In this section of this discipleship course I have clearly shown you that as a member of the body of Christ, each of us is a priest before God. As a priest we have a responsibility to be faithful stewards.
In the book of I Samuel chapter 2 verses 31 thru 35 God was rebuking Eli the high priest for his unfaithful sons who polluted the priesthood. They abused their place of authority, were sexually immoral and were greedy. God brought judgment upon them for their excesses and rose up a faithful priest named Samuel. God expects us to be faithful. What are some of the things that we are to be faithful over?
The first order of being faithful is faithful to the word of God that’s been entrusted to us. We are to be faithful over our vocation and the calling of God for each of our lives. Faithful to our relationships. Faithful in our finances. Faithful over our bodies that we live in during our journey through this life. Faithful over our time because we only have one life to live and even faithful over the planet.
Just as a gardener must be faithful to tend the soil, pull the weeds and fertilize his garden so we must be faithful over all areas of our lives.
Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 describes himself as a steward. Paul said one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. Stewardship in this verse has nothing to do with being good with our money. It has everything to do with God’s mysteries revealed to Paul.
In the Bible, stewardship is another way of talking about how you live your life. In the New Testament books, the word steward is rooted in a Greek word meaning the manager of a household. A steward planned, managed the work, the finances, the strategy and the records of the master. For stewards, the important thing was faithfulness. They had to be efficient managers of the master’s resources. A steward never owned the property or resources, he simply managed them for his master and was required to manage those resources faithfully.
The main focus of Paul’s apostolic mission was to be a steward of the mysteries of God. It’s important we get the mystery of Christ correct because like Paul we are also called to be faithful stewards over this mystery. If we don’t get this foundation correct then the whole house is built on a faulty foundation. Paul out of all the other apostolic writers was given special insight into the mystery of Christ. Paul wrote two thirds of the New Testament.
Paul was a master teacher and called himself a wise master builder of the community of the faithful.
He was able to take large sums of information, digest it and break it down to simple understanding. He was a learned Jew in the Torah along with being fluent in Greek so he understood Roman culture too. His comprehension and understanding of Christ’s purpose compared to none other. He tirelessly labored in the grace of God giving us an example of being a faithful steward. Let’s take a look at what Paul had to say about this mystery.
The word translated mystery doesn’t mean mystery as we think of something mysterious, mystical, strange or weird.
It means something previously unrevealed. A secret and something kept hidden until the appointed time by God. Paul used the term to describe the gospel that had been revealed to him.
The book of Romans was a theological masterpiece that Paul wrote. He ends this book saying, now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed. Did you hear that? It says the mystery has been disclosed and made known. It’s not hidden anymore. It’s not something we can’t understand.
Now Paul, although he was a very well educated man was able to make his message so simple that the uneducated could understand it. It’s actually so simple that we stumble over it. He said we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
The simplicity of Christ is a stumbling stone and at the same time the foundation that the whole household of faith is built upon.
Paul told the Colossians he became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to him to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to his saints. Did you hear that? Paul said it again, which is that the mystery is no longer a secret. He goes on to say, to them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Again listen to what he said. He wants the mystery to be made known and no longer hidden. Paul then said, Him we proclaim. Who is him? Christ in you, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
The mystery is that God became man. It’s the incarnation when Christ took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. The prophetic writings from Genesis to Malachi have woven throughout them the redemptive story of man. One author has called it the scarlet thread that ties the scriptures together from Genesis to Revelation. The mystery is that through Christ's death, burial, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father He has dealt with sin once and for all through the cross. Subsequently through the outpouring of His Spirit, the God who created all things by the power of his word, has now taken up residence in those who identify with the blood, water and Spirit.
It’s not just a cliche, we are literally the body of Christ, the new temple, the place where God dwells upon the earth connecting us to the heavenly Christ our head, our high priest and coming king.
Paul teaches this same message to the church in Ephesus. He tells them in Ephesians chapter 3 verse 2 thru 10 that assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs. Fellow heirs with whom? Fellow heirs with the natural sons of Abraham the children of Israel. Gentiles whom the Jews consider dogs have been brought into the family of God through Christ.
Jew and Gentile have been reconciled through the cross and made members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Paul said of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. Paul was a faithful steward of this mystery, which is simply the good news of what Christ accomplished. Paul has distributed to those who have ears to hear this simple, yet profound message concerning the unsearchable riches of Christ. Just as Paul and yes that means if you are listening to me right now: have been called. You have been called to be faithful stewards over this message.
