DOCTRINE OF THANKSGIVING, Part 2
Psalm 100
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His
name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
When we sing or speak of thanksgiving there are many, many things we
can be thankful for.
But did you know that:
Thanksgiving is a form of worship in which the Church Age
believer acknowledges the benefits related to God's [antecedent
(previous)] grace poured out for us in both eternity past and in time.
Grace in eternity past was God's provision of various assets for you,
while here in time including:
The Baptism and indwelling of the Holy
Spirit
God's Plan for your life
Equal Privilege and Equal Opportunity
Royal Ambassadorship
Royal Priesthood
Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age
Indwelling of the Trinity
100% Availability of Divine Power.
The divine initiative of antecedent Grace in time is God's provision
for you to excel in the Christian life by utilizing three spiritual skills.
The Filling of the Holy Spirit,
Learning and using the Word of God,
Living in God's plan for your life.
Our understanding of God's grace comes from the word's He used to write
the Bible including;
Charis - Charis - Grace [noun]
Thank - Luke 6:32-34
To be thankful - Luke17:9
Thanks - Rom 6:17, 1 Cor 15:57, 1 Tim 1:12; [2 Tim 1:3, 1 Peter 2:19]
Charis – charis [khar’-ece]
From chairo – chariro [khah’ee-ro]
A primary verb; to
be full of “cheer”, that is, calmly happy or well off;
a salutation (on meeting or parting), be well; farewell, be glad, God speed, or
rejoice.
Charis =
graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act especially the divine influence
upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude.
Thayer Definition:
Of the merciful
kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to
Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge,
affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.
Thanks; for
benefits, services, favors; recompense, reward
Anna - Anna =
grace
Luke 2:38 Anna (Grace), the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, a
prophetess who knew that Jesus was the Messiah as a babe in the temple.
Luke 2:38 At that very moment she came up and began
giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were
looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
An-thomo-lo-ge-o-mai - (verb)
Imperfect Tense
(linear action)
Middle or Passive
Deponent Voice
Indicative Mood
An = Anti =
opposite, instead or because of. Often
used in composition to denote contrast, substitution, and correspondence.
To acknowledge
fully, to celebrate fully in praise with thanksgiving, to confess in turn, respond in praise: give thanks.
Io annas – Io annas
Joanna = grace or gift of God
Channa h – channa h
Hannah = grace [ex: the mother of
Samuel]
So we see, The Biblical definition of worship is the basis for the true
function of thanksgiving. This
definition is given in:
Jn 4:24, "God is a spirit, and
those who worship Him must worship by means of the Spirit [filling of the
Spirit] and by means of truth."
In Old English worship was spelled Worthship and means to acknowledge
the worth of the object worshiped.
Thanksgiving is a part of your spiritual life and worship and not some
shallow, fleeting system of gratitude for something.
Thanksgiving is a moment-by-moment mental attitude produced by
the Holy Spirit using the word (doctrine) that you have learned.
Col 2:7, "Having been rooted and having been edified/built up in
Him, and being stabilized by what you believe (His Word), as you have been
taught, overflowing with thanksgiving."
Eucharistia - eucaristia [Noun, Dative of Advantage]
Eu - well
Charizomai - to give freely.
Gratitude, Thankfulness. Acts 24:3
Giving of Thanks or Thanksgiving - [1Cor 14:16; 2 Cor 4:15; 9:11,2; Eph
5:4; Phil 4:6; Col 2:7; 4:2;
1 Thes 3:9]
Phil4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God.
1 Tim 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that
entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of
all men,
Rev 7:12 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might, be to our God
forever and ever. Amen.”
There is a relationship between your consistent intake of the word of
God and your attitude of thanksgiving toward God.
The word of God gives capacity for the attitude of gratitude.
Col 1:12, "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us for a
share in the endowment of the saints in the light."
"In the light" - is the instrumental of manner, which is a
Greek idiom stating the manner in which the believer is qualified for a share
in the endowment of the saints by means of being in the light of the
infallible word of God.
The way that you qualify for a share in the endowment is through the
word of God circulating in your thoughts, i.e. the stream of
consciousness. And that produces
gratitude or thanksgiving in your soul.
Thanksgiving is both an expression of the spiritual life and the
capacity for divine blessing in time.
Thanksgiving is the expression from capacity of life for appreciation
of God, and the mental attitude of gratitude toward God.
Thanksgiving is our daily attitude toward God.
The greater the content of the word of God in the believer's soul, the
greater the capacity for mental attitude thanksgiving in the life.
Thanksgiving is an act of giving thanks and grateful acknowledgement of
the benefits of the grace of God.
It is an expression of gratitude toward God based on your capacity by
means of the word to appreciate who and what He is.
Thanksgiving is more than an expression of gratitude, more than
appreciation in a human sense. It is
appreciation for God which cannot exist apart from the function of the
spiritual life.
Eph 5:20, "always be thankful
with reference to all things toward God, even the Father, through the person of
our Lord Jesus Christ."
Obedience to this command demands the filling of the Spirit, the word
of God circulating in the stream of consciousness, and the application of His
word to solve our problems.
Thanksgiving is first of all directed toward God, and as an overflow it
is capacity and appreciation for life.
So the Act of Giving Thanks is found in the word:
[The Verb:]
Eucharisteo - eucaristew = To give thanks.
Thanksgiving is the expression of joy toward God, and is therefore the
fruit of the Spirit. [Gal 5:22].
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.
We as believer priests are encouraged to abound / overflow in it.
Col 2:6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7having been
firmly rooted and now being built up
in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing
with gratitude.
1) Christ abounded gratitude when thanking the Father for His
provisions. Mat 15:36
Mat 15:36 and He took the seven loaves and the
fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the
disciples, and the disciples gave them
to the people.
2) Paul abounded in gratitude at the beginning of the Epistles.
[See any epistle except 2 Cor.]
a) Thanks for his readers.
Rom 1:8
Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus
Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole
world.
b) Thanks for fellowship
with the Royal Family of God. Phil 1:3
Phil 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance
of you, 4always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you
all, 5in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day
until now.
c) Thanks for God's grace
gift to them. 1 Cor 1:4
1 Cor 1:4 I thank my God always concerning you
for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,
3) There are many records of others giving thanks including the healed
Samaritan. Luke 17:16
Luke 17:15 when he saw that he had been healed, he turned back, glorifying God with
a loud voice, 16and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks
to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus answered and said,
“Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18“Was no
one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19And
He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
4) Gratitude in exhortations to the Royal Family, in the name of the
Lord Jesus suggesting His character and example. Eph 5:20; Col 1:12; 3:17; 1
Thes 5:18
Col 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
1 Thes 5:15 See that no one repays another with
evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for
all people. 16Rejoice always; 17pray without ceasing; 18in
everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
5) Gratitude as the expression of a purpose. 2 Cor 1:11
2 Cor 1:10 And He will yet deliver us, 11you also joining in helping us
through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf
for the favor bestowed on us through the
prayers of many.
6) Jesus quoted a Pharisee's self-complacent / self-centered prayer.
Luke 18:11
Luke 18:11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying
this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers,
unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
7) Example of those that do not give thanks. Rom 1:21
Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they
did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their
speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Every time you name your sins to God and regain the Filling of the Holy
Spirit; learn, metabolize and apply the word of God; and live in the Plan that
God has for your life you are functioning in the true concept of thanksgiving.
Eph 5:20
[Eph 5:18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation (reckless and
abandoning), but be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with
your heart to the Lord; 20always giving thanks for all things
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21and
be subject to one another in the fear (reverence/respect) of Christ.
