1Cor 4:1 A man should account us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Here, furthermore, it is sought in stewards that one be found faithful. Ephe 3:2 If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
[Part 1 of 2] The subject of 1 Corinthians 4 is stewards of the mysteries of God (4:1-21). The Greek word [oikonomia] rendered stewards in this verse is of the same root as the word economy or dispensation in 1 Timothy 1:4 and Ephesians 1:10. It means a dispensing steward, a household administrator, one who dispenses the household supply to its members. In the New Testament a steward is one who serves and takes care of the dispensing of God to His family. God has a very large family, and His desire is to dispense Himself into all the members of His family. The place of a steward in God's family may be illustrated by the function of a steward in a wealthy family in ancient times. A steward in such a family was responsible to care for the dispensing of the means of life-food, clothing, and other necessities--to the members of the family. Wealthy families often had an abundant supply of these necessities in storage. The responsibility of a steward was to dispense this supply to the members of the family. Using this as a metaphor, Paul refers to himself as a steward in God's family. God is exceedingly rich; He has a vast storehouse of goods which He intends to dispense into His children. But this dispensation requires a steward. Thus, a steward is a dispenser, one who dispenses the divine life supply to God's children. [Continued tomorrow] (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 297-299. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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