Thursday, November 26, 2015

Reading through the Bible-Stewards of Truth

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1 Corinthians 4:1-2, "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful."
Let a man so consider us : Paul asks that he, and the other apostles (us) be regarded by the Corinthians as servants. Paul had a real problem with the Corinthians; they tended to look down on him and not respect his apostolic authority. In carefully chosen words, Paul will show the Corinthians how to have a proper regard - not too exalted, and not too low - of himself and the other apostles.
And stewards: In addition to a servant, Paul asks to be considered as a steward, who was the manager of a household.
In relation to the master of the house, the steward was a slave, but in relation to the other slaves, the steward was a master.
And stewards of the mysteries of God: What did Paul and the other apostles "manage" in the household of God? Among other things, they were stewards of the mysteries of God. They "managed" (in the sense of preserving and protecting) and "dispensed" (in the sense of distributing) the truth of God.
Whenever Paul would hear criticism of his style or manner, he could simply ask "Did I give you the truth?" As a good steward, that's all he really cared about.
It is required in servants that one be found faithful: 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 resource he dealt with; he simply managed them for his master and had to manage them faithfully.

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