The Difference Between a Talent and a God Given Gift

“THE SPIRIT PRODUCES CHRISTIAN SERVICE- Here again, turning from human reason to Bible doctrine, we discover Christian service to be a direct exercise of the energy of the Spirit through the believer. ‘From within him shall flow rivers of flowing water. But this spake he of the Spirit’ (John 7:38, 39, Revised Version). Human energy could never produce ‘living waters,’ and certainly not in ‘rivers.’ This statement is keyed to the Infinite. The human, at best, could be no more than the channel, or instrument, for the divine outflow.” He That is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

Our service as Christians depends upon the manifestation of the Spirit’s presence. This is where the outflow of the eternal meets the temporal. When one becomes a Christian, he taps into the eternal presence where not only one day will he/she not only spend an eternity, but power from the eternal here on earth while he/she remains. God has given every born-again believer “works” that each of us are use while we are in here on planet earth. These are determined by the Divine.

The problem here on earth today is there is confusion in the church between what is “man-made talent” and “God-given gifts” which are both employed in the church today. The Bible tells us when a “work” is done here on earth it cannot be called a “good work” until it was foreordained for the individual by the heavenly presence and will of God. Chafer says this, “The discovery of and realization of ‘good works’ is not experienced by all believers, but those who have presented their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God; who are not ‘conformed to this world,’ but are ‘transformed’ (transfigured) by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:1,2).” So, Christian service is the exercise of that “good gift.”

But the Bible’s use of the word “gift” should not be confused with the world’s conception of a “gifted or talented person.” The “gifted person” is someone who is earthly born and can accomplish some things that not everyone can or will through their own power. But this is by their will not that of the indwelling Spirit of God. The Christian who employs his God-given gift utilizes God’s power using the believer to accomplish God’s will. This also means the Christian is calling upon God to help them accomplish that certain task along the way.

When God uses that “good gift” within the believer, it unlocks an endless amount of energy because of the presence of God and who is fueling it. He is the source, not us. Remember what Chafer said above, Human energy could never produce ‘living waters,’ and certainly not in ‘rivers.’ This power we have when fueled by God is not from our earthly efforts, but derived from the source of the “living river.” To do otherwise is to continue to use something downstream which has already been contaminated. I don’t know about you, but I would rather drink from the original source of a river, than from something which has been contaminated along the way. This is where many Christians also are today; they are trying to re-engineer something they have seen in the life of another believer and trying to experience the power as if it were to come from the original source of the supply (the presence of God’s power and gifting).

I leave you with one story: In 2008, my family and I took a trip to Germany along with other family members. As we traveled through Switzerland one day, we ended up staying in a campground at the base of the Alps. One afternoon my wife, daughter, and several other family members took a trip up to the top of the mountain nearby. My son and I took a walk along the valley floor because we all couldn’t afford the trip. After a few hours we came upon a stream coming down the side of the mountain which had cut a hole through the rock all the way to the valley floor. At the base of that valley floor we saw water coming out in to a new stream. We were hot from the walk and began to dip our feet in the water to cool down. The water was just above freezing and hurt our feet so that didn’t take long. We took a small sip of water out of the stream. It was the freshest water I have ever drank in my life. After a few minutes, we filled our water bottles up and continued our walk; but what a refreshing drink. It’s kind of like that when we go to the source; what a refreshing experience!