“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
of the manifold grace of God
“Manifold” means various kinds, diversified. Originally it meant many-colored, variegated and was used of spotted leopards or fawns. God’s grace shows itself in many divers manifestations. God also gives great variety in the gifts he bestows on the church. God uses various means by which we can serve him (Romans 12:3-8). God makes His church multi-faceted.
God gives the Christian the responsibility to manage the many-faceted graces of God to the body of Christ. The Christian’s gift is itself a grace from God and everything that it yields represents God’s grace. Since God gave us the gift we cannot claim merit for it. No gift belongs to us. It belongs to God and we must use it in God’s interest. Every use of God’s gift must manifest God’s grace, not our merit.
Principle:
God’s gifts of grace come in all sizes and shapes.
Application:
The grace of God comes in all colors, shapes and sizes. It takes a great variety of gifts to produce a healthy, growing church. Our computer has outward functions but below the surface are many little parts that make it work. You may be one of those small parts. Without you there would be no effective church of God. That is the way God works. The church needs big parts and little parts, big roles and little roles without which the church would not be the church.
Will you make yourself available to be used of God in the local church? Without you, the work of the Lord will suffer loss. We ultimately do not serve the church but we serve the Lord.
Say to the Lord, “Here I am. Harness me. Put a saddle on me and I will do my best.” All He expects is our best, nothing more. All He wants from us is to do what we can with what we have.
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