Young People's Group

Grace Gifts

by Mitchell Tan
May 20, 2020

THE GRACE OF GOD GIVEN TO US

The grace of God is meant for all of us to deeply understand, appreciate and apply in our life. Firstly, there is the grace of God with reference to our salvation. It is only by the riches of His grace that we are called and chosen to be saved and to be sons of God. Secondly, it is by the grace of God that our lives are spiritually blessed and we can be part of His family. Thirdly, we see the grace of God when we are given spiritual gifts for service. It is most humbling for us when we truly understand how everything we have as Christians is solely by the grace of God.

GRACE GIFTS

1. SPIRITUALLY GIVEN THROUGH A MEASURE OF GRACE

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
Ephesians 4:7

The Lord Jesus has blessed us with spiritual gifts according to the measure of His gift of grace. Paul is a good example of one who was given many spiritual gifts through the Lord’s grace. And because of these grace gifts, he became such an effective servant of God. The Lord has given His grace gifts to all of us too. Through them, we can also serve Him well.

2. SPIRITUALLY GIVEN BY A TRIUMPHANT AND SOVEREIGN KING

“Therefore He says:
‘When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.’”
Ephesians 4:8

The idea behind the concept of the Lord Jesus giving us spiritual gifts is a powerful one. It to be seen from the standpoint of a triumphant King winning a great battle.

A. BEING A TRIUMPHANT KING OVER DEATH AND SATAN

“Having ascended on high” denotes the truth that Christ has triumphed over the spectre of death and the power of Satan. Paul quoted from Psalm 68:18 to explain how the Lord Jesus has taken captive of “captivity”. There is a play of words. Men have been taken captive by sin, death and Satan for the longest time (Hebrews 2:14-15). Because Christ has ascended to the right hand of God, it proves that He as a victorious King has conquered death and Satan. He has resurrected from the dead and has ascended to the right hand of the throne of God.

B. BEING A SOVEREIGN KING IN GIVING GIFTS TO MEN

A triumphant and sovereign King would also share with his fellow soldiers the spoils of war. In the same way, the Lord Jesus has ascended on high and is our sovereign King over all powers (Ephesians 1:21). It is through the Lord’s prerogative and grace that He gives His spiritual gifts to us. It is according to His sovereign will and not ours. When Paul was at Ephesus, there were erroneous ideas about the practice of spiritual gifts. There were these iterant Jewish exorcists who took it upon themselves to try to exorcise evil spirits. They tried to imitate Paul in what he did. They totally failed (Acts 19:13-16).

CHALLENGES

The Lord Jesus as our victorious and sovereign King has given to us spiritual gifts according to His grace. It is for us to prayerfully discover them. When discovered, they are to be vigorously cultivated. And when ready, we, as one body, are to humbly utilise them for the benefit of the Church. Ultimately, the Lord Jesus is meant to fill all in all through the use of these spiritual gifts. Let’s lift up the Lord Jesus as we serve Him through deploying these grace gifts.

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