es contained under them,
viz.: Under prophecy the teacher, _he that teacheth_; and the pastor,
_he that exhorteth_; under ministry the deacon, _he that distributeth_;
and the ruling elder, _he that ruleth_. Now there is in the text just
ground for this resolution of the text, in making prophecy and ministry
generals, and all the rest special kinds of officers; forasmuch as
prophecy and ministry are expressed abstractly, _whether prophecy_,
(not, whether we are prophets;) _whether ministry_, (not, whether we are
deacons, ministers:) and both prophecy and ministry are put in the
accusative case; and both of them have relation, and are joined unto the
participle of the plural number _having_, intimating that divers do
share in prophecy, pastor and teacher; divers in ministry, deacon and
ruling elder. But all the other are expressed concretely, and in the
nominative case, and in the singular number, and to every of them the
single article is prefixed, translated He--_He that teacheth--He that
exhorteth--He that giveth--He that ruleth_. Hence we have great cause to
count prophecy and ministry as generals; all the rest as special offices
under them.

_Argum_. II. The second argument for the divine right of the ruling
elder shall be grounded upon 1 Cor. xii. 28: "And God hath set some in
the church, first, apostles, secondly, prophets, thirdly, teachers,
afterwards powers, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, kinds of
tongue." God, in the first founding of Christianity and of the primitive
churches, bestowed many eminent gifts upon divers Christians; the church
of Corinth greatly excelled in such gifts, 1 Cor. i. 5, 7. Hence their
members gifted, grew spiritually proud, and despised their brethren; to
correct which abuse of gifts, and direct them to the right use thereof
for the common profit of all, is the chief scope of this chapter, see
verse 7, "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal." For, 1. All their gifts flow from one and the same
fountain, the Spirit of God, therefore should be improved for the common
good of all, especially considering no one man hath all gifts, but
several men have several gifts, that all might be beholden to one
another, ver. 8-11. 2. The whole Church of Christ throughout all the
world is but one body, and that body organical, having several members
therein placed for several uses, as eyes, hands, &c., wherein the
meanest members are useful and necessary to th