A18. Being Good Stewards of Our Spiritual Gifts According to the Grace Given Us. [Make a Comment]
We are to be good stewards of our spiritual gifts, using them according to the grace given us.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scriptures
Romans 12:6-8
But we have gifts that differ and which are meant to be used according to
the grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, use it to the
extent of your trust; if it is serving, use it to serve; if you are a
teacher, use your gift in teaching; if you are a counselor, use your gift to
comfort and exhort; if you are someone who gives, do it simply and
generously; if you are in a position of leadership, lead with diligence and
zeal; if you are one who does acts of mercy, do them cheerfully.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the Spirit
that will be for the common good. To one, through the Spirit, is given a
word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same
Spirit; to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of
healing, by the one Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another,
prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the
ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the
ability to interpret tongues. One and the same Spirit is at work in all
these things, distributing to each person as he chooses.
Ephesians 4:11-13
Furthermore, he gave some people as emissaries, some as prophets, some as
proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers. Their
task is to equip God's people for the work of service that builds the
body of the Messiah, until we all arrive at the unity implied by trusting
and knowing the Son of God, at full manhood, at the standard of maturity set
by the Messiah's perfection.
1 Peter 4:10-11
As each one has received some spiritual gift, he should use it to serve
others, like good managers of God's many-sided grace - if someone
speaks, let him speak God's words; if someone serves, let him do so out
of strength that God supplies; so that in everything God may be glorified
through Yeshua the Messiah - to him be glory and power forever and ever.
Amen.
Supportive Scriptures - Spiritual Gifts
Psalms 84:12(11)
For ADONAI, God, is a sun and a shield; ADONAI bestows favor and honor; he
will not withhold anything good from those whose lives are pure.
Ecclesiastes 3:13
Still, the fact that everyone can eat and drink and enjoy the good that
results from all his work, is a gift of God.
Matthew 7:11
So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts
that are good, how much more will your Father in heaven keep giving good
things to those who keep asking him!
Luke 6:38
Give, and you will receive gifts - the full measure, compacted, shaken
together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure
with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!
Romans 5:17
For if, because of the offence of one man, death ruled through that one man;
how much more will those receiving the overflowing grace, that is, the gift
of being considered righteous, rule in life through the one man Yeshua the
Messiah!
Romans 11:29
... for God's free gifts and his calling are irrevocable.
1 Corinthians 12:1
But, brothers, I do not want you to go on being ignorant about the things
[NKJ: "gifts"] of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:1
Pursue love! However, keep on eagerly seeking the things [NKJ: "gifts"] of
the Spirit; and especially seek to be able to prophesy.
James 1:17
Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father who made the heavenly lights; with him there is neither
variation nor darkness caused by turning.
Supportive Scriptures - God's Grace
Geneis 6:8
But Noach found grace in the sight of ADONAI.
Exodus 20:5b-6
... I, ADONAI your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the
sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and
obey my mitzvot.
Exodus 34:6-7
ADONAI passed before him and proclaimed: "YUD-HEH-VAV-HEH!!! Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh
[[ADONAI]] is God, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace
and truth; showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses,
crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative
effects of the parents' offenses to be experienced by their children
and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations."
Numbers 6:25
Ya'er ADONAI panav eleikha vichunekka. [May ADONAI make his face shine
on you and show you his favor (grace).]
Deuteronomy 5:9b-10
I, ADONAI your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of
the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but
displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey
my mitzvot.
Deuteronomy 7:9
From this you can know that ADONAI your God is indeed God, the faithful God,
who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe
his mitzvot, to a thousand generations.
Psalm 23:6
Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life; and I will live in
the house of ADONAI for years and years to come.
1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.
Romans 3:24
By God's grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being
considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our
enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua.
Romans 6:14
For sin will not have authority over you; because you are not under legalism
but under grace.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9
Three times I begged the Lord to take this thing away from me; but he told
me, "My grace is enough for you, for my power is brought to perfection in
weakness." Therefore, I am very happy to boast about my weaknesses, in order
that the Messiah's power will rest upon me.
Ephesians 2:8
For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not
your accomplishment but God's gift.
Titus 2:11
For God's grace, which brings deliverance, has appeared to all
people.
Hebrews 4:16
Therefore, let us confidently approach the throne from which God gives
grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.
James 4:6
But the grace he gives is greater, which is why it says, "God opposes the
arrogant, but to the humble he gives grace.
Supportive Scriptures - Examples of Grace Imparted to Men
John 1:14
The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his
Sh'khinah, the Sh'khinah of the Father's only Son, full of
grace and truth.
Acts 6:8
Now Stephen, full of grace and power, performed great miracles and signs
among the people.
2 Corinthians 8:1-7
Now, brothers, we must tell you about the grace God has given the
congregations in Macedonia. Despite severe trials, and even though they are
desperately poor, their joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. I
tell you they have not merely given according to their means, but of their
own free will they have given beyond their means. They begged and pleaded
with us for the privilege of sharing in this service for God's people.
Also, they didn't do this in the way we had expected, but first they
gave themselves to the Lord, which means, by God's will, to us. All
this has led us to urge Titus to bring this same gracious gift to completion
among you, since he has already made a beginning of it. Just as you excel
in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every
kind, and in your love for us - see that you excel in this gift too.
Commentary
"Grace", commonly defined as unmerited favor, is both an attribute and a gift that He imparts to us. But for what purpose and how are we to use it? Daniel Juster answers the question this way:
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are to use our gifts and talents (from the Spirt) as instruments for the blessing and building up of fellow believers in order to reach others for the Good news. In a large sense then, grace is not only unmerited favor, but includes the idea of power to do things. Hence the grace gifts are gifts of power in that the grace of God changes us and gives us ability to live in a right manner and to bless others.
One might ask what Scripture means when it says that Yeshua and Stephen were "full of grace and truth." The grace and truth that filled them was not intrinsically their own, but rather that which was placed in them by the Father to benefit others as the Holy Spirit directed.1 We are to follow their example by being good Stewards of God's grace and other spiritual gifts imparted to us as were they.
1. Although in Yeshua dwelt the fullness of God (Colossians 1:19, 2:9), Yeshua became a man like us (Hebrews 2:14-17) and, like us, received his godly attributes (including grace and truth) from His Father in Heaven.
Classical Commentators
This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the Jewish classical commentators.
NCLA: JMm JFm KMm KFm GMm GFm