Hey there can anyone post the text of the 3/15/90 article regarding the faithful and discreet slave? It was the article Jay Hess referred to in his testimony regarding the qualifications of the Faithful and Discreet Slave and how they didn't meet the requirements they set forth in their own publication. Thank you all so much for any help you can give me.
March 15, 1990 WT Article...
by Tuesday 7 Replies latest watchtower bible
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zeroday
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w903/15pp.10-14‘TheFaithfulSlave’andItsGoverningBody***‘The
FaithfulSlave’andItsGoverningBody"Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time?"—MATTHEW 24:45.
JEHOVAH is a God of order. He is also the Source of all legitimate authority. Confident in the loyalty of his faithful creatures, Jehovah is willing to delegate authority. The one to whom he has delegated the most authority is his Son, Jesus Christ. Indeed, God "subjected all things under his feet, and made him head over all things to the congregation."—Ephesians 1:22.
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The apostle Paul calls the Christian congregation "God’s household" and says that Jehovah’s faithful Son, Jesus Christ, was placed over this household. (1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 3:6) In turn, Christ delegates authority to the members of God’s household. We can see this from Jesus’ words recorded at Matthew 24:45-47. He said: "Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to you, He will appoint him over all his belongings."
The
First-CenturyHouseManager3
From our careful study of the Scriptures, we know that the spirit-anointed members of God’s household at any given time collectively make up "the faithful and discreet slave," "steward," or "house manager." Individually, the members of Jehovah’s household are termed "domestics" or "body of attendants."—Matthew 24:45; Luke 12:42; ReferenceBible, footnote.4
Some months before his death, Jesus raised this question, recorded at Luke 12:42: "Who really is the faithful steward, the discreet one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants to keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time?" Then, a few days before he died, Jesus likened himself to a man about to travel abroad, who summoned his slaves and committed his belongings to them.—Matthew 25:14.
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When did Jesus assign others to look after his belongings? This occurred after his resurrection. In his familiar words found at Matthew 28:19, 20, Christ first gave those who would become part of his composite house manager an extended assignment to teach and make disciples. By individually witnessing "to the most distant part of the earth," the attendants would expand the missionary field that Jesus had begun to cultivate during his earthly ministry. (Acts 1:8) This involved their acting as "ambassadors substituting for Christ." As "stewards of sacred secrets of God," they would make disciples and would dispense spiritual food to them.—2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2.The
Household’sGoverningBody6
Collectively, spirit-anointed Christians were to be the master’s steward, or house manager, assigned to dispense timely spiritual food to the individual members of the household of God. Between the years 41 C.E. and 98 C.E., members of the first-century steward class were divinely inspired to write 5 historical accounts, 21 letters, and the book of Revelation for the benefit of their brothers. These inspired writings contain fine spiritual food for the domestics, that is, individual anointed ones of God’s household.
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While all anointed Christians collectively form God’s household, there is abundant evidence that Christ chose a small number of men out of the slave class to serve as a visible governing body. The early history of the congregation shows that the 12 apostles, including Matthias, were the foundation of the first-century governing body. Acts 1:20-26 provides us with an indication of this. In connection with a replacement for Judas Iscariot, reference is there made to "his office of oversight" and to "this ministry and apostleship."8
Such office of oversight included the responsibility of the apostles to appoint suitable men to positions of service and to organize the ministry. But it meant more. It also involved teaching and clarifying points of doctrine. Fulfilling Jesus’ promise recorded at John 16:13, "the spirit of the truth" was to guide the Christian congregation progressively into all the truth. Right from the start, those who embraced the word and became baptized, anointed Christians continued devoting themselves to "the teaching of the apostles." In fact, the reason why seven recommended men were appointed to the necessary business of distributing material food was so that "the twelve" could remain free to ‘devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.’—Acts 2:42; 6:1-6.
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It seems that at first the governing body was composed exclusively of Jesus’ apostles. But would it remain that way? About the year 44 C.E., the apostle James, the brother of John, was executed by Herod Agrippa I. (Acts 12:1, 2) Apparently no effort was made to replace him as an apostle, as was done in the case of Judas. Why not? No doubt this was because James died faithful, the first of the 12 apostles to die. On the other hand, Judas was a wicked defector and had to be replaced in order to bring back to 12 the number of the foundation stones of spiritual Israel.—Ephesians 2:20; Revelation 21:14.10
The original members of the first-century governing body were apostles, men who had walked with Jesus and had been witnesses of his death and resurrection. (Acts 1:21, 22) But this situation was to change. As the years went by, other Christian men gained spiritual stature and were appointed as elders in the Jerusalem congregation. By the year 49 C.E. at the latest, the governing body had been expanded to include not only the remaining apostles but also a number of other older men in Jerusalem. (Acts 15:2) So the makeup of the governing body was not rigidly fixed, but God evidently guided things so that it changed to fit the circumstances of his people. Christ, the active Head of the congregation, used this enlarged governing body to settle the important doctrinal matter of non-Jewish Christians’ being circumcised and submitting to the Law of Moses. The governing body wrote a letter explaining its decision and issued decrees for observance.—Acts 15:23-29.
