Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
Parallel translations
- WEB Here, moreover, it is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.
- KJV Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
- NKJV Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
- NASB In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
- NLT Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The one essential quality required of a steward is faithfulness. It matters because God measures ministers by faithfulness to His trust, not by popularity or apparent success.
Overview
A steward managed his master's resources and was judged solely by trustworthiness in carrying out the owner's will. Paul applies this to gospel ministry: the standard is faithfulness to the truth entrusted, not eloquence, results, or human acclaim. This frees ministers from chasing applause and calls every believer entrusted with God's grace to faithful stewardship before Christ the Master.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 25:21His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
- Luke 12:42And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
- Luke 16:10–12Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
- Prov 13:17A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.
- 2 Cor 2:17For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- Matt 25:23His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
- Num 12:7But this is not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house.
- Col 4:17Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
- Col 1:7You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
- 1 Cor 7:25Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
- 1 Cor 4:17That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church.
- Col 4:7Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.
- 2 Cor 4:2Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 4:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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