God's Great Gifts for His Church
Ephesians 4:7-16
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Series: The Book of Ephesians
(Prepared May 6, 2024)
BACKGROUND:
*How do you describe God? There are many great ways we can find in His Word, but today we will focus on the fact that God is a great giver. James 1:17 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
*Our God is a great giver! He loves to give, and today's Scripture will help us understand how and why God has given spiritual gifts to His Church. Please think about this as we read Ephesians 4:7-16.
MESSAGE:
*God has given spiritual gifts to His Church. But what is God's Church? Basically, it is the growing group of all people who have believed in Jesus Christ. The Church is everyone who has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
*Pastor Russ Blowers gave a wonderful description of God's Church when he was speaking to the Rotary Club in Indianapolis. Each week, a different member told a little about his job. And this is what Russ said when his turn came up:
*"I'm with a global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We're into motivation and behavior alteration. We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death. We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants.
*Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth, plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything, and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There's not enough money to buy it.)
*Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a fair trial, and arose from the dead! I talk with him every day." (1)
*Friends: God's Church is all of that, and much more! In the Book of Ephesians, the Holy Spirit led Paul to give us a multi-faceted view the Church. For example, in Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul tells Christians that we are citizens of Heaven, members of God's family, and part of the growing, holy temple where God now lives through the Holy Spirit. Then in Ephesians 3 and 4, Paul stressed that we are part of the Spiritual Body of Christ on earth. And God has given some great gifts to His Church.
1. NOTICE FIRST THAT GOD'S GIFTS FLOW OUT OF HIS GRACE.
*All of God's gifts flow out of His grace. We see this truth in vs. 7 where Paul said, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift." All of God's gifts for us flow out of His grace, so let's talk about God's grace.
*John Phillips pointed out that "grace" was one of Paul’s favorite words. The Greek word translated "grace" occurs 156 times in the New Testament, and 110 of them are in Paul’s letters. The original word always carries the idea of free, undeserved favor. Once we understand that God’s free and undeserved favor has given us any gifts we have, we will be more devoted to develop and use them. We will also be more humble about having them. (2)
*And Christians, "to each one of us grace was given according to the "measure" of Christ's gift. The original word for measure there is where we get our word "meter."
*So how much grace did Jesus give us in vs. 7? He certainly gave us more than enough grace. The Lord Jesus gave us more grace than any man can measure! Think of the distance between God's goodness and our sinfulness. That is the measure of God's grace. Think of the distance between life and death. That is the measure of God's grace. Think of the distance between Heaven and hell. That is the measure of God's grace.
*But why do we need God's grace? Alan Perkins gave one of the best answers I've ever heard. And he said we need grace "because God is completely holy, and his standard is perfect righteousness. It doesn't matter if you're a little better than someone else, or even a lot better than someone else. You're still guilty of sin. You're still condemned.
*The person who jumps halfway across the Grand Canyon winds up just as dead as the person who only jumps 8 feet out from the cliff. They both fall a mile to the bottom.
*That's why we have to depend on Christ's perfect righteousness to make us right with God. Our righteousness will never be enough, because we all fall short of God's absolute perfection. The more we understand and accept that, the less critical we will be of other people, because we can't be saved by our own works. We can't gain God's grace by being better than someone else. We can't make it to heaven by even the most strenuous attempts at good behavior.
*All that matters is that Jesus Christ fulfilled all of God's requirements, and gave His life to pay for our sins. Therefore everyone who is saved is saved on the same basis. Not because of our own righteousness, -- but because of the righteousness God gives to us when we put our trust in Jesus Christ." (3)
*That's God's grace. And "to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift."
2. GOD'S GIFTS FLOW OUT OF HIS GRACE. AND THEY CAME BECAUSE OUR DELIVERER WENT THE DISTANCE FOR US.
*Verses 7-10 explain how our Deliverer Jesus Christ went the distance for us. Paul began in vs. 7-8 by saying, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.''
*"Therefore He says." -- Who says? God Himself says. God the Holy Spirit spoke this prophecy through King David in Psalm 68:18. God the Holy Spirit led David to record this prophecy about God the Son, Jesus Christ.
*Now in vs. 7-10:
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.)
*Our Deliverer Jesus Christ went the distance for us! How far did He go?
[1] JESUS WENT ALL THE WAY TO HELL FOR HIS PEOPLE.