A
TimeofAccountingfortheHouseManager11
Individually and as congregations, the early Christians appreciated this strong lead given by the governing body. After the congregation in Syrian Antioch read the letter from the governing body, they rejoiced over the encouragement. As other congregations received the information and observed the decrees, they "continued to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number from day to day." (Acts 16:5) Manifestly, God blessed this arrangement.—Acts 15:30, 31.12
But let us look at another aspect of this significant matter. In his illustration of the minas, Jesus likened himself to a man of noble birth who traveled to a distant land to secure kingly power for himself and then returned. (Luke 19:11, 12) As a result of his resurrection in 33 C.E., Jesus Christ was exalted to the right hand of God, where he was to sit until his enemies would be placed as a stool for his feet.—Acts 2:33-35.
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In a parallel illustration, the parable of the talents, Jesus stated that after a long time, the master came to settle accounts with his slaves. To the slaves who proved faithful, the master said: "You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master." But regarding the unfaithful slave, he declared: "Even what he has will be taken away from him. And throw the good-for-nothing slave out into the darkness outside."—Matthew 25:21-23, 29, 30.14
After a long time—nearly 19 centuries—Christ was vested with kingly power in 1914, at the end of "the appointed times of the nations." (Luke 21:24) Shortly thereafter, he "came and settled accounts" with his slaves, spirit-anointed Christians. (Matthew 25:19) What did Jesus expect of them individually and collectively? The steward’s assignment continued as it had been since the first century. Christ had entrusted talents to individuals—"to each one according to his own ability." Hence, Jesus expected proportionate results. (Matthew 25:15) Applicable here is the rule at 1 Corinthians 4:2, which states: "What is looked for in stewards is for a man to be found faithful." Putting the talents to work meant faithfully acting as ambassadors of God, making disciples and dispensing spiritual truths to them.—2 Corinthians 5:20.
The
"Slave"andItsGoverningBodyastheTimeoftheEndDrewNear15
Jesus expected anointed Christians collectively to be acting as a faithful steward, giving his body of attendants "their measure of food supplies at the proper time." (Luke 12:42) According to Luke 12:43, Christ said: "Happy is that slave, if his master onarriving finds him doingso!" This indicates that for some time before Christ arrived to settle accounts with his spirit-anointed slaves, they would have been dispensing spiritual food to members of the Christian congregation, God’s household. Whom did Christ find doing so when he returned with kingly power in 1914 and proceeded to inspect the house of God in 1918?—Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 19:12; 1 Peter 4:17.16
As the long period of Jesus’ waiting at Jehovah’s right hand drew to a close, it gradually became apparent who was giving spiritual food supplies to Christ’s domestics even in the time prior to 1914. Do you think it was Christendom’s churches? Certainly not, for they were deeply involved in politics. They had been willing tools of colonial expansion and had tried to outdo one another to prove their patriotism, thus encouraging nationalism. This soon brought heavy bloodguilt upon them, that is, when they gave their active support to political governments involved in the first world war. Spiritually, their faith had been weakened by Modernism. A spiritual crisis was brought about because many of their clergy became easy prey to higher criticism and evolution. No spiritual nourishment could be expected from Christendom’s clergy!
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Similarly, no nourishing spiritual food was forthcoming from those anointed Christians who were more concerned with their personal salvation than with putting the Master’s talent to work. They turned out to be "sluggish," unfit to take care of the Master’s belongings. Hence, they were thrown "into the darkness outside," where the churches of Christendom still are.—Matthew 25:24-30.18
On arriving to inspect his slaves in 1918, therefore, whom did the Master, Jesus Christ, find giving to his body of attendants their measure of food supplies at the proper time? Well, by then, who had given sincere truth-seekers the correct understanding of the ransom sacrifice, the divine name, the invisibility of Christ’s presence, and the significance of 1914? Who had exposed the falsehood of the Trinity, immortality of the human soul, and hellfire? And who had warned of the dangers of evolution and spiritism? The facts show that it was the group of anointed Christians associated with the publishers of the magazine Zion’sWatchTowerandHeraldofChrist’sPresence, now called TheWatchtowerAnnouncingJehovah’sKingdom.
