Worship and Work

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6  Berean Study Bible

Gifts– While the Greek heritage provides a rich texture for understanding the idea of gifting as the expression of joyful celebration, an even deeper context can be seen in the Hebrew thought patterns that lie behind Paul’s vocabulary.  Charis is typically the translation of the Hebrew ḥēn.  In Hebrew thought, the paradigmatic expression of ḥēn is found in God’s unmerited favor toward Man (cf. Genesis 6:8).  The Hebrew concept of Man is rooted in the favor of God.  Not only does Man owe his existence to the Creator, he is endowed by the Creator with the specific essential attributes that make each man unique.  We see the cultural expression of this belief in the power of naming.  In the Semitic world, a name is not simply a linguistic shorthand label.  It is an expression of the essence of the thing named.  Since all creation is God’s gift, in Hebrew thought there is a straight line between the favor of God and the exhibition of each man’s uniqueness.  In fact, on more than one occasion, God Himself provides the “gifted” name of an individual, a name that reveals the essential character and optimal engagement of the individual.

Hebrew dramatically confirms the second characteristic of the gifts of grace.  In later Hebraic literature, ḥēn becomes nearly indistinguishable from ḥesed.  Divine favor merges with a word that covers the idea of covenant relationship. A close examination of the scope of ḥesed reveals several crucial factors: (see Zimmerli, TDNT)

1. ḥesed always suggests “an element of spontaneous freedom in the demonstration of goodness”
2. ḥesed “cannot be reduced to what is owed or to a duty”
3. ḥesed is always found within the context of a continuing relationship
4. ḥesed is “grace shown, or ready to show itself”
5. ḥesed is “unobligated mercy” demonstrated in fellowship

Paul’s choice of charismata must be appreciated in light of his Hebrew roots.  Because charismata are designed to exhibit the Creator’s joy, they can find their true expression only in actions within the full scope of fellowship with Him.  Of course, since the Hebrew worldview sees Man created with the possibility of independently chosen action, the gifts endowed to Man can find expression outside the sphere of ḥesed, but such expressions are derivative and diminished because they circumvent the intended inter-dependency found in divine purpose.  We may exercise these gifts without acknowledging the Giver or putting them to use for His purposes, but we will be operating at far less than full capacity and experiencing minimized returns.  The Hebrew consciousness understood this possibility, suggesting that without ḥesed life was essentially empty and not worth living.   In contemporary terms we might express the conclusion like this:  Life without connection to divine purpose is ultimately empty of joyful celebration.  It is life without the expression of what I was born to be.

For Paul, grace is the operating principle behind these gifts given by God.  It is relational, intentional, free and demonstrated in actions.  Wherever grace displays itself, it is accompanied by joy.  The gifts of grace become God’s call to fellowship in action, designed into the fabric of human beings in such a way that their exercise sanctifies the user and glorifies the Giver.  Yeshua suggests such a connection when he remarks that his works are only the works shown and given to him by the Father.  He extends this connection to his followers when he says that they will do greater works than he has done.  Charismata (gifts of grace) are simply the active expression of the Father’s joy in the lives of people.  Charis (grace) is the actualized divine character.  It is not confined to the spiritual realm.  It is found in concrete expressions of favor, particularly and summarily in the demonstration of the cross.  When I look for grace in this world, I am most likely to find it where human beings, captured by the compelling power of unmerited benevolence, are busy passing on what has been given to them by engaging the world in joyful celebration no matter what the task.  This is what it means to be “in Christ.”  Wherever your individual gift is being expressed as an extension of the joy of the Creator, you are in Christ, redeeming the world, delighting the Father and blessing others.

Charismata, the displays of insistent, intentional joy, retains these two elements: they can be neither claimed nor earned, and they are designed for a higher purpose.  They are vehicles granted to men and women for purposes that reach beyond us but in the process of exercising them, completely absorb us. They are the means of our destinies.  Paul suggests the connection when he says, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you (when) . . . you abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Topical Index:  charismata, ḥesed, ḥēn, gifts, grace, Romans 12:6. 2 Corinthians 9:8