“EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE,
COMING DOWN FROM THE FATHER…”
(James 1:17)

“What shall I give this Christmas?” That’s a question we all think about this time of year—especially as December 25th draws closer! We all have a list of family members and friends we want to give special gifts to during the holidays. True love always prompts a spirit of giving. That’s why Jesus could summarize the Gospel through His own life with these very familiar words to Nicodemus:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17).

What was our need that prompted so great a Gift? We were perishing – living under the just condemnation of a holy God. Enslaved by sin…imprisoned by fear…dominated by the flesh…doomed by the law – in other words, eternally lost. There has never been a single person born of the human race that did not fully deserve hell – eternal separation from the presence of a holy God.

But God’s love prompted an “indescribable gift” (II Cor. 9:15) – the Lord Jesus. Therefore, God gave to save! He did not give a seraphim…an angel…or even an archangel. A gift of a holy member of His heavenly host would not be sufficient. Heavenly love operates by the principle: “The greater the need, the greater the sacrifice.” The eternal gravity of our condition required nothing but heaven’s best…heaven’s highest…heaven’s holiest! A member of the triune Godhead would have to be sent to deal with man’s sinful, lost, rebellious condition. So, in the triune heart of holy love, Christmas was conceived!

And God conceived this gift of salvation, not spontaneously, nor at the last moment but “…before the foundations of the world” (Eph. 1:4, Rev. 13:8). As a result, “in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4).

The gift that God gave to the world on that first Christmas is still unthinkable… unfathomable…incomprehensible…indescribable – almost unbelievable! As members of the human family we can neither fully grasp the gravity of our need, nor the pricelessness of God’s gift. It will take the eons of eternity for us just to begin to grasp “…how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:18)! And all that it takes for anyone to receive this “free gift of grace” is to believe…to have faith…to cease trying and start trusting. Then, as a result of our faith in God’s grace, we receive eternal life – a gift for both time and eternity!

Because of that eternal gift, we also have the assurance that we “will not be condemned” because we have “passed from death unto life” (Jn. 5:24). While we can be sure that “the wages of sin is death,” we can be equally sure that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

That’s the Good News of both Christmas and Easter! They can’t be separated. The Christmas Advent cannot be separated from the Easter Event! They are both one inter-connected spiritual drama. The cradle cannot be separated from the cross any more than the cross can be separated from the crown! They are all a part of God’s “great salvation” (Heb. 2:3) – His all-inclusive gift that expresses His all-encompassing love!

If God never gave us another gift, we would still be eternally grateful. However, God’s giving does not stop with the gift of His Son. The Father also continues to give the “gift of the Holy Spirit.”

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Lk. 11:13).

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out
even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:45).

Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as the “…gift My Father promised” (Acts 1:4). This gift of the Spirit was predicated on the resurrection and glorification of the Son. As Paul said: “When He ascended on high…He gave gifts to men.”

“When He ascended on high, He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men” (Eph. 4:8, Ps. 68:18).

“By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn. 7:39).

This gift of the Holy Spirit is truly the Gift that keeps on giving! In a world of counterfeits, the Spirit continues to give us the gift of truth. As the “Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:17), He reveals the Lord Jesus, and gives ever deeper understandings of Him. As Jesus promised His disciples: “The Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you” (Jn. 16:15).

Tragically, most people’s understanding of Jesus is still a simple, infantile belief, the kind of immature faith that so many superficially celebrate at Christmas. With almost naïve sentimentality, millions celebrate the birthday of the “babe in a manger.” Most have never begun to comprehend the real spiritual truth of Bethlehem’s Baby – much less the Son of Man on the cross…the resurrected Jesus…the ascended Christ…the reigning Lord…the soon-coming King. Those are the gifts of revelation from the Holy Spirit. He is only able to give those deeper gifts of understandings to those who are serious disciples, whom He can lead into the truth of the Lord Jesus.

Finally, the Holy Spirit gives us His own supernatural gifts. Those are the spiritual charisma…divine endowment…supernatural inducement, that are from the Spirit of God. We can’t purchase them…coerce them…manipulate them. They are gifts that we can’t “work up” – we must “pray them down.” That’s why James reminds us that “…every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (Jas. 1:17).

These gifts, like all of God’s other gifts, are sovereignly “…distributed according to His will” (Heb. 2:4). And the Spirit’s gifts have a specific purpose. They are to meet needs, not greeds!

Most often, the gifts we receive from family and friends at Christmas are primarily for our own enjoyment. However, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are “…to serve others” (I Pet. 4:10). That’s why we are especially encouraged to “…excel in gifts that build up the church” (I Cor. 14:12).

Christmas, then, is not about us, it is about Him. The real Christmas gifts are to glorify Him – not to satisfy us. So while God can only give His gifts, let’s at least do some giving this Christmas that shares the love of the Lord Jesus – who is God’s greatest Gift to us!

Enjoying the Gift of His Son and the gifts of His Spirit…



J.L.

PS: Tomorrow we will look at the special “Gift Wrapping” that God used for His Gifts to the world. I will see you then.