Stewards of the Mysteries of God

God’s trust and empowerment extend beyond stewardship of time, talents, influence, and resources. God has also designated us as His “stewards of the mysteries of God.”

God’s Purposes

Our Father values each of us so incredibly that He has entrusted us with unique kingdom lives and missions that encompass more than we could ask or think. His trust and empowerment extend beyond stewardship of time, talents, influence, and resources. He has also designated us as His “stewards of the mysteries of God.”

Stewardship of the Mysteries of God

Through 1 Corinthians 4: 1-2, Paul shares, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

God wishes to deepen our understanding of the incredible trust and empowerment He has placed in us as we walk by His Spirit in the unique kingdom missions He designed. How many times have we read the above Scripture without permitting the Spirit to reveal all it means? Most understand we are to be stewards of both God’s earthly treasures and our testimonies of salvation through Christ. However, few have understood and accepted the depth of God’s call to be His stewards of the mysteries He reveals through Scripture. Embracing this transforms our understanding of the importance of our missions and reveals the unfathomable level of trust He extends to each of us. We are accordingly deeply humbled, empowered, and filled with a new passion and urgency for permitting His Spirit to accomplish this stewardship through us.

What are these “mysteries of God?” How are we to receive and steward them?

How Are God’s Mysteries Revealed?

First Corinthians 2: 7 – 13 (NKJ) “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom … ordained before time … Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit … no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God … Now we have received the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given us by God. These things we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit … nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned … but we have the mind of Christ”

Only God’s Spirit can reveal the mysteries of God to us, bring about our resulting transformation into Christ-likeness, and utilize them through us to edify His church. We are created to walk in His Spirit’s revelation knowledge which goes far beyond mankind’s head-knowledge. The Spirit communicates this directly to our born-again spirits. Our spirits then translate and integrate these, so they are utilized through our minds, wills, emotions, and bodies. His revelations immediately become alive within us and transform us.

Head knowledge is a poor substitute, yet many of us operate there much of the time. It results from personal observations and assessing the thoughts of others. It resides in the flesh and generally finds its identity in pride and self-reliance, in place of the humility of total dependence on God’s Spirit operating within us. It can only lead us into the futility of trying to act like Christ, which is of our flesh. Acts of the flesh contribute nothing of value to God’s kingdom.

The Spirit’s revelation is:

• The divine disclosure to mankind of the mysteries God desires to make known.

• First received by the individual’s spirit and is then processed through mind, will, and emotions.

• Always consistent with Yahweh’s character and Scripture.

What are the mysteries of God?

In Ephesians 3: 3, 4, the Apostle Paul shares, “… how the mystery was made known to me by revelation … When you read this, you may perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ.” Christ is God’s greatest revelation to mankind. Knowing Christ begins with salvation and grows exponentially through our personal journeys of experiencing the mysteries and life of Christ. His mysteries include knowing that:

All the mysteries God has chosen to reveal, at this time in history, are contained in Scripture. Scripture declares there are no new revelations, and those who claim them are not of Christ.
Each of us receives the Spirit’s personal revelation of specific mysteries of God at the times of His choosing, according to His purposes. Though not new in Scripture, these revelations are new to us. They immediately begin to transform our lives.
No individual receives revelation of all God’s mysteries. He selects them to align us with the unique light, life, and kingdom power He designed. All are to be confirmed through Scripture and rejected if they conflict with it.
The Spirit’s revelation knowledge is vastly different from mankind’s head knowledge. It immediately becomes alive within and a source of transformation into Christ-likeness.
We are to receive these revelations with deep humility. They are precious gifts and blessings and are for the edification of Christ’s Church. They are to be utilized under the control of The Spirit, for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 3:5 and Galatians 2:20).
These begin with the identity of Christ and salvation through Him.
The fullness of God’s mysteries is extensive. It includes revelations regarding:

– God’s True identity
– Our Identity before and after salvation
– Revelation knowledge vs. head knowledge
– The Bible’s truths regarding faith and prayer
– How we are designed as spiritual beings who happen to have bodies
– The difference between the spiritual person and the natural person.
– Living by Scripture’s command to Walk in the Spirit
– Living in the fruit and gifts of the Spirit
– Being kingdom-mission focused
– The spirit realm and spiritual warfare. Our unique roles.
– Why the kingdom of God is not in word but in power
– Understanding strongholds and God’s paths to victory

Kingdom Stewardship

In 1 Corinthians 4:2, we are commanded to understand that “it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

Is it not a longing in the heart of every Christian, when we have finished the race, to hear … “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

In Jesus’ parable from Matthew 25, He illustrates what being a faithful stewards means and the importance He places on it. He shares about “a man going on a journey, which called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.” When he returned, the master met and “settled accounts with them.” Two had faithfully invested the talents, and they had multiplied. To these He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” One returned to him only what he was given, because he had buried it in fear of losing it. The master called him, “wicked and slothful,” and gave his talents to the one with ten. He also cast that servant from his presence.

Importantly, the talents He calls us to steward through His Spirit include “the mysteries of God.” If we do not permit the Spirit to share these through our unique kingdom missions, many others will either miss knowing Christ or experience only a safe and comfortable secular Christianity. His revelations are to bring edification and life to His church.

Each of our unique missions in Christ’s body are intended to be fulfilled uniquely through us by the Spirit. Paul emphasizes our unique responsibilities in 1 Cor 12: 12 – 18, “For just as the body is one and has many members … so it is with Christ … God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”

What Is He Inspiring Within?

What is God revealing to each of us about our intentionality regarding stewardship of our moment-by-moment walks with Him and the steps He is now directing us to take with Him (Eph 2:10)?

How well are we stewarding the mysteries of God along with all else He entrusts to us?
Are we living according to the Spirit and His revelations or mankind’s head knowledge?
How much of each day is lived in our flesh instead of walking by God’s Spirit?

Author’s Bio: Curt Martin is an author, speaker, seminar leader, and organization consultant. God has filled him with the passion to see every individual and organization become the unique and incredible masterpiece God designed. Little touches Him more than helping awaken all God placed within you, so you thrive in His freedom, purpose, and power as you learn to walk in God’s Spirit. Only those who commit to this journey experience the fullness of living God’s victorious life. Articles include excerpts from his award winning book, “Whose Life Are You Living.”

Here is some related reading for you: What Does the Term “Mystery” Mean When Used in the Bible?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Mysteries, Stewards, stewardship, Talents, time