“And God has appointed in the church... third teachers, then miracles, then

Note: The King James Version says, “governments” but the New King James Version says, “administrations”.

For a number of reasons, it is not easy to accurately define this gift. For example,

Many Bible teachers and even many so called Bible commentators have failed to discern one of the keys to understanding this gift-- its placement. Therefore, many mistakenly teach that it is a leading gift, like pastoring. But as I pointed out at the beginning, it cannot be a leading gift because God has placed it below helps. For example, a pastor is not below helps. Even some Bible translators have not discerned its rank and have translated it: “those who help others, those who lead, tongues”, where “those who lead” are after those who help. This is not a fitting translation.

It is not the same Greek word used in the N.T. for a governor, like the one used to describe Pontius Pilate, a governor (Hegemon). This Greek word clearly means to lead.

1. It is a gift because God said it was.

2. It is a spiritual gift, not a secular gift because all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are just that, of the Spirit, not of the flesh. It is not a secular gift as some assert.

3. It is beneficial to the body of believers, but not as beneficial as the gifts listed above it.

4. It is not a leading gift [i.e. a greater gift], but a lesser gift because God Himself ranked it or placed it beneath helps; position seven out of eight on the list. It is low on the list, near the bottom, not high or near the top.

5. It is distinctly different than all of the gifts, and even distinctly different than the truest sense of the gift of help. This is explained further in the conclusion below.

Therefore, if (a) “administrations” or “governments” are acceptable translations from the Greek, and if (b) it is ranked as a lesser gift, below helps, which is a lesser gift (since it is not a speaking gift), then (c) it means administrations or governments in the sense of carrying out the work delegated to them by the church or by those who are called to lead/rule the church, not administrations or governments in the sense of being rulers or leaders. For example, consider the administrations of American presidents. When American presidents are elected and enter office they bring in new administrations. Likewise, when American presidents leave office their administrations usually resign or are replaced by the incoming presidential administration. These administrations carry out the elected officials policies, rights, business, or laws, but they are not the elected official, they are not the ones ultimately accountable for the administration or government [staff, admins, secretaries, procedural, coordinators, facilitators, etc., but they cannot not be rulers or leaders of the flock in the kingdom of God. That soul responsibility belongs to the pastors (1 Pe 5:1-4), that is the shepherds.] This is how the gift of administrations is different than the gift of leading in the kingdom of God.

Evidently some ministries and services require administrative workers/gifts. These help the body of Christ. Every gift helps the body of Christ but in different forms. Administrations is different than the gift of helps in that its main focus is to carry out work that is delegated to them, while the main focus of the gift of helps is spontaneous support to needs that arise. Some members are better suited for the gift of administrations than the gift of helps. Yet those with the gift of administrations could also have the gift of helps, or more.