Rom 12:6 And having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us... 1 Pet 4:10 Each one, as he has received a gift, ministering it among yourselves as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
What is grace? As we saw in a previous message, grace is simply God in Christ as our enjoyment. When this grace, this divine element, which is the divine life, comes into our being, it brings with it certain skills and abilities which are the gifts. Therefore, the gifts mentioned in Romans 12 are the gifts of grace in life. If you have enjoyed the life of God to a high degree, you will receive a higher gift. However, if your enjoyment of the life of God is limited, your gift also will be limited, for the measure of your gift is limited by the extent to which you have enjoyed the divine life as grace within you. The gifts enumerated in Romans 12 are not the miraculous gifts which come to you suddenly. No, the gifts in Romans 12 are like the abilities of the members of our human body. The measure of ability depends upon the amount of life in the body. If the body is mature with considerable growth of life and with a great amount of life, it will have an abundant overflow of life, and this overflow of the inner life of the body will produce abilities. All of the items included in verses 6 through 8 are gifts of grace in life. We may list seven of them: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and showing mercy. [continued tomorrow]
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee. Life-study of Romans, pp. 305-307. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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