Biblical Building Block #26 Minister One to Another (I Peter 4:10) PART 2

Today’s devotion is an excerpt from a Bible Study Series taught at Fellowship Baptist Church, titled “Biblical Building Blocks for Strengthening Relationships.”

Biblical Building Block #26 Minister One to Another (I Peter 4:10) PART 2
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I Peter 4:10, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

I. Our Stewardship (I Peter 4:10c)
“...as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
Peter tells the church what to do with their gifts and how to do it. The church is to minister the spiritual gifts to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Peter gives a word about the stewardship of every believer. Every believer is supplied by the Lord and is to be a servant of the Lord. As servants of the Lord we are to be good stewards of what He has blessed us with. We are called upon to be good stewards of the gifts God has blessed us with. Peter stated that we are to be good stewards or managers of that gift. We are to use it to be a blessing to other people.

The word stewards refers to one who served as a house manager or one who governs a household; he had no wealth of his own, but distributed his master’s wealth according to his master’s will and direction. One who was placed in charge of the estate of another, both the household and possessions, a manager of the estate.” “It speaks of the responsibility of the proper use and disposition of something entrusted to one’s care.” Since a “good steward” means to be a house distributor or manager, whether it be money, possessions, spiritual gifts, position, health, or family, we should use what God has given us to minister to others. Every believer is a steward one way or the other. We have been entrusted with a particular portion of the estate. We have been given a unique gift and we are accountable to the Lord for that gift.

As good stewards of God’s grace and gifts, we are to be using them according for God’s will and direction. F. B. Meyer wrote, “Let us never forget that we are not owners, but stewards who must render an account of our stewardship to the Master; and He may even now be at the door.” We are to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. The word manifold has the sense of ‘diverse.’ Peter is telling the church that God has various types of gifts that will bless and build up the church. Every believer is equipped by the Lord to do the work of the Lord. There are all kinds of ministries that the church does by the Spirit of the Lord. God gives His saints the tools to build with and not toys to play with! We are to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Each Christian is important in the work of the Lord! All of us have been gifted by the Lord and we are to be active in the work of the Lord. Good stewards are those who administer their spiritual gifts wisely and use them obediently. Failing to use one’s gift only weakens the local church because other members cannot replace the unique gifts of those who refuse to serve.

God has given each of us specific interests, abilities and talents that He expects us to put to use in serving Him and others. Because of how God created you, there are things that no one else in the world can do quite like you can. Though some of our gifts might seem less important than others, they are all significant to God because they provide ways to contribute to His purposes (I Corinthians 12:11-17). You must not keep your abilities to yourself. God wants to bless and encourage others through you. In a way, you do not just have a gift; you are a gift from God to others. God has planted seeds of ability in you, and it is your responsibility to depend on God to grow and develop your gifts so that others can benefit from the fruit God produces through you (Romans 12:4-8). In a sense, your God-given talents and abilities do not become fully developed gifts until you have given them back to Him by blessing and serving others.

The mark of great or godly church is not the church with the most members, but the church that is serving to the most of their ability! Every Christian throughout church history has been exhorted to use their God-given gifts in service because Jesus is coming. The fact that the end of all things is at hand should help us focus and be faithful in our service for Jesus. We must not give up on serving Jesus!

Questions to Consider:
How much more could you be doing for Jesus if you were using your spiritual gift(s)?
In what ways has the Lord prompted you to use your gifts for His glory?

Points to Ponder:
Don’t ever think that you are unusable and unimportant.
The Lord Jesus loves you and died on the cross for you and He lives to save you and use you while you live on earth.

Thank you for reading PART 2 of Biblical Building Block #26 of this series. Please visit this website tomorrow for Biblical Building Block #27 of this series.

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