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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) *Song of Adoration: Hymnal #117A “Praise Jehovah, All Ye Nations” Song of Confession: Hymnal #139B: 1-6 “Lord, You Have Searched Me” *Song of Preparation: Hymnal #68A: 7-8, 12 “God Shall Arise and by His Might” Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16 Text: Ephesians 4:7-10 Message: A Diversity of Gifts *Song of Response: Hymnal #538: 1-3, 6 “Take My Life, and Let It Be” *Doxology: Hymnal #488: 1-3 “May the Mind of Christ, My Savior” |
Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I fear that we underestimate the importance and significance of the ascension of Jesus Christ. We think of it merely as a historical fact. Ephesians 4 is going to draw to our attention part of the great importance of the ascension. As Jesus ascended, he gifted the church.
This morning we have the privilege to witness a public profession of faith. A young man takes the important spiritual step of maturing when he embraces publicly the promises of his baptism. Now our brother is in school and figuring out his place and role in the world and church. We have all been there, if we are older. Part of that process is discerning the gifts that God has given to us. He has gifted the church with what the church needs. He does not give all the gifts to one or few people, and all people have gifts from the Lord. They just have to figure out what they are. Sometimes this takes place by trial and error. But the whole time, we must rely upon the Lord.
Last week we looked at the unity of the church in verses 1-6. We are all one in Christ. That word one was used 7 times. Now, in the verses that follow and over the next two sermons, we will see that we are all different and diverse. Both of these truths are good and important in both society and in the church. Our theme this morning is We are called to have unity amid diversity because of the gifts from the ascended Christ.
- The Nature of Gifts
- The Source of Gifts
- The Use of Gifts
I. The Nature of Gifts
These examples I have mentioned are people who had tremendous gifts, but their gifts were often very different from each other. There certainly was a great diversity among them. Two weeks ago, when we looked at Ephesians 4:1-6 we saw that we are called to have unity because we are the church. We are already unified because of Christ’s work for us. We will continue to see that similar theme carried out in the next verses in terms of gifts. Our theme this morning is, We are called to have unity amid diversity because of the gifts God has given.
- The Nature of gifts
- The Source of gifts
- The Use of gifts
I. The Nature of Gifts
Look at verse 7. There are a few things we must notice right away. First, notice the phrase “each one.” Remember, this letter is written to the church in Ephesus. This is not just written to the elders and deacons in Ephesus, it is not just written to a special group of people within the church. No, this is written, as Ch. 1 puts it, “to the saints in Ephesus.” By extension, this is written to the entire church. The church in the first century, the original readers of the letter, and the church today. And now, as Paul addresses gifts, he refers to the fact that they have been given to “each one.”
Everyone has been given gifts. You can say, head for head, every believer has spiritual gifts. Everyone is included here. So, in that sense, there is a unity, because we all have gifts. On the other hand, there is a diversity because our gifts might be different than each other.
The second thing we must notice about the nature of gifts is that no one has them all. We will see this even more next week, D.V., when we look at verse 11, but read there, “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers...” No one has all the gifts, but corporately as the body of Christ, we have all the gifts. Our calling is to use the gifts that God gives, for the upbuilding of the church and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The third thing we notice about these gifts is that as a gift, they are undeserved. We see this in verse 7 with the use of the words grace and gift. Gifts are always undeserved. If someone gives you something and you think you are rightly entitled to it, then it is no longer a gift, but a payment. The nature of the word gift implies an undeserved giving.
You might have wondered about the use of the word grace here in our text. There is more than one definition of grace in the scriptures. Here the word grace is not referring to the undeserved favor or removing sins from the unworthy. Here grace is referring to special gifts given to those who are believers. This isn’t the grace of justification, it is the grace of sanctification and godliness in the Christian life.
The last thing we notice about the nature of gifts is that, since they are given, there is no room for pride. There is no room for boasting. Rom. 3:27 says, “Where is boasting then? Is it excluded.” Or look back a page to Eph. 2:9. There cannot be pride or boasting or even envy or jealousy because we are speaking here of gifts. We need to be reminded of this often.
Back in verse 2 we saw the call to exercise humility as we maintain unity. When you live in a society where pride is a virtue and whether you celebrate pride as an arrogant presidential candidate, pride as an athlete, pride celebrated in some sexual deviancy. Pride is the primary characteristic of Satan, not of the believer. Grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
II. The Source of Gifts
Verse 7, notice, ends with the phrase, “measure of Christ’s gift.” Christ is the source and fountain of these gifts. Christ gives these gifts to the church. Before he ascended into heaven, Christ promised that he would send a comforter, the paraclete, the Holy Spirit. As Christ went up in Acts 1, the Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost in Acts 2.
