In verses 5-6 of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul states the obvious: That there is only one Lord, only one faith, only one baptism, only one God. Now, he begins verse 7 with “however”, used to introduce a statement that contrasts with previous phraseology. Simply put, the apostle is now telling us that there are many gifts of various assortment.
According to the original Greek the word gift is “charis” which means free favor specially manifested by God toward man in the Gospel scheme. Think of it. Something specially manifested, or hand crafted by God, graciously bestowed upon – get this – each and every one of us, individually, in His grand Gospel scheme. Not only should we be a part of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth, we have been freely gifted with the ability and power to do so.
An engine is made up of hundreds of individual parts. Eliminate just one part and the engine fails to accomplish its work. However, (there’s that word again), when all parts are unified, the engine accomplishes the great work for which it was designed and made. Different parts, different specific functions, yet all absolutely essential.
How do I view and value my own gifts? Do I view them as custom made by an intelligent God specifically for me personally, for the purpose of being joined with others into His amazing Gospel scheme? Do I think there is anything that could make me more special, more essential or more valuable?
By God’s grace (charis) and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. -Ephesians 3:7 NLT