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In its issue of November 1, 1944, TheWatchtower stated: "In 1878, forty years before the Lord’s coming to the temple in 1918, there was a class of sincere consecrated Christians that had broken away from the hierarchic and clergy organizations and who sought to practice Christianity . . . The following year, namely, in July, 1879, that the truths which God through Christ provided as ‘food in due season’ might be regularly distributed to all his household of consecrated children, this magazine, TheWatchtower, began to be published."
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Supplying information on the development of the modern-day Governing Body, the December 15, 1971, issue of TheWatchtower explained: "Five years later [in 1884] Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society was incorporated and served as an ‘agency’ to minister spiritual food to thousands of sincere persons seeking to know God and to understand his Word . . . Dedicated, baptized, anointed Christians became associated with that Society at headquarters in Pennsylvania. Whether on the Board of Directors or not, they rendered themselves available for special work of the ‘faithful and discreet slave’ class. They aided in the feeding and directing of the slave class, and thus a governing body made its appearance. This was evidently under the guidance of Jehovah’s invisible active force or holy spirit. Also, under the direction of the Head of the Christian congregation, Jesus Christ."21
In 1918, when Jesus Christ inspected those claiming to be his slaves, he found an international group of Christians publishing Bible truths for use both inside the congregation and outside in the preaching work. In 1919 it truly turned out to be as Christ had foretold: "Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to you, He will appoint him over all his belongings." (Matthew 24:46, 47) These true Christians entered into the joy of their Master. Having shown themselves "faithful over a few things," they were appointed by the Master to be "over many things." (Matthew 25:21) The faithful slave and its Governing Body were in place, ready for a widened assignment. How glad we should be that this was so, for loyal Christians are richly benefiting from the devoted work of the faithful slave and its Governing Body!
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w903/15pp.15-20CooperatingWiththeGoverningBodyToday***Cooperating
WiththeGoverningBodyToday"He will appoint him over all his belongings."—LUKE 12:44.
AT PENTECOST 33 C.E., Jesus Christ, the Head of the congregation, began actively ruling in the kingdom of his spirit-anointed slaves. How so? By means of the holy spirit, angels, and a visible governing body. As the apostle Paul indicated, God ‘delivered anointed ones from the authority of the darkness and transferred them into the kingdom of the Son of his love.’—Colossians 1:13-18; Acts 2:33, 42; 15:2; Galatians 2:1, 2; Revelation 22:16.
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At the end of "the appointed times of the nations," Jehovah increased Christ’s kingly authority, extending it beyond the Christian congregation. (Luke 21:24) Yes, in the year 1914, God gave his Son kingly authority over the "nations," "the kingdom of the world," all mankind.—Psalm 2:6-8; Revelation 11:15.
Appointed
"OverAllHisBelongings"3
Noteworthy here is Jesus’ illustration of a man of noble birth. (Luke 19:11-27) Before traveling abroad to secure kingly power, the man gave his slaves money (minas) with which to work. Upon returning, this man, who represents Christ, called before him "these slaves to whom he had given the silver money, in order to ascertain what they had gained by business activity." (Luke 19:15) How did this work out after Jesus secured kingly power?4
In 1918 the enthroned King Jesus Christ found a small group of Christians who had previously left Christendom’s churches and were busy caring for their Master’s earthly interests. After refining them as with fire, Jesus gave his slaves increased authority in 1919. (Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 19:16-19) He appointed them "over all his belongings."—Luke 12:42-44.
"Food
SuppliesattheProperTime"5
The reigning King Jesus Christ gave an enlarged assignment to his steward, or house manager, on earth. Anointed Christians were to be "ambassadors" of God substituting for a crowned king empowered to rule over all the peoples of the earth. (2 Corinthians 5:20; Daniel 7:14) Their collective responsibility was no longer to be only that of giving Christ’s body of anointed attendants "their measure of food supplies at the proper time." (Luke 12:42) They were now to take an active part in the working out of the prophecies due to be fulfilled after the Kingdom’s establishment in 1914.6
What did this mean in actual practice? It meant expanding the preaching of ‘this good news of the kingdom to all the inhabited earth.’ (Matthew 24:14) Moreover, it meant publishing powerful messages of judgment against Satan’s wicked system and its supporters. This had the effect of ‘rocking the nations.’ Thus, "desirable things," Christ’s "other sheep," began to come in. (Haggai 2:7; John 10:16) From 1935 onward, the "great crowd" began to flock into Jehovah’s organization worldwide. (Revelation 7:9, 10) This called for progressive improvements in organization. Symbolically speaking, stones were to be replaced by iron, wood by copper, iron by silver, and copper by gold. (Isaiah 60:17) All of this has taken place since 1919 under the active and close direction of Jesus Christ, who has committed all his earthly Kingdom interests, or belongings, to his faithful slave class and its Governing Body.
