Last time we learned that God has great regard for His Church. The church is the Body of Christ. Believers are the ecclesia, and are the “called out ones”. Christians are called out from the world, called out of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.
Jesus has a relationship with His entire church but He also graciously relates to each person individually. He is not like that greedy corporate board president who is only concerned with the bottom line of the company to the neglect of the individual employee.
Our Lord is concerned for each and every blood-bought person in the Body of Christ and so Paul writes in Ephesians 4, verse 7, “But to each one of us, grace was given, according to the measure of Christ's gift.”
As we unpack Ephesians chapter four, verses 7 through 12, we are going to answer some very important questions about Christ’s gifts to the church:
A. Why Jesus gives gifts to the individual believer? (verse 7)
B. How Jesus gives gifts to the believer? (verse 7)
C. How did He get the right to give gifts? (verses 8-10)
D. What gifts does Jesus give to the local church? (verses 11-12)
A. Why does Jesus give gifts to the individual believer?
The first things that Paul tells us in verse seven is that “each one of us is given grace” and that grace “is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”
The context of verse seven lets us know that there is diversity in the unity. Verses 4-7a say, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace…”
Although there is a whole bunch of Christ-followers in the US and all over the world, the Bible says, “But unto every one of us is given grace…” What this is saying is that through there is one large body of believers, none of us who are in the body are overlooked.
In the Christmas movie, Jingle All the Way, the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad movie, there is a scene near the end of the movie where Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character named Howard is dressed up in the Turbo Man costume and he has to pick a child from the crowd to award him with a genuine Turbo Man action figure. Howard’s own son Jamie is somewhere in the crowd and with his neighbor’s son Johnny. They both are yelling, “Pick me! Pick me! Over here!”
Then Jamie (not knowing that’s his father) says, “He's looking at me.” Johnny says, “He's looking at me.” Jamie says, “He’s pointing at me!” Johnny says, “Naw, it’s me!” Jamie: “Me!” Johnny: “Me!”
There there’s that climatic scene where Howard, dressed up like Turbo Man hollers, “Jamie!” and Jamie says, “He knows my name.”
This is the picture here in Ephesians chapter four. We are being told that even though there is one body of blood-bought, Spirit-indwelt, born again believers…all over the globe and all throughout time…none of us who are in the body are overlooked.
Wuest says that “God’s gracious relation to all is a relation also to each individual. Not one of them was left unregarded by Him who is the God and Father of all, but each was made a partaker of Christ’s gift of grace…”
That’s what the Scripture is saying: “But unto every one of us is given grace…”
“Grace” here in this context is the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit given to each believer…not for daily living…but for service.
The Bible tells us that this grace is given “according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” In other words, each and every person in the Body of Christ gets the grace which Christ has to give in the proportion to which the Giver (Christ) is pleased to bestow it.
This means that some in the body get Christ’s grace in different measure than others, but that we get it from the same Hand and with the same purpose.
And again, this isn’t the kind of grace we ask of God for each day or certain moments of the day like: “Lord, grant me grace” or “Lord be gracious to me” or “Lord, I need grace to get through this”. This “grace” isn’t for that purpose.
This is the grace (or the power and desire) Christ has dispensed to His people in order that His work might get done through the church.
• There is serving that needs to be done in the church.
• There is administration that needs to be done in the church.
• There is teaching that needs to be done in the church.
• Mercy must be given through the church
• Encouragement must be given through the church.
• The proclamation of the Word must happen by the church.
And all of these are gifts that come empowered by the grace of God.
This grace is unlimited and subject only to the limitations which the believer puts upon it by a lack of yieldedness to the Holy Spirit. In other words, you quench the power of the Holy Spirit in your life when you do not yield your life to Him.
Why does Jesus give gifts to the individual believer? Jesus gives grace-gifts to the individuals in His Body for service.
B. How Christ gives gifts to the individual. (verse 7)
Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.”
Paul lets us know in Ephesians 4:7 that the measure of the gift the believer receives is according to grace. He says a similar thing in Romans 12:6 but expands it a bit. Paul says that the gifts differ according to the grace that is given to us.
Peter wants to get in on the action and in his letter tells us that the gifts are given according to the manifold grace of God: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10)
The word “manifold” means, “very varied,” or “multicolored.” The Greek translation of this word was used to describe Joseph’s robe of many colors given to him by his father Jacob (Genesis 37:3). Peter is letting us know that the operation of the gift varies, like the rays of like that shine through a prism.
