Mission Venture Ministries

“This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2) 

God has revealed His complete Word to His saints (Colossians 1:26) who have “heard and learned” the gospel (John 6:45; Romans 10:17 and John 3:16–18), and it is they alone who comprehend “the glorious riches of this mystery” (Colossians 1:27). In its fullest sense, the “mystery of God” is God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. We would never have been able to comprehend the way to eternal life without the coming of Jesus, His death and resurrection. 

A servant of Christ is one who realizes that all he is and has is of and from the Lord. As Psalm 24:1 tells us, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” and understands that his very life comes from the Lord. 

He understands that all of his earthly possessions, money, time, and talents are for the Lord and that with them he must serve the Lord, in gratitude for the great salvation he has received. 

God has given us Himself in the gift of Jesus Christ, therefore, He wants us to be faithful, dependable and always return to Him as He has given to us, beginning with a thankful attitude in our heart. 

In Paul’s time, a servant was in charge of the administration of his master’s property. He devoted his time, talents, and energy to looking after his master’s interests rather than his own. A servant supervised the master’s property, fields, vineyards, clothing, finances, food and the other servants. He dispensed things to the household as they were needed and he would also protect the assets and possessions of his master. All this shows that much responsibility was placed on a servant. 

Likewise, we are given much spiritual responsibility. As servants of the mysteries of God, we are to dispense the revelation of the mystery to those of the “family of God” (Ephesians 2:19). As administrators, we promote the truth to others and faithfully spread the wisdom of God’s mystery. As Paul challenged Timothy, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Timothy 1:13-14). 

The most important quality of a good servant is faithfulness and trustworthiness. We are called to be faithful to the Lord and His revelation of the mystery, refusing to compromise the message, teaching it without fail without apology and to be ready to defend and protect it. 

As we look at the qualities of a good servant we should see someone that is selfless and doesn’t see their own life, money, and possessions as their own but manages it all accordingly. They don’t order their life so they can spend whatever they want. They order their life so God can use them however He wants for furthering His Kingdom. 

Jesus Christ who is the very Son of God owned the world, which He had made, but He came into this sinful world in the form of a servant and all He ever owned was the clothing on His back. He gave Himself for His people in His atonement on the cross and we are saved by His grace. 

Like Jesus who came to serve and not to be served, a faithful servant does not put his needs above the needs of others and does not act in a way that is superior over others. He is humble and not proud. 

A faithful servant knows the meaning of meekness and serves in a way that displays Christ-like characteristic. He gets his wisdom through his relationship with his Master and applies godly wisdom acknowledging God in all he does. 

He shows genuine and sacrificial love as he serves his Master diligently. He is not harsh or mean but is patient and joyful as he goes about God’s work. 

He also gives willingly, saves consistently, invests wisely, and avoids debt. He is contented with what he has and doesn’t cheat or act dishonestly in his business because of profit and gain. 

A servant of Christ knows who his King is and has voluntarily set aside his or her personal rights in order to love, serve, and obey the will of God in Christ Jesus. Servants of Christ die daily to sin and fleshly desires, allowing Christ’s life to flow through them (Galatians 2:20). 

They do their work humbly and selflessly, desiring only to please their Master. There is no pretense, self-importance, compensation seeking in the true servant of God, he considers his life on earth as a brief moment of preparation for eternity and lives for the moment when Jesus will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master!” (Matthew 25:23). 

In summary a faithful servant displays “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). He knows that freely he has received therefore; freely he gives (Matthew 10:8). 

Therefore, “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.” (Matthew 24:46-47). 

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