Verse 8 says that this was Christ who gave gifts to men. Look at verse 8...this is a quotation taken from Psalm 68. But, for some, there is a problem with using this quotation here. According to Jewish tradition, Psalm 68 is a Psalm of David and they argue verse which is wrongly quoted in our text is about the fact that Israel had just won a battle and David is going to bring the ark of the covenant up Mt. Zion, the Holy Mountain in Jerusalem. Therefore, the Jews, today, think it is wrong for Paul to use it to refer to Christ, obviously. Even some liberal theologians, who have a different view of scripture believe that Paul made a mistake by quoting this verse here, because he fails to see the context of Psalm 68. Well, what do you think? We agree that the context is extremely important to understand anything in scripture. Without a context, words are meaningless, and people will try to twist the words of scripture to fit their own agenda. This is another reason why the context is so important. But for us, we must interpret scripture with scripture.
Paul was right in quoting Psalm 68 because it was referring to Jesus Christ. So, does that mean that the Jews are wrong when they say that verse is referring to the ark of the covenant? No, they are right on...what they fail to realize is that the ark of the covenant, the very presence of God with him people...the principle of Immanuel, God with us...it is Jesus Christ. John 1 tells us that he took on flesh and dwelt among us. The Jews fail to recognize that the whole Old Testament is full of types and shadows of the coming Lord Jesus Christ, and here is a portrayal of what was to come...Christ’s descending and then ascending.
Verse 9 is another debated verse in the history of interpretation. The translation here in the ESV is emphasizing what is the correct position. The question is, what is the “lower regions” referring to. Many in the early church argued it referred to hell. And they connect it with the Christ preaching to the souls in prison in I Peter 3. What we ought to understand it to refer to, is the opposite of the ascent into heaven. It was his descent to earth. The whole humiliation of Christ from his conception and suffering hell to his burial is all part of his descent. Starting on Easter, the exaltation of Christ takes place.
We know that Christ, as the ascended Lord, rules all things from His heavenly throne. The end of verse 10 says, that he “might fill all things.” The middle of verse 8 says, “He led a host of captives.” That simply means that he subdued all his enemies and the enemies of His people. As Israel conquered their enemies by the hand of God, so our enemies are also conquered on account of the work of Christ. The world, death (Heb. 2:14-15), hell, Satan, and sin are all subdued by Christ. As Christ hung on the cross, in Matthew 27:43, it says that the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders mocked him. They said, “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” They challenged the Savior. The ascension was God’s bold reply.
III. The Use of Gifts
Gifts in the church are like talents in the parable of the talents. The master hands out the talents and rewards those who use them faithfully. God, as the end of verse 8 says, “gave gifts to men.” Well why did he do that? He gave them so that they can be used. God gives gifts to His people so that they can use them in the service of the kingdom. God has given gifts. We will see this more next week when we look at the coming verses, but we must be reminded that we are the children of God. Everyone has gifts.
Gifts, once given to us, are oftentimes like athletic talents. Maybe you have been blessed with good coordination or athleticism. Maybe you are a natural when it comes to sports. Well, if you want to be the best basketball player or runner you are going to have to practice. Sometimes you might not like to practice hard....because it is work. When I was in middle school, I had a basketball coach who wouldn't let us touch a basketball for what seemed like a couple weeks of practice and conditioning. We would run and run and run. To be sure, many of us complained, but he said, you will thank me later. And we won, we won the big tournament every year under that coach. Why? Because we never got tired...when the other team was huffing and puffing, my team was doing just fine. It takes practice to become good at something. Playing an instrument is the same...if you do not practice, you will not be able to work or live up to your ability.
So it is with gifts in the church. They must be used. We cannot make excuses. Maybe you have a gift of prayer for others. We must nurture that gift. A whole lifetime of nurture of a gift like prayer is such a wonderful blessing to the church. Grandparents oftentimes seem to be the most devoted to prayer. Maybe your gift is different, maybe it is hospitality, or musical ability, maybe it is encouragement, maybe it is organization, maybe it is a love for gardening, and ability with computers, or maybe you can teach or lead, or any number of possible gifts...these gifts must be used.
To be sure, your gifts will be different than others and this is the diversity we are speaking about amid unity. You must pray to God to seek out what your gift or gifts are and then you must use those gifts...God gives them to be used. There are some passages in scripture that will include something of a list of spiritual gifts. More than 20 are listed and no list is the same leading us to conclude that God didn’t set apart a particular list of gifts. Gifts are the talents, desires, and ability to be a blessing to others. I had a widow friend years ago who would often ask me on Sunday, “how can I pray for you this week.” It made an impression on me knowing that she would pray for me. That is a gift to be nurtured.
Beloved, our gifts will be different and that is a good thing. But remember, all gifts are beneficial because they are given from God. What are you saying to him if you fail to use your gift? I don’t want it, or it is worthless, or you should have given me something better? Part of the commitment in profession of faith and church membership is a commitment to bless the body of Christ, the church. Use your gifts to build up the body of Christ. Pray that God will guide you in this, and may we seek to live in unity with each other amid diversity. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Steven Swets, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2024, Rev. Steven Swets
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