"Always be thankful" in Eph 5:20 is related to the filling of
the Spirit in Eph 5:18. Therefore Thanksgiving accompanies rebound (1 Jn 1:9)
as an expression of your gratitude for the forgiveness of sins, restoration to
fellowship, and the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Thanksgiving is related to the word of God circulating in your stream
of consciousness providing a greater capacity for the mental attitude of
gratitude. The greater the content of
His Word in your soul, the greater capacity you will have to give thanks to
Him.
Can you thank someone when you don't know what they did?
Col 1:10, "That you might walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
pleasing Him, bearing fruit in every good work; in fact, constantly growing up
(increasing) by means (knowledge) of the Word metabolized in your soul from
God."
[Compare w/ Col 1:12 above]
Col 1:12, "Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to
share in the endowment (inheritance) of the saints in the light."
God has given us at least ten ways to handle any problem that we face
and thanksgiving is related to all of them.
(1) Once you begin to understand 1John 1:9 "rebound" by
grace, inevitably it becomes an expression of gratitude to God for the
forgiveness of sins and restoration to fellowship with God. W/ Eph 4:22
(2) Thanksgiving is related to the "Filling of the Holy
Spirit" as the means of expressing your appreciation to God. Without the filling of the Spirit we cannot
even possess true thanksgiving to God. Gal 5:18; w/ Eph 5:16
(3) "Faith-Rest" results in capacity and expression of
thanksgiving. When you trust in God you
are saying thank you for your provisions.
Heb 4:1-16
(4) "Grace Orientation" is a continual source of thanksgiving
to God. You recall God's grace on you
and you apply that same grace to others as an appreciation for what God has
done for you.
Eph 2:8-9 - Salvation.
2 Cor 12:9 (My grace is sufficient for you)
(5) "Doctrinal Orientation" provides greater and greater
capacity for thanksgiving. The more you
know about God through His word the more you will have His joy in your soul. Heb 11:1-40 (Hall of fame); Rom15:4
Heb 11:1. Throughout Heb 11, PISTIS means what is believed, or
doctrine. "In fact, doctrine is
the reality from which we receive hope, the proof of matters not yet being
seen."
(6) A "Personal Sense of Destiny" is a source of thanksgiving
for the believer oriented to the objectives, purpose, and understanding of
God's will, plan, and purpose for their lives.
1 Cor 12:21 w/ Col 1:18
(7) "Personal Love for God the Father" adds motivational
virtue to your thanksgiving. 1 John
4:11-21; Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 2:9
(8) "Impersonal Love for all Mankind" relates interpersonal
relationships to mental attitude thanksgiving toward God. You are thankful regardless of just or
unjust treatment. 1 John 4:11-21
(9) "Sharing the Happiness of God" provides tremendous
contentment in your life, and therefore, thanksgiving and tranquility in every
circumstance of your life. John 15:11
(10) The ultimate in mental attitude thanksgiving and the overt
expression of gratitude toward God comes from "Occupation with
Christ".
Phil 2:1-2; 1 Cor 2:16
The more you know someone the more you love them and the more you are
thankful toward them.
Without occupation with Christ, capacity for life, or Bible doctrine in
the soul, thanksgiving has no meaning.
Thanksgiving reaches its peak in Personal Love for God the Father and
Occupation with the person of Christ.
Thanksgiving fulfills the divine mandates of:
1 Thes 5:18, "In everything give thanks; for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
Eph 5:20, "Always be thankful with reference to all things to God
even the Father through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ."
That was all part of the Definition of Thanksgiving, now let's look at
9 Principles concerning giving thanks.
Principle: The word of God
metabolized and circulating in the stream of consciousness produces
thanksgiving toward God.
2 Cor 9:15, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift."
Rev 7:12, "Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor
and power and ability belong to God forever and ever. Amen."
Ps 100:4, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His
courts with praise. Give thanks to Him,
honor His person."
Principle: Thanksgiving is a
function of prayer.
