Romans 12:6

And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching; or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.

In these verses, Paul enumerated, with appropriate admonitions, some of the various gifts of Christians, the overriding sentiment being that WHATEVER one does in Christ's service, it should .be discharged with true faith in God who provided the ability to do it, and with the intention of doing it as perfectly as possible, and especially without reference to odious comparisons, rankings, and preferments which appear so generally in the patterns of human behavior.

Prophecy ... Although there were prophets, in the usual present-day sense of the word, in New Testament times, as, for example, Agabus (Acts 21:10), the meaning of the word here has a wider application. Exodus 4:16; Exodus 7:1, shows that Aaron was Moses' prophet, or spokesman; and, in that view, every preacher and teacher of God's word is a prophet. This view is consistent with 1 Corinthians 14:3:

He that prophesieth speaking unto men unto edification, and exhortation, and consolation.

Just what shade of meaning Paul had in mind, however, is not the important consideration, because the admonition attached is applicable to every kind of prophesying, being this, that it should be done in proportion to the faith of them doing it. Thus any preaching, or teaching, that does not flow out of the vibrant, living faith of the teacher or preacher himself is hollow, hypocritical, and ineffectual.

Ministry ... technically means the service of a deacon in the church; but the word is used more generally to include even the work of the apostles themselves, as indicated by Paul's word "our" in this verse. It refers to any kind of service undertaken for God's glory in the church; and the instruction is that whatever is done should be done enthusiastically and faithfully.

He that teacheth ... refers to teachers as distinguished from prophets, some of the latter, at least, being inspired, whereas teachers, in the sense here, are not; although they must be understood as being faithful students and expositors of the sacred word. 1 Corinthians 12:28 gives the proper ranking of "apostles, prophets, teachers, gifts of healings, miracles, helps, governments, and divers kinds of tongues." It is of surpassing interest that "governments" which receive such inordinate rankings among people are actually near the bottom. And as for "various kinds of tongues," that was the lowest thing in the church! That Paul intended in that passage to rank these things consciously, is proved by the repeated use of such words as first, second, third, etc. The Christian teacher is third in this echelon, being outranked only by the inspired apostles and prophets.

Exhortation, liberality, showing mercy ... are reference to various Christian duties of a private and personal nature, the exhortation being that grace, humility, faith, simplicity, and consideration for others should always mark the services of them that have in mind to please the Lord. The suggestion of "cheerfulness" as an accompaniment of showing mercy is most appropriate, since many a merciful or charitable deed has been nullified by the grudging and censorious manner that accompanied it.