4, 5. How should Christian elders use their gifts?

⁴ Read Romans 12:6-

⁵ That same earnestness should be evident, states Paul, in the way overseers serve as teachers and carry out “a ministry.” The context seems to indicate that Paul here refers to “a ministry” carried out within the congregation, or the “one body.” (Rom. 12:4, 5) That ministry is similar to the one mentioned at Acts 6:4, where the apostles declare: “We shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” What does such a ministry involve? Christian elders use their gifts to build up the members of the congregation. They show themselves to “be at this ministry” when they earnestly provide guidance and instruction to the congregation from God’s Word by their prayerful study, research, teaching, and shepherding.