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We can easily understand that the increased load of responsibility devolving upon the Master’s slave, steward, or house manager involved intense writing and editorial activities. Spiritual food supplies had to be published regularly at the proper time in TheWatchtower. In 1919 TheGoldenAge (a companion magazine later to become Consolation, and then Awake!) began to be published to arouse public interest, in addition to building up the "domestics." (Matthew 24:45) Floods of books, booklets, and tracts have also been produced over the years.Continual
Refinements8
Looking back in this "time of the end," we are not surprised that the members of the Governing Body were at first closely identified with the editorial staff of the Watch Tower Society. (Daniel 12:4) The article "The Theocratic Alignment Today," published in TheWatchtower of November 1, 1944, said: "Reasonably, those who were entrusted with the publication of the revealed Bible truths were looked to as the Lord’s chosen governing body to guide all those who desired to worship God in spirit and in truth and to serve him unitedly in spreading these revealed truths to other hungering and thirsting ones."
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There were legal requirements involved in publishing magazines and other Bible study aids. Hence, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was set up and registered in the state of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. For years, the visible Governing Body came to be identified with the seven-member board of directors of this corporation established to publish the Bible study aids needed and used by the Lord’s people earth wide.10
The Society’s seven directors were faithful Christians. But their role in a legal corporation might have suggested that they owed their positions on the Governing Body to their being elected by legal members of the Watch Tower Society. Furthermore, by law such membership and its voting privileges were originally granted only to certain ones who made contributions to the Society. This arrangement needed to be changed. This was done at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania corporation of the Watch Tower Society held on October 2, 1944. The statutes of the Society were amended so that membership would no longer be on a financial basis. Members would be chosen from among faithful servants of Jehovah, and these have come to include many serving full-time at the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, and in its branches throughout the world.
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Reporting on this improvement, TheWatchtower of November 1, 1944, stated: "Money, as represented in financial contributions, should have no determining voice, should in fact have nothing to do with the filling of the governing body of Jehovah’s witnesses on earth. . . . The holy spirit, the active force which comes down from Jehovah God through Christ Jesus, is that which should determine and guide in the matter."Different
FromaBoardofDirectors12
The progress of the preaching work during the following decades proves that Jehovah blessed the foregoing refinements in the understanding of the Governing Body. (Proverbs 10:22) Why, the number of Kingdom proclaimers throughout the earth jumped from less than 130,000 in 1944 to 1,483,430 in 1970! But further improvements were yet to come.
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Until 1971 those of the Governing Body were still identified with the seven members of the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The Society’s president carried the main load of responsibility for making decisions affecting the operation of the Society’s branches throughout the world. But epoch-making talks were delivered at the annual meeting held on October 1, 1971. The Society’s president spoke on the subject "Bringing the Holy Place Into Right Condition," and the vice president on the topic "A Governing Body As Different From a Legal Corporation." What difference is there between the Governing Body and the legal corporation?14
As already mentioned, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has a board of directors limited to seven members. These dedicated Christian men are elected for three-year terms by corporation members totaling no more than 500, the majority of whom are not anointed Christians. Moreover, since the corporation’s existence is purely legal, with a fixed geographic headquarters, it can be dissolved by Caesar, that is, the State. (Mark 12:17) However, the Governing Body is not a legal instrument. Its members are not elected. They are appointed through the holy spirit under the direction of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ. (Compare Acts 20:28.) Moreover, those making up the Governing Body are spirit-appointed men without any obligatory fixed geographic location or headquarters.
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As to such refinements in understanding, TheWatchtower of December 15, 1971, said: "Thankfully Jehovah’s Christian witnesses know and assert that this is no one-man religious organization, but that it has a governing body of spirit-anointed Christians." The Governing Body of the anointed slave class and of their millions of companions among the other sheep has been progressively equipped to take care of its office of oversight.16
The earthly belongings of the King Jesus Christ have continually grown. Since 1971 the number of Witnesses has leaped from under 1,600,000 to a peak of over 3,700,000 in 1989. What proof of God’s blessing! (Isaiah 60:22) This growth has called for the expansion of facilities at the Society’s headquarters and in its branches, as well as for the modernizing of methods of production and distribution. It has resulted in the building of many Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls throughout the earth. All the while, the Governing Body has also continued to carry the responsibility of overseeing the preaching work, producing Bible study material, and appointing overseers in the branches, districts, circuits, and congregations. These are the Kingdom interests that Christ has committed to the care of the faithful and discreet slave, represented by its Governing Body.
