And there are distinctions of
operations, but the same God, who operates all things in all.
 
In chapter 12 we see the Divine Trinity expressed in this section on the manifestation of the Spirit. Each of these manifestations relates to the three of the Godhead—the gifts are by the Spirit, the ministries are for the Lord, and the operations are of God for the carrying out of God’s administration to fulfill His eternal purpose.
A few more minutes
Please prayerfully read through the following portions of ministry related to this crucial point.
Chapter 12 is mainly on the Divine Trinity in the divine operations, ministries, and gifts. These three are the Trinity in expression, not the Trinity in existence…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. (Elders’ Training, Book 6: The Crucial Points of the Truth in Paul’s Epistles, ch. 3, section 4)

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 simply means services. Ministries is from the same root as the word which means deacons, serving ones. Deacons are serving ones, and ministries are their services. When we use our gifts to function, spontaneously that function becomes a service. The services are of the Lord, but the Spirit distributes the gifts. When the gifts function, we have the services, which are of the Lord and for the Lord. Then the services accomplish certain operations for God. Therefore, the gifts are for the ministries, and the ministries are for the operations.

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, ch. 57, section 3)
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Going deeper
Please read or listen to these materials for an in-depth study of this crucial point. 


Further reading: 
The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, ch. 2, section 1
Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 57, section 3
The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure, ch. 2, section 5


Radio broadcast link:
Broadcast 45, Dealing with the Gifts (1) (Start at the 17:03-minute mark)


Footnotes from Recovery Version of the New Testament:
1 Corinthians 12:1, footnote 1

1 Corinthians 12:6, footnote 2


Study questions:
  • What is the key, the ‘opener’, to a deeper understanding of this whole section on dealing with the spiritual gifts?
  • Read The God-ordained Way to Practice the New Testament Economy, ch. 2, section 1. Discuss the relationship between the governing principle of the exercise of the gifts to speak forth Christ to one another and the accomplishing of God’s New Testament economy accomplished by His dispensing Himself into us in His Divine Trinity.
Works Cited
 
Lee, Witness. Elders’ Training, Book 6: The Crucial Points of the Truth in Paul’s Epistles. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1985. www.ministrybooks.org

---. Life-study of 1 Corinthians. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990. www.ministrybooks.org
All verses and excerpts © 2019 Living Stream Ministry.
Used by permission. Reproduction is prohibited. 

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