Add a message | Modify this message

WE ARE GOD’S STEWARDSHIP

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Ge 1:26-27)"
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:10)"

This is the review of stewardship studies. Genesis 1:26-27 is a good summary of stewardship. God created male and female in his own image. Then, he entrusted them the world that he prepared.  Ephesians 2:10 is about the practical implementation of stewardship in the New Testament sense. God created us (i.e., man and woman) in Christ Jesus for the good work which he in advance prepared for us to do. Through this review we may learn the essence of stewardship: God’s sovereign planning and preparation and our responsible working and action.

First, stewardship and workmanship (Gen 1:26,27; Eph 2:10). Stewardship is the extent of being entrusted with privileges to take care of what belongs to others. Workmanship is the extent of taking charge of this responsibility. With stewardship, there is a reason for workmanship. With workmanship stewardship becomes effective and meaningful. In that sense, stewardship and workmanship are related. They are interchangeable.

Now, let’s examine Geneses1:26, 27. God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them"(Ge 1:26, 27). Genesis 1:26 and 27 emphasize stewardship of both man and woman. God created both man and woman in his own image—equally and gloriously. God entrusted to both man and woman with the role that does ‘rule over’, `take care of’, `lead’ and `manage’. It is to become responsible in this world that God has made. 

God gives the mandate to man and woman to take care of this world.  Please notice that God made both man and woman to bear the stewardship.  It is based on God’s sovereign planning and preparation for us. Before God entrusts a world to the people, God prepared all things in this world before God put people to work on it.

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”(Eph 2:10). This is the description of God’s purpose of salvation.  Why has God saved his people through Christ Jesus? It is by God’s grace.  We are saved by the work of God. God saved his people—both man and woman—for the workmanship. It is about doing the work. Then, what is the point of wonderful saving work of God?  Stewardship is assuming the role that God entrusts; workmanship is to fulfill God’s call through actual work. In Ephesians 2:10 our identity is clearly stated.  We are “God’s workmanship”. “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. God saved us to do his work. It is the work that God has prepared in advance for us to do. The meaning of this life is to find this work that God has prepared and entrusted to us. We are here in this world not just for a few days but for many years.  We are here for reason, purpose and meaning. In Christ Jesus we find this reason, purpose and meaning.  We are entrusted with this life that is in Christ Jesus—this will not end but will last forever. We are entrusted with the families.  We are entrusted precious ministries. We are entrusted with the word of God and prayer.  We are entrusted with the people we serve.  We are entrusted with meaningful work. What do we do with all these that God has entrusted to us?  We need to work out these for his good.  In this sense, Good and wonderful life is to learn about this stewardship and  implement it with workmanship.   Let’s now review some key lessons we learn from two couples: (1) Adam and Eve; (2) Joseph and Asenath.

Second, lessons from Adam and Eve’s stewardship (Gen 2:8, 16, 17; Ch 4 and 5).  It is important for us to study about Adam and Eve.  This first couple suggests all the important secret of stewardship—its success and failures. Adam and Eve’s scope of stewardship was the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 2:8 we read, “Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.” To carry out this stewardship God brought a team together—Adam and Eve. Particularly, Adam and Even were entrusted with the trees in the center of the Garden. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Gen 2:16, 17). This was quite critical for them to keep. 

Adam and Eve failed to keep what they were entrusted with.  The failure started with Eve.  The woman failed first. The woman did not take the mission of taking care of the tree of knowledge of good and evil seriously. Instead, she was tempted.  Then she tempted her husband. The man later joined her failures. Then, just as God said, they were punished with the loss of the blessed Garden and the news of death. “So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 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”(Gen 3;23, 24). They were banished from the Garden of Eden.  Prior to the departure of the Garden, God reestablished the order at home. God made it clear that the salvation would come through the seed of woman (Gen 3:15). Adam had to welcome and love his wife—Eve.  God made it clear that the Savior of the world—even Adam’s own salvation depends on Eve—because the Savior of the world would come from Eve—the seed of woman

What is inspiring for us is the story after their departure from the Garden of Eden.  It is very important for us to study Genesis 4.  Both Adam and Eve lost the Garden.  They had to live under the shadow of death.  They had to work hard in the land with thistles and wastes—rather than the Garden of Eden. When Eve was pregnant with Cain, she said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man”(Gen 4:1). It was Eve that acknowledged God and gave thanks to God.  Eve was the heart of the family. She kept the spirit of the family.  She remembered God’s grace and acknowledged his mercy and grace in her life.  This is the most important aspect of Eve’s stewardship after both Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden.

Both Adam and Eve did not have easy lives. When they lost both of their sons—Abel and Cain, they would have been grief-stricken.  They should have been reminded of all of their sins. Yet, they did not give up.  They kept calling the name of the Lord.  “Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on b] the name of the LORD”(Gen 4:25, 26). Both Adam and Eve lived long lives until they saw the new descendants—Seth—were raised.

Adam continued living in a different world with sense of hope and joy. When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

In the past based on 1Cor 15:22, I used to have a very negative opinion about Adam.  The fundamental aspect does not change.  Death has come into the world through Adam.  However, I now appreciate the life of Adam and Eve much more than before.  They are truly a realistic model for me to practice God[s stewardship in this world.  Then, in what sense, is Adam and Eve a realistic model of stewardship for us? In this world we fail.  We as sinners we fail.  Before we become successful in our stewardship for what God has entrusted to us, we may fail more than succeed first.  However, in this life we never become a failure if we live by faith from first to last.   Especially, if we know how to love each other deeply as a husband and a wife, although imperfect team, the team works. Adam carried shadow of death, but he did not dwell in the sense of bitterness even after losing almost all the precious in his life—the Garden, the life, and his sons.  Why?  The essence of life is not all these things and people in this world.   The essence of life is about our relationship with God.  As long as our relationship with God is intact, we can start over. This life can go on.  This is what it means that Adam and Eve kept calling the name of the Lord.

