Watchtower April 1, 2007 page 22-23

A Faithful Slave
3 After his resurrection and shortly before
his ascension to his Father in heaven, Jesus
told his disciples: “All authority has been given
me in heaven and on the earth.” He also
said: “Look! I am with you all the days until
the conclusion of the system of things.”
(Matthew 28:18-20) He would continue to be
with them as their active Head. In letters
to Christians in Ephesus and Colossae, the
apostle Paul likened the Christian congregation
to a “body,” of which Christ is the
Head. (Ephesians 1:22, 23; Colossians 1:18)
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
states that this metaphor “suggests not only
vital union with the Head, but that the will
of the Head is exercised through the members.
They are His instruments.” Whom has
Christ used as his collective instrument since
being investedwith Kingdompower in 1914?
—Daniel 7:13, 14.
4 The prophecy ofMalachi foretold that Jehovah,
“the true Lord,” accompanied by his
“messenger of the covenant,” his newly enthroned
Son, Christ Jesus, would come in
judgment to inspect His “temple,” or spiritual
house of worship. “The appointed time”
for the ‘judgment of the house of God’ to begin
evidently arrived in 1918. (Malachi 3:1;
1 Peter 4:17) Those claiming to represent
God and his true worship on earth were
duly examined. The churches of Christendom,
who for centuries had taught Goddishonoring
doctrines and had been heavily
involved in the massacre of World War I,
were rejected. A faithful remnant of spirit-
anointed Christians were tested, refined as
with fire, and approved, becoming to Jehovah
“people presenting a giftoffering in righteousness.”—
Malachi 3:3.
5 In line with Malachi’s prophecy, the
composite sign that Jesus gave his disciples to
enable them to recognize the time of his
“presence and of the conclusion of the systemof
things” included the identification of
a collective “slave.” Jesus stated: “Who really
is the faithful and discreet slave whom his
master appointed over his domestics, to give
them their food at the proper time? Happy is
that slave if his master on arriving finds him
doing so. Truly I say to you, He will appoint
him over all his belongings.” (Matthew 24:3,
45-47) “On arriving” to inspect the “slave” in
1918, Christ found a spirit-anointed remnant
of faithful disciples who since 1879 had been
using this journal and other Bible-based publications
to provide spiritual “food at the
proper time.” He acknowledged them as his
collective instrument, or “slave,” and in 1919
entrusted them with the management of all
his earthly belongings.
Managing Christ’s Earthly Belongings
6 A few months before Jesus gave his
prophecy on the sign of his presence, including
the existence of a “slave” representing
him on earth, he spoke of this “slave” in
slightly different terms that shed light on the
slave’s responsibilities. Jesus stated: “Who
really is the faithful steward, the discreet one,
whom his master will appoint over his body
of attendants to keep giving them theirmeasure
of food supplies at the proper time? I tell
you truthfully, He will appoint him over all
his belongings.”—Luke 12:42, 44.
5. In