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As imperfect as it is, the Church is the institution
ordained by God to be the assembly of His elect. The Church
is where God’s people worship, and where we serve one
another.
Gift – Grace received
Gifts are not offices in the church. They are not the
so-called miraculous gifts as practised by the Charismatic
churches. They are also not just natural talents. Gift (Gk:
charisma) is derived from the root word which means
“grace.” In the context of 1 Peter 4:10, “gift” refers to
the manifestation of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit in
the believer’s life.
A. Universality of Gifts
Every believer has received a gift (v.
10). It is given by the grace of God. Every believer ought
“not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith” (Rom 12:3). This means
that your must make an honest assessment of the gift that
God has given you, and to use the gift to serve God and
others.
+ When God deals with us
in grace, He will also make us useful in something.
B. Diversity of Gifts
Not all believers have the same gift
(v. 11, see also Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11). In the church, there
are diversities of gifts (1 Cor 12:4). There are different
kinds of gifts and different degrees of the same gift. In
the context of 1 Peter, there are two broad categories of
gifts: a believer can either speak or minister.
We minister one to another
according to “the ability which God giveth” (v. 11).
We serve “according as God hath dealt to every man the
measure of faith” (Rom 12:3).
+ Serve God with what
you have received from Him (Mark 14:8).
ministry – grace employed
The diversities of gifts mean that every believer has the
responsibility of stewardship. We are to be “good
stewards of the manifold grace of God” (v. 10).
A. Duty of Stewardship
Stewardship is using what we have
received from God to minister to others for God’s glory. We
receive so that we may give. God’s gifts are given to us for
the benefit of the body of believers.
+
Serve or shrivel.
B. Extent of Stewardship
Good stewardship is to “minister the
same one to another.” “The same” means that we are to
minister to one another to the extent to which we have
received the gift. What you have received from God, give in
measure and in kind.
+
Serve God with what He has given you.
C. Sphere of Stewardship
We are to minister the same “one to
another.” This one another ministry presupposes contact and
fellowship.
+ “Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye
have done it unto Me” (Matt 25:40).
Conclusion: glory of god’s manifold grace
When believers minister to one another they manifest “the
manifold grace of God” (v. 10). The “manifold grace of
God” implies that in the church there are many different
needs and many different ways to meet those needs.
Like a band of colour in a rainbow, a believer’s
gift and area of ministry is one aspect of the “manifold
grace of God.” When believers minister to one another, the
bands of colours come together in a glorious rainbow. The
church must display the “manifold grace of God.”
+
Are you serving God with the gifts that He has blessed
you?
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Are you a channel of God’s blessing?
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