We are speaking about stewardship. First we examined the question of ownership — the various ideas about ownership that exist in this world (private ownership and public ownership) and the biblical idea of ownership, namely that the true owner is the one who has received nothing. In this way we established the truth that God is the owner of everything in this world. After that we looked at four arguments for God’s right of ownership (creation, sustaining in existence, redemption and sanctification) and also four ways in which we are to honor God as our owner — consecration, gratitude, obedience and reverence.
Now, having established who the Owner is, let us turn our gaze to ourselves, as stewards. What does it mean for a believer to be God’s steward? What are the basic requirements of a steward? The word “steward” has various meanings, but all of them are in one way or another connected with the responsibility of managing or caring for something. A person can be the steward of a house, of a car, of an enterprise, of a young child. A steward is a person who is appointed to be responsible for managing another person’s property. He is neither a parent nor an owner, but one who is authorized by the parent or hired by the owner to care for the child or to manage the property, respectively.
In the Bible the word steward most often describes a slave who is entrusted with managing his master’s estate.
- In Genesis 43:16 we read of “the steward of Joseph’s house”;
- In Matthew 20:8 we read of “the manager of the vineyard”;
- In Luke 16:1 we read of “the dishonest manager.”
A steward could only be someone who enjoyed the full confidence of his master. He received his position because he had proven himself worthy of trust. For example, in Genesis 15:2-3 we read of Eliezer of Damascus, who was steward over Abraham’s household, and in Genesis 39:4-6 of Joseph as steward over the house of the Egyptian Potiphar. In the Bible stewards are also called “managers,” “overseers of the household,” “supervisors” and the like. The official who managed the king’s estate was also called a “steward.” In this case, however, the steward was not a slave but a trusted subject of the king. So, for example, in Luke 8:3 we read of Herod’s steward Chuza, in 1 Chronicles 28:1 we read of “the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons,” and in 1 Kings we read of “Arza the palace administrator,” who was steward of Elah the king of Israel and had a house in Tirzah.
From a Christian point of view every person, and especially the Christian, is a steward of God’s property. Since God is the owner of everything that exists, our basic task while we are here on earth is to manage the good things He has entrusted to us according to His will.
If we are poor, we may ask ourselves: “What are the good things that I am supposed to manage?” They are all the things we have received from God. However poor you may be, you have something that is more precious than the whole world — your life, your soul. In Matthew 16:26 it says:
26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:26)
God has given us our bodies, our time, our abilities, and even the gospel itself, as good things that we are to manage according to His will.
We can best understand stewardship by comparing the owner and the steward, since they stand in complete contrast. For example, the owner is a sovereign master. He is entirely independent as to what he will do with his property, while the steward possesses nothing. He must manage his master’s property according to his master’s will. The owner has no need to give an account to anyone for how he uses his property, while the steward must give an account for how he has managed his master’s property. Diligence and accountability — these are the two basic characteristics of a good steward.
OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES OF STEWARDSHIP
The teaching about stewardship, like many other biblical doctrines, is rooted in the Old Testament. Already on the first pages of the Bible we read how God entrusted the Garden of Eden to man (Genesis 2:15).
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15)
God not only placed man as steward over the Garden of Eden, but also gave him concrete instructions about what to do with the trees in it (Genesis 2:16-17).
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
Further on we read that when man failed to carry out his responsibilities, he had to give an account of his stewardship before the Owner of the garden (Genesis 3:11-13).
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:8-13)
At the end of this sad story of our fall we read that because Adam and Eve proved to be unfaithful stewards over God’s property, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24).
23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24)
Another interesting example of stewardship from the Old Testament is the stewardship of the Israelites over the Promised Land. They were not owners but stewards over the land that God had given them. In Leviticus 25:23 we hear the solemn words of God:
23 The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. (Leviticus 25:23)
As the owner, God had given the Israelites concrete instructions about what to do with the land. And because they did not keep them, God led them into captivity. It is striking that in 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 it says that one of the reasons this captivity lasted seventy years was so that the land might take back the rests which the Israelites, as its stewards, had withheld from it.
20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. (2 Chronicles 36:20-21)
There are two characteristics of stewardship that we can discover in the two Old Testament examples we have examined. First, the steward must manage the property according to the will of its owner, that is, he must be diligent; and second, he must be ready to give an account to the owner for the management of the property — that is, he must be accountable.
NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES OF STEWARDSHIP
In the New Testament we see that quite a few of the parables of the Lord Jesus Christ were connected with stewardship. And here too diligence and accountability are the basic requirements of stewards. For example, in the parable of the wicked farmers, who were in fact renters or tenants, Jesus quite clearly rebukes Israel as steward of God’s kingdom (Matthew 21:33-46).
33 Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35 The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son,” he said. 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.” 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? 41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” (Matthew 21:33-41)
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. (Matthew 21:42-46)
In this parable the vineyard (the property) is the kingdom of God (v.43). The landowner or owner of the vineyard is God. The son of the landowner is God’s Son Jesus Christ, and the farmers or tenants are Israel. According to the dictionary, a “lease” is the granting of real estate (that is, land) for temporary use in exchange for rent, and a tenant is the person who takes and uses this real property under lease — the renter of the land.
The truth this parable reveals to us is that because Israel refuses to acknowledge God’s right of ownership over His kingdom and refuses to hand over the fruits of the vineyard that rightfully belong to Him (vv.34-39), God takes His kingdom away from Israel and gives it to the church, which includes both Jews and Gentiles (vv.40-41,43). This parable condemns the chief priests and the Pharisees as murderers of Christ, but it also places a huge burden of responsibility upon the church, because today it is the steward of God’s kingdom. May God help us to be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us!
Another New Testament example of stewardship is the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). In it Jesus teaches that every Christian is a steward. He is not the owner of the life and the gifts that God has entrusted to him. He is their steward, and as such, he will have to answer before the owner for the way in which he has managed and used them.
14 Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.” 21 His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” 22 The man with two bags of gold also came. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.” 23 His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” 24 Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” 26 His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:14-30)
Do you see? The gifts and ministries that God gives us are not “presents” in the human sense of the word. In the world, when someone gives you something, you become its owner. But the gifts are not presents. They are instruments that God entrusts to us, instruments with which to glorify Him and to build His kingdom here on earth. These instruments, however, are not our property. We are not their masters, but only their stewards. And as such, we must serve with them according to God’s will — something for which we will later have to answer before God. In 1 Peter 4:10 it says:
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)
And so, we are not owners but stewards of everything we have — life, bodies, money, property, work, gifts, ministry, the gospel. Therefore, as stewards, we must first of all be concerned about what God’s will is regarding the good things and gifts that God has entrusted to us, so that we can manage them according to His desire.
Secondly, as stewards, we must always be ready to give an account before God for the stewardship entrusted to us, because a day will surely come when we will hear the words: “Give an account of your management” (Luke 16:2). And may God help us then not to be called “wretches,” “wicked,” “lazy” and “worthless” servants! Amen.
JESUS — THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A STEWARD
And finally, when we speak of biblical examples of stewardship, we cannot fail to mention our greatest example as well — the Lord Jesus Christ. Being God, He took “the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). As the perfect example of a steward, Christ is marked by these two most important characteristics of stewardship — diligence and accountability.
In the first place, as God’s steward Jesus did not do His own will, but the will of His Heavenly Father. In John 6:38 He said:
38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (John 6:38)
What is more, doing God’s will was for Jesus no burden or weight. On the contrary, it brought Him true delight and satisfaction. For Christ, doing God’s will was like food. In John 4:34 we read of the following conversation between Jesus and His disciples after His meeting with the Samaritan woman:
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:31-34)
Even when doing God’s will cost Him agony, suffering, and even His life, Jesus did not hesitate to carry it out. In Luke 22:42 we read of His epic prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane:
42 Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. (Luke 22:42)
In the second place, Jesus was not only diligent as a steward, but He also gave an account of His stewardship. First, in His high priestly prayer He said, “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). And then, on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). With these words Jesus declared that He had carried out the mission assigned to Him by the Father to the very end.
So with Jesus, as with the other biblical examples of stewardship that we have examined, we see that there are two basic characteristics of a steward which crystallize from the pages of the Holy Scriptures:
Diligence — managing the property according to the will of its owner.
- Accountability — giving an account to the owner for the way in which his property has been managed and the degree to which his will has been carried out.
As God’s stewards, these are the qualities that we too are to build within ourselves. In the first place, to be diligent — to seek out what God’s will is for our life and ministry and to carry it out faithfully. And second — to be accountable — to have the awareness that nothing of what we do will remain hidden. Because a day will come when we will have to answer before God for our stewardship.