Christians are the recipients of the manifold grace of God. We have received “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm”. God’s grace has been “lavished upon us”. Why? When gifts are given, there is usually some underlying reason or motivation. What was and is God’s aim - His purpose - in pouring out His blessings upon us? If we wanted to list all of the gifts God has given His children, we would spend the rest of this article, indeed, the rest of our lives, trying, but the Scriptures tell us we would never finish. But a short review of Ephesians and Romans would, at least, get us started.

We have been Predestined, Called & Chosen

All of us who have received Christ as our Lord and Savior are first chosen by Him. In Ephesians 1:3-4 Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who...chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” Again, in Romans 8 Paul says: “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son ... and those whom He predestined He also called: and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified”(vs. 29,30)

We have been given a new Identity, a new Position.

Who are we? Nothing less than children (sons) of God Himself! In John 1 the Lord says: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (vs. 12). Romans 8:14 - 16 expands on this thought: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” This is restated in Galatians 3:26 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” That is our new Identity in Christ! And we therefore have the promise of eternal life! John 3:16 assures us that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” 

We’ve been given Power & Authority

Romans 6 reminds us that we are no longer slaves of sin but we are free in Christ to live for Him. Being born of the Holy Spirit, we have the Spirit within us (Rom. 8: 9,10). Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19). And by His life in us and through us, we are empowered to overcome the downward pull of sin, become instruments of righteousness, and to accomplish the good works He has prepared for us to do (Eph. 2:9). Our strength comes from Him, and can only be in Him.

But power alone is not enough. It must be controlled and applied properly. Even so, the Christian must have the proper, delegated authority to use power to accomplish the goals for which the power was given. And, God has given us authority - the authority of His Son delegated to His Son’s followers, His disciples, to accomplish His purpose - the making of more disciples. In the Great Commission, Jesus tells us: “Go, therefore, (or “as you are going, therefore”) and make disciples of all the nations, ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you ...” (Matt. 28: 19,20). And He precedes this call with His claim to have absolute authority: “All authority has been given  to Me in heaven and on earth”.

And we are given special “Gifts” to enable us to minister. We read in Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”.  And what of those who don’t have these special titles or gifts? Any believer can minister by praying for others, by giving, by encouraging, and above all by  sharing the gospel in simple words with others who need God in their lives. The gifts are given, the power of the Lord is present and active, and the authority to exert that power has been bestowed upon us to accomplish His purpose: the making of more disciples.

And we have the promise of success. Romans 8:31 asks rhetorically “If God is for us, who is against us?” Nothing and nobody can successfully stand against us! What a wonderful God we serve! What more could we ever need (...to be concluded in our next issue).

In His Service,

Daniel Popoi
Member, Board of Directors