The Mysteries of God

As I began gathering my thoughts on the subject of “stewardship” I decided to consult my three children for their understanding of the word and glean from their youthful wisdom.  When I asked the first two the question, “What is a steward?”, it surprised me to hear that they weren’t really sure; but when the third one asked, “Who’s he?”, I realized I had some serious teaching to do!

I explained to my kids that a “steward” is someone who has been given the responsibility of managing the property of another.  In the Bible, it is translated from the Greek word “oikonomos”, which literally means “household manager”.  For the Christian, it is the understanding that everything in the world belongs to God (Psalm 24:10) and, as His stewards, we are to take good care of the things we have been given.  Now this started sounding familiar, and when I asked the next question, “What are some things that God has given us of which we should be good stewards?”, they were ready with the answers!

“Our bodies!”

 “Our money!”

“Our toys!”

“Our talents!”

“Our pets!”

“Yes!  Yes!  Yes!”   (Whew!  I was beginning to worry that I had completely missed the boat on this concept).  I reminded them about how we should also carefully manage our time, and that as a parent, I need to be a good steward of my children.

So, I was feeling pretty good about The Boyd’s understanding of stewardship, practicing it daily is another story, but at least now there is no confusion as to what it means to be a steward.  Until, in my own study, I read 1 Corinthians 4:1-2:  “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”

What?!   What are the “mysteries of God”?  How can I be a steward of them, a faithful steward, when I’m not even sure what they are!  There I was trying to teach my children about stewardship and found out that there was more for me to learn!

At times like these, I have to take a minute to stop—breathe—and realize that Christianity is characterized by continual growth and constant learning.  I am not perfect and I won’t know all of the answers, all of the time, even though I desperately want to be able to give them to my children.  I have to be receptive to my own teachable moments and then share what I learn with my family and others.

I began to do more Bible study and found many verses throughout the New Testament that made reference to “mysteries”.  I had read them all before, but this time I read them from the perspective of a steward and with a renewed sense of responsibility.

What I discovered is that the “mysteries of God” aren’t secrets at all, instead, they are truths that have been revealed by God and can be discovered through the reading of His Word.  They are called “mysteries” because they were hidden in the past, but in God’s wisdom, and in His perfect timing, He made them known to man.

Consider the inspired words of Paul as He wrote to the Ephesians:

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:  that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.”  (Ephesians 3:1-7)

 

Paul referred to the “mystery” in other letters, describing it as Christ relationship to the church (Ephesians 5:28-32), Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:24-27), and God manifested in the flesh—preached, believed, and received in glory (1 Timothy 3:16).

The “mysteries of God”, of which we are to be stewards, make up the gospel message of Jesus Christ—the good news of His life, death, burial, and resurrection and the glorious hope that comes through our belief and obedience to God’s plan for our salvation.

We have been entrusted with this marvelous treasure, the gospel, and we are commanded to manage it faithfully.  I am reminded of the familiar passage found in Matthew 25:14-30, when Jesus told his disciples the parable of the talents.  In the story, the “good and faithful” servants made a profit with the talents they had been given, while the “wicked and lazy” servant fearfully hid his talent in the ground and brought no gain to his master.

Just as those stewards had to give an account for the way they handled their master’s property, so we will give an account for how we handled God’s gifts (Romans 14:12).  When we consider all of the gifts we have been given, are not the “mysteries of God” the most precious?  We must not neglect our stewardship of the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that one day we can hear the voice of our Heavenly Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into the joy of your Lord.”