Stewardship: An Introduction

The Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1:15-17.

Colossians 1:15–17 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

What do we know about Christ from these verses?

He is the image of God (15)

Paul also asserts this about Christ in 2 Cor. 4:4.

2 Cor 4:4

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The focus here is on Christ’s revelation of God.

A significant question that emerged in Jewish theology and in the Greco-Roman world was where can God be seen? Here, Paul answers this question by claiming Christ is the image, that is, He revealed God.

In this respect, what Paul says is similar to what John said in his gospel:

John 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:18 ESV

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

And what the author of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

As one commentator put it, Christ is shown here to be the original image in accordance with which human beings were created.

So, we have not discussed the fact that people are created in the image of God, but accepting this as true, we need to know that

Christ revealed God to people, and part of His revelatory work is to demonstrate the true imago dei. Only God can reveal God without anything lacking in that revelation.

We also know that Christ

He is superior to all creation (15)

What might some be confused by here in this particular description of Christ? That He was created. Why should we not conclude that is what Paul is teaching?

Let’s consider some other places where this concept of first born shows up:

Ex. 4:22.

Exodus 4:22 ESV

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,

Psalm 89:27.

Psalm 89:27 ESV

27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

This Psalm, I suggest, is a messianic Psalm. We don’t have time to trace this back now, but Paul had just finished describing Christ in messianic/kingly terms in verses 12-14, so Psalm 89 is a good backdrop to Paul’s argument here.

Also again, the author of Hebrews

Heb 1:6.

Hebrews 1:6 ESV

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Talking about Christ in messianic terms.

The bottom line here is that the term first born, while sometimes refers to a child who was first out of the womb, can also be a reference to superiority, that is, the most important.

Christ has a unique relationship to creation in that He extends divine activity to the creatures that are lower than Him.

He is Creator (16)

Three ways Christ and the creation are related

in Him (by Him) all things were created

through Him all things were created

for Him all things were created

That all things were created in Christ is difficult to define, but as one commentator put it, Paul is making the general point that all of God’s creative work took place in terms of or in reference to Christ. In other words, all of creation is connected to Christ. It is all about Christ.

That all things were created through Christ refers to Christ being instrumental in creation. He is Creator.

That all things were created for Christ means that everything and everyone exists for His glory.

Romans 11:36 ESV

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

something else we know about Christ is that

He is the sustainer (17)

Christ is before all things means, I suggest, that Christ existed before creation. In the beginning was the Word.

That all things (all creation) hold together in Christ means that the universe owes its continuing existence and coherence to Christ. We are dependent on Christ in every way, right down to our very existence.

Douglas Moo is helpful here:

Colossians and Philemon 2. The Heart of the Gospel: The Supremacy of Christ in Creation and Redemption (1:15–20)

What holds the universe together is not an idea or a virtue, but a person: the resurrected Christ. Without him, electrons would not continue to circle nuclei, gravity would cease to work, the planets would not stay in their orbits.

So we take this time to be clear on the supremacy of Christ because this is the basis for which we regard ourselves as stewards. At this point, we should pause and make sure we know wheat we’re talking about when we mention stewardship.

Some Definitions

Gen 1:26-28.

Genesis 1:26–28 ESV

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God revealed Himself as the Creator of all things to people. He called people to be productive, that is, to be fruitful and multiply.

Stewardship is the exercising of our God-given dominion over His creation, which reflects the image of our Creator to His creation.

1 Peter 4:10–11 ESV

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

A steward is someone who responds to the grace of God by managing what God has given for the glory of God.

Public Image

As noted already, the Bible is clear that people are made in the image of God:

Genesis 1:26 ESV

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

But we also know that the image of God, while not completely lost, has been corrupted in man through the Fall.

Genesis 3:7 ESV

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

So now, the restoration of the image of God in man is unfolding through the process of redemption and sanctification.

as we are redeemed and sanctified, in other words, as God restores His image in His people, the effects of that restoration should be noted:

Peace with God is restored

Rom 5:1.

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This of course is an act of God, and since this is the first step in the restoration of the image of God in us, we can conclude that the restoration of God’s image is God’s work.

As we noted in the How to Grow class, while we participate in our sanctification, the Holy Spirit is ultimately responsible for our sanctification. The Spirit enables us to use our God-given gifts in a God-glorifying way. This is part of what happens in our sanctification.

Peace with man is possible

Matt 5:44-45.

Matthew 5:44–45 ESV

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Loving our fellow man, even our enemies is a way we image God. We do not love our neighbors because we find them lovable, but because God first loved us.

Peace with creation

Gen 1:28-30.

Genesis 1:28–30 ESV

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Part of what we lost in the Fall was our ability to rule over or have dominion over and care for God’s creation. As the image of God is restored through our salvation and is being restored in our sanctification, our ability to exercise dominion is being restored.

A quote from Anthony Hoekema:

This means that man is now enabled to look upon himself as a steward of the earth and all that is in it, rather than an overlord with absolute and completely arbitrary power. This includes holding property, tilling the soil, growing fruit trees, mining coal, and drilling for oil not for personal aggrandizement but in a responsible way, for the benefit and welfare of one’s fellowmen. - Anthony Hoekema, “Created in God’s Image”.

I do not mean to limit our consideration of exercising our God-given dominion over His creation to environmental considerations (we will consider this later in the weeks ahead), but everything from the physical creation, to one another, to our resources, relationships, time and more.

Peace In Community

The renewal of the image of does not occur in individuals in isolation. There is an ecclesiastical aspect to this renewal.

God sanctifies people, yes, but by sanctifying His people, He is sanctifying His church.

Ephesians 5:26 ESV

26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

So Christ is sanctifying His church.

So believers learn what Christ-likeness is by observing it in fellow Christians. We are inspired by examples of godliness. Restoration of the image of God takes place through the fellowship of Christians with each other.

Peace Forever

We are familiar with Romans 8:29.

Romans 8:29 ESV

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

The likeness of the Son is nothing less than the perfected image of God.

What we need to see is that we are headed for this future. One in which the people of God are now being conformed to the image of the Son, but that process of conformity will end and as 1 John 3 tells us, we will be with Christ and like Christ.

Now, what does this have to do with stewardship. Knowing our destination and what we will do in our glorified state has implications for stewardship.

So what do we know about the future of Christians?

2 Tim 2:12.

2 Timothy 2:12 ESV

12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

We will reign with Christ. The book of Revelation fills this out a little more:

Rev. 22:5.

Revelation 22:5 ESV

5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Rev 5:10.

Revelation 5:10 ESV

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

How are we to understand reigning with Christ?

The Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A #32

Q: But why are you called a Christian?

A: Because through faith I share in Christ and thus in His anointing, so that I may confess His name, off myself a living sacrifice of gratitude to Him, and fight against sin and the devil with a free and good conscience throughout this life and hereafter rule with Him in eternity over all creatures.

So what do we know about who we will be and what we will do in our glorified state? After the image of God is fully restored?

We will continue to be stewards, but we will exercise perfect stewardship.

Now, we are prone to be derelict in our stewardship. We may mismanage the dominion that God has granted to us over His creation. As a result, we fail to reflect the image of God to His creation. But when His image is fully restored in His people, we will reign with Christ over His creation. We will go from exploiting the creation to stewarding His creation.