Romans 12:7

or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching [Most of the spiritual gifts of Paul's day were either wholly supernatural or shaded into the miraculous, and, as miracles have ceased, it becomes hard for us to-day to accurately define gifts which have passed away. "Ministry" (diakonia) is derived from the Greek word for deacon, and probably described such services as deacons (Philippians 1:1; Romans 16:1) then rendered. The order, "apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, then gifts of hearings, helps, governments" (1 Corinthians 12:28), compared with the order here--viz., prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhorting, giving--suggests that miracles of healing may have been part of the ministry (comp. 1 Pet 4:11), as well as caring for the poor, serving tables, etc. (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:8-13). Teaching was probably much the same as that of to-day, only the teacher had to remember the verbal instruction of the apostles and prophets (2 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:10; 2 Tim 14) until the same was reduced to writing as we now have it in the Scriptures];