Category Archives: Giving

When God Uses Unbelievers as Conduits of Grace

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God shows kindness to all people through what theologians often call common grace. Jesus said the Father “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). Paul likewise told unbelieving Gentiles that God “did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). The creation is fallen because of sin (Rom. 8:20-22), yet God still uses it to provide food, rain, beauty, pleasure, and countless other blessings. The same principle applies to people. God can use unbelievers – fallen people who may neither acknowledge nor thank Him – as instruments of His providential goodness toward others. Their good works do not save them, nor does their service necessarily honor God in motive, but God can still accomplish genuine temporal good through what they do.

Scripture repeatedly shows God using unbelievers to bless His people. Pharaoh enriched Abraham (Gen. 12:16, 20). Pharaoh later elevated Joseph and, through him, provided for Jacob’s family during a period of famine (Gen. 41:39-43; 47:11-12). Pharaoh’s daughter rescued Moses from death (Ex. 2:5-10). Cyrus permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). Artaxerxes supplied Nehemiah with resources to rebuild Jerusalem (Neh. 2:7-9). A Roman commander protected Paul from an angry mob (Acts 21:31-33), and Julius the centurion treated him with kindness (Acts 27:3). These unbelievers did not need to understand God’s purposes in order to serve them. God is sovereign over believer and unbeliever alike. He can move hearts, open doors, provide resources, restrain evil, and use fallen people as conduits of His grace to bless His people.

Unbelievers can therefore serve as conduits of God’s common grace even when God is absent from their thinking, words, and plans. They may look entirely to government, organizations, human ingenuity, or themselves for solutions, yet God can still use their efforts to accomplish genuine good. A meal delivered to a hungry person is still a blessing. A wheelchair ramp built for a disabled person still improves that person’s life. A compassionate worker who helps someone obtain needed services may unknowingly become an instrument of God’s providential care. God may also grant His people favor in the eyes of unbelievers, using them to provide assistance, opportunities, protection, or other blessings. After Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison (Gen. 39:11-20), we are told, “the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer” (Gen. 39:21). The unbeliever may never recognize God’s hand in what he is doing, but God remains sovereign over both His fallen creation and fallen humanity. God can use whomever He chooses, knowingly or unknowingly, as a conduit of His grace to bless others.

Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

If this article has enriched your understanding and walk with Christ, and you feel led to support my ministry, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Your gifts enable me to continue sharing the gospel of grace and providing in-depth biblical teachings. Thank you for partnering with me in this mission.

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Support for Ministry

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Since 1990, I have followed the rhythm of working a full-time “tent-making” job while devoting my available hours to volunteer ministry. Like Paul, who labored with his hands making tents to provide for his needs (Acts 18:3), I work as a full-time Case Manager for a local nonprofit to meet my daily obligations, devoting my mornings, evenings, and weekends to studying, writing, and sharing biblical truth. Like Paul, this arrangement allows me to minister freely without placing a financial burden on anyone (Acts 20:33-34). At the same time, I know from Scripture that it is entirely biblical for God’s servants to receive support, for “the one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him” (Gal 6:6). While I often work with my own hands, I also gratefully receive help when the Lord moves others to give financially, just as Paul accepted such provision as a genuine expression of partnership in the gospel (Phil 4:14-16).

The example of Jesus and His disciples demonstrates that those engaged in full-time ministry are biblically supported by the generosity of believers. Luke records that certain women, having been blessed by the Lord, traveled with Him and His disciples, and “were contributing to their support out of their private means” (Luke 8:1-3). Such financial gifts functioned as personal investments in the work of the ministry. In the same way, gifts given toward a teaching ministry today meet practical needs while also representing active participation in the gospel mission. As in Paul’s partnership with the Philippians “in the matter of giving and receiving” (Phil 4:15), such support reflects faith in action and is a cause for thanksgiving to God.

Support for ministry takes many forms, including prayer, encouragement, and material provision. Prayer remains essential, as Paul urged, “Brethren, pray for us” (2 Th 3:1), demonstrating the spiritual strength that comes from intercession. Encouragement, likewise, fulfills the biblical mandate to “encourage one another and build up one another” (1 Th 5:11), often renewing the resolve of those in service. Material provision meets immediate needs but also yields spiritual fruit for the giver, as Paul explained: “Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account” (Phil 4:17). God promises that “the generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered” (Prov 11:25), and that He will not forget “your work and the love which you have shown toward His name” (Heb 6:10). Scripture affirms that “he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully… for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:6-7), and that “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Cor 9:10). According to Ryrie, “God will supply the generous giver with enough to meet his own needs and enough to give for every good deed. Acts of giving bring rewards in this life and the one to come. The generous giver will be given increasing means to give (multiply your seed for sowing) and increasing fruit.”[1]

Bivocational ministry exemplifies the reality that gospel work is a shared endeavor. When believers pray, encourage, or give, they actively participate in the mission, becoming partners in the eternal fruit produced through the proclamation of God’s Word. Paul described such partnership as “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God” (Phil 4:18), accompanied by the assurance that “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). Gospel partnership unites those who go, those who give, and those who pray in the common purpose of making Christ known and glorifying Him through the wise stewardship of time, energy, and resources entrusted by God.

Steven R. Cook, D.Min., M.Div.

If this article has enriched your understanding and walk with Christ, and you feel led to support my ministry, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Your gifts enable me to continue sharing the gospel of grace and providing in-depth biblical teachings. Thank you for partnering with me in this mission.

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[1] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, Expanded ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 1857.