davidbowerkingwood

First of All, God’s Greatest Gift!

In the minds of any Christian there can be no doubt about the identity of God’s greatest gift; the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity to die on the cross for the sins of the world is, without any doubt, God’s greatest gift to mankind! The wonder of this gift defies explanation or analysis; it is grace, mercy and love embodied in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Try as we might we can only touch on the fringes of this unimaginably vast and wonderful gift; perhaps in eternity we will be able to more fully grasp the enormity of what was done in order to save those who would believe.

It might be advisable to consider, at least in part, the true nature of this amazing gift from our Creator; what is included in this gift of salvation that is available to those who receive Christ as Savior? I would suggest to you that it is vastly more complex than is generally thought and includes a variety of blessings for both time and eternity.

The Blessings of Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ

Needless to say, in the brief space available for this article, it would be impossible to even mention the many, many blessings that are included in the wonderful gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, our Lord. What I shall do here is to itemize some of the gifts that first come to my mind as I think on them; should you want me to elaborate on any of them just comment and let me know.

A Royal Family 

The very first gift that comes to my mind is becoming a child of God forever and ever; we are made a part of God’s family and secured in His family by the holy righteousness of God, Himself. There is absolutely nothing that can ever separate us from God’s love; He is ours and we are His for all time and eternity.

I am fascinated by the thought of my many brothers and sisters in the family of God and marvel at the wonder of this arrangement. I did not have anything to do with their selection and they had nothing to do with mine. We are all in the family together because it pleased God that we should be; so regardless of race or nationality we are one in the family of God forever.

A Temple of God

The second gift that comes to mind is the indwelling of God, the Holy Spirit; at the point we receive Christ as Savior the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, never to leave us again. We are filled with the Spirit of God as we become a temple of the living God. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and our guide as we live on this earth and make the decisions that will shape our lives.

It is only by the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit that divine truth can become real to us and successfully applied to our lives each day. As we live our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-25 can characterize our lives in this world.

A Royal Priest

Another gift that comes to mind is we become members of God’s royal priesthood after the order of Melchizedek; the Lord Jesus Christ is both our High Priest and our King and we are priests and members of the royal family. It is important to remember that we did not take this honor on ourselves but each of us were chosen by God to receive this honor at the point of salvation.

An Ambassador for Christ

Although there are many others, the last gift I will specifically mention is the gift of ambassadorship. We are ambassadors for Christ in a land that is not our home. When we were born again we were born into a royal family whose home is in heaven and not on this earth. We have been left here to serve as ambassadors for the kingdom of God and serve as His representatives on this earth.

Sadly there is a war in progress between our kingdom and the ruling powers of this earth on which we presently live. At a time known only to God the war is going to dramatically increase in its intensity and times will become difficult beyond belief. Before that happens, we, as God’s ambassadors, will be called home at a world wide event known as the Rapture of the Church. I think it entirely possible that event will occur during my lifetime and I’m 80 years old.

Now to God’s Second Greatest Gift

Are you wondering by now what I am considering as God’s second greatest gift? I hope you are because it has a dramatic impact on the quality of your life on earth as a child of God, a royal priest, and an ambassador for Christ.

In Matthew 8:31-32 our Lord tells us, “³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This applies fully to Christians as well and most specifically applies to you and me!

The world has cherry picked this verse and extracted only the part they want to hear and casually inserted whatever they prefer at the moment as “THE TRUTH!” Sadly, for the world, this knowledge is part of a package deal; it’s all or nothing. The truth that will set you free is the truth of the teachings of Jesus and absolutely nothing else!

The Greek word μείνητε which is translated hold also has the meaning to abide or continue in Jesus teaching. As Christians, if we are to be free, we must continue in the word of God and make its daily reading and study a basic part of our lives. To fail to do this will result in our sharing in all of the ills facing society today, a loss of the divine freedom promised here.

God’s Second Greatest Gift

God’s second greatest gift is a hungering and thirsting after the word of God, the Bible’s message to a world malnourished and starving for the teachings of Jesus. If you do not feel this hunger and thirsting then pray to God that He will give it to you!

There is a banquet table loaded with spiritual food that is available for the taking to those who will study the word in the power of the Holy Spirit and apply the teachings of Jesus to their lives every moment of every day.  God wants to bless you and the way to blessing is the path of knowledge of the teachings of Jesus. Don’t miss out on this banquet of blessings!

^“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

This is the Truth that will Set You Free!