PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

In this issue of Parenthood, we study, in the light of some of the principles of stewardship in the Bible, the divine commission that has been assigned to us as Christian parents. To focus on these principles, we have selected some excerpts from three Life-Studies of the Bible written by Witness Lee.

The Bible defines a steward as one who serves God by carrying out a kind of household administration-the dispensing of the riches of God to His "family"-all those who have become His children through faith in the Lord Jesus (John 1:12-13). God's large family needs many stewards who care for distributing His riches to all the members. Paul characterizes His role as such a serving one: "A man should account us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1). We also should regard ourselves to be stewards of God's rich supply to our family as a part of God's family. And Paul declares that a key requirement of a steward is that "one be found faithful" (verse 2). We must learn to be faithful to our assignment.

As stewards, we do not answer to those we serve. We must have a profound realization that the One to whom we answer is the God we serve. We do not even judge ourselves by analyzing how good a job we are doing. We depend on the judgment of God-it is not what we say our life is, but what God says our life is that matters (see 1 Corinthians 4:3-5).

Again, our stewardship, like that of Paul, is not simply as "child conductors," merely guiding our children by teaching. Our instructions to them are not designed to shame them; rather we appeal to them as beloved children. We are "begetting fathers," imparting life to them through a living that serves both as a pattern and an example of what we speak-we urge them to become imitators of us (1 Corinthians 4:14-16). Furthermore, we do not presume to do anything on our own. There is always a spoken or unspoken proviso: "if the Lord wills..." (verses 18-19).

Finally, in our serving we are those who watch and wait, indicating that we serve looking toward the coming of our Master-the return of our dear Lord as He has promised. For His coming we must be always ready (Matthew 25:44)--faithful and prudent slaves caring for the precious charges entrusted to us.

The subject of 1 Corinthians 4 is stewards of the mysteries of God (4:1-21). The focus of this chapter is neither Christ nor the church; it is the stewards of God's mysteries. In 4:1 Paul says, "In this way let a man account of us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." The Greek word rendered stewards in this verse 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....

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 first mystery in God's economy is Christ, God expressed, as the mystery of God.

The second mystery, revealed in the book of Ephesians and explained in it, especially in chapter three, 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 nations, 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. But although Christ is mysterious, the church is the manifestation of Christ. 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....

We have pointed out that the Greek word for stewards in 4:1 is of the same root as the word economy or dispensation used elsewhere. This [Greek] word, oikonomia, denotes a household administration or management. In the New Testament a steward is one who serves and takes care of the dispensing of God to His family. God has a very large family, and His desire is to dispense Himself into all the members of His family.

The place of a steward in God's family may be illustrated by the function of a steward in a wealthy family in ancient times. A steward in such a family was responsible to care for the dispensing of the means of life-food, clothing, and other necessities-to the members of the family. Wealthy families often had an abundant supply of these necessities in storage. The responsibility of a steward was to dispense this supply to the members of the family.

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