The Stewardship of God's Grace 1: Standing Firm in His Righteousness

Ephesians 3:1-2

¹FOR THIS reason [because I preached that you are thus built up together], I, Paul, [am] the prisoner of Jesus the Christ for the sake and on behalf of you Gentiles—²Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace (His unmerited favor) that was entrusted to me [to dispense to you] for your benefit, AMP

The Lord has given us, His church, a dispensation of His grace for us to do the things He has called us to do. We are continually being developed to become the Lord’s bride without spot or wrinkle that can be presented to others in order for them to become hungry for Him just as He has made us hungry and thirsty for more of Him and of His righteousness and holiness. But many have not stewarded His grace properly—they walk and live as enemies of the Cross of Christ (Philippians 3:18) thereby making themselves objects of judgment.

 Galatians 5:4 says, ⁴ If  you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the Law, you are brought to nothing and so separated (severed) from Christ. You have fallen away from grace (from God’s gracious favor and unmerited blessing) AMP.

In my book soon-to-be released, I present an example of someone that did not steward the grace she was given so freely and without measure, and instead became the object of judgment that led to her death. Her name is Rachel, and although the Lord Jesus will come with a reward to each one according to what they have done (Revelation 22:12), many have lost their place assigned to them in the body because they did not make use of His grace to make Him known as the only True God, but instead allowed the influence of the world and its humanistic ways to guide their daily lives and the way they led and influenced those entrusted to them.

Others are already prepared to take those positions to honor God and teach the people He loves to also honor Him so they don’t continue to perish for lack of knowledge of Him and of His ways (Hosea 4:6). In this excerpt from my book, God intents to open the eyes of His people so they can repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Luke 3:8a).

              “Rachel’s Downfall

               Another perspective of the present state of the church and how God compares her actions to Rachel’s behavior towards Jacob is found in Genesis 31. Jacob, at the direction of the Lord, decided to leave the land where he had served Laban, his uncle, and with his family went on a journey back to the land of his ancestors, Abraham and Isaac. He had served Laban for 20 years. Fourteen of those years he served just so he could marry Rachel. But while leaving her home land to follow Jacob, Rachel decided to steal her father’s idols, and even denied stealing them when her father came after them looking for the idols.

               In verse 32 a curse was released for the person with whom the idols were found—it was a death sentence. Laban never found his idols because Rachel hid them by sitting on them, but the curse was in effect nevertheless, so in Genesis 35:16-19 Rachel had a hard labor while giving birth to Benjamin and died. This was the consequence Rachel received for refusing to start a new life with her husband without the idols she had learned to worship as a child since she was of Syrian descent. She thought she could have both: her husband and the idols.

               Rachel’s downfall caused her to not be able to raise her two children—Joseph and Benjamin, neither could she be with the man who had paid a great price (physically and financially) to become her husband, nor could she take her place as the bride whom her husband truly loved. The truth is she was very insecure, and paid more attention to what she didn’t have than to submitting and following Jacob wholeheartedly.

               There were also two instances mentioned in Genesis 30 in which Rachel forfeited precious time of intimacy with her husband. In verses 1-3, she complained to him when she could not bear his children instead of giving that to God in prayer to fulfill her heart’s desire. She compromised by offering to him her maid Bilhah, just so she could have an instant gratification without paying the price of waiting for God’s timing and way of obtaining the desires of her heart. Then in verses 14-16 she traded her time of intimacy, this time with her sister Leah for some mandrakes Leah’s son, Reuben, had found in the field. Rachel’s desire to fulfill the lust of her flesh was greater than pursuing and submitting to her husband.

               The church has in a great part done the same in forfeiting precious time of intimacy with Jesus who paid the great price of shedding His blood for her. She has lusted after the idols of the world from where God had already redeemed her. She also refused to leave those idols behind, causing her to be unable to raise her children properly and has committed spiritual whoredom by following after the gods of the world instead of the One who loved her first and died for her sin…”

Let’s examine our hearts and seek the Lord who truly loves us enough to have shed His blood for us. He chose to be cursed for us and to be mocked and ridiculed, so He could have to Himself a bride that reciprocates that love back to Him. He is worthy of all praise, therefore let’s give ourselves to Him to learn to worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23) and apart from the ways of the world and the enemy’s craftiness to keep us bound to it. Also, let’s cry out to Him for the forgiveness of our sins in accordance to 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, If My people who are called by My name shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin (this sin of idolatry), and I will heal their land (Emphasis mine). To Him alone be all the glory∎.