Friends I want to write to you today with a message of correction in love. It concerns a misunderstanding of scripture and I believe once light has been shed on this it will broaden your understanding and knowledge of God. I think by now it is clear to you that I believe we are to be spiritual and not fleshly. I believe that to be the big truth that we are to love according to 2 Thessalonians 2. I believe that God is Spirit and wants to rule and reign in us. We are His temple and He deserves the right to rule us because we were bought at a very high cost according to 1 Corinthians 6 and 7.
So let’s get started. I am sure you are all aware of the saying that we are supposed to work with our talents. It is so often used by motivational speakers and bosses and parents and pastors alike. It seems to even be scriptural. But is it? Or is it just another clever trick of the enemy to get us to be fleshly. To find the truth in it we obviously have to go study the scripture it is found in, in context. So in the Gospels, there are two parables of Jesus concerning a certain King that went on a journey to receive a Kingdom and then left some money for His servants to work with. Most people don’t realize that it is actually two parables. They think it is the same parable told just a little differently. That is most definitely not the case! It is in Matthew 25:14 to 30 and then in Luke 19:11 to 27.
I am going to start with Luke for good reason which will become clear later on
Luke 19
12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’
17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’
18 And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’
19 Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.
21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
22 And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’)
26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ “
Now let’s read the parable in Matthew 25 and try and notice the differences.
14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.
18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’
21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’
23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.
27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.
28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
First of all, we need to note the differences in the two parables. In the parable in Luke, there are 10 servants and they each receive one mina. In Matthew, there are only three servants and they receive not the same amount but differing amounts of talents. Five, two and one talent. We have to realize straight away that what we are talking about here is money. A mina is an amount of money and so is a talent. It has nothing to do with being a talented person. Like being a good singer or dancer or businessman. The value of a talent was 60 minas; the value of a mina was 60 shekels. A shekel was almost 3 denarii; a denarius was the daily wage for an unskilled labourer. So 1 mina was equal to 5 months of wages. Whereas 1 talent was equal to more than 20 years of wages. A big sum of money in most people’s eyes.
It is absolutely clear that we are seeing 2 different parables here. In Luke, there are 10 servants who get 1 mina each. Why 10 and why not 11 or 9? Because 10 is the nr of fulfilment. So what the Lord is saying is that the 10 represents the full number of people that are to get the mina. In Luke, it is clear that the Lord was speaking about all believers who were to receive the Holy Spirit. When we believe we receive the Spirit of Jesus in us. He makes us alive again in spirit just like in the Garden of Eden. We are now to obey that Spirit and become spiritual. We are to transform and become like Jesus.
This process of obedience to the Spirit or transforming is how we use the mina. If we then obey we grow in Spirit, which equates to 10 or 5 minas, depending on how much we have grown in obedience to the Spirit of the Lord. In the parable of the minds, the person that did not obey or grew did something strange. He went and kept his mina in a handkerchief or napkin. That is a little misleading because the Greek word used here is “soudarion” and means “sweat cloth”. This was a cloth used to wipe the forehead, as in when sweating from hard work. So what it is saying here is that this believer hid the Spirit away and never obeyed it but rather continued in the flesh.
He was a believer and he probably went to meetings and talked the talk but when it came time to actually change he didn’t. Please remember that works of the flesh cannot please God. Even good works if it is in obedience to the flesh. Only obedience to the Spirit that Jesus gave us when we believed is accepted and more it makes us grow. Some of us will grow more than others but we all need to grow in spirit. The end of the servant that never grew his mina is that he lost it. And we know that the body without the Spirit is dead. Thus this person is twice dead and cannot be led to repentance again. Jesus cannot be crucified again! This person has committed the unpardonable sin and blasphemed the Holy Spirit by being unfaithful to Him. Just as it says in:
Ezekiel 20
27 …”In this too your fathers have blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me.
If we blaspheme the Holy Spirit it can never be forgiven
Mark 3
29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”
So just to recap, the 10 servants are all the believers that get the Spirit called the Word (Jesus). The ones that use this Spirit or exercise it through faith are the ones that grow 10 or 5 fold. They get authority equal to their growth. The wicked servant loses his portion of Spirit which equates to death. The Lord rebukes this man and says he should rather have put his money with the bank. This I believe relates to those who are spiritual and obey the will of the Spirit of God. This wicked servant should rather have gone to these people and asked for guidance and help and the will of the Spirit. In so doing at least there would have been some change or growth. Instead, this believer chose to continue in flesh and works of the flesh, good or bad. This was the perfect example of someone who praised the Lord with his lips but his heart was unrepentant.
One more thing we should realize about this parable is that this certain nobleman went to a far country to receive a Kingdom. I am sure by now we know that this is Christ that went to the Father the day He ascended on high as prophesied in:
Daniel 7
13 ” I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.
