Stewardship is
the responsible management of everything
God has entrusted to a person.
In Scripture,
a steward is a manager or trustee
who is given charge of another’s resources
and will one day give an account
for how those resources were used.
Believers are stewards of
time, abilities, material possessions,
the gospel, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
A steward (Greek: oikonomos) was a household manager who oversaw the property, finances, and affairs of a master. The key principle is that the steward owns nothing; everything belongs to the master, and the steward is accountable for its use.
Jesus taught extensively about stewardship in His parables (for example, the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 and the parable of the dishonest manager in Luke 16:1-13). Paul also described himself and other church leaders as “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2).
Scripture applies the principle of stewardship to many areas of life:
The central requirement of a steward is faithfulness:
“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2)
Jesus emphasized that faithfulness in small things leads to greater responsibility (Luke 16:10-12; Matthew 25:21). At the Judgment Seat of Christ, believers will give an account of their stewardship and receive reward or suffer loss accordingly.
Stewardship is a comprehensive way of viewing the Christian life. Nothing believers possess is ultimately their own — it is all on loan from God. This truth produces humility, generosity, diligence, and eternal perspective. Faithful stewards live with the awareness that one day they will give an account to their Master, and they aim to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.