Being Grace

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

You are a steward of God’s grace. Did you realize this? This isn’t something that will someday happen to you. It is going on right this moment. It has been a reality since the creation of man. What Adam lost in the garden has been regained at the resurrection of Jesus.

Look carefully at the wording in this verse and follow the pattern according to what you have learned. 1. A gift was given and received; 2. The gift is now to be given to another; 3. The release of the gift demonstrates the varied nature of God’s grace. At no point in this transaction is the gift held onto. In order for it to be a demonstration of grace it must be released. You are deemed a good steward when the transaction is completed.

Action. This is the characteristic of a verb. I know I’m repeating myself here but I need to make this point clear. In this verse the word “gift” is a charis word. More importantly, its Greek root word is the verb-tense of charis. Even more important than the last statement is that this single word has been demonized in all religious circles. As such, I am deciding not to reveal it at this time so that you may not put your spiritual blinders on before I get finished.

The title of this section is not “Doing Grace” which some of you might feel would be appropriate if I’m going to speak about the action of grace. However, that would imply that by doing, you could also chose not to do. Worded in another manner, you could chose to not do the will of the Father! Does that sound like the actions of a good steward?

Consider this: Did you teach your pet dog to bark or pet cat to meow? Why not? Obviously, you don’t have to do this because it is a feature which is “built in” to the model of pet that you have. They do this because of how they are made. Or, out of their being they do these things naturally. Your ability to control, or limit, the use of this feature is what classifies you as a good owner, or steward, of your pet in the eyes of the public. Now granted, not everyone likes pets; so despite what you may think about them being a gift, their nature can offend.

For those of you who may at this point become slow of thought, let me apply this example to you. Your old nature was not a gift given to mankind from God. Because of your old nature, you did things which offended God. Even those things which you thought were “good” were offensive to God.

The Father knew that your past actions were a result of the stewardship you were under, however, those actions were based on a corrupted nature. In His infinite wisdom, He gives you a glimpse of His goodness. Desiring to receive more of this goodness, you believe in His Son’s works and the Father births a new nature in you. Next, He places you under the stewardship of Holy Spirit so you can learn how to properly give the gift of this new nature He placed within you.

It is from “being” the new nature that you “do” the acts people recognize as grace. Everything that you henceforth do, comes from being, from the smallest to the most monumental. All that you do is evidence of the grace-gift you have received, and give away to those around you. Notice that the grace-gift is not for