Ephesians 4:7-16: Spiritual gifts –review Eph 4:1-16.Sunday November 7,2021Let’s read our current section in its entirety.
Eph 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Eph 1:4 He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
Yet, the lead in from chapters 1-3 (blessing of life) to chapters 4-6 (living out those blessings) are on either side of a hinge that is Paul’s amazing prayer for us:
Eph 3:14-16 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family [the whole family] in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man [soul, spirit, mind, heart];
Paul prays for the inner spiritual strength by the HS that all of us will need to live chapters 4-6. It’s not automatic for every believer.
Eph 3:17-21 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith [the truths of Christ – also not automatic, hinging on our inner strength]; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth [likely of agape love], 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
There are four purpose clauses in Paul’s prayer (“that” or “so that”). There is a grand purpose to each of us in God’s plan that is exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.
Now, Paul turns from the blessing of eternal life, the life of Christ and everything that goes with it, given to each of us by grace through faith, and turns to living out that life in time. These incredible chapters (4-6) reveal to us what this life looks like, the joys and the power it brings to us, and the real and sobering reality that since we possess this life by faith in Christ (possessed forever, not earned or worked for) then we have no choice but to live it and harvest the fruit of God’s work of redemption to the human race.
Eph 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Unity through universal possession of God and His gifts.
Eph 4:2-6 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Unity in diversity. We need one another. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you.’”
Eph 4:7-16 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
"When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men."
9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
The spiritual gifts, our different ministries (service) have one purpose: edification (building up – oikodome = to build a home) of others.
Eph 4:12-13 For [pros – pointing towards] the equipping [katartismos = perfecting, making fit] of the saints for [eis – entering] the work of service, to [eis again] the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to [eis again] the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to [eis] a mature man, to [eis] the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.
The nuances of Paul’s prepositional phrases. We have a lot of work to do. It will not be done in this lifetime, but if we don’t start now, our earthly lives will lack the fruit of it.
“pointing towards” (pros) the maturing of the saints, for “the entering into” (eis): service, edification of others, unity, full knowledge of Christ, perfect maturity, and the stature of Christ.
Eph 4:14-16 As a result [hina – another purpose clause], we are no longer to be children [back to vs. 12 – “perfecting the saints”], tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Lord’s Supper:
This verse is a part of our study on evangelism. The gift of evangelism, along with the call for all of us to evangelize, reveals that God put the most important thing in the world, the gospel, in us, the body of Christ, and it is up to us to give it to the world. The gospel is the good news that Jesus is the Savior of the world through His cross and resurrection. This is denied in the world, but Satan didn’t stop at denial. He did what he does best, he deceived.
2Co 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
There is no other Jesus. There is no other God. Our God became a man and submitted Himself to our authority, both religious (Sanhedrin) and political (Roman). Compared to the one Jesus, every one of us, the best of us, are absolute idiots, yet He submitted to us willfully and freely as He submitted to the will of the Father. Remember, all of us have gone astray. There is not one who does good, not even one. All of us, without God’s grace that saved us, all of us on our own sat on the Sanhedrin and condemned Him; all of us stood with Pilate and claimed power over Him; that is until He saved us. To save us He had to submit to our cruelty. We stood with the rest and mocked Him from the foot of the cross. He said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”
He saved us by being judged in our place. Our sins fell upon Him.
Isa 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
We stood condemned because we were born in sin and we did not believe in Him, yet Christ Jesus did not condemn us. Instead, He allowed us to beat Him and spit on Him and mock Him and kill Him, so that after His resurrection He could save us. The Christ had to suffer. He revealed this to the disciples from the Old Testament prophets and the psalms, what was forever the will of the Father written in ink and copied hundreds of times over centuries, and spoken to them over and over since they were children, and still they did not understand it. Christ did not condemn them for this either, but rather spoke to them and opened their eyes. And then He promised them, “Not many days from now you will receive power from on high. John baptized you with water, I will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The church began as a gift from heaven, paid for by the blood of the Lamb, and gifts reigned down upon men and women; apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, pastors, helpers, service workers, deacons, comforters, givers of mercy, leaders, gifts of knowledge and wisdom, and spectacular gifts of miracles, healings, tongues, etc. Of these gifts we are beneficiaries two millennia later, and the same miracle (without the tongues) happened to each of us and are happening every day throughout the world.
That is the One Jesus. That is the One Son of God in the flesh.
So, who are the others? Imposters for sure, but what are they like? The false messiahs are always self-promoting, desirous of worship, judging, proud, seeking elevation and adoration, and not lifting a finger to help anyone unless in the end it helps them more. They are all like this, and so they are easily identified. The One Jesus told us how to vet them: “You will know them by their fruit. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit.”
The good tree, the vine, produced good fruit, and He did it by giving Himself to mankind, and we are so very unworthy of Him. Yet, through faith, we possess Him eternally. Let that warm your heart. Let that fill you will pride in your Savior and joy in yourself. Let us no longer fear anything, and give all of our lives in the joy of His service. Only in Him is there life indeed.
When we eat and drink together we are sitting together in the harmony of remembering Him; His body and blood, His sacrifice and work; the old covenant fulfilled and the new covenant given.
When the hour had come He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing and giving thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. … And when He had taken the cup, in the same way He gave a blessing and thanks, He said, “Take this all of you and drink from it, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins and it is the new covenant in My blood, do this in remembrance of Me. … Truly, I say to you, I shall never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of God. |