Governments In each of the five lists of spiritual gifts or of gifted persons which St. Paul places in his Epistles (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28, 1 Corinthians 12:29-30, Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11) there are at least two items which are not found in any other list. In 1 Corinthians 12:28 we have ‘helps’ or ‘helpings’ (ἀ ντιλήμψεις) and ‘governments’ or ‘governings’ (κυβερνήσεις). In 1 Corinthians 12:23 ‘gifts of healings’ are followed by ‘helpings’ and ‘governings.’ These two form a pair, and refer to management and di rection in things external. ‘Governings’ is a word which comes from the idea of a κυβερνήτης, a shipmaster (Acts 27:11, Revelation 18:17) or pilot (Ezekiel 27:8, Ezekiel 27:27, Ezekiel 27:28), directing the course of a ship. The word occurs nowhere else in the NT, but in the LXX [Note: XX Septuagint.] we have it in the sense of ‘wise guidance’ in peace or war (Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 24:6). St. Paul probably uses it of those who superintended the externals of organization. It would therefore denote those who are over the rest, and rule them, the προϊστάμενοι of 1 Thessalonians 5:12, Romans 12:8 and the ἡ γούμενοι of Hebrews 13:7, Hebrews 13:17, Hebrews 13:24, Acts 15:22 . The ‘governors’ are directors and organizers, not teachers; still less are they ‘discerners of spirits,’ as Stanley suggests. They are persons with a gift for management. It is possible that they afterwards developed into a class of officials as ‘elders’ or ‘bishops,’ but that stage had not been reached when 1 Cor. was written. See Helps and Church Government.
A. Plummer.