The Duty of Improving the Divine Gifts of Exhortation and Teaching
T. Croskery 1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee through prophecy, with laying on of the hands of the presbytery. I. THE SPIRITUAL GIFT CONFERRED ON TIMOTHY. 1. It is not mere intellectual equipment, nor the mere possession of Divine grace, but the gift, which qualified Timothy for preaching the gospel. "For the work of an evangelist." It was a gift of interpreting the Scriptures, of dispensing the mysteries of grace with edification, of bringing forth things new and old out of the good treasure of a holy heart informed with truth. 2. It was a gift conferred by means of prophecy. The Holy Spirit had, by one or more of the prophets, declared his will to confer this gift upon Timothy. The prophecy was the Divine assurance as to Timothy's qualifications. 3. The response to this Divine act is signified by the action of the presbytery in formally designating him to his special ministerial work. II. THE DUTY OF EXERCISING AND IMPROVING THIS GIFT. "Neglect not the gift that is in thee." There were several reasons to enforce this duty. 1. The prophetic declaration accompanied by the concurrence of the whole body of presbyters would fill his mind with a sense of his high privilege and great responsibility in the possession of such a gift. 2. The exercise of a gift is the only method of preventing its complete lapse. The disuse of a limb causes it to decay. All faculties must be kept bright and vivid by constant exercise. 3. Our Lord, by the parable of the talents, teaches us the sin and danger of hiding our talent uselessly in the ground. - T.C. Parallel Verses KJV: Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. WEB: Don't neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the elders.