Gifts and grace are very closely connected. They are not to be separated. We should not distinguish too sharply between them. We should not say that they have little or nothing in common. We should never be saying,
these are good people and these are gifted people, and between these groups is a really a wide division.They both come from the Lord Jesus Christ. They were both purchased by Christ. They were both obtained for us by his holy life and atoning death. Any goodness we have in us is the gift of the Lord Jesus. We have it because he kept God’s law for us and died on the cross for us. One writer puts it this way: every grace is his gift and every gift is of his grace. So, they are both purchased by Christ. They both come through the working of God the Holy Spirit. The gifts are the gifts of the Spirit. And goodness is called the fruit of the Spirit in the New Testament. Therefore, they are both very intimately connected with the Third Person in the Trinity: God the Holy Spirit.John Owen, the great Puritan theologian of the Holy Spirit, described it this way. He says, the Holy Spirit works in us and he works on us. He works in us; he changes us inside as people. He makes us better men and women. He also works on us—that was Owen’s phrase, perhaps not the best phrase, but we can understand what he is saying. He gives us abilities, skills, and talents and he sharpens them. Both of these come from God the Spirit.
So, they both come through Christ; they both come through the power of the Spirit; and they are both given for the good of the church, for our own good, and for others’ good. In these respects, gifts and grace are very similar. There is no huge gap between them. Sometime, when you have the opportunity, read Romans 12:1–21. You will see that there Paul moves from gifts to grace without pausing and without making a distinction. In Romans 12:6–8 he is writing about gifts: service, teaching, leading, and so on. Then in Romans 12:9, following just straight in—without any signal—he moves from gifts to grace: love, patience, hospitality. Thus, in his mind Paul does not see a vast difference between them. Gifts are like grace1
Edward Donnelly
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;