In other words, both Paul and Peter’s teaching on gifts is letting us know that when Jesus gives a gift to an individual Christian, each believer’s spiritual gift manifests itself differently from another believer’s gift when in operation, even though it’s the same gift.
It's just like cooking fried chicken and potato salad. Many people know how to prepare this dish but rarely do you find two people who do it the same. Some people like to use a wet batter for their fried chicken and others prefer to dry flour their chicken before they fry it. Some like to put a little mustard or eggs in the potato salad and some do not.
It is the Spirit of God who bestows the gifts but He uses our unique personalities to flavor them by the power of His grace. The wonderful thing is that there is no bad dish—they all are delicious…all of our service to each other is effective and powerful when empowered by the Spirit of God!
The thing we need to be concerned about is not the exhibition of our gift but the employment of it. We should not be concerned about the promotion of our gifts to wow people, but the putting our gifts to work to serve people.
This is what we are told in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it (put it to work) in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (NASB)
How does Jesus give gifts to the believer? He gives them gifts in such a way that there is a variety of manifestations in the body to the praise and glory of God.
1 Peter 4:11 says, “Those who preach must preach God's messages; those who serve must serve with the strength that God gives them, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen.”
So we looked at: “Why does Jesus give gifts to the individual believer?” and “How does Jesus give gifts to the believer?” Now let’s look at the third question.
C. How Christ got the right to give. (verses 8-10)
Ephesians 4:8 is a quotation from Psalm 68:18. The picture in this Psalm is God, the conquering hero ascending the hill and dragging behind Him the spoils of victory, the vanquished foes and material goods.
When Israeli kings won a battle they would return and ascend the hill to Mt Zion; Mt Zion was the great crowning hill of Jerusalem—the place of great victory, the place where God had established His people.
So the king would triumphantly ascend the hill to Mt Zion. Behind him he would have two things:
1. The spoils of victory. The spoils consisted of the people from that foreign nation who were captured and would become slaves. The spoils of victory also consisted of the valuables of the conquered nation—much of these things would be tossed out to the crowd of the king’s followers.
2. The recaptured captive. There were the king’s own people who were captured by the enemy and rescued by the king and set free.
In Ephesians 4:8 Paul interprets Psalm 68 as one that represents Jesus Christ, triumphing over His enemies: Satan, sin, death and hell.
Thus the picture is our Lord Jesus who was at war with Satan—a battle which took Him to the Cross. While Jesus was on the Cross it seemed as if all was lost, but in reality there was victory when Jesus said, “It is finished!”
The penalty for our sin was paid in full. As a result, Jesus sets those…who were captive to sin, Satan, death and hell…free and returns from war ascending the hill to the mount of victory and following Him were the captive He set free and the spoils of victory.
Just like the king who tosses some of the spoils of war to the awaiting crowd, Jesus distributes spiritual gifts to His Body.
Ephesians 4:9-10 says, “(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)”
Verses 9 and 10 are a parenthesis. In these verses Paul is going to explain how he was able to distribute gifts to the Body. In order to understand what is going on here we are going to have to hold our place in Ephesians and turn to 1 Peter 3:18.
1 Pet 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit:
This is a picture of Christ's death on the cross. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. In other words, while His outer man (His body) had died, His inner man (His spirit) was alive.
Have you ever asked the question, "Where was Christ for the three days He was dead?"
The Scripture teaches in Ephesians 4:9 and 10 that He was descending. How do we know that? Listen again to 1 Peter 3:18 along with verse 19:
1 Pet 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit
1 Pet 3:19 In which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
The "by which" at the beginning of verse 19 modifies the word "spirit" in verse 18, so that we know that it was Jesus that descended, not in the Holy Spirit, but in His human spirit.
Where did He descend? He descended down to the prison of spirits. This place was called the place of the dead or Hades or Sheol in the Old Testament. We get a good picture of it in the story Jesus told of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16:19-31.
The place where both the rich man and Lazarus went when they died was a compartment in the center of the earth. Most students of the Bible believe this compartment was divided into two parts (Luke 16:26).
