Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 1 Corinthians 4:1
Do you desire to be so close to Jesus that He reveals what He’s thinking, feeling and what He’s up to? I do. One of my favourite things is seeing the connections when God is speaking to my heart. It’s often a conversation, then a verse, a sermon, a song, an accumulation of small God prompts that point so clearly to something that God is doing in my life. It makes me feel so loved to know He is speaking to me. That I am seen by Him and entrusted with His mysteries.
We will spend our entire lives discovering and rediscovering the mysteries of God. The mysteries include the Good News, Salvation, and the greater works of Christ that continue to this day.
We are invited into this mystery as God reveals Himself to us personally little by little. Our response is to then ‘steward’ these mysteries and share them with others. This verse puts the focus on us being servants, not serving by offering ourselves, but rather offering what Christ has deposited within us. It’s a small but significant shift to focus on what God is doing within you, as opposed to focussing on what you would like to do for Him.
The original Greek word referred to the manager of a household or estate, and in a broader sense denoted an administrator or steward in general. In context, a steward in that day was someone employed to distribute the food and resources within a home and manage daily affairs. They would operate under strict instruction from the owner carrying out the owner’s best interests. The steward was to be faithful (verse 2), trustworthy and blameless.
If Christ is the ‘owner’ of the home, we are the stewards or operators. We are the stewards of the gifts He has deposited within us. These gifts are both the practical gifts and talents He has given us as well as the gifts of salvation and the mysteries and truths of God. They are from Him, and for Him.
In relation to worship, it should be at the forefront of our minds that when it comes to serving within corporate worship settings our serving, is not about our practical gift. Serving as we play an instrument, sing, or be involved in producing sound, lighting, or capturing images, is a vehicle to distribute the ultimate gift who is Christ. The latter happens when we are more conscious of what happens in the unseen (the spirit realm) than the seen.
When we go to play a set, we do all we can to make it excellent and not distract people. But the true change happens when our hearts’ desire is to get out of the way and allow Jesus to do what only He can do. We are stewards of the true gift who is Christ. We are not the gift.
The more we know of His character (the mysteries) the more we believe He can change hearts and perform miracles. This requires us to let go of our own desires and allow Him to move through us the way He desires. We need to go back to the ‘owner,’ the Master, Jesus and present ourselves as servants.
Questions
- Ask God what mysteries He entrusted you to steward?
- With that idea of Christ being the owner, and you the steward, how can you seek to be a good steward of the mystery you have been entrusted with? In other words, where are you currently serving others in a way that points them toward Jesus? This could be at home with family, friends, in the workplace or in church.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for the gift of salvation and the gift of your Holy Spirit. I long to see your mysteries revealed. Help me to serve you obediently. I want to be a good steward of all you have entrusted me with. Holy Spirit open my eyes to see opportunities where I can reveal your mysteries to others. Help me to be confident as boldly serve you. Amen
Further reading
- John 14:12-14 (Greater works)
- 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (about not judging, motives being revealed and our praise coming from God)
- 1 Corinthians 4:6-8 (about pride, our gifts and comparison)
- 2 Corinthians 3:1-6 (about *servants being ministers of Christ)
- 1 Peter 4:10 *stewards ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’