Find more discussion about the Governing Body by clicking here:
Recently, the Governing Body has modified the definition of the Faithful and Discreet Slave to exclusively apply to themselves and to not include the thousands of other anointed.
In the past, Jehovah’s Witnesses have believed that The Faithful and Discreet Slave is the collective body of “anointed” Christians alive on earth and that they exercise teaching authority in all matters pertaining to doctrine and articles of faith. This belief is based on an interpretation of Matthew 24:45-47.
Watch Tower Society publications teach that Jesus uses this group exclusively “to publish information on the fulfillment of Bible prophecies and to give timely direction on the application of Bible principles in daily life as the only means of communicating God’s messages to people. Hence, it is referred to as God’s “prophet and “channel”.
Appointments to positions of responsibility and decisions on doctrines, activities and oversight of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide are made by the members of the Governing Body, who are said to serve as representatives of the “slave class”. However no global network of anointed Witnesses exists to reveal new spiritual truths, and the remainder of the “slave class” are not consulted when making decisions.
Recently, some members of the anointed class wrote the Governing Body disagreeing with the way they were treating God’s household and questioning some of the teachings. The Governing Body has permanently resolved this problem of dissent by cutting the other anointed out of the Faithful and Discreet Slave class, thereby completely consolidating their power and eliminating all opposition.
Do you believe the Faithful and Discreet Slave class of Matt 24:45-47 is:
* The Governing Body
* All “Anointed” JWs
* All “Anointed” Christians, even if not JWs
* C.T. Russell
* Not sure of the answer
* Other (Explain by posting a comment)
How would you apply the verses in Matt 24:45-47?
We would love to hear your thoughts.
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UPDATE
“Reports are emerging of an announcement at the 128th Annual Meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania that the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses now considers itself to be the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class of Matthew 24:45 in its entirety.”
“Suspicions were raised in the minds of many thinking Witnesses after reading articles such as the Questions From Readers of the August 15th 2011 Watchtower, where it was admitted that the Governing Body has no actual communication with memorial partakers (the “anointed”) and even feels that some of these ones may be mentally imbalanced. (see w11 8/15 p. 22)”
Find the source of this information here:
I am not totally satisfied that this new change is well documented, so if anyone has additional concrete information or support, please share it with us.
A very well written article on this subject can be found at http://www.perimeno.ca/faithful_slave.htm. The author makes the point that according to Jesus parables the faithful and discreet slave are individuals and not a class of people. He also states that these slaves will be judged good or evil upon his return or as Mat 24:46 says, “Happy is that slave if his master on having come finds him doing so.”
*Lit., “having come.” Gr., el•thon´.
“The New World Translation renders the Greek word el•thon´ in verse 46 as “arriving”. This is a perfectly legitimate and acceptable translation. Interestingly, the footnote to the New World Translation Reference Bible states that the literal translation of this same Greek word is rendered ‘having come.’ “
“It is clear from Luke’s account that Jesus’ coming to judge his slaves takes place at an unknown hour and with thief-like stealth. The slaves are commanded to keep watching for the householder for “at an hour that YOU do not think likely the son of man is coming.” (Luke 12:39, 40) There would be no need to keep on the watch if they already knew the hour of inspection. Jesus’ surprise arrival would necessitate the slave to maintain faithfulness toward his assignment. If the slave knew the timing of his Master’s arrival in advance then he might be tempted to slacken off until that time, perhaps figuring that by some last-minute activity he might redeem himself. Indeed, Jesus predicts that some slaves would be saying in their hearts, ‘My master delays coming.’ “
I would encourage anyone interested in this topic to read the whole article with an open mind.
If the Son made you free you are truly free in him.
The key to his kingdom is Love in our mind and heart!
God called us out of this world to be free in Messiah for Messiah says”if the Son make,s you free you are truly free in Him.
So lets ask our self into what did God called us ?
Is it religion,is it a Organization on earth ?
No…because the gentiles are called out of this world of false religion to be grafted into Messiah and Jews are called out of their world of tradition religion to be grafted into Messiah.
Jesus says in John 15:4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me
Many Jew,s today have not accept Messiah because of the history of the so called Christian world today,and of their crusaders and their way of preaching.
