«　WEEK 8　DAY 1　»

　　1 Cor. 4:1-2 A man should account us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Here, furthermore, it is sought in stewards that one be found faithful.

　　God's dispensing is fully something that is in His economy, something in His plan, something in His purpose and arrangement. In order to carry out this dispensing and for the execution of this dispensing, the Triune God selected some with whom He was pleased and whom He could use and made them His dispensers, richly bestowing upon them His grace. Through God's rich grace there was an operation of God's power within these people. These apostles and prophets then fulfilled their ministry according to the operation of God. Under such circumstances the ministry of these ones is called the stewardship. They are the stewards because they are there to execute God's dispensing.

　　Paul says that he received a special commission, a special grace, and a special operation to transmit the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles chosen by God. This was his stewardship. Hence, the stewardship is God's economy. The execution of God's economy depends on the stewardship. Without the stewardship God has no way to execute His economy. The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. This means that it is built on the revelation and the vision that they saw. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing,” pp. 499-500)

　　The subject of 1 Corinthians 4 is stewards of the mysteries of God (4:1-21)….The Greek word rendered “stewards” in verse 1 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. The apostles were appointed by the Lord to be such stewards….The dispensing service, the stewardship, is the ministry of the apostles.

　　In God's economy revealed in the New Testament there are mainly two mysteries. The first mystery, revealed in the book of Colossians, is Christ as the mystery of God. In Colossians 2:2 Paul speaks of the “full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ.” Christ is God's mystery. In Himself God is a mystery. He is real, living, and almighty; however, He is invisible. Because no one has ever seen God, He is a mystery. This mysterious God is embodied in Christ. Hence, Christ is the mystery of God. Christ is not only God, but He is God embodied, God defined, God explained, and God expressed. Therefore, Christ is God made visible. The Lord Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

　　The second mystery, revealed in the book of Ephesians and explained in it, especially in chapter 3, is the mystery of Christ. Christ also is a mystery. In Ephesians 3:4 Paul uses the expression “the mystery of Christ.” Furthermore, Colossians 1:27 says, “To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” As believers, we have Christ dwelling in us. But this Christ whom we have is a mystery. Although Christ lives in us, worldly people do not realize that He is in us. To them, this is a mystery…. As the Body of Christ, the church is the expression of Christ. When we see the church, we see Christ. When we come into the church, we come into Christ. When we contact the church, we contact Christ. The church is truly the mystery of Christ.

　　When in 1 Corinthians 4:1 Paul refers to the mysteries of God, he means Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ. Paul and the other apostles were stewards of these mysteries. 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. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 297-299)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 34