Spiritual Gifts and Stewardship
The foundation of biblical stewardship is the belief God owns everything and we are mere stewards. We have been given the sacred privilege and responsibility to steward His possessions diligently and faithfully. God owns us and everything we have: our money and wealth, spiritual gifts and talents, and our existence. God expects us to employ these resources—which He gives us according to His varied grace—to work for His Kingdom.
A call to stewardship is not our idea, nor is it an option we choose at will. It is God’s expectation and desire for all believers to worship Him with everything in our possession. It is His plan for us from the origin of creation to be managers of everything He created, to dominate the world, and to be fruitful through good works using the tools he has provided. When we accept this responsibility with joy and steadfastness to the glory of God’s Holy name, we are walking in obedience.
God is pleased when we take Him seriously and obey His counsel. If we truly love Him, we will seek to obey. We will ask the Holy Spirit to help us identify our gifts so that we can employ them fruitfully to God’s glory. Every true Christian has at least one spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 14-26), yet many believers live much or all of their Christian lives without realizing that fact or the impact of such a truth.
To hoard our gifts is not God’s plan for us. It displeases God. The Bible tells us each of us must account for how we steward the resources bestowed on us. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 9:37 that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Why would Jesus be concerned about the scarcity of laborers in His kingdom? It is because we do not respond to His call to stewardship. We sit on the fence with our gifts and lose precious opportunities to become faithful stewards.
Stewardship extends beyond financial giving. It is a requirement from God, and each of us will be rewarded according to our faithfulness. The Bible is full of passages that can enhance our knowledge and clear up some of our doubts and confusion about God’s place in stewardship. The Bible is the inspired Word of God, and we are safe to trust what is in it.
Scriptural Highlights: God’s Purpose for Us as Stewards
- Genesis 2:15 is the origin of God’s plan for stewardship. God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. We are caretakers of the world.
- In Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27 are classic passages of stewardship in which the masters reward those who manage well the resources that were committed to them. Jesus uses these parables to portray the theological support for stewardship.
- In 1 Peter 4:10, we are told to use whatever gifts we have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace.
- Malachi 3:10 encourages stewardship of tithing. Tithing one-tenth of our earnings is a biblical demand by God.
Spiritual Gifts from God
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- Administration
- Being an apostle
- Discernment
- Evangelism
- Exhortation
- Faith
- Giving
- Healing
- Helps
- Hospitality
- Knowledge
- Leadership
- Mercy
- Prophecy
- Serving
- Speaking in tongues
- Teaching (sometimes known as shepherding)
- Wisdom
and more…
For a description of each of the gifts above, click HERE.
Do any of these gifts resonate with you? Do you need help discerning your spiritual gift? The Bible references above make it clear stewardship is part of God’s plan for us. He calls us to use our gifts to support the church and to help, build, encourage, and sustain one another. Pray that the Holy Spirit helps you discover your special gifts, or you may ask your church to show you how you can identify them.
Dr. Christie Dike, retired, is an active member of Pathway Community Church’s Thrive Ministry in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is blessed with a surviving son, Roy Dike, and has spent her professional life teaching in higher education.