I.　The Triune God is the faithful One—1 Thes. 5:24; Rev. 19:11; Gal. 5:22:

A.　God is faithful—1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 1:9; 1 Thes. 5:23-24; 2 Cor. 1:18-19; 2 Tim. 2:13:

1.　In His faithfulness God has called us into the fellowship, the participation, of His Son—1 Cor. 1:9.

2.　God is faithful in His word, the word of the truth of His gospel, which tells us that He will forgive us of our sins because of Christ—1 John 1:9-10; Eph. 1:13; Acts 10:43.

3.　The faithful God has called us, and He will sanctify us wholly and preserve our entire being complete—1 Thes. 5:23-24.

4.　If we are faithless, God remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself; He cannot deny His nature and His being—2 Tim. 2:13.

B.　Christ is faithful and true; He is the Amen, the faithful and true Witness; and He is the faithful High Priest—Rev. 19:11; 3:14; Heb. 2:17:

1.　In Revelation 19:11 Christ is called "Faithful and True":

a.　Christ is faithful to God and to those who believe in Him.

b.　He is also true in carrying out God's economy and in caring for those who believe in Him.

2.　In 3:14 Christ is "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness:

a.　Amen, from Hebrew, means "firm," "steadfast," or "trustworthy."

b.　The Lord is the firm, steadfast, and trustworthy One; hence, He is the faithful and true Witness.

3.　Hebrews 2:17 says that Christ is a "faithful High Priest"; He is the faithful High Priest because He is the almighty God.

C.　Faithfulness is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit—Gal. 5:22; 2 Cor. 4:13.

II.　As serving ones—servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:4)—we should be found faithful in our service—1 Cor. 4:1-2; Luke 16:1-13; 2 Cor. 1:18-19; Matt. 24:45-51; 25:14-30:

A.　The Greek word for "steward" is of the same root as the word for "economy" in 1 Timothy 1:4 and Ephesians 1:10:

1.　It means "a dispensing steward," "a household administrator, who dis-penses the household supply to its members."

2.　A steward is a dispenser, one who dispenses the divine life supply to God's children—Luke 12:42; 16:1; Titus 1:7; 1 Pet. 4:10.

B.　In the dispensing ministry it is most important that stewards be found faith-ful—1 Cor. 4:2; Luke 12:42; Matt. 24:45; 25:21, 23; Luke 16:10-12; 19:17;1 Cor. 7:25; Eph. 6:21; Col. 1:7; 4:7, 9; 1 Tim. 1:12; 3:11; 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Pet. 5:12; Rev. 2:10, 13; 17:14:

1.　Faithfulness means fidelity, trustworthiness—Gal. 5:22; Titus 2:10.

2.　Faithfulness is shown toward the Lord and is for reigning in the kingdom— Matt. 24:45, 47.

C.　Paul's word in 1 Corinthians 4:2-5 indicates that he was a faithful steward, not caring for the criticism of others nor criticizing himself but leaving the entire situation with the Lord.

D.　In this age the believers in Christ should exercise to be faithful in the tempo-rary material things that God has given them so that they may learn to be faithful toward their eternal possession in the coming age—Luke 16:1-13:

1.　If we would serve the Lord, we must overcome the enticing, deceitful mam-mon of unrighteousness—vv. 9, 13.

2.　To serve the Lord requires us to love Him, giving our heart to Him, and to cleave to Him, giving our entire being to Him; thus, we are released from being occupied and usurped by mammon so that we may serve the Lord wholly and fully—v. 13.

E.　If we would be faithful in our service, we need to be one with the faithful God—2 Cor. 1:18-19; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 1 Thes. 5:24; 2 Thes. 3:3; 2 Tim. 2:13; Heb. 10:23; 1 Pet. 4:19; Heb. 3:6; Rev. 1:5; 3:14; 19:11; Gal. 5:22:

1.　In order to be faithful, we need not only virtue but also ability; we may have the desire to be faithful, but we lack the ability to be faithful.

2.　Only God can be fully faithful, and we can be faithful only by being one with Him as the faithful God—2 Cor. 1:18-19:

a.　Because God is faithful, the word of the apostles' preaching was not yes and no, and they were not fickle persons of yes and no—vv. 17-18.

b.　God is faithful, never changing, especially in His promises concerning Christ; the apostles were one with the faithful God, and thus their word concerning Christ was likewise faithful and never changing, because the very Christ whom God promised in His faithful word and whom they preached in their gospel did not become yes and no—v. 19.

c.　The apostles preached Christ and lived Christ, in whom is the Yes; therefore, they were not men of yes and no but men who were the same as Christ—vv. 19-20.

F.　As serving ones, we must be faithful in service in the Lord's commission and in His gifts—Matt. 24:45-51; 25:14-30:

1.　We must be faithful in service in the Lord's commission to give God as food to the members of His household so that we may receive the reward of the coming kingdom—24:45-51:

a.　Household refers to the believers, who constitute the church—Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15.

b.　Give them food refers to ministering the word of God and Christ as the life supply to the believers in the church.

c.　In Matthew 24:46 blessed refers to being rewarded with the authority to rule in the manifestation of the kingdom.

2.　We must be faithful in service in the Lord's gifts to make a profit for Him so that we may enter into the joy of the Lord in the coming kingdom— 25:14-30:

a.　Slaves (v. 14) signify believers viewed from the aspect of service—1 Cor. 7:22-23; 2 Pet. 1:1.

b.　In Matthew 25:14 his possessions signifies the church with all the believers as God's household—24:45; Eph. 1:18.

c.　Gained another five (talents) and gained another two (talents) signify that the gift we received from the Lord has been used to the fullest extent, without any loss or waste—Matt. 25:16-17.

d.　The joy of your master signifies the enjoyment of the Lord in the coming kingdom—vv. 21, 23: 1) This refers to inward satisfaction, not to outward position. 2) To participate in the Lord's joy is the greatest reward, better than the glory and position in the kingdom.