"[...] Every believer is a saint, every saint is a minister... We are made sons of God once, we are sanctified once, we are made His righteousness once, but we undergo the process of being made a minister."
A steward is one who administrates the mystery revealed. The word "administration" comes from the Greek word "Oikonomos" and it speaks of an economy; the manner in which resources are distributed for the functioning of a government. Paul explains this term "administration" in Colossians 1 as a dispensation of the mystery. TO BE an administrator of the mystery, one is to UNDERSTAND some key cardinal points highlighted in the following writings of Paul to the Ephesians:
"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the [a] dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already," Ephesians 3:1-3 NKJV
When Paul says that he was made a prisoner of Christ, he is speaking about his unwavering commitment to take quality time to explain the mystery revealed everywhere he went so that all Men come to the understanding of that which was PROVIDED in Christ. Paul's entire life, mandate, message, and race was to minister Christ to the Gentiles. He understood the benefits that come with the Gospel which are hope and peace. The Hope of the Gospel is a manner of living that SUPERSEDES the five physical senses. As long as our life on this physical sphere is still dictated by our five physical senses, we won't EXPERIENCE the benefits that come with the Gospel, nor the untold experience in terms of expressing Christ to others.
In this Podcast episode, Dr Annie Smith reminds us of our sonship vocation which is to reveal the Son in us. To be made a minister requires a predisposition of the heart to learn by experience what it means to be a prisoner of Christ in this dispensation of the grace of God. In our maturing process in the understanding of the mystery revealed in the saints, we learn that the liberty that we obtain from Christ comes with responsibility and the rendering of account so much so that our lives can no longer be led according to our needs or physical senses.