In this lesson we want to see the grace-ministering service. Romans 12:4-6a says that grace is given to every member and that every member has a gift. Ephesians 4:7 says that to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Then 1 Peter 4:10 tells us that we have to be good stewards of the varied grace of God. John 1:17b shows us that grace is Christ Himself coming as the embodiment of God for our enjoyment. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul said, "I labored more abundantly...yet not I but the grace of God which is with me." Then in 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness."
Romans 12:6a says that we all have gifts which differ according to the grace given to us. This shows that all the members of the Body of Christ are gifted. We have to impress the saints with this. They may know that all the members of the Body of Christ are gifted, but they do not use their gift.
According to Ephesians 4:7 and Romans 12:6b every member has been given grace. We need to read these two verses to the saints repeatedly in order to impress them that all of them have been given grace. In this message what is needed is mainly to impress the saints. They may know some of these points, but they have never been impressed with them.
According to 1 Peter 4:10, all the members are the stewards of the varied or manifold grace of God. On this point we need much speaking. This is not a common thought to all the saints. God's grace is not only of one aspect; it has manifold aspects. The Pentecostals think that grace is just to speak in tongues. If you do not speak in tongues, you do not have grace. To those who are for healing, grace is a miracle. If you do not have miracles, you do not have grace. But the New Testament shows us that to serve the saints with a cup of cold water is also an aspect of grace. To clean the meeting hall and prepare the chairs for the saints to sit on is another aspect of grace. If a brother is very bothered by a certain situation, and I go to pray with him, that is still another aspect of grace. God's grace is manifold. We can illustrate this point to the saints in many ways.
The church is the best society and has the best communal life. In such a society with such a communal life, there is the need of many kinds of services. Every service is an aspect of grace ministered by the saints to one another. Thus, all the saints as members of the Body of Christ are stewards of the manifold grace of God. On the one hand, we are members of the Body of Christ, and on the other hand, we are stewards of God. Stewards are persons who have the commission to minister the rich supply to others. A steward is one who always supplies others with certain needs, so we have to help the saints realize that every brother and every sister today in the church life as a member of Christ should be a steward of God assigned by God, commissioned by God, charged by God, with some aspect of His grace to minister to others for their supply.