A moment in the development of language in the early church can be found in the adjectives and adverbs that qualify their way of dealing with one another. For example, the sharing of the gifts of the Spirit was to be done “for the benefit of the community” (1 Cor14:12); “prophesying in turn, so that everyone will learn something.”( 1 Cor 14:31); everything was to be done “with propriety and in order” (1 Cor 14:40), “everybody is to be self-effacing” (Ph 2:3) in mutual relationships; …they were to grow as a body “fitted and joined together, every joint adding to its own strength.” (Eph 4:16). In the sections that deal with admonishment or disapproval, everything was to be done “in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal 6:1), and proclamation was be done “boldly” (Eph 6:20)
If we examine these and other aspects of the language, we realise that some constant themes emerge: order, kindness, diligence, care and attention, sufficient organisational ability to avoid confusion or dispersal… The counsel given in the Church was for itself, with the purpose of establishing order, unity, humility and obedience, to assist in overcoming impulsiveness, inopportune or untimely declarations, and the inability to gather ideas and put them together.
Card. Carlo Maria Martini
Il consigliare nella Chiesa
Al Consiglio pastorale diocesano, 15 aprile 1989