Outline
Ⅱ
In order to carry out His economy, God must have faithful stewards, dispensers, who dispense the divine life supply to God’s children—Luke 12:42; Titus 1:7:
A
The Greek word for steward is of the same root as the word for economy in 1 Timothy 1:4 and Ephesians 1:10.
B
We must all be good and faithful stewards of God’s economy, those who enjoy Christ and minister Christ to dispense Christ as the varied grace of God to supply the saints as the household of God—1 Cor. 4:1-2; Eph. 3:2; 1 Pet. 4:10; Eph. 2:19.
C
Day by day a marvelous transmission should be taking place; God is supplying the Spirit of grace bountifully, and we should be receiving and dispensing the Spirit of grace continually—John 1:16; Heb. 10:29b; Gal. 3:2-5; Eph. 3:2; 4:29.
D
The Christian living is the living of grace, the experience of grace, so that we may carry out our stewardship of grace, the dispensing of grace—3:1-2; 2 Cor. 12:7-9.
E
We need to be channels of the bountiful supply of the Spirit of grace, those who minister, who dispense, the word of God’s grace to the saints for their growth in life and for their enjoyment of Christ—Acts 6:4; 20:32; 2 Cor. 3:6; Phil. 1:19-25; Heb. 10:29b; 1 John 5:16.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 3:2 If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you.Col. 1:25 …I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you…
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. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing,” p. 499)
Today’s Reading
In Greek the word for economy (oikonomia) denotes a household law, a household administration…God has arranged to have many apostles and prophets to be stewards in His household management to manage the distribution of the riches of His great family so that all the members of His family, that is, those who have a part in this family, will be able to share in the riches of God’s great household and thus satisfy His desire.The apostle Paul was indeed such a steward. He exercised his stewardship to dispense God’s rich grace, that is, the unsearchable riches of Christ, to others. Hence, Paul’s stewardship was the execution of God’s economy. In Ephesians 3:9 the word oikonomia is translated “economy,” whereas in 3:2 it is translated “stewardship.”…God’s economy, God’s universal household administration, is to distribute God’s unlimited riches in Christ. 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 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. This is similar to what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 16:18. He would build His church upon “this rock.” That rock is not mainly the rock itself but the revelation concerning the rock. Peter told the Lord, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16)…The revelation and vision that the apostles saw is the foundation for the building up of the church. Upon this foundation are built all the riches of Christ. These are the unsearchable riches of Christ. The unsearchable riches of Christ are the unlimited grace of God. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “A Deeper Study of the Divine Dispensing,” p. 500)
Every member has been given grace [cf. Eph. 4:7; Rom. 12:6a]…All the members are stewards of the varied, or manifold, grace of God [1 Pet. 4:10]… God’s grace is not only of one aspect; it has manifold aspects…The New Testament shows us that to serve the saints with a cup of cold water is…an aspect of grace…If a brother is very bothered by a certain situation, and I go to pray with him, that is still another aspect of grace. God’s grace is manifold. We can illustrate this point to the saints in many ways.
All the saints as members of the Body of Christ are stewards of the manifold grace of God. On the one hand, we are members of the Body of Christ, and on the other hand, we are stewards of God…A steward is one who always supplies others with certain needs, so we have to help the saints realize that every brother and every sister today in the church life as a member of Christ should be a steward of God assigned by God, commissioned by God, charged by God, with some aspect of His grace to minister to others for their supply. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” pp. 92-93)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Economy and Dispensing of God,” ch. 7; Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 34; Life-study of Philippians, msg. 7