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minister (Noun and Verb)
A. Nouns.
diakoniva 1248 the office and work of a
diakonoV service, ministry, is used (a)
of domestic duties, Luke 10:40; (b) of religious and spiritual
ministration, (1) of apostolic ministry, e.g., Acts 1:17, 25; 6:4; 12:25;
21:19; Rom. 11:13, R.V. (A.V., "office"); (2) of the service of believers,
e.g., Acts 6:1; Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:5, R.V., "ministrations" (A.V.,
"administrations"); 1 Cor. 16:15; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:1; 9:12, R.V.,
"ministration;" ver. 13; Eph. 4:12, R.V., "ministering" (A.V., "the
ministry," not in the sense of an ecclesiastical function); 2 Tim. 4:11, R.V.,
"(for) ministering;" collectively of a local church, Acts 11:29, "relief" (R.V.
marg., "for ministry"); Rev. 2:19, R.V., "ministry" (A.V., "service"); of
Paul’s service on behalf of poor saints, Rom. 15:31; (3) of the ministry of
the Holy Spirit in the Gospel, 2 Cor. 3:8; (4) of the ministry of angels,
Heb. 1:14, R.V., "to do service" (A.V., "to minister"); (5) of the work of
the Gospel, in general, e.g., 2 Cor. 3:9, "of righteousness;" 5:18, "of
reconciliation;" (6) of the general ministry of a servant of the Lord in
preaching and teaching, Acts 20:24; 2 Cor. 4:1; 6:3; 11:8; 1 Tim. 1:12, R.V.,
"(to His) service;" 2 Tim. 4:5; undefined in Col. 4:17; (7) of the Law, as a
ministration of death, 2 Cor. 3:7; of condemnation, 3:9.¶
diavkonoV 1249 a servant, attendant,
minister, deacon, is translated "minister" in Mark 10:43; Rom. 13:4 (twice);
15:8; 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 3:6; 6:4; 11:15 (twice); Gal. 2:17; Eph. 6:21; Col.
1:7, 23, 25; 4:7; 1 Thess. 3:2; 1 Tim. 4:6.
leitourgovV 301 denoted among the Greeks,
firstly, one who discharged a public office at his own expense, then, in
general, a public servant, minister. In the N.T. it is used (a) of
Christ, as a "Minister of the sanctuary" (in the Heavens), Heb. 8:2; (b)
of angels, Heb. 1:7 (Psa. 104:4); (c) of the Apostle Paul, in his
evangelical ministry, fulfilling it as a serving–priest, Rom. 15:16; that he
used it figuratively and not in an ecclesiastical sense, is obvious from the
context; (d) of Epaphroditus, as ministering to Paul’s needs on
behalf of the church at Philippi, Phil. 2:25; here, representative service
is in view; (e) of earthly rulers, who though they do not all act
consciously as servants of God, yet discharge functions which are the
ordinance of God, Rom. 13:6.¶
uJphrevthV 5257 properly an under rower (hupo,
under, ereteµs, a rower), as
distinguished from nauteµs, a seaman
(a meaning which lapsed from the word), hence came to denote any subordinate
acting under another’s direction; in Luke 4:20, R.V., "attendant," A.V.,
"minister," it signifies the attendant at the Synagogue service; in Acts
13:5, it is said of John Mark, R.V., "attendant," A.V., "minister;" in Acts
26:16, "a minister," it is said of Paul as a servant of Christ in the
Gospel; so in 1 Cor. 4:1, where the Apostle associates others with himself,
as Apollos and Cephas, as "ministers of Christ."
B. Verbs.
diakonevw 1247 akin to A, No. 1,
signifies to be a servant, attendant, to serve, wait upon, minister. In the
following it is translated to minister, except where to serve is mentioned:
it is used (a) with a general significance, e.g., Matt. 4:11; 20:28;
Mark 1:13; 10:45; John 12:26 ("serve," twice); Acts 19:22; Philm. 13; (b)
of waiting at table, ministering to the guests, Matt. 8:15; Luke 4:39; 8:3;
12:37; 17:8, "serve;" 22:26, "serve," ver. 27, "serveth," twice; the 2nd
instance, concerning the Lord, may come under (a); so of women
preparing food, etc., Mark 1:31; Luke 10:40, "serve;" John 12:2, "served;" (c)
of relieving one’s necessities, supplying the necessaries of life, Matt.
