MEMORY SCRIPTURE
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
(1 Peter 4:10)
Stewards do everything to please their master. Do same with your gifts in relation to your Master, the Holy Spirit.
DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS
Mon. 2: Faithful Steward Attracts Favour (Gen. 39:4-6)
Tue. 3: Faithful And Spirit-Filled Stewards Appointed (Acts 6:1-6)
Wed. 4: Faithful Stewards Mind Their Words (Matt. 12:36)
Thur. 5: Faithful Stewards Bring Glory To God (1 Cor: 10:31)
Fri. 6: Faithful Stewards Remain Steadfast a Cor 15:58)
Sat. 7: Faithful Stewards Seek To Please God (1 Thess. 2:4)
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
We are stewards of God’s Grace. Maximise your God-given gifts please Him, and be rewarded accordingly.
INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: 1 PETER 4:10-11
Adoration be to the awesome God Who has given us the Holy Spirit and helped us last week to learn that: The Holy Spirit Doesn’t In Confusion. God is highly orderly. His Spirit, the Source of all spiritual gifts, operates in different ways with different gifts, but the same Spirit is at work in them all, to glorify God.
This week’s lesson, titled: OPERATE AS GOD’S STE WARDS, shall be our focus. A steward is a person employed to manage the property, or affairs of another entity. A steward should have the mentality that he/she is not the owner of whatever he/she has in his/her care. The owner will one day settle accounts with the steward. Doing the needful at the right time as stewards should be paramount in the hearts of all stewards. This is the challenge before us in the course of this lesson. May we not fail as stewards of God’s manifold grace. Amen.
LESSON OUTLINE
- STEWARD OF GOD’S MANIFOLD GRACE
- SPEAK AS GOD’S ORACLE
LESSON EXPOSITION
STEWARD OF GOD’S MANIFOLD GRACE (v. 10)
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
(v. 10)
a) 1 Pet. 4:10: Steward (Grk. Oikonomos, from oikos, ‘house’ and nemo, ‘to arrange”) means a manager of an estate/household; an administrator. This implies that we are managers of God’s grace.
b) V. 10: …each believer has received D Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1), managing His gift. that makes us servants of grace (gifts) forHim. What about you?
c) …the manifold, grace of God. The Greek word for grace is the: same for gift. God has given us diverse gifts by His manifold (diverse; assorted) grace, This grace is the currency we spend in Christ’s body, hence the issues ofstewardshipand faithfulness (1 Cor.4:2).
d) minister .. as good stewards. There are bad stewards, Your level of fidelity to your gifts reveals whether you are good or bad. These are abilities given by the Spirit for God’s glory and to edify others.
e) As good stewards, God expects us to invest, dispense and profit with His manifold grace (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:7). Only bad stewards (charlatans) commercialise gifts freely given to them.
f) Remember: you are just a steward and not God, the Owner, You will soon be called to account (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:1ff). Blessed is the steward whom Christ finds relentlessly and faithfully dispensing the grace entrusted to him (Lk. 12:45-46).
SPEAK AS GOD’S ORACLE (v. 11)
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. Ife anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which Gods supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
(v. 11)
a) Oracle’ is somebody/ thing who is a source of knowledge, wisdom, or prophecy. It might be a deity that a priest consults for advice on behalf of troubled or uncertain people. As oracles of God, we carry His knowledge and wisdom to the troubled world (Mat 5:13-16).
b) An oracle is also a message believed to have come from God in response to a request, plea, or petition. The exercise of our gifts should convey God’s message, and not ours, to people (Jn. 3:30). Be God’s mouthpiece in the world (Psa. 29:3-9;Jer. 15:19; Tit. 1:1-4).
c) It is now common for people to speak as God’s oracles without His authority (er. 23:21; 29:9). They instil fear in people to steal their hard-earned assets. Desist from this suicide squad (Jer. 6:15).
d) When our gifts speak as the oracles of God, those we minister to would be imparted by grace through God’s Word (Eph. 4:29b), thus edifying the body of Christ (v.12). Is your gift doing that?
e) ..do it as with the ability which God supplies. Only God supplies the needed grace to do His work. Rely on His provision and return all the glory to Him (cf. Php. 4:13). Never use means, lest you end up destroying yourself. Glorify God (Rom. 11:36).
LESSONS DERIVED
- Spiritual gifts are divine abilities God entrusts to every believer as steward of His manifold grace. Don’t over-bloat what you have!
- Exercise your gift(s) with God’s ability: don’ use means, only then will God be, glorified and, you will be better and productive for Him.
QUESTIONS
- You are asteward of God’s grace, Explain.
- How should the Church curb false speakers speaking as God’s oracles?
