Sermon Tone Analysis

Ephesians - 5

Ephesians 4:7-16

Introduction

A ‘turn of phrase’ refers to a clever or creative way of using language to make an unexpected point.

The idea comes from the era before the printing press when a writer’s style referred not just to their content but to their calligraphy.

Their ‘style’ was made with a stylus, the instrument of writing.

They could make a phrase beautiful by the words they use and by how they could ‘turn’ it to make it look even better.

So today, an author can ‘turn’ a phrase, utilizing a clever wordplay or creative usage of a word, to create something unexpected or entertaining.

Missing you comes in waves.

Today I am drowning.

On the beach and in the sea, animals do not leave trash; humans do.

Please behave like animals.

Sometimes we have to let go of what is killing us, even if it is killing us to let go.

Arthur C. Clark - Two possibilities exist.

Either we are alone in the universe or we are not.

Both are equally terrifying.

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul shows that he is a brilliant and clever linguist.

He utilizes the power of language to hammer home life-altering truths.

In 4:4-6 he emphasized the theological unity of God’s people by repeated usage of the word ‘one’ seven distinct times.

One body.

One Spirit.

One hope.

One Lord.

One faith.

One baptism.

One God and Father.

That sevenfold confession shows us that our unity is truly a theological unity that is built around our belief in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.

After using ‘one’ seven times, he is now going to use it an eighth time.

But with this eighth time, he will mean something completely different than he did with the first seven.

Ephesians 4:7-16 - 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

8 Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,

He led captive a host of captives,

And He gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

11 And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,

14 so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

One.

One.

One.

One.

One.

One.

One.

All speaking to our collective, corporate, unity, oneness, that exists among God’s unified people.

But in verse 7, ‘but to each one of us’ he will address the individual believer in that unified body to show the individual’s responsibility to ensure the reality of unity.

To teach this, he offers two distinct truths that show us how individual believers can live in unity with one another.

THAT JESUS GIVES GIFTS (V.

7-10)

v. 7 - But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

To each one of us…each separate individual has been given ‘grace.’

Here, grace refers not to saving grace, but to spiritual gifts.

Grace is charis, while gifts is charisma.

That it refers to gifts is obvious from the context in speaking about each of us receiving it and putting these gifts to use for the sake of our unity.

So it is our diversity, diverse gifts and diverse amounts of those gifts…diversity helps ensure unity.

In fact, the very concept of unity infers a diversity.

Otherwise it would be uniformity.

To be in unity does not mean that we are all the same.

It means that even in our diversity, we choose to be one.

The fact that he calls our gifts ‘grace’ simply highlights the fact that they are undeserved.

They are unearned.

That is what a ‘gift’ is…it is granted to you.

And while our gifts are unearned, they are also unequal.

These gifts are given ‘according to the measure of Christ’s gift.’

So whatever gifts you have are not only given by Jesus to you, but even the amount of the gift is decided by Jesus.

This is important.

That means there is absolutely no place for jealousy or competition in the body of Christ.

There is no sense whatsoever of my gift is better than your gift, or I am more important because I can do that better than you.

Jesus determines what gift and how much of it you receive.

This is the same thing Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 - 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone.

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.

Or Romans 12:3-6a - 3 For through the grace given to me I say to each one among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound thinking, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,

5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another,

6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us

In an act of gracious generosity for His unified people, Christ has gifted each one of us in varying ways, to varying degrees, to help live out the reality of our unity.

Verses 8-10 are the theological foundation for verse 7.

v. 8-10 - 8 Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,

He led captive a host of captives,

And He gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

Paul is quoting from Psalm 68:18, a psalm of victory, as God thoroughly defeats all His enemies.

Here, he applies it to Jesus…Jesus has ascended into Heavenly glory, and as He did so, He handed out gifts to His people as the spoils of war.

And Paul goes off on this parenthetical note that this same Jesus who ascended on high is the same Jesus who descended…He came from Heaven to the Earth as God in the flesh, and defeated the enemies of sin and death.

And upon His resurrection from the dead, He ascended as victor over His enemies and graciously grants now to His people all the gifts they will need to be who He wants them to be.

And what is the purpose of Him doing this?

V. 10 - so that He might fill all things.

Through His graciously given gifts to us, He intends to fill, to dwell in, to permeate the life of the Church as we serve others in His name with the gifts He has provided.

WHY JESUS GIVES GIFTS (V.

11-16)

Verse 11 lays out five leadership positions in the church that Christ has gifted to His people.

v. 11 - And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers…scholars and church leaders love this verse and love to debate what is going on here.

They envision some fivefold ministry and that all church leaders fall into one of these five roles and that is how you have a healthy church.