And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages.And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues.
3 sermons cite this verse
challenges of chapter 12 and the unfolding challenges of chapter 14. I suppose if we're going to do a series, then make sure that we keep 13 where it is, right in the middle, so as to prevent us from all kinds of lopsidedness. Father, we pray that what we don't know, you will teach us, that what we don't have, you will give us, that what we are not, that you will make us. And we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Incidentally, in coming to these three studies in Nehemiah, I've chosen them somewhat arbitrarily, but not actually so. I've decided not to do, you know, if you like, the big passage in chapter 8, bring out the book and the Word of God, and to reinforce the place of expository preaching—not because that would not be our emphasis, but just because it's so familiar to us. And I thought I would rather take a stab at the rather naughty 13th chapter, which is before us later in the day, unless we can find a way to escape before that. But in the same way, you know, here, dealing with chapter 3 and chapter 4, we all believe together, don't we, that all Scripture is inspired by God, the perspicuity of Scripture, we believe, down to the verbs, and the adverbs, and so on. So, we believe that all Scripture is inspired, but if we're honest, we recognize that all Scripture is not equally inspiring. So, for example, you know, Chronicles ends with …
Not everyone works miracles. Not everyone has gifts of healings. Not everyone speaks in tongues. Not everyone interprets. But you all go on. Go on striving after the greater gifts, and I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but I have not love, I'm only a noisy gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have faith that can move mountains, but I don't have love, I'm nothing. If I give away all my possessions and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing. Love waits patiently. Love shows kindness. Love does not burn with envy. It does not brag. It is not inflated with pride. Love does not behave rudely. It is not self-seeking. It's not easily provoked. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not rejoice at injustice, but delights in the truth. Love always protects, always keeps the faith, always hopes, always endures. …
It becomes one who is called to be a soldier, to excel in the art of war. It becomes a mariner, to excel in the art of navigation. It becomes a physician, to excel in the knowledge of those things which pertain to the art of physic. So it becomes all such as profess to be Christians, and to devote themselves to the practice of Christianity, to endeavour to excel in the knowledge of divinity. 8. It may be argued hence, that God hath appointed an order of men for this end, to assist persons in gaining knowledge in these things. He hath appointed them to be teachers, 1 Cor. xii. 28. and God hath set some in the church; first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers: Eph. iv. 11, 2. “He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” If God hath set them to be teachers, making that their business, then he hath made it their business to impart knowledge. But what kind of knowledge? not the knowledge of philosophy, or of human laws, or of mechanical arts, but of divinity. …