Men have given many gifts to each other down through the ages, but in JamesΒ 1:17Β we read that βevery good gift and every perfect gift is from above,β and comes to us from God. The greatest of these gifts is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the redemption He has purchased for us. In speaking to the sinner-woman at Sycharβs well, our Lord drew a picture, contrasting the barrenness of her own life with the refreshing joy of salvation, saying:
βIf thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living waterβ¦ Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirstβ¦β (John 4:10-14).
By nature we are all sinners, but by the grace of God we all may be saved.
βFor the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lordβ (Rom.Β 6:23).
βFor by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boastβ (Eph. 2:8,9).
Thus St. Paul speaks of βthe gift of the grace of Godβ (Eph. 3:7) and constantly emphasizes the fact that salvation is a free gift.
But a gift is not possessed until it is accepted. Thus the Apostle, in Rom.Β 5:17, refers to those who βreceiveΒ abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness.β Those who receive Christ and the salvation He has wrought for them, find it natural to exclaim with Paul-
βTHANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT!β (II Cor.Β 9:15). source
