Christ the giver of spiritual gifts

It is the ascended Jesus who, with the Father, sends the Spirit to earth. He is the Spirit of Jesus. And he comes to earth with all his fruits and all his gifts because Jesus has sent him. In John 14:16, Jesus says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth. I will ask him, after my resurrection, and he and I will give him. Another example can be found in John 15:26, When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth. There you have it again. I will send the Spirit of truth. Or again in John 16:7, If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. So, there we have it in simple, clear words. Jesus, the Son of God, sends the Spirit, so that all the gifts of the Spirit are ultimately given by Christ. He is not just the Sender; he comes to us because of the completed work of the Lord Jesus.

Peter preaching in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, says of Christ, in Acts 2:33, Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. That is a fascinating passage. What is Pentecost about? What is at the centre of Pentecost? Some people might say, Well, Pentecost is about speaking in tongues. Some might say more accurately, Pentecost is about the giving of the Holy Spirit. And to an extent, that is very true. But listen to Peter’s analysis of the real meaning of Pentecost in Acts 2:36, God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. That is what it is about, he says. That is at the heart of it: Jesus is risen and he is reigning over all.

In other words, the gifts of the Spirit are really the gifts of Jesus—and we must never forget it throughout this series. He is the Source; the Spirit is the channel.

The following analogy is not exact, but I think it is fair enough. The Spirit is like the postman who comes to our door bringing us a letter or a present. He delivers it. He brings it to our address and he puts it into our hands. So, in that way the postman has brought it, but we know that ultimately he is not the giver. He did not buy the present. He did not choose it. He did not pay for it. He did not wrap it. He did not write the address on it. That came from elsewhere. We do not fall on the postman’s neck with tears of gratitude and say, Thank you, thank you for this present. He is the channel; he brings it, but someone else gave it. So, the gifts of the Spirit are brought to us by the Spirit, but they were paid for, provided by, and chosen by someone else—the Son of God.

We read how Paul emphasised it three times in Ephesians 4:1–32. First, in Ephesians 4:7, Grace was given to each one of according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Then in Ephesians 4:8, When he ascended on high he gave gifts to them. And thirdly in Ephesians 4:11, He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

So, just as it were, sounding a warning. In this series, we are studying the gifts of the Spirit. While discussing the Spirit, we should thank God for that third Person of the Trinity. But in it all, let us never for a moment forget that the Son of God is the Giver.¹

Edward Donnelly