The preachers quoted here distinguish gratitude, which rises inwardly, from thanksgiving, which is its willing expression to God for what he has done. They call it an offering the poorest can make, an acknowledgment of debt and not a payment, and a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Thanksgiving is the acknowledgment that what we have comes from God.12 The psalms make it the way into his presence: "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name" (Psalm 100:4). Its constant refrain is, "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever" (107:1).
Scripture treats its absence as serious. Paul's account of human sin begins, "when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful" (Romans 1:21). When Jesus healed ten lepers and one returned, he asked, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17). David preaches to himself, "forget not all his benefits" (Psalm 103:2).
The New Testament makes it a standing duty. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). William Law drew the conclusion: "If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil be duties to God, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our life."3 Paul speaks of "giving thanks always for all things" (Ephesians 5:20), and lists it as a mark of being filled with the Spirit.
It belongs with prayer. "In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). Thanking God for what he has given guards asking from turning into complaint.
Its chief subject is Christ. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15). Believers are to be "rooted and built up in him ... abounding therein with thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:7), and to do everything "in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (3:17).
Thanksgiving is called a sacrifice. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Hebrews 13:15). It is also the language of heaven (Revelation 7:12).
- Strong's Hebrew 8426, tôwdâh: "properly, an extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) avowal, or (usually) adoration; specifically, a...".
- Strong's Greek 2169, eucharistía: "gratitude; actively, grateful language (to God, as an act of worship)".
- William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, "CHAPTER I: Concerning the nature and extent of Christian devotion".
In their own words
Each line below is quoted exactly from a sermon on this site. Follow the link to hear or read it where it was said.
Gratitude is an inward emotion of the soul, involuntarily arising therein, while thanksgiving is the voluntary expression of gratitude.
E.M. Bounds
in Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving
Read in context
Thanksgiving is gratitude to God for what he has done.
Paris Reidhead
in The Place of Thanksgiving
Listen at 4:43
Thanksgiving is the expression of gladness because God is good to us.
Chuck Smith
in Luke 17:11
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Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it.
A.W. Tozer
in Leadership: Joy or Burden?
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Thanksgiving is in no way a payment for the benefit received; it is rather a gracious acknowledgment of the fact that the one who had received the benefit is indebted to the giver.
Lewis Sperry Chafer
in Thanksgiving
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Thanksgiving is one of the inevitable results of being filled with the Holy Spirit and one who does not learn "in everything to give thanks" cannot continue to pray in the Spirit.
R.A. Torrey
in Praying With Thanksgiving
Read in context
Gratitude is more than an action which we decide to do by an act of will power.
John Piper
in Grace, Gratitude, and the Glory of God
Read in context
So Thanksgiving is something we give to God and to men.
Zac Poonen
in Thanksgiving, Praise and Worship
Listen at 8:35
What Scripture says
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in every thing give thanks
- Psalm 100:4 enter into his gates with thanksgiving
- Luke 17:15-18 where are the nine?
- Philippians 4:6 prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
- Hebrews 13:15 the sacrifice of praise, giving thanks to his name
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