The history books are filled of how they brought fear and hate to the Jewish people but also to the gentiles they brought a God of fear and not of love ,books are filled how they killed and judge all who did not believe as the Holy Pope dictated .
But we are not like this,we are free in Messiah and are no part of this world (John15:19) of false Religion but we are called out to put on Messiah .Gal3:27-30
We have Gods command to love one another as He says in,John15:12,13 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends
A true believer in Messiah know what it says in 1Cor10:3,4 And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.
For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Messiah.
They know that the Holy spirit will feed God,s true children.
1John2:27As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you.
But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
His love is all around us if we dwell with Him.
Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
John2:24,25 ……because he knew everyone,
and because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.
Ezekiel 36:25,26
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my ordinances, and do them.
Dear all it says in Philp 2:13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. .
Rom8:26 In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered. 8:27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the holy ones according to God.
Now is the time to understand that only God spirit can renew our heart .
Not because God wrote his law on stone but because He wrote it on our heart in the power of his Holy spirit He renew our heart from inside.
He gave a new spirit within us ,amen !
Ez11:19″ I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh”,
Jer 32:39 and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and of their children after them: 32:40 and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.
So I ask you Who can know the Lord ?
Is it your Rabi ,or is it the Pope,is it the THE GOVERNING BODY THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE ?
No human has truth ,but God Holy spirit the bible says.1John2:27
So let no man deceive himself because of what others say .
For they try to keep you away from the one and only who can save you.
Read what it says in Yoch 5:39-40
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Our identity is not in the name of a religion or because you are part of a earthly organization called Jehovah witness.
Our faith is not built on knowlegde of scripture (compare John5:39-40),but our identiy come,s because we believed in the name of Yah our saviour.
1John 5:1 Whoever believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God.
Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him.
God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 5:12 He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life. 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
1John 5:14 This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us. 5:15 And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.
We know that salvation come,s from the Jews,Jesus says so himself in John 4:22 …;salvation is from the Jews.
But Jesus go,s on saying in verse 23,24 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
So many rejected the arm of Jehova.Isa 52:10,Isa 53:1-5,
But I give glory to his name.(compare John17:11).
For how lovely are the feeds of those who bring good news a light to this dark world around us.
We put our trust in the Name of YHWH.
Isa 51:10
Stand strong in the name of the Lord do not be afraid of their words or how you must answer them .
For we have a loving Father in heaven and the Spirit of the Lord is with you all .John 14:26,27,John 16:24,26
Isa 51:7 “Hear me, you who know what is right,
you people who have taken my instruction to heart:
Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals
or be terrified by their insults.
Put on the arm of YHWH and be strong Awake !
Your god will comfort you ,
Isa 51:9-12
Awake, awake, arm of the LORD,
clothe yourself with strength!
Yoch12:37“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Van der Hoven wrote :
So as this journal has often explained, the steward must represent the “little flock” of anointed disciples as a collective body, or group.
Magdalena says :your whole journal is based on a lie ,their is but ONE flock Jesus did reply to the gentiles as “the other sheep”.
John10:16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold.(Jewish fold)
I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice.
They will become one flock with one shepherd.
Yes ,Jew and gentile are called out of this world of religion to become one flock organized by God him self in teh power of his holy spirit
Eph4:7 But to each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Messiah.
Eph2:18 For through him we both(jew and gentile) have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones, and of the household of God, 2:20 being built on the foundation of the emissaries and prophets, Messiah Yeshua himself being the chief cornerstone; 2:21 in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 2:22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
Van der Hoven says :
In the context of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus had just referred to these ones. (Luke 12:32) The “body of attendants,” or “domestics,” refers to this same group but highlights their role as individuals.
Magdalena says :you have it so wrong Brother ,Luke 12:32 referred to a small group called out one,s of the Jewish faith,only few who would come to understand and believe in the Messiah .
Many did study the scripture but did not recognise the Messiah as we can see in John5:39“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. 5:40 Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.
Thsi si why Messiah says In Luke 12:56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you don’t interpret this time?
The litlle flock is pointing to those who would hear his call,
This call came first to the jews to follow their one true shepherd .
