Month of Mission ii. God's Indescribable Gift(s)

Preacher: Alan Cameron

Verses: 1 Cor 12:4-11, Phil 2:5-11 & 2 Cor 9:12-15

Grace by its very nature is a gift which we don’t deserve.  We are saved to serve.  We are saved by grace and we serve by grace.  God is both Creator and Saviour.  Common grace gives us natural gifts.  Saving grace gives us supernatural gifts, albeit with an overlap between the two.  By its very nature a gift is a spontaneous act of generosity and the gifts of the Spirit are no different. 

Some have argued that some of the gifts of the Spirit, especially the more spectacular ones, were confined to the age of the apostles.  One would have to argue along theological and historical grounds to sustain this point of view.  However, we must allow Scripture to speak with its own voice.  When we impose even a well-meaning grid causing the text to conform and confine to our particular perspective, we do a dis-service both to the Scriptures and the people of God.  But there is an equal and opposition reaction whereby the gifts of the Spirit become the central focus of the church and we become preoccupied with them rather than the giver.