Be a Good Minister of Grace • Deshen Daily

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10, KJV)

Peter urges believers to be good stewards of God’s manifold grace. What does this mean?

Ministry in the New Testament is serving people using the abilities and gifts God bestows on us. So this is the divine pattern: God pours into us and commands us to pour out into others. He pours rivers of living waters into our bellies and expects those rivers to flow out and give drink to those around us!

In God’s mind, as clearly revealed in 1 Peter 4:10, every believer in the New Testament is a minister of grace—everyone in Christ has received gifts from God. And as ministers, God commands us to be good stewards of what He has given to us. Stewards faithfully manage the assets of others in accordance with their owner’s wishes and goals. For instance, a believer gifted with the prophetic grace should serve God’s wishes, not their own.

Ministers minister the manifold grace of God. We minister grace by speaking or acting in such a way that builds, encourages, or strengthens others; we do so through the gifts or the fruit of the Spirit.

In Ephesians 4:29 Paul says “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29, ESV). So we can minister grace by speaking to people in a way that encourages, energizes, and edifies them instead of tearing them down.

Be a good steward of God’s manifold grace.