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Concerning Spiritual Gifts |
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by David A. DePra |
| As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes, but as |
| touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. For |
| the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Rom. 11:28-29) |
| Verse 29 carries a tremendous principle. It shows that what |
| God gives is never withdrawn. Those He calls are never |
| "uncalled." This statement actually shows the Truth of grace. |
| How? |
| Well, think about it. If there is no possibility that God will ever |
| take back His calling or gifts from us, then they don't depend on |
| us, do they? Nope. Not even if we disobey God, turn from Him, or |
| even desert Christ. His calling and gifts remain. The only possible |
| way God's calling and gifts could be without repentance is if they |
| depend solely upon His Son. |
| We must get it settled once and for all: We have nothing to do |
| with meriting what God gives us. Nothing. Our works, obedience, |
| and even our willingness to believe are, if real, a product of God's |
| calling, and not the qualifying traits which convinced Him to call us. |
| This puts to rest once and for all any question as to the Truth of |
| the cliche "use it or lose it." It just isn't so. If you don't use a gift God |
| have given you, you won't lose it. That doesn't mean you are right |
| in neglecting the gift. It just means God never takes back what He |
| gives by His grace. |
| This also explains some of the abuses in the church regarding |
| the ministry and the gifts. While God's gifts and calling are without |
| repentance, that alone does not insure that His gifts and calling |
| will be valued by those He calls. There are many, even though |
| they have received salvation and gifts from God, have used those |
| things for their own purposes. Instead of using the gifts of the Holy |
| Spirit to God's glory and to the edification of the Body, they have |
| used them for their own glory. Yet God allows them to do so. He |
| doesn't take back what He has freely given. |
| We must distinguish between natural gifts and spiritual gifts. |
| Sometimes we get them mixed up. If I can sing, or play the piano, |
| or have some other talent, it is not a spiritual gift. It is a gift I have |
| been blessed with through natural birth, and one which God did not |
| necessarily "give" me in the sense of adding it to me in a |
| supernatural way. These natural gifts are good and right, and |
| should be used to God's glory. |
| Spiritual gifts, however, are not acquired through natural means. |
| I cannot study to acquire a spiritual gift. I can't go to a seminary to |
| acquire a spiritual gift. I cannot practice for hours to learn how to |
| obtain a spiritual gift. A spiritual gift is not of me, or of this world. It is |
| of the Holy Spirit. |
| None of this means we should belittle natural gifts. Indeed, it is |
| possible that a spiritual gift of God could be expressed through a |
| natural gift. But the two remain distinct. One is of this world, and the |
| other isn't. |
| Generally speaking, natural gifts are those I give to God -- offer to |
| Him for His glory. Spiritual gifts are those God gives to me. They |
| have nothing to do with merit or favor. They belong to God and are |
| to glory Him and edify others. |
| It is, of course, possible to counterfeit any spiritual gift with a |
| soulish counterpart. This happens all the time, and can come |
| across as being incredibly real. These things can seem to work, |
| and seem to be of the Holy Spirit. But when all is said and done, |
| sooner or later, the counterfeit will glory man. They will, in one way |
| or another, put the man, the movement, or the "gift" itself at center |
| stage, instead of Jesus Christ. |
| In the final analysis, God is responsible for what He gives. We |
| are, by the grace of God, responsible for what we become |
| because of it. What we become once we have been enlightened |
| by the grace of God will determine the basis of eternity for us. |