God’s Mission for You: Faithful Servant Steward (Colossians 1:24-29).Thursday October 22, 2026
Main idea: Through Paul’s testimony we see the nature of God’s mission for each of us as faithful and wise servant stewards for Him, for the gospel, and for others through which God will accomplish His desires through us.
Intro:
After Jesus miraculously fixes a paralyzed man’s broken back, the Jewish leaders tried even harder to kill Him for breaking the Sabbath and calling God His own Father (Joh 5:18).
His courage is fearless truth telling in the face of hatred of that truth, murderous hatred of it. He speaks every word with love, in the hope of getting them to see. He seeks to heal and rescue all, including His enemies, inviting them into His kingdom.
Leaving the church on earth, but indwelling each of us:
Mat 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves;”
Mat 10:25 “If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”
All of His saints in this age are servant stewards.
The servant steward is to be genuinely humble, ready to serve all, faithful to his Master, and wise in the will of the Master.
Servant Stewards:
Col 1:23 and of which [gospel] I, Paul, was made a minister (diakonos).
Col 1:25 Of this [church] I was made a minister (diakonos) according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit.
“For the sake of His body, the church, I have become its servant.”
Minister (servant) and stewardship are linked.
The church is the family that God has given to us. In the church the spiritual orphans of the world find their home.
The noun “servant” (diakonos) has three nuances: Courier - (here) one sent as a servant with the divine message. Deacon - (1Ti 3:8, 12) office of servant in the church. Servant of a superior - the greatest of you is your servant. (all of us).
First nuance: The first official evangelists (apostles and their teams) would confirm that they were sent by God as His servants.
The third nuance: Though not sent into the mission field, we are all on assignment.
Steward (oikonmia) has two definitions: Management of a household, office. (applies this to Col 1:25) God’s unique plan of salvation. [mystery revealed]
God ordered the plan of salvation. He also gave the members of the church the activity of managing the gospel, His plan of salvation.
Ephesians 3 shows both types of meaning:
Eph 3:2-3 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery,
Eph 3:9 to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;
Developing both titles: servant and stewardship.
Paul is a minister according to his office and that office was given to him by God and it is for serving the church.
This is not only true of the apostles, though our “offices” or stewardship vary. Paul has an assignment and so do you.
1Co 12:4-7 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
The word of God shows us the attitude and way of the servant steward.
In 1Co 12:4-7, none of us have the exact same ministry (similar yes), our gift(s) are given by God the Holy Spirit and He is the power that manifests our gift(s) when we have the attitude, faith, obedience He desires.
Servant: one who gets something done, at the behest of a superior. This definition applies to us all.
Mat 20:26-28 "It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
As always, Christ Himself is the example. We never serve for ourselves: trap - serving to be noticed (me vacuuming when pastor walked by), to impress.
Gal 1:10 If I were still [he was as a Pharisee] trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
Gal 2:6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) … contributed nothing to me [to the gospel I preached].
If your stewardship has a level of authority, know that the greatest leaders are genuinely humble.
Mat 23:1-12 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 "But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
Joh 12:20 "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
A steward in this dispensation of grace (mystery revealed).
Luk 12:35-48 "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36 "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 "You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." [faithfulness from love of Him. Love Me and you will keep My commandments, My joy is to lay down My life. John 15]
41 Peter said, "Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?" 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 "But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47 "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
Note the eschatological nature of the steward’s vision - he looks for the coming master.
Mat 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
The steward is obviously a servant (both our words).
Mat 24:45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?”
The servant steward is the humble servant of all the Lord’s house. He is faithful to the master, no matter what, and he is wise.
1Co 4:1-2 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy [pistos, same as our Lord’s “faithful”].
The servant steward is to be genuinely humble, ready to serve all, faithful to his Master, and wise in the will of the Master.
Conclusion:
The false teachers have not suffered and sacrificed for them, thus showing his genuine love for them.
Through Paul’s testimony we see the nature of God’s mission, what it requires from each of us, and ultimately what he desires to accomplish through us.
We need to grasp the temporal nature of our earthly lives.
Giving our lives for the cause of Christ will require personal sacrifice and suffering that this world will not comprehend, but it is a cause we can deliberately embrace with joy as we follow Jesus’ own example:
Heb 12:1-2 let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross
… and claim His victory.
Joh 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
Too many times we are quick to avoid situations or alleviate struggles that may be part of God’s providential plan for our growth and for His church.
We can embrace them with joy as we anticipate the consummation of Christ’s kingdom. |