And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
The second servant comes to his lord to report that the one sum entrusted to him has grown by five more through trading, in the parable that bids servants put what is given to active use until the master returns. Both the original sum and its increase belong to the Lord, for He supplies the capital and enables success, so no credit goes to the servant and all praise goes to Him. What is entrusted must be worked with day by day and not buried or selfishly withheld, because Christ at His coming closely examines every person's use and requires His own with increase. The fivefold gain is met with authority over five cities, showing that reward is measured by faithfulness in improving the trust rather than by how much was given, and that returning the trust earns no merit though judgment proceeds exactly according to works.
Words and Setting
The second servant comes before his lord and reports that the pound entrusted to him has gained five pounds more through trading. His return is measured by faithful use of what his lord had given him, and for that faithfulness he is rewarded with authority over five cities. When God calls people to account for what He has entrusted to them, they are to be able to show that they used it wisely and returned an increase to Him. The gain comes only by trading with what the Lord supplied, so the servant must give God the credit, since without the initial deposit there could have been no gain at all. Returning the trust with its increase does not buy heaven or earn personal merit, yet the Lord has a day of reckoning when returns are assessed.
The returns are assessed in relation to individual trusts, for God accepts faithful use according to what each person has rather than demanding the same increase from everyone. Each servant must put what the master entrusts to him to work rather than hiding it, and his labor with means and influence is assessed when the master returns, with reward proportionate to zeal, faithfulness, and success. Entrusted abilities are therefore to be worked wisely and increased instead of buried.
The saying belongs to the parable of the pounds in Luke 19:11-27, which lays on stewards the responsibility to trade with their Lord's goods and render them back with increase when called to account. What God entrusts is to be put to use rather than hidden away, with money, ability, and influence helping to spread the light of truth to people in darkness and to build His kingdom. Mere profession and church membership alone do not secure entrance into heaven, for each person is accountable for obeying God's will, developing Christian character, and helping others in the work of salvation. The Lord entrusts talents including houses, lands, and money to be invested in doing good and advancing His cause, especially in saving souls, so that even one rescued soul makes the effort worthwhile. Though people are entrusted with different amounts, even the single talent and the smaller trust have a place for service and must be put to use, and no one given little should conclude it is too small to accomplish anything or delay using it until death.
Ownership of Pound and Gain
The pound is the Lord's property and not the servant's, held by grace as stewards of His grace and custodians of His goods. It includes means and ability, houses and lands, money, the light of truth and all spiritual advantages, for the vineyard and the gold and silver are His. All that is possessed is a loan from Christ, who purchased soul, body, spirit, time, gifts and offerings to secure willing service in saving souls. Talents are given in trust to every person individually, from the lowliest and most obscure to those in highest positions, proportioned to varied capabilities.
Without the initial deposit there could be no gain or interest. The Lord supplies the capital and enables success in using His entrusted talents, so the servant takes no credit for the increase. The praise and glory belong to the Lord, and returning what was entrusted does not buy heaven or earn personal merit.
God Himself originates the plans for advancing His work and gives His people a surplus of means for that purpose. When He calls for help they give what He has lent them, so that the Lord's pound gains other pounds. Both the capital and the increase belong to Him and not to themselves.
The pound represents resources entrusted by God, and its gain shows faithful use of those resources for the advancement of His work and His kingdom. Stewardship means acting in the master's interests rather than turning the entrusted goods to one's own advantage. What is held is to be put out to use and not degraded to selfish use, selfish extravagance, misuse, misapplication, or selfish aims, but employed in doing good with the high aim of doing the Master's service and promoting His glory, where even the lowliest talents and humblest service become a consecrated gift.
Faithful Trading and Accountability
What is entrusted must be put to work and traded with actively, day by day and hour by hour, not buried, hidden, hoarded, or selfishly withheld. Hiding what is given is unfaithfulness that retards His work, brings His displeasure, and loses the soul. Money, ability, and influence are to help spread the light of truth to people in darkness, and abilities put to work in ministering to others help make Christ known and bring good to the Master.
Christ at His coming closely examines the use made of every talent, asking whether the capital has been improved so that He receives His own with increase and with usury. He reckons with each responsible person, requires an account of what was done with His goods, and expects results from everyone. There is no second probation to follow, and present work for time and eternity writes the record in the books of heaven and prepares reward or punishment, with reward proportionate to the work done.
Mere profession of faith in Christ has no value in that reckoning, and church membership alone does not secure entrance into heaven. Nothing counts as genuine except love shown by works, with each person accountable for obeying God's will, developing Christian character, and helping others in the work of salvation. Returns are assessed in relation to individual trusts, for God accepts faithful use according to what each person has rather than demanding the same increase from everyone or what a person has not been given. Greater gifts bring greater responsibility, and even one talent or a little must be used rather than concluded too small to accomplish anything or to do nothing with.
Using the gifts aright increases capability, for talents increase through use. Exercise makes the servant more and better qualified to trade and accumulate and brings greater power and increasing ability through consecrated service, while neglecting them means losing what could have multiplied and losing all power to germinate unless the seed sown struggles up through the soil springing into life. A servant means a worker bearing cares, burdens and responsibilities, united with Christ by living faith as a laborer together with God to return the investment with usury. Servants are justified by faith and judged by their works, for faith works by love and purifies the soul of moral defilement that it may become a temple for the Lord and a complete worker improved in character and ability according to privileges and opportunities.
The work and accountability belong to each individual and cannot be transferred to another, surrendered to another, or taken over by human judgment. Each must manage his own entrusted means and talents rather than surrendering that responsibility, using what God has given according to ability and opportunity, where small gifts can be used faithfully just as larger ones can and even one entrusted with one may through wisdom and care gain more and becomes responsible for the additional opportunities gained.
Reward According to Faithfulness
The report of five pounds gained brings authority over five cities, for responsibility and reward are given in proportion to how faithfully the entrusted trust has been improved. The return is measured by faithful use of what was lent, and each servant must put it to work with means and influence and give account when the master returns. That reckoning assesses zeal, faithfulness and success, and the reward is proportionate to the increase made and to the work done. Trading goes on day by day and hour by hour with no second probation to follow, and at His coming Christ requires His own with results from every responsible person, while present work writes the record in the books of heaven and prepares reward or punishment. Gifts are given according to ability, greater gifts bringing greater responsibility, yet God does not demand what a person has not been given, and the value of the work lies in faithfulness rather than in how much was entrusted.
Eternal rewards are purchased by Christ, and returning the trust does not buy heaven or earn personal merit. The gain comes only by trading with what the Lord supplied, for without it nothing could have been gained, so credit for the increase belongs to God. Judgment nevertheless proceeds accurately according to works, and lack of zeal affects its decisions, while those who prove faithful receive His reward. Wealth is entrusted for His service and not for selfish indulgence or needless display, and to divert it from His work is to become an unfaithful steward whom God examines. The Lord's day of reckoning is when the returns are assessed.
The Lord commends diligent, honest service rather than the size of the gift, and He increases the gifts entrusted to those who trust and serve Him. Those who refuse to connect with Him and to serve and trade upon His gifts are unfaithful in rendering His own and will not long keep the blessing of what was entrusted. Even one entrusted with one talent may through wisdom and care gain more, and talents increase through use, with responsibility for the additional opportunities gained. Each person is accountable according to known ability and opportunity.
Application in Life and Mission
Means, abilities and influence are lent by God to each person as a faithful steward to use personally in His cause during his own lifetime, and that work is not to be left for children to do. What is lent is to be invested in doing good and advancing His cause, especially in saving souls, and not buried, hidden, or delayed in its use until death. Wealth so entrusted is for His service and not for selfish indulgence or needless display, and to divert it from God's work is to become an unfaithful steward. When the Master calls stewards to account the faithful will render back to Him both what was lent as principal and the gain made with it as interest, for He examines how people use what He entrusts and rewards those who prove faithful.
Faithful partnership with Him means trading upon what is entrusted by giving tithes into His treasury with gifts and offerings, practicing frugality and self-denial, and doing all that can be done to give the message of truth not only in the home neighborhood but in regions beyond. God's money and means are His talent given to be put to active use to build up and advance His one cause where the field is in greatest need, east or west, north or south, with no selfish human restrictions. To hide the talent, bury it, embezzle and misappropriate it, and divert it into channels that bind it away from the work brings His displeasure, dishonors Him and hinders His work. Those who refuse so to connect with Him and trade upon His gifts disregard His charge and will not long keep the blessing of what was entrusted.
The gain is to be realized by looking over affairs and at once giving back His own, whether large sums or only a small amount, to help His suffering institutions out of embarrassment. That includes supporting institutions that care for the sick and advance the gospel, in view of the soon coming of the Lord and the day of reward when every talent and pound of means and property lent must be returned to Him with usury and used for His glory. Money so given for relief is placed in the hands of Christ Himself in the person of His afflicted brethren, and rightly employing property in this way carries eternal consequences. If His people do their part in this time of special need, angels will be commissioned to help.
Disciples cannot remain slothful servants but must work, watching for opportunity to represent the truth to others, to spread the light of truth to people in darkness, and to win souls to Jesus Christ. Money, ability and influence are entrusted to be put to use rather than hidden away, and to be used for His work and the salvation of others, with faithful service producing an increase that can be returned to the Master. Even one soul rescued makes the effort worthwhile, so the single talent is needed and has its place for service. Even service with little is valuable to God, for the value of the work lies in faithfulness and not in how much was entrusted.
Faithfulness in bringing the money lent into His treasury when help is needed causes His work to advance rapidly, wins many souls to the truth, and hastens the day of Christ's coming. Both the capital and the increase belong to the Lord and not to those who hold them, for He Himself originated the plan for advancing His work and provided His people a surplus of means so they can answer Him in this way. God's people are therefore to respond when help is needed by returning what they have been entrusted with, increased through faithful service.
Entrusted abilities and spiritual advantages are to be developed and returned to Him increased by putting them to work in ministering to others to make Christ known. This is the duty of using entrusted gifts for His glory and not for selfish purposes, with each person responsible in proportion to what is received, and through consecrated service increasing ability can be developed. It calls for mental and moral improvement, for growing in grace and knowledge, for seeking His wisdom, and for cherishing love of the truth and sanctification through the truth that banishes avarice, overreaching and every dishonesty. Hiding such gifts is unfaithfulness, while exercising them brings greater increase of capability.
The same stewardship applies to specific callings. The minister's wife has gifts entrusted by God for which she is accountable, and she should work earnestly and in unity with her husband to save souls, willingly sacrificing personal wishes, pleasures and natural tastes for that work. Those given the ability to write are to use it faithfully and wisely as stewards, investing where His Spirit indicates, putting talents to work according to ability so that their increase serves God's cause.
The second servant comes to his lord to report that the one sum entrusted to him has grown by five more through trading, in the parable that bids servants put what is given to active use until the master returns.
Both the original sum and its increase belong to the Lord, for He supplies the capital and enables success, so no credit goes to the servant and all praise goes to Him.
What is entrusted must be worked with day by day and not buried or selfishly withheld, because Christ at His coming closely examines every person's use and requires His own with increase.
The fivefold gain is met with authority over five cities, showing that reward is measured by faithfulness in improving the trust rather than by how much was given, and that returning the trust earns no merit though judgment proceeds exactly according to works.
Words and Setting
The second servant comes before his lord and reports that the pound entrusted to him has gained five pounds more through trading. His return is measured by faithful use of what his lord had given him, and for that faithfulness he is rewarded with authority over five cities. When God calls people to account for what He has entrusted to them, they are to be able to show that they used it wisely and returned an increase to Him. The gain comes only by trading with what the Lord supplied, so the servant must give God the credit, since without the initial deposit there could have been no gain at all. Returning the trust with its increase does not buy heaven or earn personal merit, yet the Lord has a day of reckoning when returns are assessed.
The returns are assessed in relation to individual trusts, for God accepts faithful use according to what each person has rather than demanding the same increase from everyone. Each servant must put what the master entrusts to him to work rather than hiding it, and his labor with means and influence is assessed when the master returns, with reward proportionate to zeal, faithfulness, and success. Entrusted abilities are therefore to be worked wisely and increased instead of buried.
The saying belongs to the parable of the pounds in Luke 19:11-27, which lays on stewards the responsibility to trade with their Lord's goods and render them back with increase when called to account. What God entrusts is to be put to use rather than hidden away, with money, ability, and influence helping to spread the light of truth to people in darkness and to build His kingdom. Mere profession and church membership alone do not secure entrance into heaven, for each person is accountable for obeying God's will, developing Christian character, and helping others in the work of salvation. The Lord entrusts talents including houses, lands, and money to be invested in doing good and advancing His cause, especially in saving souls, so that even one rescued soul makes the effort worthwhile. Though people are entrusted with different amounts, even the single talent and the smaller trust have a place for service and must be put to use, and no one given little should conclude it is too small to accomplish anything or delay using it until death.
Ownership of Pound and Gain
The pound is the Lord's property and not the servant's, held by grace as stewards of His grace and custodians of His goods. It includes means and ability, houses and lands, money, the light of truth and all spiritual advantages, for the vineyard and the gold and silver are His. All that is possessed is a loan from Christ, who purchased soul, body, spirit, time, gifts and offerings to secure willing service in saving souls. Talents are given in trust to every person individually, from the lowliest and most obscure to those in highest positions, proportioned to varied capabilities.
Without the initial deposit there could be no gain or interest. The Lord supplies the capital and enables success in using His entrusted talents, so the servant takes no credit for the increase. The praise and glory belong to the Lord, and returning what was entrusted does not buy heaven or earn personal merit.
God Himself originates the plans for advancing His work and gives His people a surplus of means for that purpose. When He calls for help they give what He has lent them, so that the Lord's pound gains other pounds. Both the capital and the increase belong to Him and not to themselves.
The pound represents resources entrusted by God, and its gain shows faithful use of those resources for the advancement of His work and His kingdom. Stewardship means acting in the master's interests rather than turning the entrusted goods to one's own advantage. What is held is to be put out to use and not degraded to selfish use, selfish extravagance, misuse, misapplication, or selfish aims, but employed in doing good with the high aim of doing the Master's service and promoting His glory, where even the lowliest talents and humblest service become a consecrated gift.
Faithful Trading and Accountability
What is entrusted must be put to work and traded with actively, day by day and hour by hour, not buried, hidden, hoarded, or selfishly withheld. Hiding what is given is unfaithfulness that retards His work, brings His displeasure, and loses the soul. Money, ability, and influence are to help spread the light of truth to people in darkness, and abilities put to work in ministering to others help make Christ known and bring good to the Master.
Christ at His coming closely examines the use made of every talent, asking whether the capital has been improved so that He receives His own with increase and with usury. He reckons with each responsible person, requires an account of what was done with His goods, and expects results from everyone. There is no second probation to follow, and present work for time and eternity writes the record in the books of heaven and prepares reward or punishment, with reward proportionate to the work done.
Mere profession of faith in Christ has no value in that reckoning, and church membership alone does not secure entrance into heaven. Nothing counts as genuine except love shown by works, with each person accountable for obeying God's will, developing Christian character, and helping others in the work of salvation. Returns are assessed in relation to individual trusts, for God accepts faithful use according to what each person has rather than demanding the same increase from everyone or what a person has not been given. Greater gifts bring greater responsibility, and even one talent or a little must be used rather than concluded too small to accomplish anything or to do nothing with.
Using the gifts aright increases capability, for talents increase through use. Exercise makes the servant more and better qualified to trade and accumulate and brings greater power and increasing ability through consecrated service, while neglecting them means losing what could have multiplied and losing all power to germinate unless the seed sown struggles up through the soil springing into life. A servant means a worker bearing cares, burdens and responsibilities, united with Christ by living faith as a laborer together with God to return the investment with usury. Servants are justified by faith and judged by their works, for faith works by love and purifies the soul of moral defilement that it may become a temple for the Lord and a complete worker improved in character and ability according to privileges and opportunities.
The work and accountability belong to each individual and cannot be transferred to another, surrendered to another, or taken over by human judgment. Each must manage his own entrusted means and talents rather than surrendering that responsibility, using what God has given according to ability and opportunity, where small gifts can be used faithfully just as larger ones can and even one entrusted with one may through wisdom and care gain more and becomes responsible for the additional opportunities gained.
Reward According to Faithfulness
The report of five pounds gained brings authority over five cities, for responsibility and reward are given in proportion to how faithfully the entrusted trust has been improved. The return is measured by faithful use of what was lent, and each servant must put it to work with means and influence and give account when the master returns. That reckoning assesses zeal, faithfulness and success, and the reward is proportionate to the increase made and to the work done. Trading goes on day by day and hour by hour with no second probation to follow, and at His coming Christ requires His own with results from every responsible person, while present work writes the record in the books of heaven and prepares reward or punishment. Gifts are given according to ability, greater gifts bringing greater responsibility, yet God does not demand what a person has not been given, and the value of the work lies in faithfulness rather than in how much was entrusted.
