Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.(1Co 14:29-33)

Is that not amazing that all may prophesy one by one that all may learn yet unlike the pagan men of that time, the gifts that God gave a man were subject to his own spirit, meaning that he could wait his turn so that all may be in order. And Paul states this is the case in all the churches. Imagine that, all churches had multiple prophets who spoke as the Spirit moved them, to whatever degree the Spirit had given them the gift, that through them all may learn. Who could or would deny such a simple and magnificent truth? Can you imagine the beautiful thread that would run through those teachings? Like a multifaceted diamond, the Body of Christ though many, speaking as one for the edification of all.

Now, speak to one who is taken up by the one man system we labor and groan under and your soul will be wearied. There will be no biblical discussion, no Scriptures quoted as to why our modern day church no longer looks anything like the church of Corinth, or, and this is important as Paul stated above “as in all the churches.” There will just be anecdotes of some famous churches that everyone recognizes, as if, somehow by their “success,” the Scriptures are somehow nullified in favor of what man has replaced it with.

God has a pattern for our gathering and He laid it down. Imagine the audacity of those who think that they know better than God, better than the Word of God. The one man system comes from the Catholic model. It is designed to render the royal priest to nothing more than a spectator. It robs him or her of their God given gift to edify the Body. Many pastors who exercise their gift every week, simply do not get it. And why would they. Stop a man with the genuine gift of preaching from preaching and see what happens to him. He would dry up for lack of exercising his gift.

He sees this plainly, yet is somehow blinded to the fact that the exact same thing happens to every gifted saint who is quenched in the Body from exercising their own gift. And so we end up with a dried up Body starving for lack of being able to edify and to be edified. And yet the primary purpose of the shepherd is to feed the flock. God will judge the shepherd who refuses to allow his flock to be edified in the prescribed manner that goes beyond his own particular gift.

Joh 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Those who are forgiven much, love much. We see this with the woman who wept at Jesus feet. Here Peter had been forgiven much and so His love for His Lord is very great. It is into these hands Jesus commits the sheep. Every true shepherd loves the Lord His God with all of his heart and his soul and his spirit and he loves the sheep with an everlasting love and would lay down his own life to save the sheep. This is the minimum expectation the Lord has for shepherds of His sheep. Imagine, preferring your own gifting and your own edification over the sheep of your care. The primary importance for the Lord is that His sheep be fed. He has clearly laid out how the sheep are to be edified. We should prefer others before ourselves, this is one of the marks of the saint.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Php 2:3-5)