Gifts from God: The Foundation of His Relationship with Us
The primary basis for the relationship between God and us is love.
Most relationships are based on real or perceived promises, commitments and expectations. For example, the marriage relationship is founded on promises of love, commitment, honor and respect. A friendship has expectations of understanding, trust, honesty and shared interests.
The primary basis for the relationship between God and us is simple: It is love. The Scriptures tell us that God’s nature, the primary motivation in all He does, is love—an unselfish concern for all humanity. This is expressed by the apostle John: “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16; see also verse 8). John adds, as we already saw, “We love Him because He first loved us” (verse 19).
Love is often expressed through giving. Jesus taught: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). As Paul explained, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Gifts can enhance relationships, and God is the greatest giver of all (James 1:17).
Paul tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Let’s now examine some important gifts from God. He intends that they all contribute to our receiving, as a gift from Him, eternal life in His family.
What great gift most demonstrates God’s love for us?
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
God’s greatest gift of love is the redemptive sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins. Through Christ and His sacrifice, we can have direct access to God and His gift of salvation.
Does God offer another special gift?
“No man is able to come to me if he is not given the power to do so by the Father” (John 6:65, Bible in Basic English).
God’s calling is a special gift not yet offered to everyone. Jesus explained this to His disciples. When they asked Him why He spoke in parables, He responded, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matthew 13:10-11).
Those who are being called to everlasting life in this age are called “firstfruits” (James 1:18; Romans 8:22-23; Hebrews 12:22-23). This common scriptural term applied to the first part of a harvest, a portion given to God. God’s human firstfruits are few in number (Luke 12:32). Their invitation to eternal life comes now. A beautiful part of God’s plan, however, is that, after the return of Jesus Christ, God’s calling—His invitation to enter into a personal relationship with Him—will extend to all of humanity. Many, many others will then be part of God’s much greater harvest.
When God extends to us the gift of His calling, He must offer us another special gift before we can respond to Him in this relationship.
What does God offer in conjunction with His calling?
“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24-25).
Repentance is a gift God grants to those who willingly accept His invitation or calling. In granting us repentance, God gives us the ability to see ourselves as He sees us—as we really are rather than how we perceive ourselves. Without this important spiritual insight, we remain spiritually blinded and cannot respond to God’s calling.
It is only when we come to see our shortcomings and our lowly stature in comparison to God and in the light of His Word that we may genuinely repent. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:2).
When we realistically see our minuteness and helplessness compared with the greatness and power of God, we should be humbled. This humbling leads us to want to change, to repent.
When we repent, God forgives us and covers our sins with the gift of forgiveness. Notice John’s explanation in his first epistle: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
Notice that little word if. Some of God’s actions toward us are conditional—based on our behavior. He expects positive responses from us if our relationship with Him is to progress. Just as in human relationships, the more positively we respond to Him, the more He graciously responds to us. Thus our relationship with Him deepens and grows.
For example, when God forgives us He no longer views us in terms of our past sins: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember [against them] no more” (Hebrews 8:12; compare Psalm 103:11-13).
What gift follows repentance and forgiveness?
“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:38).
Jesus Christ promised the gift of God’s Spirit (Acts 10:45) just before His crucifixion: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, . . . will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). God provides this gift to aid and comfort Christ’s true disciples (verses 16-17).
God will give us His Spirit if we respond positively to His calling and repent. He also instructs us to be baptized that we may receive this gift.
This illustrates something we read earlier. Expectations exist within any relationship. God expects us to respond to His gift of repentance by committing ourselves to Him through water baptism.
The Bible shows that after baptism God gives His Spirit through the laying on of hands by His ministers (Acts 8:14-19). Paul encouraged Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God [His Spirit] which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6-7). This laying on of hands normally should occur immediately after water baptism.
God said we become a part of His Church, the Body of Christ, at baptism in receiving the Holy Spirit: “For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Again, we must first repent. God simply does not make His Spirit available to the unrepentant. Jesus Christ describes God’s Spirit as something “the world cannot receive” (John 14:17). God gives it only to those He calls and chooses. Those whom He is not now calling will have their opportunity later. (For a fuller understanding of repentance and baptism and God’s calling and choosing of His servants, please request our free study guide Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion.)