It says in the parable that when the Lord returns He will have His enemies slain that did not want Him to rule over them. Now we have to consider this very carefully. First of all, there were certain angels and principalities who did not want Jesus to reign over them. Second, are the believers themselves who did not obey the Spirit. We know by now that if we obey the Spirit the Lord rules and reigns in His temple as King and God, for we are the temple of God. So when He says slay those who did not want me to reign over them He is talking about all the unfaithful spirits or angels and principalities, but also the believers who did not allow Him in His temple and continued on in the flesh!
Oh, dear friend, it is as clear as daylight, if you are still in flesh you need to change. You need to transform and become new and like Christ. That starts by studying the bible because the words that the Lord speaks is Spirit and it brings Spirit. Then you have to be a doer of the word, not just a hearer like the wicked servant who heard and believed but never transformed. If you are like that servant you will perish. You have exactly one lifetime to change, to become a doer of the word. My question to you is how can you become a doer of the word if you don’t even read it. Going to church on Sunday and shooting up a prayer before you go to bed is just not going to do! You need to transform. One lifetime, but you don’t know the length of that lifetime. Don’t wait, start today. Buy out the time as Paul says.
Now if you are not like the wicked servant and you transform something else will happen. Something amazing and awesome. Something that Jesus equates with true riches. Your progress with transformation, by obedience to Spirit through faith, is a process of determining your ability in the spirit. If the wicked servant perishes then what of the other faithful servants? Well, they receive even more of the Spirit of God. This is now where the parable of the talents demonstrates precept or principle. But before we get there I would like to illustrate the situation by using the example of the garden. The tree of life we now know was the Word, one of the Spirits of God. That tree was planted in Adam just like it is planted in us today when we believe. When we eat of this tree we actually receive more of the water (Spirit) of God that was pulled up out of the ground by the tree. God has 7 Spirits and the main Spirit is the Word. It is simple, the more we eat of the Tree of Life the more we receive of the Father. That is the oil of joy that Jesus was anointed with more than any man. That is the true riches, to have the Father dwell in us.
What an amazing idea, that the creator of all things wants to come and live inside of us. Wow! In the parable of the talents, there are only 3 servants and the very first thing we notice is that it says his OWN servants. That is different than in the parable of the minas. So these servants are the ones that were faithful with their minas and have transformed to a certain degree. Some more, some less. This is how he determines how many talents to give them, according to their own ability or according to the degree that they achieved or overcame flesh. Now, remember that a talent is a very large sum of money and not just anyone can get the responsibility. Especially if they were not faithful with little.
Luke 16
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
After this we see basically the same thing happen that happened in the first outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord. Two servants work with this anointing and do the will of the Father once again through faith. They are not afraid to use their anointing and stand in their authority. They receive great reward. In the parable of the minas they received rulership over a few cities. But in the parable of the talents, they become ruler over many things. We all know God has a big Kingdom and if He says the faithful servant gets to rule many things I believe it is MANY! So just to relate the amount of authority or anointing this servant gets responsibility for. Remember 1 talent is more than 20 years of labour wages. So 5 talents are more than 100 years’ worth of wages. I believe that to the degree that he is found faithful with this anointing or presence of the Father his reward will be determined.
Dear friend do you see the wonderful wisdom of the Father, and also how far we miss the mark if we adopt the doctrine of just believing. We cannot just believe and continue to live in the flesh. We run the risk of death if there was not enough transformation. And even worse the risk of losing our awesome reward. Now in the parable of the mina the Lord said the following: well done good servant, you were faithful with little have authority. But now with the talent, the language changes completely. Here He says: well done good AND faithful servant… have rulership…and enter the joy of your Lord. That is very exciting to enter the joy of the Lord. How sad then that there is unfortunately one who does not work with this anointing and authority and responsibility.
This servant believed and worked with the indwelling Spirit and transformed. Transformation means dying to self. Thus this person has laid down his own soul and the flesh. He took up his cross and followed Jesus. He overcame and received the crown of life. He just did not have enough faith to step up into this authority that the Lord anointed him with. He went and buried this anointing in the ground which is the soul of faith. So he was too scared to use his faith and hid it in the ground. In the parable of the minas the wicked servant hid the Spirit in flesh but here it is different. This servant is called wicked and lazy. He was given this amazing anointing but just never had the guts to use it. The Lord commands that he be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Let’s just set something right here. I don’t believe he perishes. This place of outer darkness speaks of a place not so close to the Father. The closer we are to the Lord the closer we are to the light. The weeping and gnashing of teeth speak of absolute and bitter regret! Can you imagine what it will be like to get to judgement and you see this wonderful reward that was yours, but you become disqualified because you were too lazy to do what the Spirit told you? You were too scared to use your God-given authority and stand up in faith. You will most certainly weep and gnash your teeth. This is how Paul says it:
1 Cor 3
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Friends, I pray that the Lord has opened something for you today. I pray that you will receive love for His truth and become what He wants you to be.
1 Cor 15
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
God is Spirit and wants us to serve Him in Spirit and truth. These 2 parables reveal to us that we are to work and exercise the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are most definitely not to exercise our fleshly talents and become even fleshlier. That is a cunningly devised lie to mislead us straight back into satan’s kingdom which is the flesh!!
Yours in faith
Fanie Steynberg
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