Matthew Poole and continuators on 1 Corinthians 12:28

28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles , secondarily prophets , thirdly teachers , after that miracles , then gifts of healing , helps , governments , diversities of tongues .

The Apostle, Eph. 4.11. seemeth to make a different enumeration, there he saith, And he gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers. He mentioneth here only three of those there mentioned, viz. Apostles, Prophets, Teachers. He reckoneth up here Evangelists, whom he doth not there mention. He here first mentioneth Apostles, by whom he meaneth those Servants of God who were [illegible: 1 letter]ent out by Christ to lay the first foundations of the Gospel-Church, and upon whom an universal care lay over all the Churches of Christ, having not only a power in all places, to preach and administer the Sacraments, but to give Rules of Order, and direct in matters of Government, though particular Churches had a power of Government within themselves (otherwise the Apostle would not have blamed this Church, for not casting out the incestuous person.)

Prophets signifies persons (as I have before noted) that revealed the Mind and Will of God to people, whether it were by an extraordinary impulse and Revelation, or in an ordinary course of Teaching; whether they revealed things to come, or opened the Mind and Will of God already revealed. But in this Text, and in Eph. 4.11. Prophets seem to signifie, either such as from the Spirit of God, foretold future contingencies (such was Agabus, of whom we read in the Acts of the Apostles, and others in the Primitive Church) or else such as interpreted Scripture by extraordinary [illegible: 2 letters]d immediate Revelation. Some think, that Prophets signifie the ordinary Pastors of Churches; but they seem rather t[illegible: 1 letter] be comprehended under the next term of Teachers, unless we had bet[illegible: 1 letter]er grounds, than we have, to distinguish betwixt Pastors and Teachers, making the work of the Teacher to speak by way of Doctrine and Explication, and the work of the Pastor to speak practically.

Thirdly, Teachers: Some by these understand Governours of Schools; others, such Ministers, whose work was only to expound the Scriptures, or the Mysteries of Salvation: but the Apostle in this Enumeration (which is the largest we have in Scripture) not mentioning Pastors; it seemeth to me that he means the fixed and ordinary Ministers of Churches, or the Elders, whom the Apostles left i[illegible: 1 letter] every City, which by their Ministry had received the Gospel.

After that such as he impowered to work miraculous Operations, and those of more remarkable nature, for otherwise the healings next mentioned, come under that notion also.

Then such persons as he gave a power to in an extraordinary way to he[illegible: 1 letter]l the sick.

Who the Apostle means by Helps, and

by Governments, is very hard to determine. Certain it is, that he doth not mean the Civil Magistrates; for the time was not yet come for Kings to be nursing Fathers, and Queens nursing Mothers to the Gospel-Church. But whether he meaneth Deacons, or Widows, elsewhere mentioned, as helpful in the case of the Poor, or some that assisted the Pastors in the Government of the Church, or some that were extraordinary helps to the Apostles in the first Plantation of the Church, is very hard to determine.

Such as spake with divers Tongues, that faculty being a gift, as we heard before, not given to all, but to some in the Primiti[illegible: 1 letter]e Church The Apostle, by this Enumeration, sheweth what he meant by those diversities of Gifts, differences of Administrations, and diversities of Operations, of which he spake in v. 4, 5, 6.

Marginal references: Eph. 2.20.; Rom. 12.8. 1 Tim. 5.17. [illegible: 1 word]. 13.17, 24.; Or, [illegible: 1 word].