Spiritual Gifts

1. There continues to be a lot of confusion and misunderstanding surrounding the wonderful spiritual gifts of God.

a. Yes… there’s been serious abuse and misuse

b. And yes… that’s made people ignore and avoid them…

c. There’s are tons misinterpretations & misrepresentations.

BUT NONE of that should scare us or steer us away from the wonderful truth that as a Christian God has given us spiritual gifts…

· NOTHING should cause us to skip over their importance.

NOTE: We ALL have been given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit.

· Let’s turn to Ephesians 2:8-10

· 1st gift is salvation… a glorious relationship with Jesus.

· But with salvation came spiritual gifts of SERVICE.

· We weren’t saved to stagnate but to serve.

KNOWING THAT, changes our whole attitude in relation to church.

· When you begin to serve… you bless God.

· You were called with a purpose in mind… a cause to fulfill.

· You weren’t saved for SELF’S sake but for SERVICE sake!

· Church becomes one SMALL WAY to serve the Lord…

· The beginning of something that continues through the week.

NOW… of course you can come and just sit… just receive…

· But if that’s you… then you’re missing out on one of the most joyous, most rewarding, most satisfying places in Jesus.

· But not only are you missing out but so are we as a church.

· Because you’ve been placed here to fill a specific need…

NOTE: The church isn’t like the movie theaters… where we can come in and watch a movie be surrounded by hundreds but then leave without connecting… without interacting… without sharing.

SO… you’re thinking… I don’t have a gift & I don’t want to serve.

· By the end of our time together, it’s my prayer that you will both see that you are gifted and that serving is worth it.

· Keep this verse in mind as we go through… mark it, know it.

Mark 10.45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Jesus Christ came to GIVE not TAKE, SERVE not BE SERVED…

· He’s our model, our Teacher, He’s the Head of this church.

· If His goal was to serve… what must ours be?

SO… IN OUR LAST STUDY a few weeks ago: Paul exhorted us to have a ‘walk’ that is worthy of our calling.

· Believe the right things… -- Behave the right ways…

· Our Conduct should match our creeds…

· Our Practice should match our Biblical Principles.

· Let’s look back at 4:1-6…

· Now he moves into the realm of service & ministry.

I. (4:7-11) Gifts Are Given

1. (7) Each one of us has received grace.

a. Yes, there is a unity & oneness in the Body of Jesus Christ.

b. 1 Body, 1 Spirit, 1 Hope, 1 Lord, 1 Faith…

c. Yet along with that unity is great diversity.

NOTE: Those differences come in the different gifts Jesus has given to His children…

· Different gifts because we are different people.

· Different roles, different functions, different giftings…

· BUT know this… every one of us have spiritual gifts.

HOW MUCH? Well they’ve been given according to the measure of Christ’s gift… Abundantly, Full measure…

2. (8-10) The gifts were given to us by Jesus Christ.

a. This section is a quotation from Psalm 68.18

Psalm 68.18 You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there.

NOTE: The Psalm describes a king’s conquering return…

· He descends into the battle and ascends on high up Mt. Zion into the streets of the Holy City…

· He brings behind him prisoners and marches them through the streets showing all who watch that he has won on their behalf.

· But in the Psalm… it describes the king receiving gifts…

· But Paul turns it around in reference to Jesus ‘giving’ gifts.

· In the OT the conquering king demanded and received gifts.

· In the NT the Conqueror Jesus offers and gives gifts to men.

SO when did this happen? Paul says before He ascended Jesus descended…

· Jesus crucified on the cross, before he entered into heaven he first descended to the lower parts of the earth.

· He descended into hell, or Hades… the place of the dead.

BE careful here… Jesus didn’t go into hell to pay a penalty, or because of sin, or because he needed to be punished…

· He descended into hell because He said he would…

Matthew 12.40 "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.