God Loves Diversity

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

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The Function of Cells in the Body Helps Us Understand Functions

Look at the world, and you’ll see incredible diversity. We are not just part of the one body; we are also particulars. God loves the diversity that makes each of us unique.

Ephesians 3:7–11 APNT:
⁷ of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God that was given to me by the working of his power.
⁸ To me, who am the least of all the holy [ones], this grace was given, that I should declare among the Gentiles the wealth of Christ [full measure of the Spirit] that is untraceable
⁹ and [that] I should bring light to everyone what is the administration of the mystery that was hidden from the ages in God, who created all [things],
¹⁰ so that by way of the church, the extraordinary [full of distinctions] wisdom of God would be made known to the rulers and to the authorities that are in heaven,
¹¹ which [wisdom] he had prepared from the ages and has performed in Jesus Christ our Lord,

In the hardback version of my Aramaic Peshitta New Testament (APNT) translation, I’ve marked out many unique idioms.

1 Peter 4:10 APNT:
And everyone of you should minister the gift that he received from God to his friends, as good stewardsof the diverse grace of God.

There is diverse grace. Many of the occurrences of “grace” deal with believing, how God energizes it,

One good definition of grace: God’s ability working in you.

Romans 12:3–8 APNT:
³ Now I say by the grace that was given to me for all of you, you should not think outside of what is right to think, but everyone should think soberly, according to faith in the measure God has distributed to him.
⁴ For as in one body we have many members and all members do not have one function,
⁵ so also we who are many are one body in Christ and each one of us are members of one another.
⁶ But we have various gifts according to the grace that is given to us.
⁷ There is [giving] of prophecy according to the measure of his faith, and there is [giving] of ministering one has in his ministering, and there is [giving] of a teacher in his teaching,
⁸ and there is [giving] of a comforter in his comforting, and of one who gives, with simplicity, and of one who presides, with diligence, and of one who is merciful, with cheerfulness.

We each have diverse kinds of gifts, even though we all have the same Holy Spirit. These gifts are not manifestations of the Spirit. All the gifts it’s talking about here are presents to give to others, energized by God’s grace.

“Function” in verse 4 is words, deeds, business, affairs, acts, opportunities, office, and so on. We all work for the same company. It’s like we are all employees, but we each have different jobs.

Function	Meaning	Cell Type
Prophesying	Connecting, transferring, building, cohering or joining	Connective
Ministering	Doing, attending, working, serving	Muscle
Teaching	Developing, growing, circulating, imparting, communicating	Blood
Comforting	Covering, protecting, renewing, strengthening, encouraging	Epithelial
Giving (with generosity)	Bestowing, conferring, yielding, giving	Fat
Leading (with diligence)	Leading, guiding, setting goals, stimulating	Nerve
Being merciful (with cheerfulness)	Caring, healing, soothing, helping in deliverance	Lymph

Image of types of cells in the human body

Prophecy

Romans 12:6–7 APNT:
⁶ But we have various gifts according to the grace that is given to us.
⁷ There is [giving] of prophecy according to the measure of his faith, and there is [giving] of ministering one has in his ministering, and there is [giving] of a teacher in his teaching,

Prophecy is like a connective cell. It builds connections with people so that they can stand. In Aramaic, the word picture for “preach” has to do with the hope.

Titus 1:9 APNT:
and being diligent concerning the teaching of the word of faith, so that he may also be able to encourage by his sound teaching and to reprove those who are quarrelsome.

Titus 2:1–2 APNT:
¹ But you, speak what is suitable to sound teaching.
² And teach the elders that they should be watchful in their minds and should be sober and should be pure and should be sound in faith and in love and in patience.

Titus 2:6, 15 APNT:
⁶ And likewise, request those who are young [men] to be sober.
¹⁵ Speak these [things] and entreat and reprove with all authority and let no one despise you.

There are many aspects to “preaching,” but they all build someone up so they can stand.

2 Corinthians 7:5-7 APNT:
⁵ For even after we came to the Macedonians, we had no rest for our body, but we were pressured in everything, from without, conflict, and from within, fear.
⁶ But God, who comforts the meek, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the rest [with] which he was refreshed by you. For he told us about your love to us and about your grief and your zeal for us. And when I heard it, my joy was great.

You can read more about that in chapters 8 and 9.

Those were all examples related to prophecy, which is harder to grasp than some of the others.

Ministering

Romans 12:6–7 APNT:
⁶ But we have various gifts according to the grace that is given to us.
⁷ There is [giving] of prophecy according to the measure of his faith, and there is [giving] of ministering one has in his ministering, and there is [giving] of a teacher in his teaching,

You should read it in light of the context, giving according to the grace given to us.

Ministering can be thought of like muscle cells. Often, you need people to work together to minister. They meet particular needs. For example, John Mark traveled with Paul and Barnabas and ministered.

In Greek usage at that time, “minister” had a different meaning than it does to us today. For us, it’s probably more accurate to think in terms of “function of serving.” You can think of someone who, when they see a need or something that needs to be done, they just do it.

