LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Effective Ministers Are Faithful Stewards of the Word of God
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
Effective Ministers Are Faithful Stewards of the Word of God
“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of
God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now
disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the
glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:25–27).
Paul declared in this text that he was a faithful steward of the Word of God. The word
“commission” used in verse 25 can also be translated “stewardship” as in the English Standard
Version. Listen to what it says: “Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship
from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known.” Paul was a
faithful steward of God’s Word. A steward was a servant placed over the house of a master.
While the master was gone he would oversee everything in the house. Paul declares himself
and the other apostles as stewards of the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 4. Listen to what it says:
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:1–2 KJV).
While Christ is away from the earth, he has called us, just as he did the apostles, to be
stewards of his words and his mysteries. And one day when the master returns, we will give an
account of our faithfulness in studying and teaching the mysteries of God. We learn about this
in 2 Timothy 2:15. It says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a
workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
Who will be the stewards who are approved? It is those who have done their best in studying
and correctly handling the Word of God. Are you being a faithful steward of God’s Word? This is
a quality of effective ministers.
Observation Question: According to Colossians 1:25–27, what are characteristics of a
faithful steward of the Word of God?
1. Faithful Stewards Of God’s Word Seek to Present Its Fullness.
“To present to you the word of God in its fullness” (Col. 1:25).
This was something Paul had previously mentioned. In speaking to the Ephesian elders in
the book of Acts, he said, “Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of
all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:26–27).
When Paul said he was free of the blood of all men, he saw himself with the same responsibility
of an Old Testament prophet. God once told Ezekiel that if he was called to speak to a man in
error and Ezekiel refused, the blood of that man would go on Ezekiel’s head (Ezek. 33:1–11).
Paul realized the same was true for him. If he did not teach the whole counsel of God, or if he
hid certain doctrines for fear of anger or being rejected by men, God would place their blood on
his hands because he did not speak. It is the same for us. If we do not speak the whole counsel
of God to those around us, their blood will be held against us. Now some might say, “Certainly
this responsibility to teach the whole counsel of God only applies to preachers and teachers,
right?” Absolutely not. This is the responsibility of every Christian. Look at what Christ told his
disciples, and by extension us, in the Great Commission:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matt. 28:19–20). When Christ
calls his disciples to “teach them to obey everything” he had commanded, it includes the
revelation of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Christ was the fulfillment of the
law and his apostles continued his teaching.
Know and Teach
This puts a burden on every Christian to know the whole Word of God and not just the
Psalms when they get depressed, and not just the gospel, but the entire revelation of the Word
of God through in–depth study. This means we must all have continual training. This training
may be informal through personal devotions, the church, and small groups, or formal training
through Bible schools and seminaries. We must be trained to be prepared to teach.
It also puts a burden on every Christian to teach the whole counsel as they make
disciples for Christ. Each Christian must be a teacher, whether that be from the pulpit, in small
groups, or in one–on–one situations.
Faithful stewards of God’s Word teach the Word in its fullness. Therefore, they must study
to know its fullness, and they must seek opportunities to teach it.
What else does the faithful steward do?
2. Faithful Stewards Of God’s Word Share The Mystery With Everybody.
The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to
the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of
this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:26–27). One of the responsibilities
of faithful stewards of God’s Word is sharing the mystery with everybody. The word “mystery”
used in the New Testament has the connotation of something previously unrevealed or not
fully revealed in the Old Testament. The mystery Paul was focusing on was the gospel coming
to the Gentiles and Christ living in them. He said the riches of this mystery is “Christ in you, the
hope of glory” (v. 27).
In the Old Testament, nobody knew that the messiah would come and indwell people, and,
even more so, they never thought this would happen to the Gentiles specifically. Paul talks
about this in Ephesians 3:6. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs
together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in
Christ Jesus.”
The Gentiles could be saved in the Old Testament, but they never had the same privileges
as the Jew. The Jews were called to be ministers who won Gentiles to God, but as God’s chosen
people they had greater privileges. Only a Jewish priest specifically could enter the holy place,
and only the Jewish high priest could enter the Holy of Holies where God dwelled.
These divisions made the Jews proud, and therefore created a great animosity between
Jews and Gentiles. However, in the New Covenant these divisions have been removed. Jews
and Gentiles are fellow heirs of the promise in Christ. Now, this gives us the other aspect of
being a faithful steward. For Paul, a Jew, to give his life reaching the Gentiles was phenomenal.
They were separated by ethnicity, culture, and religion, and there was a heated racism that
divided them. However, he was given a stewardship to reach not only Jews, but also those who
were far away from God—the Gentiles. It’s the same for us. Faithful stewards of the Word of
God share it with everybody, no matter the race, culture, or socio–economic status. It was said
of Christ that he was the friend of sinners (Matt. 16:19). He went to areas and to people who
were not accepted. He was a faithful steward of the Word.
This seems to be a common pattern among Christians: after salvation, we are zealous and
on fire to share the mystery of the gospel, but later, as time passes, we lose the desire to
evangelize. Most don’t share the gospel at all, and those who do only do so with those they are
comfortable with. Unlike Paul, most are not willing to stretch themselves out of their comfort
zone to reach even those who would seem unreachable. He reached out to people of a
different culture than him and had antagonism towards him. Who is God calling you to share
the fullness of the Word of God with? Effective ministers are faithful stewards of the mysteries
of God. If Christ came back now, would you have been a faithful steward of the mysteries of
God?
Application Question: Who are your “Gentiles,” the people who you might not likely share
the Word of God with? How can you be more effective at this?
