The faithful and wise servant

The Lord Jesus, in his great prophetic statement in Matthew 24:45-47, made known the fact that at the end of the age he would be present and would have a special servant whom he would "make ruler over all his house to give meat in due season to the household." For many years Christian people of all denominations have been looking for the manifestation of that promised servant. For several years some have recognized, and now many more are recognizing, that Pastor Russell is that servant.

Satan has attempted by many attacks upon this fact to break it down; to cause the Lord’s people to believe: (1) that Brother Russell was not the only channel by which the Lord would lead his people; and (2) that the Society in its organized capacity could not be a channel for the Lord.

The duties of “that servant,” then, would mean that he must look after the public proclamation of the truth and supervise the work of gathering together his saints and feeding the proper meat at the proper time, and that he would do so according to the Lord’s way during the period of the harvest.

No individuals are singled out and given a preferential place, but all together the remnant constitute the servant, that is, Jehovah’s witnesses, to declare his name in the earth.

The February 15, 1927, issue of that publication clearly pointed out the Scriptural evidence proving that the “faithful and wise servant”, to whom the Lord commits all his goods and makes him ruler, is not any individual man on the earth, and never was, but that Christ Jesus himself, pictured by Joshua, is the head of the “faithful and wise servant” class.

It must also be noted that God does not have several discreet-slave classes, several theocratic organizations among which the work is divided.

That channel is the “faithful and discreet slave”; it is made up of the anointed remnant of Jehovah’s witnesses, who have long used the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania as their legal servant.—Matt. 24:45, NW.

At times there are heard from immature ones slighting remarks, careless talk or outright criticism of the Society’s operations. Such is outright lack of respect for the means Jehovah is remarkably using to perform his will in this pre-Armageddon time. Truly the Society as directed by God’s holy spirit merits our deepest respect and wholehearted obedience.

These persons keenly appreciate any contact they have with the temple class and show this by cooperating fully with the "faithful and discreet slave," made up of all anointed Christians on earth as a class.

Yes, for over thirty years until 1914, a small group of devoted Christians had been serving as the modern-day "faithful and discreet slave" in providing spiritual food for fellow servants of the household of God.

Witnesses of Jehovah understand that the "slave" is comprised of all anointed Christians as a group on earth at any given time during the 19 centuries since Pentecost.

Indeed, this "slave," or spirit-anointed congregation, is the one approved channel representing God's kingdom on earth in the "time of the end." (Dan. 12:4) Witnesses of Jehovah understand that the "slave" is comprised of all anointed Christians as a group on earth at any given time during the 19 centuries since Pentecost. Accordingly, the "domestics" are these followers of Christ as individuals.

Its prophetic meaning is made known to us through "the faithful and discreet slave," that group of anointed Christians whom the Master, Jesus Christ, is using now to provide spiritual "food at the proper time" for all of God's people.

Rather, Christ appointed the "faithful and discreet slave" class to provide Scriptural study material and timely counsel to Christians throughout the world.

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.

In our century, it was the few thousands who responded to the preparatory work of the Bible Students during the years leading up to 1914.

However, as the light of truth progressively shone even more brightly after Brother Russell's death, and as the preaching that Jesus had foretold became even more extensive, it became evident that the "faithful and wise servant" (KJ), or "faithful and discreet slave" (NW), had not passed off the scene when Brother Russell died.

In 1881, Brother Russell himself had expressed the view that that "servant" was made up of the entire body of faithful spirit-anointed Christians. He saw it as being a collective servant, a class of persons who were united in doing God's will. (Compare Isaiah 43: 10.) This understanding was reaffirmed by the Bible Students in 1927. Jehovah's Witnesses today recognize the Watchtower magazine and kindred publications to be the ones used by the faithful and discreet slave to dispense spiritual food.

They do not claim that this slave class is infallible, but they do view it as the one channel that the Lord is using during the last days of this system of things.

The facts indicate that this faithful and discreet slave class comprises all anointed Christians as a group on earth at any given time.

They were designated as "the faithful and discreet slave," accepting the responsibility of caring for Jesus' earthly belongings, a privilege that they still enjoy as the 20th century nears its conclusion.

Directors of the Watch Tower Society are elected, whereas Witnesses who make up 'the faithful slave' are anointed by Jehovah's holy spirit.

Instead of saying, "the Society teaches," many Witnesses prefer to use such expressions as, "the Bible says" or, "I understand the Bible to teach."

The faithful and discreet slave also supplies food through our regular meetings. […] These include local congregation meetings, semiannual meetings at a circuit level, and larger annual conventions. What faithful Christian does not value such gatherings?

The information provided by "the faithful and discreet slave" is designed to strengthen our faith and train our perceptive powers.

The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction.