What are gifts?

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What are God's gifts? There are different types of gifts that God bestows on people by grace. These gifts can be of a material, spiritual or natural nature.

In the New Testament in particular, the "spiritual gifts" are described as special equipment for believers to build up the body of Christ and promote God's kingdom.

Gifts of God in general

God gives man many gifts that relate to his life and existence. These include life itself, nature, food and other material blessings.

• Life as a gift from God - in Job 12:10 it says "In his hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of every human flesh."
• Nature as an expression of God's goodness - Matthew writes in Matthew 5:45 "He makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
• Wisdom and knowledge - In Proverbs 2:6 "For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."

Spiritual gifts

A special aspect of the biblical teaching on gifts is the divine endowment of spiritual gifts, which are given to every believer through the Holy Spirit. These gifts serve the edification of the church and the glorification of God.

The diversity of spiritual gifts

In his letters, the apostle Paul describes various gifts of grace (ancient Greek χάρισμα chárisma) that God gives to his children:

• Wisdom and knowledge - as in 1 Corinthians 12:8 is written: "For to one is given through the Spirit a word of wisdom, but to another a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;"
• Believe - like the following verse in 1 Corinthians 12:9 continues "another faith in the same Spirit; another gift of healings in the same Spirit;"
• Prophecy and discernment of spirits - sets 1 Corinthians 12:10 continued "another the effects of miraculous powers, another divination, another spirits, ..."
• Speaking in tongues and interpretation - and concludes with "... another different types of languages, another the interpretation of languages."

The purpose of spiritual gifts

The gifts of the Spirit are not intended for personal glory, but serve to build up the church. Thus 1 Corinthians 12:7 attests: "But to each one the manifest working of the Spirit is given for [general] benefit", i.e. for the benefit not of the individual but of the community.

The diversity of humanity thus enables us humans to form an orchestral unity in which everyone, according to their gifts, according to Romans 12:4-5 "For just as in one body we have many members, but not all members have the same activity, so also we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and as individuals members one of another, But we have different gifts of grace according to the grace given to us;" plays its part.

Excursus - an example from practice

An employee of a removal company falls on his right big toe while transporting a grand piano. The doctors recommend amputation, but he objects. Several cost-intensive operations, pain and laborious therapies followed over the next few months, but the toe was restored and saved.

If you apply this to the members of a congregation, or, to put it more broadly, to your fellow human beings, and equate the big toe that is supposedly to be amputated with one of them, who would want to be responsible for a person not being saved?

How much time, cost, effort, perhaps even pain are we prepared to take on in order to save this One?

The gift of redemption

One of the greatest gifts that God has given mankind is salvation through Jesus Christ, eternal life. This gift is not earned, but an expression of God's grace alone, as described in Romans 6:23 to read: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God's grace is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.„

Salvation by faith alone is described in Ephesians 2:8 confirms "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" and so that it is also clear to everyone, verse 9 continues after "not of works, lest any man should boast.„.

Man cannot put himself in the "right light" with works, only the grace of God can achieve this.

The gift of love

The greatest of all gifts is love, which surpasses everything else. Publius Vergilius Maro, the Roman poet Virgil, born 15.10.70 BC in Andes near Mantua, died 21.09.19 BC in Brindisi, wrote "Omnia vincit amor", love conquers all.

This emphasized valuation of love can also be found in the Bible, for example in 1 Corinthians 13:13 „Now these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.„

And, once again to be beyond any doubt, prophetic speech, which is otherwise highly valued, including all the gifts associated with it, is subordinated to love, such as 1 Corinthians 13:2 lets you know "And if I had prophecy, and knew all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I had all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but had not love, I would be nothing.„.

The right way to handle gifts

God does not give gifts for self-aggrandizement so that we "are who we are", but for the service of others. Those who have received gifts from God should use them with great responsibility and humility.

In 1 Peter 4:10 this is formulated as follows "Serve one another, each with the gift of grace he has received, as good stewards of God's manifold grace: ...", while Galatians 5:26 clarified once again: "Let us not strive for empty glory, nor challenge one another, nor envy one another!„.

Conclusion

Gifts are the expression of God's undeserved grace and immeasurable generosity. They range from general provision through spiritual abilities to the highest gift, salvation through Jesus Christ.

The right use of these gifts is crucial: they should not be used for self-aggrandizement, but for the glory of God and the good of others.