Jesus delivered the message of God’s grace in person when He came as a baby in Bethlehem. After His baptism He spent three years in public ministry showing what the grace of God looks like. He healed, taught and showed us in action what God is like. When He went back to heaven He didn’t take the message of grace with Him but He left the message of grace here in the hands of His followers. Peter addresses that truth in his letter to the Church of his day. Peter points out an interesting connection between our ministries and God’s grace.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)
Spiritual Gifts are “Gracelets”
When the Apostle Peter described our service to God, he explained the central place of grace in an interesting way. In English, we don’t see a connection between the words “grace” and “gifts.” In the original language of the New Testament, however, the connection between them is clear. “Gift” in this Scripture translates charismata and the word “grace” translates charis. The very root of our word for spiritual gifts in the original language is the word grace. Charis is the root of the word charismata. Grace is, consequently, the root of the word “gift.”
I remember attending a conference and hearing John Wimber use a very helpful expression for spiritual gifts. He called them “gracelets.” That, for me, is a key to understanding what Peter was saying. We are equipped with spiritual gifts (“gracelets”) so we may serve others.
When We Use Our Gifts We Are Managing God’s Grace
Peter gives an insightful look at all our spiritual service by connecting it with God’s grace. We are “faithful stewards of God’s grace.” A steward in that culture was the manager of someone else’s estate. What he managed was not his own property. He was the manager who dispensed the benefits owned by someone else. That is an accurate description of Christian ministry. We distribute blessings that don’t belong to us; they belong to God. Peter calls that blessing grace. The way we distribute that grace is through using our spiritual gifts or “gracelets.” We are managers of God’s grace.
For example, if someone has a gift for teaching, he or she dispenses a ray of grace by exercising that gift and helping others see God’s grace. The grace is God’s, but we distribute it help others understand the truth with our gift or “gracelet” of teaching. If we are encouragers or our gift is showing mercy, we are not dispensing our own encouragement or mercy. They are part of God’s estate. They both come ultimately from Him. But we are managers of the grace He has called us to distribute with our “gracelet.”
No one but Jesus has ever possessed all the spiritual gifts. He was grace in person. John, in his Gospel, declared, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). When Jesus was born in Bethlehem grace came to us in all its fullness. Now that He has returned to heaven He has left us here to continue His distribution of grace through us using our spiritual gifts (or “gracelets”).
Our “Gracelets” Make Up the Rainbow of God’s Grace
Peter uses a picturesque word to describe the different gifts God spreads among us. He explains that grace comes in “various forms.” That literally means that grace is “many-colored.” It is like white light that goes through a prism and is separated into different colors of the rainbow, from infrared to ultraviolet. While grace is the white light that shines on the world through Jesus’ presence it contains all the colors that make up the rainbow. Those colors are the “gracelets” that God calls each of us to manage in a way that serves others. Practically, it means that when I use the gifts God has given me, I am managing my part in the ministry of His grace.
There are lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament, notably Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. Neither list is complete but they show the variety of gifts or “gracelets” God gives us so we can assist in distributing His grace. The wide variety of “gracelets” are combined to show the white light of God’s grace to the world.
The ultimate experience of grace, when we pull the pin and receive its full effect, is when we embrace Jesus by faith. He came to us “full of grace.” Grace is more than just a theory or theology. It is a person, Jesus Christ. Use whatever gifts God has given you. When we do this, we are managing His grace in a way that makes Jesus clear to those who need His grace. And that is everyone!
Wally | GG Team
