Grace a la carte

But as our classification has shown, there is more than one way in which gift/ grace can be perfected, and each of the six forms of perfection outlined above can stand on its own. To perfect one facet of gift-giving does not imply the perfection of any or all of the others. Thus, one could speak of divine gifts as superabundant or absolutely prior without implying that they are also incongruous with the worth of the recipient. Alternatively, God’s grace maybe figured as wholly and completely incongruous, without at the same time being “pure” in the sense of seeking no return. As we shall see in the following chapter, it is not uncommon for certain perfections to cluster together: the priority of divine grace is regularly paired with its efficacy, or its superabundance with its incongruity. The Protestant slogan sola gratia groups a number of these perfections, although even here we will note significant differences between Luther and Calvin (see below, 3.3 and 3.4). The important point is that these six perfections do not constitute a “package”: to adopt one is not to commit to any or all of the rest. Therefore, two authors may each perfect the motif of grace, but still disagree strongly in their interpretation of this motif, because each is drawing a different facet to its end-of-the-line extreme.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 75–76 (emphasis original)