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Scripture Reading : 1 Peter 4:10

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

The gifts mentioned in this verse refer to gifts received from the Holy Spirit¹, not material things; but talents or enablements to do things for the Lord. We have some of those gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14; and in Ephesians 4:11, 12. These gifts are of extremely wide variety. Not only are they the ability to teach and preach, but to visit, give, comfort, exhort, love, and serve in many ways. No two may have the same abilities or talents. The Spirit of God gives this to one, and that to another. However, all are to be used for the good of others.

As each one has received a gift

This would tell us that every Christian has been given some gift from the Lord, so none need say, "There is nothing I can do." There is certainly something you can do to reach the lost, or to help the saved. One brother, when he became a Christian, immediately had a great desire to be a preacher like the apostle Paul. He made a failure of preaching; so he said, "If I cannot preach like Paul, I will make tents like he did." So he started a tent business and it was very successful. He gave millions of dollars to the church of our Lord². As the years went by he developed into quite a teacher, too. We may not be gifted to do some great thing, but perhaps we can do some lesser things that will be most helpful to the work of the Lord.

Minister to one another

The word "minister" is an untranslated Greek word meaning "to serve." Remember, these gifts are not given to us primarily for our own good. We are not to use them to make ourselves rich or popular. They are given to us to be used for the benefit of others. In the Scriptures each Christian is pictured as a part of the body of Christ. Each member has its special work to do for the benefit of the whole body. This is true of the human body, and should be true in the body of Christ. As the hand or foot lives for the whole body, so each member of the body of Christ should live for the whole. What a wonderful thing it would be if this was true in a practical way.

Minster it to one another

"Minister it to one another" could be translated, "Even so serve in the same." We are to use the gifts that the Lord gives to us. Too many of us in this age are like the man we read of in Luke 19:20, who laid up his mina³ in a napkin. He had it entrusted to him, but he did nothing with it. The Lord sharply condemned him for this (v. 22), as He will us, too, if we do not make use of the gifts He gives each of us. Let us seek Him in prayer about what He has enabled us to do, and then seek diligently to do it.

Do not attempt things for which you are not gifted

Let us not try to do things for which we are not gifted. This sometimes is done and results in confusion. One of the most difficult things to do is exhort the people of God either in a public or private way. Some have thought they were gifted for this, but certainly were not. A child of God does something wrong, and someone must go to speak to him or her about it. It takes great wisdom and ability to handle such a case. Often more harm is done than good. Instead of being restored, some have been driven even further away from the body of Christ. If you are not gifted for this work, it would be better to leave it to others who are.

As good stewards

A steward is one entrusted with something not his own. This may be in the form of money, property, or a position of responsibility. It is well to remember that such gifts are really not our own, but just given to us in trust. In the story already referred to in Luke 19:11-27, we have an example of each man being left with a gift. He left each of His ten servants with a mina. Some used it and prospered. One gained ten minas with his mina, another five, but one gained nothing. The day of reckoning came, and so it will with each of us. Those who gained by the use of the mina were commended, but not so the one who gained nothing. The point here is that they all discovered that the mina they had entrusted to them was not their own. It belonged to the master. It is exactly the same in the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Sometimes Christians think they can do as they please with the gifts they have received, but remember, the reckoning day is coming. Will we receive His smile or His frown?

Of the manifold grace of God

This word "manifold" speaks of "great variety." Truly, God's grace varies greatly one from the other. Our gifts may differ widely, but never the less they are all of grace. We really deserve only hell because of our sins. Our salvation⁴ is also all by the grace of God. How good is our loving Lord Jesus Christ and how loving is our God. He not only saves us, but heaps on His people scores of other great gifts beneficial to one another. This illustrates the theme of this whole brief study. In order to get along with other Christians, let us not think only of our personal welfare, but may our whole aim be to live for others—for ONE ANOTHER.

Footnotes:

¹ For more on the Holy Spirit, see God the Spirit in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

² For more on the church of our Lord, see God’s Church in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

³ Footnote comments in the New American Standard Bible: “A mina was about three months’ wages. One talent equaled 60 minas (see Matt. 25:15) and a mina equaled 100 drachmas, each drachma being worth about a day’s wages . Thus the total amount was valued at between two and three years’ average wages, and a tenth (Luke 20:13) would be about three mont hs’ wages. Compared with the amounts mentioned in the parable recorded in Matthew. Here all ten are given the same amount.”

⁴ For more on salvation, see God’s Salvation in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.