(compare this verse to Ezek 34:7-22).
But many did not recognise his voice ,and thsi is why he says in
John10:26 But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Luke 22:28 But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. 22:29 I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, 22:30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Before this Jesus said to them in Luke 12:30 For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. 12:31 But seek God’s Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you. 12:32 Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom
Luke 12:40 Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you don’t expect him.”
12:41 Peter said to him, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everybody?”
Van Der Hoven says :
An intriguing question arises, Does each individual member of this slave class play a part in providing spiritual food at the proper time? The answer becomes evident when we closely examine what the Scriptures say….
The apostle Paul tells us: “Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform powerful works, do they?” (1 Cor. 12:29) Although all spirit-begotten Christians engaged in the preaching work, only a very limited number—just eight different men—were used to write the 27 books of the Christian Greek Scriptures….
Magdalena says :Do read Eph4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one immersion, 4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all. 4:7 But to each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Messiah.
The fact that few men wrote the Greek scripture has nothing to do with your myth making of Math 24:45
Althow many we are one body , through Holy spirit God provide all with spiritual food.Can the eye say to the ear “I will feed you “.
Can the eye say to the ear “God apointed me to provide your spiritual food”?
No !
Holy spirit is providing our spiritual food!
Eph4:15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Messiah; 4:16 from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
Eph2:20 being built on the foundation of the emissaries and prophets, Messiah Yeshua himself being the chief cornerstone; 2:21 in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 2:22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
Eph3:5,….as it has now been revealed to his holy emissaries and prophets in the Spirit; 3:6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Messiah Yeshua through the Good News, 3:7 of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. 3:8 To me, the very least of all holy ones, was this grace given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Messiah, 3:9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Yeshua the Messiah;
1John2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
Of this Messiah did speak in John4:21 Yeshua said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. 4:22 You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. 4:23 But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers. 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
as Messiah says ,I says
John4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
Heb 13:9 Don’t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by food, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.
13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat.
Heb13:20 Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Yeshua, 13:21 make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Yeshua the Messiah, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Dear all i do not believe we need any human gouverment body to feed our spirit.
Why do i say so?
For the bible says clearly in 1John 2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you,AND YOU DON,T NEED FOR ANYONE TO TEACH YOU. BUT HIS ANOINTING TEACHES YOU CONCERNING ALL THINGS AND IS TRUE, AND IS NO LIE, and even as it taught you, you will REMAIN IN HIM.
All who are sealed with God,s Holy spirit are part of God,s household and they are the anointed children of YHWH .Eph1:18-22
The body of Christ are called out and anointed .
They come free from all religions to form One body ,one faith and sealed with the holy spirit.Eph4:4-6.
And more off I believe the teachimgs of this gouverment body of Yehovah witness are wrong .
Again we need to start listening to God,s voice and not follow the voice of a stranger.(John10:27-30)
Jehovah witness and some Bible students even need to understand this warning of John in 1John2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray and in Revelation 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
But i believe that teh gouvernant body did base their argument for Passover wrong .
If we base their argument for a fourteenth Nisan Passover on the premise that this was the date the Messiah kept it with his disciples, the argument falls apart .
Why do i say so?
First of all we must go into the word derivation of the word “desire” used by the Messiah in Luke 22:15 where he said “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer…” We could show that it comes from the Greek word epithumia which means “a desire or lust for that which is forbidden.” We could even speculate that Jesus (Yeshua) knew he wouldn’t be eating “this Passover” with them because he was to “be” that Passover. But rather than get into scholarly discussions and hair splitting on words and heavy etymological dissertations, let’s just try to get a feel for the mind of YEHOVAH God by examining what is given in His word. (Not that I abhor outside sources because in many cases they can round out a mosaic which has missing pieces.)
If the Messiah was nailed to the tree at the third hour (Mark 15:25) of Nisan 14 and died that afternoon at the ninth hour (Matt. 27:46-50) then he did not spend the evening before with his disciples. He was in custody and appeared before Pilate at noon on the 13th. Are we to believe they turned him loose to spend that evening with his disciples’? John 19:13-14 — “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbattha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour.”