1. One part was the place of the righteous dead. It was a place of happiness and bliss; the Old Testament Saints who died in faith resided there. In Luke 23:43 Jesus referred to this place as "paradise" when He spoke to the repentant thief on the cross: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
2. The other part was where the unrighteous dead and the bound demons were. It that section there was evil and torment. In 2 Peter 2:4, this place is referred to as tartaros or “hell,” or the "pit."
This is the section of Sheol where the ungodly dead went during Old Testament times. You also need to know that this is the place where all the unsaved go and what the Bible calls “Hell”.
So Christ descended into this place where Lazarus and the rich man were—the place where the undead, dead were—the place where the bound fallen angels were and "preached".
The word, preached is not the New Testament word (euaggelizo, yoo-ang-ghel-id'-zo) that means “to announce the good news” or “evangelize”; It is the word kerusso, kay-roos'-so, that means “to proclaim” or “to publish.”
What did Jesus “proclaim” to those in Sheol? The Bible doesn’t say. But we might get an inkling or idea of what His message was as we read what Paul wrote in Colossians 2:15:
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers (the fallen demon angels), He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
In other words, sometime after Jesus died on the cross, He descended into the lowest parts of Sheol, and openly proclaimed His victory to all who were there…especially the fallen demons who were bound there. And on His way out He (according to Ephesians 4:8) “led captivity captive.”
Why were the Old Testament righteous held captive?
Why were all the Old Testament righteous held captive in Sheol? Why weren't they in Heaven?
Remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross between two thieves? God humbled one of the thieves who asked Jesus to remember him when He entered His kingdom. How did Jesus respond? He said in Luke 23:43, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Paradise was the place where the righteous went when they died. This was before Jesus died on the Cross to pay for their sin. This was before Jesus triumphed over sin and death.
Paradise was where believers were held captive or secure until Jesus paid the price to set them free.
Some time ago some friends of mine were at an airport in Bermuda trying to get back home after their honeymoon. The plane they were to fly had trouble so this new married couple were put in a hotel until the problem was fixed. It was a nice hotel; it was a luxurious hotel where they could see the waterfront—but it wasn’t home.
Paradise, where the rich man and the other Old Testament saints went when they died. It was nice, but it wasn’t “Heaven.”
By faith, the Old Testament believers kept the blood covenant—that pointed to the sacrificing of God’s own Lamb. So when Jesus died for our sins and when He descended and then ascended, He opened the door to Paradise and set free the righteous that were held captive in that holding place. After that, “Hotel Paradise” was closed.
God’s Word lets us in on this spectacular event in Matthew chapter 27:
Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Back in Ephesians 4:8, we find the imagery of the victorious, conquering Savior, Jesus Christ ascending the hill with the spoils of the battle after Him. The spoils of war were the Old Testament believers who were recaptured back from Satan and set free.
Not only that, but Jesus rendered Satan powerless when it comes to temptation—we see from His example that we can have the victory over temptation. Jesus stripped Satan of his power over the human heart.
Not only did Jesus render Satan powerless, He also disarmed the devil’s last great weapon—Death: Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
The spoils of war always belonged to the victor. The spoils of war consisted of everything of value taken in battle—gold and silver, clothing, food, household items, weapons, implements of agriculture, camels, sheep, cattle, and men, women, and children to be used as slaves. The triumphant army fell like vultures upon the spoils to restock their supplies and build up their strength. Spoils…especially gold and silver, were taken to honor the victor.
So, not only were the captive set free but continuing this imagery, Jesus, the One who triumphed over death and the grave, gives the spoils of His victory to the church. That’s how Jesus got the right to give gifts to the church.
Ephesians 4:8 tells us that the spoils of His victory were the gifts given to the church!
This is the answer to the last question in our outline.