*Jesus went all the way to hell, but not to the suffering part of hell. Jesus didn't need to suffer in hell for our sins, because our sin debt was paid in full when the Lord died on the cross for us. That's why on the cross He cried out, "It is finished!" Our sin debt was paid in full right then and there. But think about it: Where did Jesus go when He died?
*Remember what Jesus said to the saved thief on the cross in Luke 23:43. "Today you will be with me in Paradise." We hear that, and we tend to assume that Jesus was talking about Heaven. But remember what Jesus said to Mary Magdalene after He rose from the dead. At first she was overcome with sorrow, because she thought someone had stolen the Lord's body from the empty tomb. She also thought that the Risen Lord was the gardener.
*But when Jesus called her name, Mary grabbed Him and held on tight. Then in John 20:17, Jesus told her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"
*Also think about the time when Jesus compared Himself to Jonah. In Matthew 12:40 Jesus said, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Jesus was definitely not talking about Heaven there. And that doesn't sound like He was talking about a grave does it?
*Verse 9 here also says that Jesus "first descended into the lower parts of the earth." And the only way these Scriptures fit is that before the resurrection of Jesus Christ there were two sections in hell: One section was a place of rest for the saved people, who would one day be rescued by the coming Savior. The other section was for the lost.
*And that is exactly the way Jesus described it in Luke 16:19-31. There a saved beggar died, and in Luke 16:22 Jesus said, "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom." In this same passage a lost, rich man also died, and starting in Luke 16:23, Jesus described what happened to the lost man:
23. And being in torments in Hades (the KJV says "hell"), he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25. But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26. 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
*The Old Testament believers were there in Abraham's Bosom (or Paradise). It was a temporary place of rest. And we need to understand that Jesus really did go all the way to hell for us, but again, not to suffer for our sins. Jesus went to hell to proclaim judgment to the lost, and victory for the saved. Jesus went to hell to set the Old Testament captives free from death, and take them home to Heaven.
*That is the only way I can understand vs. 8 saying, "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive." The picture is of a victorious army in parade, putting its captives on display, but in that same parade are the captives who have been rescued from the enemy. So when Jesus ascended back into Heaven, He took all of the Old Testament believers in Paradise to Heaven with Him. Our deliverer Jesus Christ went the distance for us!
[2] HOW FAR DID HE GO? JESUS WENT ALL THE WAY TO HELL FOR HIS PEOPLE. AND NOW, HE WILL TAKE US ALL THE WAY TO HEAVEN.
*Let's magnify the importance of the cross today. My best understanding is that saved people in the Old Testament did not go to Heaven when they died. That's why before the resurrection, John 1:18 says, "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." And in John 3:12-13 Jesus said, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven."
*That was the situation before the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But now, all Christians can say what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8:
6. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
7. For we walk by faith, not by sight.
8. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
*THAT IS THE POWER OF THE CROSS! Just as soon as we leave this body in physical death, we go to Heaven to be with the Lord! Life is much better on the resurrection side of the cross. And it's all because of our wonderful Savior!
3. GOD'S GIFTS CAME BECAUSE OUR DELIVERER WENT THE DISTANCE FOR US. AND THEY ARE GIVEN ACCORDING TO GOD'S PERFECT WISDOM.
*God knows what He's doing! He always gives the right gifts to the right people at the right time. We see this truth in vs. 11 where Paul wrote that "He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers."
*Then Paul spoke about all Christians being part of the spiritual Body of Christ. And in vs. 15-16 Paul talked about Christians growing "up in all things into Him who is the head Christ 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 overarching truth here is that every part of the spiritual Body of Christ is important to the Body. Of course, all of us are not apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, or teachers, but all of us are parts of His Body. God in His infinite wisdom has chosen the specific part we will be, and He never gets it wrong. God also gives each of us the exact gifts we need for our part, and every part matters! Every part has a good purpose.
*Paul explained this truth starting in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 where he said:
12. "For as the body (that is, the human body) is one and has many (parts), but all the (parts) of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. . ."
*Church: This is not just symbolic language. This is a mysterious, literal, spiritual truth. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are spiritually moved into God. We become a part of the Body of Christ. We are baptized or totally submerged into the spiritual body of Jesus Christ. And the water baptism we go through is symbolic of this spiritual baptism that God performs on every believer. The Holy Spirit of God does this work of putting us into the spiritual body of Christ. And from the moment we believe, we are literally in Christ.