25:44; 27:55; Mark 15:41; Acts 6:2, "serve;" Rom. 15:25; Heb. 6:10; more
definitely in connection with such service in a local church, 1 Tim. 3:10,
13 [there is nothing in the original representing the word "office;" R.V.,
"let them serve as deacons," "they that have served (well) as deacons"]; (d)
of attending, in a more general way, to anything that may serve another’s
interests, as of the work of an amanuensis, 2 Cor. 3:3 (metaphorical): of
the conveyance of material gifts for assisting the needy, 2Cor. 8:19, 20,
R.V., "is ministered" (A.V., "is administered"); of a variety of forms of
service, 2 Tim. 1:18; of the testimony of the O.T. prophets, 1 Pet. 1:12; of
the ministry of believers one to another in various ways, 1Pet. 4:10, 11
(not here of discharging ecclesiastical functions).¶
Note: In Heb.
1:14, A.V. (2nd part), the phrase eis diakonian
is translated "to minister," R.V., "to do service," lit., ‘for service;’ for
the noun "ministering" in the 1st part,
leitourgevw 3008 (akin to A, No. 2), in
classical Greek, signified at Athens to supply public offices at one’s own
cost, to render public service to the State; hence, generally, to do
service, said, e.g., of service to the gods. In the N.T. (see Note below) it
is used (a) of the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch,
who "ministered to the Lord," Acts 13:2; (b) of the duty of churches
of the Gentiles to minister in "carnal things" to the poor Jewish saints at
Jerusalem, in view of the fact that the former had "been made partakers" of
the "spiritual things" of the latter, Rom. 15:27; (c) of the official
service of priests and Levites under the Law, Heb. 10:11 (in the Sept.,
e.g., Ex. 29:30; Numb. 16:9).¶
Note: The
synonymous verb latreuoµ (properly,
to serve for hire), which is used in the Sept. of the service of both
priests and people (e.g., Ex. 4:3; Deut. 10:12, and in the N.T., e.g., Heb.
8:5), and, in the N.T., of Christians in general, e.g., Rev. 22:3, is to be
distinguished from leitourgeoµ,
which has to do with the fulfilment of an office, the discharge of a
function, something of a representative character (Eng., liturgy).
uJphretevw 5256 to do the service of a
hupeµreteµs (see A, No. 3),
properly, to serve as a rower on a ship, is used (a) of David, as
serving the counsel of God in his own generation, Acts 13:36, R.V.,
expressive of the lowly character of his service for God; (b) of
Paul’s toil in working with his hands, and his readiness to avoid any pose
of ecclesiastical superiority, Acts 20:34; (c) of the service
permitted to Paul’s friends to render to him, 24:23.¶
iJerourgevw 2418 to minister in priestly
service (akin to hierourgos, a
sacrificing priest, a word not found in the Sept. or N.T.: from
hieros, sacred, and
ergon, work), is used by Paul
metaphorically of his ministry of the Gospel, Rom. 15:16; the offering
connected with his priestly ministry is "the offering up of the Gentiles,"
i.e., the presentation by Gentile converts of themselves to God.¶ The
Apostle uses words proper to the priestly and Levitical ritual, to explain
metaphorically his own priestly service. Cp.
prosphora, "offering up," and
leitourgos, in the same verse.
parevcw 3930 to furnish, provide, supply,
is translated "minister" in 1 Tim. 1:4, of the effect of "fables and endless
genealogies."
ejrgavzomai 2038 to work, work out,
perform, is translated "minister" in 1 Cor. 9:13; the verb is frequently
used of business, or employment, and here the phrase means ‘those employed
in sacred things’ or ‘those who are assiduous in priestly functions.’ |