D. What gifts does Jesus give to the local church?
Spiritual gifts are the spoils of Jesus victory obtained by dying for sin and being raised from the dead. But, what exactly are spiritual gifts? 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 summarizes them:
1 Cor 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
1 Cor 12:5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
1 Cor 12:6-7 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
According to 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, there are three types or categories of gifts: Motivation (ability), Ministry (office) and Manifestation (effects). Each follower of Jesus Christ has at least one motivation gift and the possibility of many ministry and manifestation gifts.
a. Motivation gifts (vs 4) are those gifts which each believer is given at the moment of salvation. This list of gifts is found in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Peter 4:10.
b. Ministry gifts (vs 5) are opportunities to exercise our motivational gift in a formal ministry. These ministry gifts are not necessarily permanent and may change. They are received by appointment (etheto, aorist tense - 1 Cor. 12:18, 28; 1 Tim. 1:12; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11) or election (cheirotoneo, 2 Cor. 8:16, 19, 23).
c. Manifestation gifts which are the actual results or effects of using these gifts in the lives of others as a believer exercises his or her motivational gift through a formal ministry. This list of gifts is found in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. These gifts are given constantly and repeatedly to believers as the Holy Spirit determines. (v. 11, “distributing,” diaipoun, present tense),
I’m going to briefly introduce you to the motivation gifts today and then we will continue the next time looking at the other categories of spiritual gifts.
Motivation Gifts
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Pet 4:10).
The Greek word for "gift" is charisma, khar'-is-mah; Charisma is often thought to be charm or magnetism, but the Greek word is actually a combination of two other words.
• "Charis" is the Greek word for "grace." This denotes that the gift is something that is freely and graciously given.
• "Char" (breaking the word down further) which is the Greek word for "joy." This introduces the dimension of motivation, desire, incentive, or burden.
Pulling all this together we find that a spiritual gift is a supernatural ability from God given to each believer for ministry and the byproduct of using your spiritual gift for ministry is joy.
Your motivation gift encourages and inspires you; it gives you a desire or even a burden to do the work of the Lord in the area of service that requires your gift.
When you minister using your spiritual gift you experience joy and “the joy of the Lord is your strength”. (Nehemiah 8:10) But if you’ve ever gotten tired or fed up with church work or ministry, you were probably not serving using the power of your spiritual gift; you were more than likely ministering through human effort.
Evangelist Pat Kelly used to say, “You may get tired in the ministry but you do not get tired of the ministry”. Even when the work of the ministry is excruciatingly tough, there is joy.
In Acts chapter five we learn that when Peter and the apostles were whipped and beaten for preaching the Gospel, they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name of Jesus. (vs. 40-41)
In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul writes, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.” (vs. 7-10)
There are seven motivation-gifts—Prophecy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Administration (leading) and Mercy. In Romans 12:6-8 we find these gifts mentioned.
1. The Gift of Prophecy - The motivation to proclaim or preach truth revealed in Scripture.
2. The Gift of Serving - The motivation to demonstrate love by meeting practical needs.
3. The Gift of Teaching - The motivation to search out truth from the Word and also to and validate or clarify what others have presented
4. The Gift of Exhortation - The motivation to encourage or stimulate the faith of others
5. The Gift of Giving - The motivation to entrust personal assets to others for the furtherance of their ministry
6. The Gift of Leading or Organization - The motivation to coordinate the activities of others for the achievement of common goals to further the advancement of the Gospel.
7. The Gift of Showing Mercy - The motivation to identify with and comfort those who are in distress
These are the gifts that motivate you to do ministry of the Lord.
Next time we will be looking at these gifts in more detail and hear some examples of how they are to work in the church.
For example, when it comes to those who have the gift of serving there are positive characteristics and there are challenges for the one who has this gift:
Positive characteristics
1. An ability to see practical needs and a desire to meet them (Phil 2:19-20)
2. A joy in serving when it frees others to do more important things (Phil 2:22)
3. A special enjoyment in providing for physical needs and comforts (2 Tim 4:13)
4. A strong desire to make oneself available to serve others (Acts 16:2,17:14; 18:5;19:22)
Challenges for those who have this gift
1. Neglecting home responsibilities to help others.
2. Accepting too many jobs at one time (cannot say ‘no’)
3. Wearing themselves out physically. (1 Tim 5:23; Phil 2:25-30)
4. Going around proper authorities to get job done. (Like ministry leader or pastor)
5. Interfering with God’s discipline by premature help. (wait…don’t bail them out)
6. Excluding others from helping on a job (difficult to delegate) (“I’ll do it myself”)
7. Being hurt by ungratefulness of those helped. (“no one thanked me”)
8. Getting sidetracked while working on an assignment. (hard to juggle multiple projects)
9. Being too persistent in giving unrequested help to others. (Pushing “help” on others)
We are going to look at each of the other motivational gifts like this next time.