Colossians 4:7–11 APNT:
⁷ Now what concerns me, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister and our fellow-servant in the lord, will make known to you.
⁸ I have sent him to you for this [reason], that he would know what concerns you and would comfort [exhortation] your hearts,
⁹ with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you what concerns us.
¹⁰ Aristarchus, a captive with me, greets you and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you received commandment that if he came to you, you should receive him,
¹¹ and Jesus who is called Justus. These who are from the circumcision and they only have assisted me in the kingdom of God and they have been a comfort to me.

Teaching

Romans 12:6–7 APNT:
⁶ But we have various gifts according to the grace that is given to us.
⁷ There is [giving] of prophecy according to the measure of his faith, and there is [giving] of ministering one has in his ministering, and there is [giving] of a teacher in his teaching,

Teaching according to the grace given to us.

Teaching is like a red blood cell. They travel all around bringing nourishment. Those who teach are often more visible.

Acts 18:24–28 APNT:
²⁴ And a certain man whose name was Apollos, a Judean who was a native of Alexandria and was trained in speech and observant in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
²⁵ This [man] was instructed in the way of the lord and was spiritually fervent and was speaking and teaching fully about Jesus, while not knowing anything except the baptism of John.
²⁶ And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. And when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they brought him to their house and fully showed him the way of the lord.
²⁷ And when he wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to receive him. And after he had gone, through grace, he greatly aided all the believers,
²⁸ for he debated mightily against the Judeans before the crowds, showing from the scriptures concerning Jesus, that he is the Messiah.

In Aramaic, the word for “teacher” means “a learner.” They are always wanting to learn.

Comforting

Romans 12:8 APNT:
and there is [giving] of a comforter in his comforting, and of one who gives, with simplicity, and of one who presides, with diligence, and of one who is merciful, with cheerfulness.

Comforting is different than exhortation. It’s also about words, but it includes how you speak. This is like the epithelial cells. These cells include not only your skin but also the lining of your stomach, intestines, and so on.

2 Timothy 1:16–18 APNT:
¹⁶ May our Lord give mercies to the house of Onesiphorus, who refreshed me many times and was not ashamed of the chains of my bonds.
¹⁷ But also, when he came to Rome, he searched for me with diligence and found me.
¹⁸ May our Lord allow him to find mercies with our Lord in that day. And you know well how he ministered to me in Ephesus.

Comforting diffuses pain; it soothes.

There are three gift examples left in Romans 12: giving with generosity, leading with diligence, and showing mercy with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:8 APNT:
and there is [giving] of a comforter in his comforting, and of one who gives, with simplicity, and of one who presides, with diligence, and of one who is merciful, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:8 NET:
if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Giving

Giving is like fat cells. This includes hospitality and seeing people who have needs and meeting those needs. They are always ready to release something to fill a need. When Paul first arrived in Philippi, he met a woman named Lydia.

Acts 16:13–15 APNT:
¹³ And we went out on the day of the Sabbath outside of the gate of the city by the edge of a river, because a house of prayer was seen there. And after we were seated, we were speaking with the women who were gathered there.
¹⁴ And a certain woman, a seller of purple cloth, who feared God [was there]. Her name was Lydia, from the city [of] Thyatira. Our Lord opened the heart of this [woman] and she heard what Paul said.
¹⁵ And she was baptized, she and her household. And she begged us and was saying, “If you are truly confident that I believe in our Lord, come, lodge in my house.” And she constrained us much.

Leading

This is like nerve cells.

Romans 16:1–12 APNT:
¹ Now I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a minister of the church of Cenchrea,
² that you should receive her in our Lord as is just for holy [ones] and you should assist her in every matter that she asks of you, because she has been an assistant both to many [and] also to me.
³ Greet Priscilla and Aquila, workers with me in Jesus Christ,
⁴ because these same ones risked their necks for my life. And not only I am thankful for them, but also all the churches of the Gentiles [are thankful].
⁵ And greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first[fruit] of Achaia in Christ.
⁶ Greet Mary who has toiled much among you.
⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my brothers, who were captives with me and are known by the apostles and were in Christ before me.
⁸ Greet Amplias, my beloved in our Lord.
⁹ Greet Urbane, a worker who is with us in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.
¹⁰ Greet Apelles, chosen in our Lord. Greet the household of Aristobulus.
¹¹ Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet the household of Narcissus, who are in our Lord.
¹² Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa who labor in our Lord. Greet my beloved Persis, who labored much in our Lord.

A leader is someone who stands before or guides the way.

Showing Mercy

This is like glandular and white cells and lymphatic tissue. These are the kinds of people who you can depend on, who care for you when you’re sick, who are showing mercy.

Colossians 4:12–13 APNT:
¹² Epaphras greets you, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, laboring at all times for you in prayer, that you would stand, mature [ones] and complete [ones] in all the will of God.
¹³ For I witness about him that he has great zeal for you and for those who are in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.

Showing mercy with cheerfulness (Romans 12:8), happy to do it.

The Illustration With the Physical Body

The illustration with the physical body is helpful to our understanding, but it breaks down because people are not exactly like cells. Cells have one function; people have many functions.

If our desire is to build up the body of Christ, it won’t matter which function we do. Whatever is needed, we’ll be happy to do that function at that time.

Scripture References

Scripture quotations marked (APNT) taken from the Aramaic Peshitta New Testament Translation: With explanatory footnotes marking variant readings, customs and figures of speech, Copyright © 2006 by Janet M. Magiera, Light of the Word Ministry, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.lightofword.org)