Section 4
prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; or service, in the service; or he who teaches, in teaching; or he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who leads, in dili gence; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness." In verse 6 Paul says that we have "gifts that differ according to the grace given to us." What is grace? Grace is simply God in Christ as our enjoyment. When this grace, this divine element, which is the divine life, comes into our being, it brings with it certain skills and abilities which are the gifts. The gifts, the spiritual abilities, come from the divine element which we have enjoyed. As you enjoy God, receiving and assimilating His divine element into your being, out of this divine ele ment proceeds some gift, skill, or ability. These gifts differ according to the divine element which we have enjoyed and which we have assimilated into our being. The grace given to us refers to the grace we have enjoyed and assimilated. There fore, the gifts mentioned in Romans 12 are the gifts of grace in life.
This can be proved by other verses in the book of Romans. Romans 5:17 says that "those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life." This verse in dicates that grace is related to life. Furthermore,