Adam and Eve teach that it is important to know a garden (i.e., a specific world) that God entrusts us with.  God may not give the whole world.  God does give his pasture and place in which we practice out stewardship in this world.  We need to know our Garden that God has entrusted.  We also need to know what the critical core that we must keep well is.   Above all, we must keep our heart (Prov 4:24).

Third, lessons from Joseph and Asenath’s stewardship (Gen 41, 45:8, 50). Adam and Eve are the first couple in the book of Genesis.  Joseph and Asenath, his Egyptian wife, are the last couple in the book of Genesis.  They both took care of the Pharaoh’s house well.  Joseph became the father of Pharaoh.  God was with Joseph.  In every turn of his life Joseph grew up in faith. Joseph started from his father’s house as an errand boy.  He later became a steward for Potiphar’s house.  He was the steward in prison. As he was appointed as the steward of Pharaoh’s Egypt, it was not Joseph alone but his wife, Asenath, took a vital part.  The genealogy in the book of Genesis clearly indicates her name (41:50, 56:19). Asenath was the full-fledged member in Joseph’s  life and ministry.  She was accepted and welcomed as God’s people.  Her two sons lived as God’s people, not as the Egyptians.  Asenath did not weaken Joseph’s faith and his work, but strengthened and empowered him. Joseph’s stewardship should consider Asenath as a vital team together for their joint and wonderful workmanship.

What was the secret of Joseph’s stewardship?  God was with Joseph.  Joseph learned to be faithful in his life and his world (Mt 25:23, Lk 16:10). The stewardship principle is clear: be proved to be faithful to what is entrusted. “The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. “Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”(Gen 39:2-4).
However, with the appearance of Asenath the scale of Joseph’s stewardship changed drastically. Asenath provided emotional , relational and social support for Joseph so that he could forget about his painful life and lie a good and happy life in Egypt. With Asenath Joseph had two sons—Manasseh and Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." 52 The second son he named Ephraim [b] and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."(Gen 41:51, 52). Asenath did not become an hindrance to Joseph’s life of faith.  Asenath understood what is precious to Joseph.  Therefore, she became a full-partner with Joseph.  Later, when Joseph decided to raise his two sons as the Israelites, not Egyptians, it was Asenath that supported the decision.  Asenath did not mind Joseph taking care of the extended families—other eleven brothers and many of their children.  The more I think aobut Joseph’s successful stewardship, the more I appreciate the hidden and yet obvious influence of Asenath—Joseph’s Egyptian wife.

Joseph took care of his stewardship through his actual work. Joseph remembered God in times of trouble. God made him forget (he forget – is it easy to forget? It is hard for us to forget unkind words.  It is more challenging to forget if the pains are real and deep. By God’s grace he forgot the troubles.  He prospered in the land of sufferings. How did he forget about the troubles and lived a good life?  I give much credit to Asenath—Joseph’s wife.  The secret of Joseph’s long tenure as the Pharaoh’s second in command had a lot to do with Asenath who certainly was from a prominent Egyptian family.

“But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”(Gen 50:19-21).  Here, we read about the tremendous stability and maturity of Joseph. This is not the words of a man with constant conflicts at his home.  Instead, Joseph revealed God’s intention.  He reassured his brothers.  He humbled himself and did not assume a position more than what he was entitled.  He spoke kindly to his brothers and took care of them.   Joseph did his part as God’s steward in his world.

In what sense is Joseph and Asenath another realistic model of stewardship for us? It is not a man alone that deepens the stewardship.  It is both man and woman that perfect the workmanship in a high level. Joseph and Asenath’s stewardship is in the context of community. They did not merely live together for their individual happiness. Their lives are intertwined with the Joseph’s entire family and Pharaoh’s entire household. God entrusts Joseph and Asenath the world in which both of them worked together to make it wonderful and life giving for many lives. 

Conclusion:

St. Augustine said, “This life is to know, love and enjoy God as much as possible in this life now and perfectly and forever in heaven”. Last week the septic shock almost cost my life. In my deep distress I considered the meaning of life. At the hospital bed, this word reminded me of the direction for living. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom”(Lk 12:32).  We are little. This ministry is little—fewer than hundred people. But what God entrusts to us is not little—it is his kingdom.  We are stewardship for this kingdom that God has entrusted to us.  Our workmanship is to work for this kingdom that God is pleased to give us.

As we conclude this stewardship series, let’s commit to the purpose of our living—not merely a good steward of our own individual living but for the meaningful goal of building God’s kingdom. We are here not just for common interests.  We are here according to God’s purpose to do good works. God has entrusted us with all we need—the word of God, the people, the facilities and commitment to build the kingdom of God together.  We will pray next three weeks Great Lakes Region Summer Bible Conference. We now know what good life is about.  Good life is this life with God and his purpose. We are here in this world to be with God and with his people forever. Our stewardship is about accepting his kingdom and working on it for life.

June 27, 2010.  Toledo UBF.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. NIV®;. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.