but because the people refused to listen and were unworthy.—Matt. 13:58.

CHRISTIAN FAITH

Faith is not the possession of all persons, as it is a fruitage of God’s spirit. (2 Thess. 3:2; Gal. 5:22) Those lacking faith are rejected by Jehovah. (Heb. 11:6) For faith now to be acceptable to God it is necessary to accept Jesus Christ, and this makes possible a righteous standing with God. (Gal. 2:16) A Christian’s faith is not static, but grows. (2 Thess. 1:3) Hence, the request of Jesus’ disciples, “Give us more faith,” was very appropriate, and he did provide them the foundation for increased faith. He supplied them with greater evidence and understanding on which to base their faith.—Luke 17:5.

The entire life course of a Christian is actually governed by faith, enabling him to overcome mountainlike obstacles that would hinder his service to God. (2 Cor. 5:7; Matt. 21:21, 22) Additionally, there must be works consistent with and in display of faith, but works of the Mosaic law are not required. (Jas. 2:21-26; Rom. 3:20) Trials result in strengthening faith. Faith serves as a protective shield in the Christian’s spiritual warfare, helping him to overcome the Devil and be a conqueror of the world.—1 Pet. 1:6, 7; Eph. 6:16; 1 Pet. 5:9; 1 John 5:4.

But faith cannot be taken for granted, because lack of faith is the ‘sin that so easily entangles one.’ To maintain a firm faith requires putting up a hard fight for it, resisting men who could plunge one into immorality, combating the works of the flesh, avoiding the snare of materialism, shunning faith-destroying philosophies and traditions of men and, above all, looking “intently at the Chief Agent and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus.”—Heb. 12:1, 2; Jude 3, 4; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10; Col. 2:8.

FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE

When answering the apostles’ question concerning his future presence and the conclusion of the existing system of things, Jesus Christ included a parable or illustration dealing with a “faithful and discreet slave” and an “evil slave.” The faithful slave’s master appointed him over his domestics or household servants to provide them their food. If approved at his master’s coming (evidently from some trip), the slave would be rewarded by being placed over the master’s entire property.—Matt. 24:3, 45-51.

In the parallel illustration at Luke 12:42-48, the slave is called a “steward,” that is, a house manager or administrator, one placed over servants, though he is himself a servant. Such a position was often filled in ancient times by a faithful slave. (Compare Genesis 24:2; also the case of Joseph at Genesis 39:1-6.) In Jesus’ illustration the steward is first assigned only to the supervision and timely dispensation of the food supplies to the master’s body of attendants or servants, and later, because of his faithful and discreet handling of this ministry, his assignment is widened out to embrace supervision of all the master’s holdings. Regarding the identification of the “master” (Gr., kyʹri·os, also rendered “lord”), Jesus had already shown that he himself occupied such position toward his disciples, and they addressed him as such on occasion. (Matt. 10:24, 25; 18:21; 24:42; John 13:6, 13) The question remains as to the application of the figure of the faithful and discreet slave or steward and what his dispensing food to the domestics represents.

Commentators often view this as a general exhortation to any and all who have individual positions of responsibility in the Christian congregation. The principle of faithfulness and discreetness in discharging responsibility clearly applies to all such. (Compare Matthew 25:14-30; Titus 1:7-9.) Yet, the impossibility of each and every one of these individuals being placed over “all” his master’s belongings at the same time, the time of the master’s arrival, is obvious. This, however, does not require that the “slave” prefigure only one particular person who would be so privileged. The Scriptures contain examples of the use of a singular noun to refer to a collective group, as when Jehovah addresses the collective group of the Israelite nation and tells them: “You are my witnesses [plural], . . . even my servant [singular] whom I have chosen.” (Isa. 43:10) Similarly, the figure of the unfaithful “evil slave” could apply to a collective group in the same way that the “antichrist” is shown to be a class made up of individual antichrists.—1 John 2:18; 2 John 7.

Those forming the Christian congregation are referred to by the apostle Paul as “members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 3:15), and the same apostle shows that ‘faithful stewardship’ among such household members involved the dispensing of spiritual truths on which those becoming believers would ‘feed.’ (1 Cor. 3:2, 5; 4:1, 2; compare Matthew 4:4.) Whereas this was a prime responsibility of those appointed as ‘shepherds’ of the flock (1 Pet. 5:1-3), the apostle Peter shows that such stewardship of the divine truths was actually committed to all the ‘chosen ones’ of the Christian congregation. (1 Pet. 1:1, 2; 4:10, 11) Thus the entire Christian congregation was to serve in a united stewardship, dispensing such truths. At the same time the individual members making up such composite body or, the “domestics” making up the “house” of God (Heb. 3:6; Eph. 2:19), would also be recipients of the “food” dispensed. (Heb. 5:11-14; compare 1 Corinthians 12:12, 19-27.) Expanded responsibility would result from faithfulness maintained until the master’s promised ‘arrival.’—Matt. 24:46, 47; Luke 12:43, 44.

FALCON

[Heb., nets].

Some suggest that the Hebrew name for this bird derives from a root word meaning “to shine or sparkle” and that it here represents the flashing speed of the bird; others believe the name describes a “high-flying or soaring” bird. Modern lexicographers believe the term applies to falcons, though some consider it to embrace also hawks, which are very similar to the falcons though classified by ornithologists as in a separate “family” grouping. (The Septuagint Version, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac