Sunday Scripture

 

Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015.  With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study.  Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer.  The sixth section is Living in Community in Our Spheres of Influence.  So here we go with the Scripture for the fifth day of that section. 

S= "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)

O= I like the way C.I. Scofield has titled this section [1 Peter 4:7-19] in the Scofield Reference Bible:

"Christian conduct in light of the times in which we live."

Peter begins this thought back in verse 7 with this admonition: "But the end of all things is at hand; be ye, therefore, soberminded, and watch unto prayer."  Verses 8-9 declare the importance of fervent love, discretion, and ungrudging hospitality among believers.

Now verse 10 speaks of the importance of using our spiritual gifts to minister to other believers:

As each one has received a spiritual gift, he is to minister that gift to others.

This is being a good steward of the manifold, multifaceted grace of God.

A cross-reference for "received the gift" is Romans 12:6-8: "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us ..." and goes on to describe the manner in which we are to use specific gifts: "He that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness."

For "good stewards" a cross-reference of 1 Corinthians 4:2 is given: "Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful."

And for the phrase "grace of God" there is a note by Scofield: "Grace is the method of divine dealing in salvation and in the believer's life and service ... Having by grace brought the Christian into the highest conceivable position, God ceaselessly works to impart in him corresponding graces.  Grace ... stands connected with service, with Christian growth, and with giving."

If we were to read on to verse 11, we would see the reason for ministering our spiritual gifts one to another: "that God in all things may be glorified."

A= I'm so humbled and thankful as I consider the spiritual gifts God has blessed me with.  Scripture tells us that every believer has at least one gift, and I think most believers have been blessed with several.  I'm thankful that over time, God has helped me to identify my spiritual gifts and to prayerfully consider how He might have me to use them.

But I am responsible for actually using those gifts to benefit others.  I can't just put them on a shelf and allow them to gather dust.  I must be using them to minister to others.  In so doing I will be a good steward of God's grace and will bring glory to Him.  What a privilege and responsibility!

P= "Lord, how thankful I am for the spiritual gifts You've given me.  Even one spiritual gift would have been far more than I deserve, yet in Your mercy and grace You not only saved me, but but then equipped me to serve You and others with several spiritual gifts.  I pray that You will help me to use these gifts as a good steward to minister to others and glorify You.  I praise You for all You have done and all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

That's our study for this week!  I hope it encouraged you as much as it did me.