*This spiritual baptism is highly important, and we know this because the phrases "in Christ," "in Christ Jesus" or "in the Lord" are used almost 100 times in the New Testament. For example, Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are IN CHRIST JESUS, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Then in Romans 16:7 Paul said, "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were IN CHRIST before me." 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." And Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now IN CHRIST JESUS you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ."
*Being in Christ is an amazing, miraculous place to be. We have a spiritual oneness with God, and each other in the Body of Christ. And every part of the body is important. This is Paul's message for us in 1 Corinthians 12:14-19.
*Please listen to it today from the New Living Translation where Paul said:
14. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.
15. If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.
16. And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?
17. Suppose the whole body were an eye-then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
18. But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.
19. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
*The point is that every part in the Body of Christ is valuable. God wants us to see our own value in His Body. He also wants us to see the value of others. That's why in 1 Corinthians 12:20-22 Paul said:
20. Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
21. The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."
22. In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.
*Actually, my goal was always to be an elbow in the Body of Christ. We don’t think about our elbows too much. They are not too showy, and not good looking. But elbows are useful. There’s not too much we could do without our elbows. We couldn’t even feed ourselves, unless we had a real long fork. Plus an elbow is something you can lean on, and something that brings other parts of the Body together. I would be really happy to be an elbow in the Body of Christ. How about you? Maybe not, but God knows best. And Christians, you definitely are a part in the spiritual Body of Jesus Christ. Discover your part, and get involved in a practical way.
4. GOD'S GIFTS FOR HIS CHURCH ARE GIVEN ACCORDING TO GOD'S PERFECT WISDOM, AND THEY ARE GIVEN FOR GREAT PURPOSES.
*We can see some of God's great purposes in vs. 12-16.
-In vs. 12 God is equipping us for the work of ministry to edify or build up the Body of Christ.
-In vs. 13 God is leading us to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, so that we can become more and more like Jesus.
-In vs. 14 God is giving us strength to stand through Satan's storms of deception. "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 by which they lie in wait to deceive."
-In vs. 15 He teaches us to be "speaking the truth in love" and growing up in all things in Him who is the head Christ.
-And in vs. 16 we see the whole Body of Christ effectively working together and growing stronger in the love of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
*As God is growing His Church, He is growing us. His perfect purpose is to grow us up to be like Jesus Christ. And it all goes back to God's amazing grace! He has poured out His grace on us in countless ways. But best of all, He poured it out through the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
*The cross was the greatest cost ever paid! Jesus had to pay the price for our sins! That was the only way we could receive the wonderful mercy of God. And this is why 1 Peter 1:18-19 speaks of Christians "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
*All of us deserved eternal punishment because of our sins, but Jesus was willing to take our punishment and die on the cross for us.
*William Ezell saw a picture of the cross in an amazing story from the Civil War. A company of Confederate soldiers known as "Bushwackers" was captured by Union soldiers. They were immediately sentenced to be shot, because they were guerilla fighters and not in uniform.
*One of the Confederate soldiers was a young man named Willy Lear. But there was an amazing young soldier among the Union troops that day. He went to his commanding officer, and pleaded for the life of Willy Lear.
*"Won't you let me take his place?" the Union soldier asked. "I know him well. He has a large family who needs him badly. My parents are dead, and I have few friends. No one will miss me. Please let me take his punishment!"
*The officer hesitated, but finally gave his consent. So, the young Union soldier pulled that condemned father to the side, and took his place on the death line. The stone that marks the Union soldier's grave contains these words: "Sacred to the memory of Willy Lear. He took my place." (4)
*Has anyone ever died for you? -- The answer is Yes! Jesus Christ took our death, so that we could have God's gift of eternal life, by placing our trust in Him. Have you put your trust in our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ? Have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior? You can do that right now, as we go back to God in prayer. Then start growing, and keep growing into all God wants you to be in His Church, the spiritual Body of Jesus Christ.
(1) Andy Mason, amason@accs.net, "Leadership Magazine" -- "to Illustrate" - Source: "Dynamic Illustrations - April, May, June 2001 - Topic: Church
(2) Adapted from EXPLORING EPHESIANS & PHILIPPIANS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Gifts of the Mystical Body" - Ephesians 4:7-13 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(3) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "The Tax Collector and the Pharisee" by Alan Perkins - Luke 18:9-14
(4) "Preaching" - March-April 2000 - page 34