The mystery is Christ in us. It’s what I’ve been teaching you about in this school of discipleship concerning the cruciform life. You’ve heard me teach Galatians 2:20 over and over which says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
The cruciform life is to be no longer us living, but us living our lives by faith working through love. It’s this message that revolutionizes our lives to live from the inside out. The mystery is that you can’t do it, but God did it for us. All we have to do is surrender, die and let the resurrection power of Christ live in us. It’s the message of the cross which includes Christ's death, burial, resurrection, ascension and outpouring of his Spirit upon us, but it also includes His return to this earth.
Listen to what Paul says in regards to Israel and its restoration at the end of this age. I’m going to get into this part of the mystery in the next section, which is the place of Israel at the end of this present age. Paul warned the Gentile believers in Romans chapter 11 verse 25 to not be wise in their own significance. Paul said, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery. Again Paul is using the word mystery and then he says a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. If you are one who studies history you will quickly discover that it’s only by God’s hand that the Jewish people have survived over the centuries. If you study the Bible along with history you will discover it’s because God made a covenant with Abraham and his children.
A lot of controversies and confusion surround the Jewish land and its people. People have hidden prejudices and misunderstanding because the god of this age has muddy the waters on the Jewish people's purpose since it’s part of God's plan for this earth.
As I teach I’m neither going to be antisemitic or overly emphasize the Jewish state and people which I’ve seen can end up in idolatrous affection for Jewishness and legalism. I’m not going to get into all the side tracks of Jewish nationalism, Jewish traditions, conspiracies or all the confusion that you see in media headlines and dark corners of the internet. The enemy has purposely created a lot of extreme views and side tracks around the Jewish people. I am going to focus on the main thing which is living the cruciform life, centered on Christ where both Jew and Gentile have been redeemed through the same eternal covenant.
As I said I’m going to further discuss this topic in the next section because it’s important that we understand a time is coming at the end of this age, when that the redemptive story that we are living through will focus in on the chosen nation of Israel and its people to fulfill God’s prophetic promises to them. Paul called this a mystery and it’s part of the gospel because it’s tied to the second coming of Christ to this earth, the summing up of God’s redemptive story in time. I want to show you one more scripture before I move on which is closely related to Christ's second coming.
His return will be to the Mount of Olives in the city of Jerusalem. It’s directly tied to the rapture of those alive at the time of Christ's second coming and the resurrection of the dead.
1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 50 thru 53 Paul says, I tell you this brother's flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. Again did you hear that word mystery? We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this mortal body must put on immortality. I will unpack how I view this portion of the mystery in the next section because it’s all wrapped up in the gospel message which is the mystery.
The second coming of Christ is just as much a part of the mystery of the gospel as His first coming. It’s all tied together as a part of the manifold wisdom of God.
Now we are not only called to be faithful stewards of the mystery, but also the calling of God upon lives which is us practically living out the mystery through our daily lives. To be faithful over our calling is to use the God given talents He has given us so that we can bless others and provide for ourselves. I talked about work in the last Lesson: 32 Working Unto The Lord. We can do many things, but it is only when we are faithful to the calling of God on our lives that we find true contentment.
Paul told us in Ephesians chapter 4 to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. Paul then list 5 gifts that Christ distributed to His body. He says in verses 11 and 12 that when Christ ascended on high that he gave some as apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the body of Christ. In the next section I’m going to unpack these gifts along with the gifts mentioned here in Romans chapter 12 verses 5 thru 8 where Paul compares the human body to the body of Christ saying we don’t all function the same way.
We are one body in Christ and individually members one of another, but we all have different gifts and they differ according to the grace given to us.
We are all uniquely made and are all made to function in our own uniqueness. Paul then list what I call seven gifts of grace. Paul says we need to use our gifts. If prophecy then prophesy in proportion to our faith. If service in our serving, the one who teaches, in his teaching, the one who exhorts, in his exhortation, the one who gives, in generosity, the one who leads, with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. The seven gifts of grace that Paul mentions here are prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, mercy.
God does not require more from us than the grace He has given us, but He expects us to faithfully use the ability He has entrusted to us to do our part.
As I mentioned in the last lesson we need to be good stewards in our occupation. We need to give the best service that our God-given abilities will allow in the workplace. It is also our responsibility to be faithful witnesses for Christ in the workplace because you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. As priests we stand in between a sinful world and our Holy Father. It is our ministry to pray for and love our co-workers. It doesn’t mean you have to preach to them all the time because in most workplaces it’s not allowed, but it does mean you live your faith by example.
Let me share a personal example. I was dealing large amounts of marijuana my first year of college. I was a mess and my soul was in torment. I had no peace in my heart. I had two Christian’s in my speech class. You know they never preached to me, but I can tell you their lives had a tremendous impact on my life. It was their witness that was a part of the reason I turned to God because they had something I lacked. I was looking for peace and these two people had what I was looking for.
