Knowing the Gift of God*

 

     On this Christmas and Hanukkah, which occur at the same time this year, there will be an exchange of many gifts. However, understanding the gift of God is priceless.

     Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman at a well and had a conversation with her in which He identified Himself as the Messiah/Christ. He told her: "If thou knewest (eido - to see, perceive, discern, experience, understand, get knowledge of, cherish) the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." (Jn. 4:10). We lose sight of celebrating the gift of God, which is His Son given for our sins.

     John described this sacrifice as a gift: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (Jn. 3:14-18). The Son of God was given to us as a gift from God to save us and give to us everlasting life. Believing in the name of the Son is mentioned here. We spoke about the name last week. The name is connected to the gift. Scripture tells us that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain before the foundation of the world, from the beginning. Genesis starts with the words "In the beginning...", which in Hebrew is B'reshiet. The pictographic Hebrew letters that compose this word can each be translated into meaning, "The Son of God crushed, His hand on the cross." This was always the will and purpose of God.

     John wrote that with the gift of the Son, light also came into the world, but those who desire to do evil hate and reject this light because the light exposes their evil intentions and deeds. This hatred of the light condemns men. By the same light, however, those who desire to believe and do the truth, their deeds are manifested also so that it may be seen that the deeds are done in God. (v. 19-21). Christmas lights and Hanukkah lights are lit, but Jesus is the light of the world and told us that we also are to be light. 2 Corinthians 9:15 says: "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

     Apostle Paul makes clear that this gift of God towards us, the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, does not give us the license to continue to sin but just the opposite. We have been made free from sin and have become servants of righteousness: "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6:15-23). The fruit that we produce because of this gift from God is to be holy fruit. Continued sin is not holy fruit, but it is death.

     Within this gift from God is also contained godly wisdom, and it was ordained for us from before the world also. This wisdom is not the same as the wisdom of this world. The wisdom and rulers of this world thought it wise to crucify the Lord of glory: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them to us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God...Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Cor. 2:6-14). As we can see, the gifts from God toward us are plural, and they include the Spirit of God and the wisdom of God, rather than of the world. These things of God given as gifts to us seem like foolishness to the world, and they can't be known by the world, because they must be spiritually discerned (see eido meaning above) as Paul wrote.

     The gifts given to us by God through belief in His Son and in the name of His Son continues. According to Peter, as we grow in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, grace and peace are multiplied unto us. He has also given to us, through that knowledge of Him, "all things that pertain unto life and godliness, calling us to glory and virtue (arete - moral goodness and excellence, modesty, purity). (2 Pet. 1:1-3).

     Also given to us are "exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (v. 4). Besides this, we are to apply diligence by adding to our faith, virtue; to virtue, add knowledge; to knowledge, add temperance or self-control; to temperance, add patience; and to patience add godliness; to godliness, add brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, add charity or love. (v. 5-7). Those who abound in these things are fruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and make their calling and election sure. Those who lack these things, are spiritually blind, and forget that they have been purged from old sins. However, as we are diligent in these things: "...an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (v. 8-11). Romans 12 says that we are not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds. We can see that all of the things that we are to be diligent in developing from the gift of the divine nature given to us, are not things that are found in the world in general. The spirit of the world lacks temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and a resulting spiritual blindness has come upon them.

     Paul wrote these powerful words about the gift of God: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit...And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.." (Rom. 8:1, 10-11). It is the Holy Spirit of life that has been gifted to us, the same Spirit that raised Jesus and dwells in us, that makes us free from the law of sin and death. (v. 2). God predestined us, Paul wrote, to be conformed to the image of His Son, becoming many brethren of Christ. God foreknew us, predestined us, called us, justified us and glorified us. (v. 28-30). That we might be glorified was also the final prayer of Christ before He was crucified - that He has given us the same glory that He had with the Father. To be justified like this is to make it "just as if we had never sinned". Do we have the knowledge of this gift from God? Paul concludes by saying, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him (His Son, Jesus Christ) also freely give us all things?" (v. 31-32). Freely you have received these things, so freely give them to others.

     The apostle John warned believers to try the spirits to see whether they are of God because there are many false prophets. He wrote: "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world....We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us...Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him...not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (hilasmos - atonement, appeasement) for our sins...We love him, because he first loved us." (1 Jn. 4:1-19, excerpt). Do you know God? His gift of His Son came to us because He loved us, even though we did not yet know or love Him. The love of God, as a result, dwells in us, and John wrote that we should therefore love one another. God desires to tabernacle with us. Jesus told the church in Revelation that He stands at the door and knocks. If we open the door to Him, He will come in and sup with us. 

     John further wrote that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (1 Jn. 5:1-3). Jesus said that the two greatest commandments of the law were that we love God with all our heart and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. He said that all of the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. John wrote that whoever is born of God overcomes the world with his faith, and: "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God...And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son...These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God...And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." (v. 4-20, excerpt). 

     We are called to know Him, to have understanding, that we may know Him and be in Him, experience Him. This is the meaning of the Greek word eido that we discussed in the beginning of the message. The prophet Isaiah said that they would see, perceive, discern and understand, which I believe is also a reference to the revelation of the image of Christ on the Shroud of Turin (see Isa. 52:13-15 AMP). What are we truly celebrating in three days? Do you know, receive, and walk in the freely given gifts of God? If not, why not?

     *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 12/22/24 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on Dr. Stevenson's Facebook page. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook.