As every man hath received the gift
That is, from God, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions add. This
is a general rule laid down by the apostle, according to which,
distribution of every kind, whether in things temporal or
spiritual, is to be made, even according to the nature, quality,
and quantity of the gift received: the greatest gift God bestows
on men, next to himself, Son, and Spirit, and received by them in
this life, is special grace; which God gives of his sovereign
will and pleasure, liberally, abundantly, without the deserts of
men, or conditions to be performed by them; of this kind are
faith, repentance, hope, and love: the next to this is the
ministerial gift, or what qualifies men for the work of the
ministry; which is not anything in nature, or what is acquired by
art and industry, but is a gift of grace, which is bestowed on
some in a higher, on others in a lower degree: and besides these,
there are the gifts of nature and providence, as human wisdom,
and the knowledge of things natural and civil, riches and wealth,
and the various good things of life; for there is nothing a man
has in nature and in grace but what is a gift to him, and what he
has received: and according to the measure of the gift received,
be it what it will, the exhortation is,
even so minister the same one to another;
or to, and among yourselves; to your neighbours or companions, as
the Syriac, version renders it; if the gift be special grace
though that itself cannot be imparted from one to another, yet
the knowledge of it may; and it becomes such who have an
experience of the grace of God upon their hearts to make it
known, both to particular friends in private conversation, and to
the church of God in public, for the use and edification of
others, and the glory of God's grace: if the gift be a
ministerial one, whether it be greater or less, for it is not in
all alike, it is not to be wrapped up in a napkin, and hid in the
earth, or to lie neglected, but to be stirred up, and used for
the benefit of the souls of men: and if it is a temporal one, the
good things of this life, according to the measure of them, that
a man has, he is to minister to the supply of the poor; and as
God has prospered him, he is to distribute to the necessities of
others; as men freely receive, be it what it will, they should
freely minister it, according to the nature and measure of it:
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God;
for they are but stewards of whatsoever gifts they have; and
therefore, if they would approve themselves good stewards, they
should minister the same in proportion to their reception of
them. Manifold and various are the graces of the Spirit of God,
and the rich experiences communicated to men, which are not only
for themselves, but for the good of others also: gifts for public
usefulness are different one from another; one man has one gift,
and another has another; or the same gift is not alike in all, in
some greater, and in others less; and all are but stewards: they
are accountable for them, and the use of them, to their great
Lord and master: and various are the doctrines of the grace of
God; of the grace of the Father in election, in the everlasting
covenant, in the mission of his Son, in the free justification of
sinners by his righteousness, in the free and full pardon of all
their sins, in the adoption of any into his family, and in the
gift of eternal life; and of the Son of God, in engaging as the
surety of his people from everlasting, in assuming their nature
in time, in obeying, suffering, and dying in their room and
stead; and of the Spirit of God in regeneration and
sanctification; and of all these mysteries of grace the ministers
of the Gospel are stewards; and it is required of them that they
be faithful. Temporal good things are given to men, not for their
own use only, but for others; and they are but stewards of them;
the original proprietor is God, and to him they must give an
account of their stewardship, and how they have used and disposed
of the manifold gifts which God of his goodness has put into
their hands; so that this last clause contains a reason or
argument enforcing the above rule.