Gracious Gifts of God
A gift given to someone is something that comes from the heart and given out of genuine love and affection for that person. The gifts given in this world are physical for any or special occasions such as Birthdays, Christmas, Graduations, Weddings, Promotions, etc. The Divine gifts of God are spiritual, not physical and are freely given to all who will accept and receive them. The greatest gift in the history of mankind is that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He did in fact come into the physical world as a human[incarnate] but still fully God who was capable of performing miracles to get people to believe in Him.
Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered a horrendous death, rose again from the dead so that we might live through Him[in Spirit] on in to eternal life everlasting. His whole mission and purpose for coming into the world was to become the perfect sacrifice in the flesh to save us from our sins and eternal death. God is God and exists in three co-eternal, co-separate beings. God the Father – God the Son – God the Holy Spirit
The very person who created the world and everything in it, including us, died a death that we deserve, to save us from the righteous judgement and wrath of God. The wages of sin is death[Rom.6:23] and payment must be made for our sins against the perfect high moral standards of God. In God’s infinite wisdom He established a plan that would save us from death by offering himself, in Jesus Christ the Son, to pay for all the sins of mankind which satisfied His[God the father] righteous judgement and penalty for sinning.
The Spiritual gifts of God cannot be seen, touched, smelled, heard, tasted or spoken as through our physical senses in this world. Several questions that could be helpful to you are this. Who has created you ? Did you have any choice on being born into this world ? Where has wisdom and knowledge come from ? Does absolute truth exist ? With who or where do you place your trust ? Why are we the only planet in the known universe teeming with life ? What part do you play in your beating heart, your digestive system, your immune system, your skeletal system, and your nervous system ?
I am sure you are wondering why I am asking all these questions before moving on with Spiritual gifts? My answer is very simple - God has created and given you all these physical traits and gifts as well. Unless you can accept and embrace the truth of creation you will never accept the spiritual gifts God has given to you. Unless you are willing to spend time in getting to know who God is and what He does for us on a daily basis, then continuing to read this article will be of no benefit to You.
Here are the Spiritual gifts from God that we as humans cannot obtain on our own - Only God has the power to give them. Open your hearts and minds and let these words of truth speak to you.
Righteousness is a gift from God - we can never earn it. Titus 3:5-7 “ He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Grace is a gift from God - It can never be earned. Ephesians 2:4,5,8 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Holy Spirit is a gift - Only God has this power to accomplish this – we cannot Jesus Christ speaks of this gift in John 14:15-17 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
Faith is a gift from God – we cannot obtain it on our own. Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Salvation is a gift - We can never earn it. Jesus Christ died for our sins in order that we can obtain eternal life through Him and is clearly stated by Christ in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (see also John 14:6; John 11:25; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21)
Redemption is a gift - Only Jesus Christ did this - we play no part. Ephesians 1:7 “ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
Reconciliation is a gift - Only God does this - we cannot reconcile ourselves 2 Corinthians 5:18,21 “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Justification is a gift – Only God has the power to do this - we cannot justify ourselves. Roman 5:1,9 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
There are many more gifts and spiritual blessing God gives us on a daily non-stop basis and is always available to anyone who is willing to accept, embrace and receive them. Of course that is all up to you -are you willing ? Put forth a little effort to get to know God through reading the only divine source available - the Holy Bible. It must be done daily and one must be patient - it doesn’t happen overnight. James says it well in James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
God is Spirit – God is Life – God is Light – God is Peace – God is Hope – God is Truth – God is Love
Start today – Don’t delay and change your life - Let the power of God’s words speak to you and be filled with a peace and joy beyond measure.
Find additional inspiration and encouragement found in the books “Finding Calm in the Storm of Everyday Living” or “Heart and Soul” either going to Amazon directly or hitting home at the top of this blog and scrolling down to the books.