Does God impose a further condition for giving us His Spirit?
“And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit [which] God has given to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32).
Again we read of responsibilities for those who enter a special relationship with God. He expects them to continue in repentance, making every effort to obey Him. Receiving God’s Spirit gives more help to obey—and we must strive to obey to continue to receive God’s Spirit.
Obedience to God’s ways is essential to positive fellowship with Him (1 John 1:3, 7). Having God’s Spirit will help us seek His will and follow His ways, developing His nature and character in us. Again, Christ promised the Father would send a “Helper” (the Holy Spirit) that would assist His disciples in discerning between sin and righteousness and lead them into truth (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7).
What important gift does God promise us if we are genuinely repentant and become converted?
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Paul tells us God imparts eternal life as a gift. God looks forward to sharing this gift with us because He has planned this gift for mankind since the “foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Eternal life in God’s family is the hope of all those who follow God (1 John 3:1-3; Titus 1:2).
God has many gifts for us. They range from His calling to His priceless gift of eternal life. His gifts naturally follow one another as we begin to respond to Him and our relationship with Him grows (Romans 8:30).
Commitments and promises make up a major part of any edifying relationship. What commitments and promises does God offer us?
Grace: How God Interacts With Us
The apostle John summarizes God’s motivation and character in three simple words: “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). His dealings with us are motivated by His love—His outflowing care and concern, which even includes His correction—so we can receive His gift of eternal life as members of His family.
Several of the apostles summarize God’s attitude and approach of loving care and concern for us with the term grace. Paul, Peter and John use the word quite often. What do they mean by it, and how can it help us to better understand our Creator?
Grace is the word most frequently used in modern Bible translations for the original Greek word charis. There is no simple English-language equivalent. Charis means “that which causes joy, pleasure, gratification, favor [and] acceptance, for a kindness granted or desired . . . [and] a favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver” (Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, 1993, p. 1469). It comes from the Greek verb chairo, which means “to rejoice” (ibid.).
Charis is also translated as “favor,” “thanks” and “pleasure.” In short, it is God’s positive, favorable disposition toward us. It begins with His desire to receive and accept us though we have not earned or deserved such favor. His grace is motivated by His love and concern for us, especially those of us who accept His invitation to enter into a relationship with Him. It encompasses all of the wonderful gifts God so graciously offers us.
Paul typically starts his letters to the churches with the greeting “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” In doing so he wanted to impress on his audience God’s favor toward those who accept His calling.
How does God express His love for us through grace? The list that follows presents just some of the ways:
- Through grace God reveals Himself to us and helps us come to know Him and Jesus Christ His Son (John 1:14-16).
- God calls us out of our former ways through His grace (Galatians 1:15).
- Through grace God pronounces us “justified”—righteous and free of sin—as a result of our acceptance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice (Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7).
- God offers us salvation—His gift of eternal life—through grace (Romans 5:15-18; Titus 2:11; 3:5; Acts 15:11).
- Through grace God allows us to enjoy a relationship with Him (Romans 5:1-2).
- God saves us through faith by His grace (Ephesians 2:5, 8).
- Out of grace, God the Father offered Jesus Christ, and Jesus offered Himself, as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind (John 3:16; Hebrews 2:9).
- Through grace God gives us mercy and “help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
- Through grace God gives us not only what we need but enough for us to share with others (2 Corinthians 8:1-4, 9:8).
- God forgives us through His grace (Ephesians 1:7).
- Through grace Jesus Christ came in the flesh in the role of a servant so that we could have a Savior and receive eternal life (2 Corinthians 8:9; compare Philippians 2:5-11).
- God gives us consolation and hope through grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16).
- Through grace God grants spiritual gifts to His people for the benefit of those in His Church (Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:10).
God’s grace—His dealings with humanity motivated by love—are part of the true gospel, which Paul described as “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). The gospel—the good news—is the message of God’s plan to offer eternal life in the Kingdom of God to all who have ever lived and will yet live. This is made possible only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and culminates following His return to bring about our ultimate destiny.
(To better understand what Scripture really says on this greatly misunderstood topic, be sure to request or download your free copy of our study guide What Does the Bible Teach About Grace?)
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