Since this could not have been on the day of his death (he was nailed to the tree at the sixth hour that day), it had to have been the day before or Nisan 13. The bread and wine ceremony with his disciples had to have been during the evening before or the beginning of Nisan 13.
I am familiar with some of the commentaries and how they wrestle with this scripture but perhaps the Jameson, Faucett, Brown Critical Experimental Commentary said it best:
“…and about the sixth hour. As it cannot be conceived that our Evangelist meant here to say that it was already noon, according to Jewish reckoning — for Mark says (15:25), that the crucifixion itself took place at the third hour (nine o’clock our time). Two expedients have been resorted to for clearing up the difficulty, neither of which appears to us quite satisfactory. The one is to adopt the reading ‘third’ instead of ‘sixth’ hour…But the evidence for this reading is so weak, that it almost seems like a tampering with the sacred text to adopt it. The other way of solving the difficulty, is to suppose that our Evangelist here adopts the Roman method of computation, and means that it was about six o’clock, according. to our reckoning… But as there is no ground to suppose that in other cases our Evangelist adopts the Roman divisions of time, so the hour which that reckoning brings out can hardly be the right one; for it must have been considerably later than six in the morning when that took place which is here related.”
If we, try to put together all the events which the Bible says happened during the Messiah’s ordeal and couple them with distances traveled, meetings held, waiting time, etc., then, even if we haven’t questioned it in the past, we should take a critical look at this and ask ourselves, “Could all this have really happened in the time frame we have assumed it happened in?” The conclusion I have reached is that this “beginning of the fourteenth Passover” was a backup plan devised by Satan for those who don’t buy the “Easter Myth.”
However, if we consider the possibility that the meeting with his disciples was at the beginning of the 13th, now the puzzle pieces fit together.
Saul was the anointed of YEHOVAH God and vet YEHOVAH left him when he became important in his own eyes.
Maybe this happens as we speak to those who believe are important in their own eyes like the gouvernant body of the Jehovah witness organization.
I believe YEHOVAH left them, when they began to consider their position and income and building kingdom halls all over the world as more important than doing YEHOVAH’s will.
David was considered a maverick also while trying to keep Saul from killing him. YEHOVAH God doesn’t leave us to wonder where the work is but tells us plainly, “…by their fruits ye shall know them…” And that, “…if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Perhaps we should read, carefully and prayerfully, Hosea 9:8. “The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.” Then we should ask ourselves, “‘Who is the watchman?” and “Who is the prophet?”
Are the Yehovah witness the household of YEHOVAH God or have they joined the ranks of Protestants and Catholics?
Others will ask, “Really now, just how important is it that we split hairs over such small doctrinal points?” The perspective should clear up somewhat if we answer that with another question. “How important would it have been for the Israelites in Egypt to have observed Passover on the right day?” There will be a portion of YEHOVAH’s people protected as the world condition worsens and life becomes well nigh intolerable. This is quite well documented in the Scriptures. What will YEHOVAH God use for criteria to decide who? Could we have a reenactment of the Passover?
When we look at the subtlety of Satan and all the scholars, historians, politicians and religionists he has working for him, we can begin to see why the Messiah gave us his promise to send us the helper .
John14:17,26
In my 40 year of spending time in the organisation of Jehovah witness ,and their endless search for truth I have come to see that the very fabric of what they call truth is woven of myths.
How ever Gods Holy spirit inside us is capable of researching all of them and setting the record straight in my own mind.
With Revelation 12:9 to verify this deception of Satan and the Messiah’s instructions on who to listen to, I don’t have to debunk all of history, I only have to listen to God,s voice. Rev3:11-13
idk they did make decisions in jerusalem with older men and apostles. i dont ever want to blaspheme. i hope i didnt.
you notice the jw quotes tiny pieces of scripture trying to piece the conclusion together.rather then read the whole comment . as if to say “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”. or “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for ” with a wave of the hand.another question than is he saying the governing body members are modern day apostles.so if i was old enough i could have visions of angels talking to me and say i’m special i’m annointed. meanwhile if i younger person said that i’d be locked away and they’d throw away the key?also didnt the inspired word end with the 1st century apostles?isnt it said the message is simple ie. ethiopian fellow he was show in a short time?if the wbts literature isnt inspired do i have to read it i have my family bible reading to do already other family responsibilities work paperwork etc. now i gotta read 3 mags a month and study for what 4 studies a week average 2 new release books a year????did anyone know a brother reads alot i tried to keep up guess i didnt have enough faith , meanwhile i’m not a predator like he was? ok the last one was hard?
