Gifts- Paid In Full! Ephesians 4:1-16NKJ
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as 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 above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
“ When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The word, “Therefore” found in verse 1, marks transition from doctrine to duty, principle to practice, position to behavior. Notice the word “walk” in verse one; walk is frequently used in the NT to refer to daily conduct.
Every believer is given one or more gifts of grace, for their mutual help. The first step in obtaining any gift from the Lord is humility. Those that decide to do their own thing, and go their own way, pave their own road to disaster. For every Christian there is a “walk.”
Ephesians 4:1NLT Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
Called by God… Wow.
Ephesians 4:2NLT Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
The word “humble” isn’t found in the Greek vocabulary of Paul’s day. Therefore, we can reason that Christians coined this word.
Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:3NKJ Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ‘those’ who know they need Jesus’ help.
Ephesians 4:3NLT Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
The Spirit of God bestows ‘oneness’ of all true believers. This peace is like a Spiritual cord that surrounds every believer, and keeps us together.
I Corinthians 6:17NKJ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Philippians 1:27NKJ Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
Ephesians 4:4-6NLT For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
In these verses of scripture, Paul lists the particular area of oneness: One body, One Spirit, One glorious hope for the future, One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
God’s grace and love bring everything into perfect unity. (We share eternity together.)
Ephesians 4:7NLT However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.
‘His giving’ has nothing to do with what we have done. Every believer has unique spiritual gifts that God gives as He wills.
Ephesians 4:8NLT That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.”
Romans 12:6-8NLT In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
1 Corinthians 12:1NLT Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.
Gifts come just as grace comes underserved and unmerited.
Ephesians 4:9-10NLT Notice that it says, “He ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
There’s two ways of looking at this scripture: The first, Acts 1: 9-11NLT After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Jesus ascended to earth and back to heaven. (He accomplished everything on the cross.)
Secondly, others quote 1 Peter 3:19NLT So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— Psalm 68:18NLT When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you. Now the Lord God will live among us there.
Either way you look at it Jesus took care of business!
1 John 5:4NKJ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
However you take this verse, it’s your faith that makes you victories!
Ephesians 4:11NLT Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
Jesus gives gifts unto men and He gives gifts unto mankind for the body.
Ephesians 4:12NLT Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
The Greek word for equipping means to, recover wholeness.
Verse 12 say’s, to do His work…The task of every gifted leader is to help every person do God’s work and build up the body.
Ephesians 4: 13NLT This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Jesus wants us to grow up, and mature inside out. Maturity is a process.
Ephesians 4:14NLT Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
Immature believers who aren’t grounded in the knowledge of Christ can easily be deceived.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22NKJ Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Romans 16:17-18NKJ Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
Ephesians 4:15-16NLT Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
If your behavior is like Christ you’re growing; if it’s not- you’re sick and unhealthy.
Prayer.