Eph 1:16, "I do not cease giving thanks for you, and I make mention
of you in my prayers."
Col 1:3, "We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, praying always for you."
Col 4:2, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with
thanksgiving."
Phil 4:6, "Stop worrying about anything, but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God."
Principle: Giving causes thanksgiving.
2 Cor 9:7-12.
2 Cor 9:7-12 "Each
one on the basis as he has determined by means of his right lobe so give, not
reluctantly, nor from compulsion; for God loves a gracious giver. And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have
an abundance for every good of intrinsic value deed. Even as it stands written, `He has scattered abroad, He has given
to the poor, His righteousness [virtue] abides forever.' Now He that provides graciously the seed to
the sower provides graciously for the act of eating, and at the same time
multiplies your seed sown and enlarges the harvest of your grace virtue. Because of your generosity, you will be
enriched in all things which through us produces thanksgiving to God. Because the ministry of this service is not
only supplying the needs of the saints, but also overflowing through many with
thanksgivings to God."
Principle: Food should be accepted with thanksgiving, 1 Tim 4:3‑4.
This applies to all food, anytime, anywhere.
God has created food to be received with thanksgiving.
Thanksgivings before meals is a part of grace orientation with special
emphasis on the appreciation of God's logistical grace provision.
Thanksgivings before meals sanctifies the food, protecting the
believer's health from any possible impurities in the food and so that the food
will fulfill any requirements of the body when metabolized.
1 Tim 4:3-4, "{men} who forbid marriage {and advocate}
abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in
by those who believe and know the truth.
For everything created by God is beneficial, and nothing is to be
rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving."
Principle: Thanksgiving is often a public acknowledgment or celebration
of worship, 1 Chr 16:7‑36
Exomologeo - (verb) middle voice, [signifies]
to make acknowledgement whether of sins to confess or in the honor of God or a
person. Rom 14:11; 15:9
Rom 14:11 [Isa 445:23] For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall
bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
Rom 15:9 [2 Sam 22:50 and Psa 18:49] and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His
mercy; as it is written,
“Therefore I will give praise to You among the
Gentiles, And I will sing to Your name.”
Our Lord gave thanks to the Father.
Mat 11:25; Luke 10:21
Mat 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise
You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have
revealed them to infants.
Principle: The justice of God demands that believers being blessed have
capacity for the blessing.
Capacity for blessing means thanksgiving potential.
Thanksgiving potential depends on the amount of Bible doctrine in the
soul of the believer, so that the believer who is blessed is occupied with the
Giver as well as the gift.
To enjoy the gift, the person who is thankful must be occupied with the
Giver.
True happiness is loving the Giver more than the gift.
True thanksgiving is to be occupied with the Giver more than the gift.
Capacity for life is to enjoy the Giver more than the gift.
You cannot give thanksgiving for what you do not possess. If you don't
possess God you cannot be thankful.
Principle: Thanksgiving is a priestly sacrifice, Ps 116:17, 107:22;
Amos 4:5; Heb 13:15.
Thanksgiving is the mental attitude of the spiritually adult believer.
Principle: Thanksgiving is a function of the believer with capacity for
life. Col 3:15; 2 Cor 4:15, 9:10‑11.
Col 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Eucharistos - eucaristoV (Adjective)= Gracious, Agreeable, grateful,
thankful.
2 Cor 4:15 For all
things are for your sakes, so that
the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of
thanks to abound to the glory of God.
Personal testimonies of mature believers are found in Dan 2:23; Jn
11:41; Rom 1:8; 1 Cor 1:4; Phil 1:3; 2 Tim 1:3.
Dan. 2:23 “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what
we requested of You,
For You have made known to
us the king’s matter.”
Principle: Believer's who are positive toward the Word are motivated to
give thanksgiving regarding others. 1 Thes 3:9
Copyright 2002, Property of:
Grace Fellowship Church, Pastor James Rickard.
All Rights Reserved.