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The first-century governing body was enlarged to include more than Jesus’ apostles. When the circumcision issue was decided, that body evidently included "the apostles and older men in Jerusalem." (Acts 15:1, 2) Comparably, the Governing Body was enlarged in 1971 and again in 1974. To facilitate their work of oversight, the Governing Body arranged for five committees to begin functioning on January 1, 1976. Each committee is composed of from three to six members, all of whom have equal voice in matters under consideration. The chairman of each committee serves for one year, and individual members of the Governing Body serve on one or more of these committees. Each of these five committees gives particular attention to a specific aspect of Christ’s earthly belongings. A sixth committee—the Chairman’s Committee, whose membership rotates each year, handles urgent problems.Active
CooperationWiththeGoverningBody18
The committees of the Governing Body hold weekly meetings to review important matters, make decisions after prayerful considerations, and plan for future theocratic activity. As noted earlier, Acts chapter 15 shows that a weighty question needing resolution was referred to the first-century governing body for attention. Similarly today, important questions are referred to the entire Governing Body, which meets weekly or more often when necessary. The members of the Governing Body, at present 12 in number, seek Jehovah God’s direction through the Scriptures and by means of prayer. One way we reflect our cooperation with the Governing Body is by remembering these specially appointed ones in our daily prayers.—Romans 12:12.
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How do the instructions and decisions of the Governing Body reach the congregations? After the members of the first-century governing body reached their decision with the help of God’s spirit, they sent a letter to the congregations. (Acts 15:22-29) However, the principal way today is through Christian publications.20
Since February 1, 1976, each of the branches of the Watch Tower Society has had a Branch Committee made up of capable men appointed by the Governing Body. As representatives of the Governing Body for the country or countries under the supervision of their branch, these brothers must be faithful, loyal men. This reminds us of the capable, God-fearing, trustworthy men who helped Moses judge the people in ancient Israel. (Exodus 18:17-26) Members of a Branch Committee implement instructions received by means of the Society’s books and magazines and OurKingdomMinistry, as well as in general letters and special letters dealing with local problems. Branch Committees keep the Governing Body up-to-date on the progress of the work in each land and on problems that may arise. Such reports from all over the world help the Governing Body to decide what subjects should be considered in the Society’s publications.
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Under the direction of the holy spirit, Branch Committees recommend mature, spiritual men to serve as circuit and district overseers. After being appointed directly by the Governing Body, they serve as traveling overseers. These brothers visit circuits and congregations in order to build them up spiritually and help them apply instructions received from the Governing Body. (Compare Acts 16:4; Romans 1:11, 12.) Traveling overseers submit reports to the branch office. With the help of the holy spirit and the inspired Scriptures, they share with local elders in recommending qualified brothers for appointment as ministerial servants and elders by the Governing Body or by its representatives.—Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:5; compare 1 Timothy 3:1-13; 4:14.22
In turn, those making up bodies of elders ‘pay attention to themselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed them overseers.’ (Acts 20:28) These overseers faithfully seek to apply instructions received from Jehovah God and Jesus Christ by means of the faithful and discreet slave and its Governing Body. Jehovah is blessing this theocratic arrangement, for ‘the congregations continue to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number from day to day.’—Acts 16:5.
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How fine it is that through the Governing Body, Jehovah God and the Master, Jesus Christ, are manifesting support of God’s people! (Psalm 94:14) As part of Jehovah’s organization, we individually benefit from such support. (Psalm 145:14) This should strengthen our resolve to cooperate with God’s arrangements. Indeed, may we always be found cooperating with the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses as we move forward to the time when "the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea."—Isaiah 11:9. -
Tuesday
Thanks so much, that is amazing. And quick too....*pondering if I ask the board for more diapers for the baby as we're running low*
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hubert
pondering if I ask the board for more diapers for the baby as we're running low*
I'll mail them out today.
Oh, wait....I only have "depends". Will that work?
Hubert
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zeroday
....*pondering if I ask the board for more diapers for the baby as we're running low*
CHECK outside your front door...
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VM44
It was the article Jay Hess referred to in his testimony regarding the qualifications of the Faithful and Discreet Slave and how they didn't meet the requirements they set forth in their own publication.
Where might one read this testimony of Jay Hess's?
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