Heckle & Jeckle.
The key of sticking as close to the written word as possible. Sola Scriptura is the best way to go.
Book studies are ok. Most of the Churcches friends of mine attend do a book study of some sort. One church a friend of mine attends has a book study on how to handle their finances every three months. The trick there is that this ‘study’ also encourages tithing their ten percent. Its interesting that the Levites who received the tithes in the Old Testament had no possession in the land.
Proof texting is quite another thing. I’ve seen a great many folks pick a verse here or there to prove a point and all at the same time taking a passage out of its context.
“These aren’t the droids you are looking for”
Thats pretty good.
Written on my Samsung Captivate Android.
Thanks Essie. Actually, C.T. Russell never claimed anywhere that he was the “Faithful and Wise Servant.” We have everything he wrote and it cannot be found. However, many early Watchtower brethren did believe he was.
Russell claimed he was the ‘faithful and wise servant’ THE WBTS taught that he was the faithful and wise servan. But the present day faithful and wise servant deny it and tell lies to cover up the change they made from one man to the Society. (WT 1 March 1923,p68.) God’s kingdom of a thousand year’s has Approached. 1973p346. (SS VOL.4, 1897P613)
Contrary to making the claim that he was the servant CTR wrote the following on page 613 of the fourth volume, entitled “The Battle of Armageddon,” One of your citations by the way:
“To our understanding this would not imply that ‘that servant’ or steward, used as a channel for the circulation of the ‘meat in due season,’ would be the originator of that meat, nor inspired, nor infallible. Quite to the contrary, we may be sure that whoever the Lord will so use, as a truth-distributing agent, will be very humble and unassuming, as well as very zealous for the Master’s glory; so that he would not think of claiming authorship or ownership of the truth, but would merely dispense it zealously, as his Master’s gift, to his Master’s ‘servants’ and ‘household.'”
I think that’s about as clear a statement as you’ll get.
The other sources you cite are claims made ABOUT him by Rutherford and the the writer of the 1973 yearbook. You claimed that CTR made that statement yet provided claims by other that he was instead of any claim of his own.
This from a current JW.
RE: The Faithful & Discreet Slave —-
“Jesus, the “master” in the illustration, did not say that there would be a multitude of slaves scattered throughout the various sects of Christendom. Instead, he clearly stated that there would be only one “steward,” or “slave,” whom he would appoint over all his belongings.
So as this journal has often explained, the steward must represent the “little flock” of anointed disciples as a collective body, or group.
In the context of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus had just referred to these ones. (Luke 12:32) The “body of attendants,” or “domestics,” refers to this same group but highlights their role as individuals.
An intriguing question arises, Does each individual member of this slave class play a part in providing spiritual food at the proper time? The answer becomes evident when we closely examine what the Scriptures say….
The apostle Paul tells us: “Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform powerful works, do they?” (1 Cor. 12:29) Although all spirit-begotten Christians engaged in the preaching work, only a very limited number—just eight different men—were used to write the 27 books of the Christian Greek Scriptures….
Similarly, today a limited number of anointed men have the responsibility of representing the slave class. They make up the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These spirit-anointed men oversee the Kingdom work and the spiritual feeding program.
As in the first century, though, the Governing Body does not consult with each individual member of the slave class before making decisions. (Read Acts 16:4, 5.)
However, all anointed Witnesses are deeply involved in the vital harvest work that is now taking place. As a class, “the faithful and discreet slave” is one body, but as individuals, they have various work assignments.—1 Cor. 12:19-26. — Watchtower Magazine, 6/15/2009, p. 24 par.18.
The “GB” doesn’t exist in the Scripture ….
Here I have tried to express what/who is the FDS
http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/jehovahs-witness/TBS8EEGHFU1G1U88B