We also need to be faithful with our family.
Let me talk a little bit about family because if you're like me it can be a hard topic. The reality of life is that we don't get to choose our family. You know we live in a broken world and I realize family is where a lot of peoples' hurts and pains reside. If you have been abused, neglected or abandoned you are going to have to work through those pains and I know it’s hard. I grew up in a family with a lot of dysfunction. However, I consider myself privileged to not have perfect parents, but I did have one’s that loved me, cared for me and helped me. We are to be faithful to our parents, spouses, children and extended family.
The Bible says, honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may be well with you.
I understand that some of you can’t honor either of your parents or at least one of them, but what you can do is forgive them. It doesn't make what they did right, it releases you from the anger and hatred that’s hurting you. Even after we have left the home we are to respect and honor our parents. Children should provide for their elderly parents if they need the help and the children are financially able to. 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 4 says if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
Husbands and wives are called to be faithful to one another. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 28 thru 33 gives us a lot of insight into this special relationship.
It says, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Did you notice Paul talked about the mystery again? In this text the oneness between a man and woman is compared to Christ and his body becoming one.
Parents are to be faithful to their children not being abusive verbally or physically which causes much pain and anger. Parents are to raise their children with loving discipline and loving instruction.
Now let me say this because marriage is not for everyone and it’s okay not to marry. Paul actually said in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 8 that it’s good to remain single. A single person can focus on the things of God and doesn’t have the distractions of caring for a spouse and kids. It’s a lot of responsibility, time and money to raise a family.
If you can remain sexually pure as a single man or woman then it’s a lot less stressful and more freedom to go wherever the Lord directs.
We should live in peace and harmony to the best of our ability with our extended family, being a blessing and witness of Christ to them. We should also do our best to be faithful friends. We need to be a friend who loves, a friend who speaks in love when giving advice and willing to go out of our way to help.
Now let's talk about our bodies. God has only given us one body and we need to be faithful stewards taking good care of it. We talk a lot about sexual immorality in the church, but did you know that gluttony is a work of the flesh and very closely linked to sexual immorality.
Gluttony is excessive greed for food and over indulgence.
It includes an excessive desire for the pleasure that food gives to a person. It’s one of the areas that Jesus was tempted in before his public ministry. The first area, in which Jesus was attacked, was the area of his fleshly lust or as I John 2:12 calls it the 'desires of the flesh'. Why do I say this? Because the tempter said, if you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days without food. Jesus was a man and his hunger pains were very real, not to mention the feelings of fatigue and discomfort he had in his body. This was a very real temptation to appeal to his appetite and lust.
I understand that Jesus was not tempted sexually in this context, but if you will examine the Bible, you will see that food and sex are inextricably tied together.
Paul in I Corinthians 10:7 exhorts us to not follow the pathway of the children of Israel in the wilderness, who continually yielded to the 'lower nature' and the world. It says that when Moses went up on Mt. Sinai to receive the law of God, the children of Israel, "sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play." The term "play" here, as The Expositor's Bible Commentary brings out, means "drunken, immoral orgies and sexual play." They ate the food sacrificed to the golden calf and then many indulged in a sexual orgy in accordance with the pagan cult practices of Egypt. It’s just one of many examples I can give you. Let’s look at Abraham’s oldest son Esau whose genealogy you can trace to the Arabic people of today who are located geographical in the Middle East.
Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew because he cared more for instant gratification than the promises of God.
In Hebrews chapter 12 verse 6 when the author mentions this story, it is interesting how he comments about Esau and the context in which it was written. In mentioning him, the author then exhorts us to not be an "immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal". The Greek word for immoral is fornicator, which is someone who has illicit sex.
Our bodies are the temple of the Spirit so we should keep them sexually pure as good stewards and we should feed them the proper nutrition.
As I said in the last lesson Jesus declared all foods clean so we are not required to follow Jewish dietary laws as recorded in the Torah law. Does that mean we can eat anything we want? Well you can, but it’s not wise. The old saying: garbage in, garbage out, definitely applies to how we should eat.
Nearly two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese resulting in poor immunity, chronic disease, lack of energy and even affects your mental health. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control and this definitely applies to our intake of food.
Just as there is no such thing as a get rich quick scheme there is also no such thing as a lose weight quick scheme. There is no one diet, no diet pill and no surgery that lets people eat whatever they want and still expect weight loss and improved health. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise program will be what is needed to achieve your health goals.
