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Bible Study- Lutz, Florida
Established
November 2003
Rightly
Dividing the Word of Truth
(2
Timothy 2:15)
Romans by the Book
Lesson 7
It’s good to have you all back for this study on
the book of Romans.
I trust you are finding this Bible study useful and
practical; and by practical I mean to say appropriate, sensible, and concerned
with actual facts; and not theory.
I’ve told my classes on many occasions, “I won’t
teach opinion.”
Please know this.
If I offer an opinion, I will preface my statement with that remark.
That doesn’t mean I believe it, it’s just an
opinion.
Please open your Bibles to Romans chapter one; we’ll
begin at verse 5.
Romans 1
Verse five:
5: through whom (Who is
this? The Lord Jesus Christ; risen from
the dead; on this side of the Cross. Ascended;
see Psalms 110:1) we have
received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of (what)
faith among all the Gentiles
for His name’s sake,
Paul is telling us that he has been “called” by the
Lord Jesus Christ as the “steward” or the “manager” to preach the “divine mystery”
revealed in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 3
2: assuming that you have heard of the (what’s the next word) stewardship
of God’s grace that was given to me for you (gentiles may be added without
harming the text).
To better understand the meaning of “stewardship,”
we start with the very first verse in our Bible: “In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1.
As the Creator God, God has absolute control and
ownership over all things.
And to miss starting here would be like missing
that top button on your shirt – none of the others will line up after that.
The Biblical doctrine of stewardship defines man’s
relationship to God.
It identifies God as owner and man as manager.
God
makes man His co-worker in administering all aspects of our life. The apostle
Paul explains it best by saying, “For we
are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1
Corinthians 3:9).
Example:
After the Creator God (Jehovah) gave life to Adam, He gave him “dominion” or rule over all the earth’s
creatures and over all the earth.
(Genesis 1:26).
After Adam sinned, he lost that “dominion;”and who
picked it up?
Satan did.
Satan is the god of this world today.
In the New Testament, two Greek words embody the
meaning of the meaning of our English word “stewardship.” One of these is “oikonomos.”
It
also means "steward, manager, or administrator" and occurs more
frequently in the New Testament. Depending
on the context, it is often translated “dispensation, stewardship, management,
or administration.
Once
we’re called and placed into the Body of Christ, the stewardship that is
required of us is not a result of our own power or abilities. The strength, inspiration and growth in the
management of our lives must come from God through the Holy Spirit in us.
“I can do all things
through Christ who strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). KJV
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Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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Rights Reserved