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STAGE 3
STEWARDSHIP |
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USING SPIRITUAL GIFTS: (1Cor. 12:1-10); “Now concerning Spiritual Gifts, brethren I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all: For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit , to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit , to another gift of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of Spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues”. Spiritual Gifts are the Spiritual enablements and capacities given to all believers for Spiritual Services unto God to the benefit of the world and for the building up and strengthening of the church - the body of Christ (believers). These gifts are bestowed unto believers by the Holy Spirit. The gifts are diverse but none is greater than the other. They are all of equal importance and remain very necessary for the complete effective function of the whole body. If any part of the body is lost, the rest of the body will not be complete. If one member is hurt the whole body bears the pain. It is distributed freely and sovereignly by the Holy Spirit to each believer based on His divine choice and calculated measure of it for every individual Christian to function with. But one is free to desire and to ask God for more gifts (1Cor. 12:11; 31; 7:7). Spiritual gifts are not to be hoarded but be put to use by the believer. (1Tim. 4:14). If we faithfully put to use the gifts God has put in us, He will give us more to work with. But if we neglect it, He will even take away that which He has given us already. (Mt. 25:28). We should stir up the gifts in us and work to improve them to be more profitable both to us and to others. (2Tim. 1:6). The Holy Spirit is the power behind the gifts and He is always at work in us to activate those gifts to manifest it’s usefulness through us to the profit of all. (Col. 1:29). Each and every believer has at least one gift, none is bereft of it except the person who is no longer in the faith. The chief end of these gifts is to glorify God with is’s manifestations. No one should feel more important or better than others due to the measure of gifts he possesses because it is freely given by God through the Holy Spirit based on His grace and Sovereign will. No one can claim to have merited it through any personal act of labor or effort. (Rom 12:6; 1Cor. 12:11) The gifts are to be exercised and minister with love and reverence to God. Some of these Spiritual Gifts are namely: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning spirit, various kinds of tongues, apostle, teacher, administrative skills, leadership, pastor, evangelist, etc. (Rom 12:6-8; 1Cor 12:8-10, 28-31; Eph. 4:11; 1Pet. 4:10-11). SERVING: (Gal. 5:13); “For you brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another”). The call to new life in Christ is a call to service and stewardship. The Christian life is not intended to be static but dynamic and of activity. A Christian is intended to be the embodiment of God’s manifest of work of grace. He is called to God’s active service in daily and continuous obedience to His purpose in his daily life. He is under service to God in living to be an instrument with which His programs and purposes are accom-plished. God by His Spirit has given Spiritual Gifts to each believer and these gifts are to be put to use for God’s Service and for the edification of the entire body of Christ. (Rom. 12:6; Eph. 4:12). The body of Christ is made up of individual believers who are interdependent on one another. They need to support and to complement each other so as to maintain a healthy, strengthened and effective Christian living. No member of the body can survive alone in isolation without the support of others. The church, Christ’s body, is likened to a physical human body and structure, which if any part fails to function the whole body will experience abnormality which could even lead to the total breakdown of the entire system or may even cause death. (1Cor. 12:12-27). Yeshua laid a very good example for all of us to follow and to imitate. For though being God but humbled Himself and came in the form of a servant and worked and served humans and practically and particularly taught His disciples to serve one another and to imbibe in them the attitude of service. (Phil. 2:6-8; Jn. 13:12-15; Mk. 10:43-45). There is need for humility by the members of the body of Christ. We need to submit ourselves in love to the service of God and others. We must eschew every form of self-pride and learn the mind of Christ. (Phil. 2:5). The call to service in the new life is a primary duty God expects and demands from everyone of us called His Children. Humility and service is one of the keys to God’s storehouse of blessings and His promotion in life. (Mt. 23:12) Our service to one another in the Body of Christ is very vital and necessary. Through service to one another in love we may help a tired and backsliding Christian to gain spiritual fervor and re-awakening back to an encouraged and reinvigorated faithful walk with God. I want to beseech us as Children of God not to neglect or deny our bounding duty to one another in the faith and to humanity in general. Our obedience to this call of duty could save a lonely dying soul for the Lord. GIVING: (2Cor. 9:6-8); “But this I say: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that your, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” The Christian doctrine of giving is by grace (a disposition created by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers) and it is in contrast from the O.T. (Law) method which imposed giving as a divine requirement. But Christian giving in the N.T. church is on voluntary disposition of the Believer and it is rather a test of true love and gratitude. In Christian giving the believer is seen as being privileged by God to be qualified to honor and worship Him with his substance. Christian giving is to be done cheerfully and out of a free will from the heart of the giver if God is to accept it. (Rom. 12:8). The believer is expected to give generously according to the proportion he possesses and purposes in his heart. (Acts 3:6). In giving a Christian is not to grow weary. And the underline basis on motive for giving must be based on love and sincere heart to honor God. Yes, of course, it is true that he who gives out shall also be given back but the motive of our giving must not be based on that but to glorify God. (1Cor. 9:17-18). Every giving done with wrong motive and with insincerity will never be acknowledged or rewarded by God. (Mt. 6:1-2). One of the keys to growth in the new life is the free attitude of giving and a generous heart, therefore let’s not neglect to encourage this attitude to be part of our daily life. Our giving tends for our own personal spiritual and material promotions. If we neglect the attitude of giving we shall lose both spiritually and materially. Our generosity to give to support God’s work contributes to the advancement of the Gospel and God’s Kingdom on earth. By our generosity we could support and minister to the financial and material needs of our spiritual heads and God’s ministers, missionaries and evangelists who dedicated their lives to the service of God and His people. Our giving to their work will encourage them greatly and enhance their duties to continue to go forward and it will also stir up more joy in them in working for the Lord trusting Him that He would continue to provide for them all what it takes to excel in His work. (Consider 1Cor. 9:7-13). It is established by God that those who preach the Gospel should also live by it. (1Cor. 9:14; Lk. 10:4-8; Phil. 4:15-18; 2:25). It is a service we owe to perform. (Phil. 2:30). By our generosity also we could support our neighbors and fellow saints in Christ who may be in need. Our support to them could help them to overcome their anxieties and Satan’s temptation to discourage and weaken their faith thereby. The early church shared their possessions in common to support one another and by so doing they richly prospered and lacked not and also the Gospel progressed. (Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-35). Though in view of the structures of the society we now live in which is in contrast to that era, it may not be possible for us to come together and to share commonly as they did in that eras, but now if we give and share with others and those in need with what we have our actions would still be the same with what the early church practiced since it is also done with the right motive. Our life of giving to one another honors and glorifies God and will promote love and true unity within the body of believers. We must bear in mind that Christian giving is not restricted to giving money or material things. But it includes every kind of gifts of kindness or assistance we may offer to someone. We can avail our knowledge and talent to help someone who lacks such. We can provide counsel or our strength and any other help possible which we could provide to those in need of them. It is also true that those that have much are expected to give to the less privileged, however, in Christian giving everyone is expected to be a giver including the poor. If one does not have money he may be endowed by God with other talents which he could give to support others who lack such. And also there is no law that says the rich should not give to the rich as well, since Christian giving is based on love and worship of God. No gift is too small or too big in the eyes of God; what is important is the underlying motive behind it and not the size. The condition of the heart of the giver is what God looks at. (Mk. 12:41-44; 2Cor. 8:2, 5, 12). The disposition to give without compulsion but with love and liberality is created by God’s grace in the hearts of believers being empowered and directed by His Spirit so to live. Therefore, giving is an integral part of a true believers’ life. |
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