Use food for its purpose which is nourishment. Learn to eat to live, not live to eat.
In addition to being good stewards of what we put in our bodies we also need to exercise. Paul told Timothy that bodily exercise profits little compared to living a godly life, but it does profit our bodies. I’m not talking about being a gym rat. Maybe you run a few times a week. Maybe you like to ride your bike or lift weights at the gym. Whatever it is, commit to starting somewhere.
I ride a mountain bike weekly on Saturdays and go to the gym at least 4 times a week. I walk a lot too and a brisk walk may be what you love to do or all you can do. Start small and work your way up to doing more. The most important thing is to be committed. You probably won’t see any results in a week. It might take up to a month before you start seeing some improvements, but whatever you start doing for exercise, the key is to be consistent.
In taking care of your body its important that you keep it clean and make sure you get the amount of proper rest. Good sleep is essential to a healthy body and mind.
As good stewards we are also to be faithful over our money and possessions. In regards to our finances it’s important to have a budget. A budget helps us keep track of where our finances are being spent. Budgeting is a helpful and wise way to manage your money. A good budget takes care of all the regular and important bills—like rent or mortgage, utilities, food, gasoline and insurance—and allows for the unexpected or occasional expenses.
It helps you to make wise financial decisions.
Jesus said which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? If we want to see the financial increase of God in our lives then we need to be faithful over our finances, which means we need to budget, invest and give where God leads.
To have a savings plan and make investments for the future is not greed or a lack of faith, but it’s wise planning.
If you really want to have financial peace then do your best to stay out of debt. Don’t be like the foolish man of Proverbs 21:20 and devour all you have. Live on less than you make and save for the future. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it, live a simple content life. I’ve learned the secret of contentment and I’m completely debt free. Yes it took time just like losing weight it doesn’t happen overnight.
We also need to be faithful stewards over our possessions.
Proverbs 27:23 says to know well the condition of your flocks and pay attention to your herds. You may not own livestock, but you probably have a home, car, clothes or a boat. We need to take care of the possessions we have and treat them as if they were God's because they are.
Let’s talk about time because we need to be faithful stewards over our time. Each of us has been given 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. God has given us enough time to do His will if we use our time wisely.
A scripture I memorized as a brand new believer is this one in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 thru 17. Paul told us to look carefully at how we walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of our time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. How applicable is that for us today to make the best use of our time because the days we live in are definitely evil. We do this by understanding the will of God for our lives as faithful stewards.
Jesus as our example did not try to do everything, but only did the will of the Father.
As I taught you in the last lesson Paul followed this same pattern. Paul said that he had an area of influence or sphere of influence that God had assigned to him. Paul knew that he could not do everything, be everywhere, but he could only do that which he was gifted to accomplish. Time management is focusing our energy on the things that we can change. We need to ask the Lord to teach us to make the most of our time and that’s about setting priorities. I have to apply these principles everyday at work and in my personal life.
I have a lot of tasks I have to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly so its important that I keep a schedule and stay on task. I make a list and check off my list as items as they are completed. If I have an unexpected problem that comes up in the day then I have to deal with that problem immediately. Once I put the fire out then I get back on track to the task I need to complete. I delegate items that I can delegate to others and I expect those to whom I delegate to get the job done. I follow up with those I delegate to and hold them accountable.
I live by a principle that I call flexible planning. Proverbs 19:21 says many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Planning is a good thing, but we should always stay flexible and allow God to tweak or even to radically change what we had in mind. If we do this then we are going to always use our time wisely. I want to end this lesson briefly talking about our responsibility to the environment.
I feel it’s important to at least address the topic of environmental stewardship. Now when I talk about stewardship of the environment, I’m talking about the mandate given to man to care for the earth. I do think we need to do our part in being a good steward of the earth. Now what does that look like? Don’t litter, recycle if you can, walk or ride a bike if you can, there’s nothing wrong with doing these things.
Caring for the environment is not a liberal issue it’s a humanity issue and we should all do our part however small that is.
I understand that the environmental movement has been co-opted by an extreme political agenda and I will talk about this in a coming lesson on Civil Authority. It still doesn’t negate the fact that we are to be stewards of God's creation. We should enjoy God’s creation by getting out in nature and try to do our part in preserving its beauty.
To be faithful in all these areas I discussed is to demonstrate God's likeness. God is always faithful and can be trusted in all situations. His desire is to raise up a faithful priesthood that will display His faithfulness in a world that is many times unfaithful. As we walk in the manifest presence of the Lord we will live a life of faithfulness to be good stewards and this will demonstrate to the world that Jesus is our Lord.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 34 - Relationships
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