Every Good Gift

Thoughts from DA Schnabel

As you may know, most of the NAC world just celebrated their spiritual Thanksgiving Day this past Sunday. Ours will be experienced on November 19th in the USA, and we therefore can prepare and enter a season of Thanksgiving already now.

I would like to share with you some thoughts that come primarily from a recent service from our Chief Apostle with a specific application to our sacrifices and offering. In James 1:17-18 it reads: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. Some thoughts to consider as we ponder this passage:

  • We thank God for every gift:
    • The good gift—that which the Father does out of His eternal love so that He can share His kingdom with us.
    • The perfect gift—what He gives in grace is always sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9) and timely.
  • What He is doing today is to make us firstfruits:
    • Those who will be taken at Christ's appearing.
    • Those who will serve and reign with Him in the Kingdom of Peace and bring the gospel of Christ to all so that they can also be "fruits" for the final harvest.
  • The firstfruits will be those who have given their life completely to Christ and sacrifice in such a manner as they grasp the grace that has been given them. The concept of firstfruit giving can be found in the Old Testament and shows what pleases God (Exodus 23:19, Deuteronomy 26:2).
    • The Israelites were to give a portion of the firstfruits in thanks for deliverance and harvest yet to come.
    • The firstfruit wasn't necessarily the best fruit, but literally the first to come to ripeness.
    • This is a picture of sacrificial giving. The giver would:
      • Not know the total harvest yet;
      • Therefore, they would offer without knowing the outcome.
      • They gave to God first and not at the end out of their surplus.
      • It wasn't a comfortable place to be and had to affect how they lived.
  • The Lord gave—His Son's life, His best, for us; as our Chief Apostle said in preparation for Holy Communion on September 24th, this was costly grace.
    • Likewise, acting as those firstfruits, we give sacrificially of our time, offerings, and effort.
    • Not as repayment, but as a response of thanks for His amazing grace, for liberating us from evil, and for the harvest to come.
    • In reality, we are only giving back a small portion of what He has given us.
  • As firstfruits:
    • We belong to the Lord—we can never be taken from Him (John 10: 28-29).
    • We rely on the Holy Spirit who gives us knowledge and a foretaste of what is to come (Romans 8:23).
    • The new creation is more recognizable with us—e.g., we exhibit self-control (Galatians 5:22).
  • The firstfruits announce the salvation to come.
    • The elect will be first to have perfect fellowship with God.
    • But will also show the path to others.

Understanding more deeply the richness of what God has provided—and continues to provide—for us, we respond with thanksgiving.

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