Eternal rewards are purchased by Christ, and returning the trust does not buy heaven or earn personal merit. The gain comes only by trading with what the Lord supplied, for without it nothing could have been gained, so credit for the increase belongs to God. Judgment nevertheless proceeds accurately according to works, and lack of zeal affects its decisions, while those who prove faithful receive His reward. Wealth is entrusted for His service and not for selfish indulgence or needless display, and to divert it from His work is to become an unfaithful steward whom God examines. The Lord's day of reckoning is when the returns are assessed.
The Lord commends diligent, honest service rather than the size of the gift, and He increases the gifts entrusted to those who trust and serve Him. Those who refuse to connect with Him and to serve and trade upon His gifts are unfaithful in rendering His own and will not long keep the blessing of what was entrusted. Even one entrusted with one talent may through wisdom and care gain more, and talents increase through use, with responsibility for the additional opportunities gained. Each person is accountable according to known ability and opportunity.
Application in Life and Mission
Means, abilities and influence are lent by God to each person as a faithful steward to use personally in His cause during his own lifetime, and that work is not to be left for children to do. What is lent is to be invested in doing good and advancing His cause, especially in saving souls, and not buried, hidden, or delayed in its use until death. Wealth so entrusted is for His service and not for selfish indulgence or needless display, and to divert it from God's work is to become an unfaithful steward. When the Master calls stewards to account the faithful will render back to Him both what was lent as principal and the gain made with it as interest, for He examines how people use what He entrusts and rewards those who prove faithful.
Faithful partnership with Him means trading upon what is entrusted by giving tithes into His treasury with gifts and offerings, practicing frugality and self-denial, and doing all that can be done to give the message of truth not only in the home neighborhood but in regions beyond. God's money and means are His talent given to be put to active use to build up and advance His one cause where the field is in greatest need, east or west, north or south, with no selfish human restrictions. To hide the talent, bury it, embezzle and misappropriate it, and divert it into channels that bind it away from the work brings His displeasure, dishonors Him and hinders His work. Those who refuse so to connect with Him and trade upon His gifts disregard His charge and will not long keep the blessing of what was entrusted.
The gain is to be realized by looking over affairs and at once giving back His own, whether large sums or only a small amount, to help His suffering institutions out of embarrassment. That includes supporting institutions that care for the sick and advance the gospel, in view of the soon coming of the Lord and the day of reward when every talent and pound of means and property lent must be returned to Him with usury and used for His glory. Money so given for relief is placed in the hands of Christ Himself in the person of His afflicted brethren, and rightly employing property in this way carries eternal consequences. If His people do their part in this time of special need, angels will be commissioned to help.
Disciples cannot remain slothful servants but must work, watching for opportunity to represent the truth to others, to spread the light of truth to people in darkness, and to win souls to Jesus Christ. Money, ability and influence are entrusted to be put to use rather than hidden away, and to be used for His work and the salvation of others, with faithful service producing an increase that can be returned to the Master. Even one soul rescued makes the effort worthwhile, so the single talent is needed and has its place for service. Even service with little is valuable to God, for the value of the work lies in faithfulness and not in how much was entrusted.
Faithfulness in bringing the money lent into His treasury when help is needed causes His work to advance rapidly, wins many souls to the truth, and hastens the day of Christ's coming. Both the capital and the increase belong to the Lord and not to those who hold them, for He Himself originated the plan for advancing His work and provided His people a surplus of means so they can answer Him in this way. God's people are therefore to respond when help is needed by returning what they have been entrusted with, increased through faithful service.
Entrusted abilities and spiritual advantages are to be developed and returned to Him increased by putting them to work in ministering to others to make Christ known. This is the duty of using entrusted gifts for His glory and not for selfish purposes, with each person responsible in proportion to what is received, and through consecrated service increasing ability can be developed. It calls for mental and moral improvement, for growing in grace and knowledge, for seeking His wisdom, and for cherishing love of the truth and sanctification through the truth that banishes avarice, overreaching and every dishonesty. Hiding such gifts is unfaithfulness, while exercising them brings greater increase of capability.
The same stewardship applies to specific callings. The minister's wife has gifts entrusted by God for which she is accountable, and she should work earnestly and in unity with her husband to save souls, willingly sacrificing personal wishes, pleasures and natural tastes for that work. Those given the ability to write are to use it faithfully and wisely as stewards, investing where His Spirit indicates, putting talents to work according to ability so that their increase serves God's cause.