How Christ Gifts His Church (Eph. 4:7–10)

Series: Ephesians: Building the ChurchText: Ephesians 4:7–10

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: March 5, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: PM Service

Introduction

One of the most contentious questions concerning the church today is the issue of spiritual gifts. Aside from the question as to whether God continues to grant the sign gifts to individuals (e.g., tongues, working of miracles, prophetic revelation), there is also the question as to how a Christian can know what spiritual gift he or she has. I remember one church passing out what looked like an SAT testing packet, and we had to answer ninety or so questions concerning multiple scenarios on a Scantron sheet; the results gave us the likelihood of which gift(s) we had by displaying percentages beside each gift (some were as low as zero percent while others were in the seventies and eighties).

Unfortunately, determining our spiritual giftedness isn’t as easy as taking a kind of psychological examination. It may get some things right (as it happens, I personally did score high on teaching), but we also might skew our results with just the mood of the day as well as less-than-honest or confused answers. Someone in an entirely different scenario had to tell me I should consider leadership, for instance. The only thing we can say for certain is that every Christian has a gifting that is unique, and it is given by the Lord.

Such considerations are important for the practical operation of the church, which is why it is so fitting here in chapter four. Last week, we began this practical section by looking at what it means to be a church with a worthy walk. A worthy walk for a church is one that is unified. We saw the characteristics of those living out that command, and then we saw the theological creed which unifies us. Our takeaway was that we are supposed to be walking in unity as a local body of believers.

This requires much of us, but this is why Paul devoted three chapters to theology before getting to these practical matters. Christ always works within us to achieve that which He commands. In fact, He demonstrated the characteristics we discussed last week — humility, meekness, patience — and He indwells our hearts through the Spirit. He can give grace to those who need it, as well as His gifts. It all starts with Jesus.

So, when we talk about spiritual gifts, we must first consider them as Christ endowing His church. That’s what this entire section, vv. 7–16, discusses in yet another long sentence in the Greek. It’s difficult to determine where to break up this sentence for the sake of our sermons. So, we will divide this conceptually looking at the giving of the gifts, the gifts themselves, and then at the purpose of the gifts. As such, today, our sermon is titled, “How Christ Gifts His Church;” we’ll follow this with “What Christ Gifts His Church” (v. 11) and “Why Christ Gifts His Church” (vv. 11–16).

Considering how Christ gifts the church allows us to focus on the more general question of spiritual gifts. As we proceed, we’ll note that Christ distributes to each of us gifts for His church (v. 7) and that He wins the gifts He gives to the church (vv. 8–10). Let’s look at the first of these.

Christ Distributes to Each of Us Gifts for His Church (v. 7)

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

We’ve been talking about unity, but you may note a mild contrast here between that and individual experiences. In this verse, Paul speaks of “each one,” while he spoke about “all” in v. 6. Yet, he’s still talking about objective reality for all Christians, and on the other, he speaks of a subjective experience we all encounter.

In other words, there’s unity in that each of us has this unique experience. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” and “one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” Christ is not just giving gifts to just the Jewish believers, but to all believers, as God wills.

To think about this another way, these gifts, properly utilized, promote unity. In fact, the individual practicing his or her gifting has a unique role in the unity of the church (v. 16). This is another reason why it’s important to be in church. Each believer forms a part of a whole. As such, the entire body suffers from the absence of one.

Of course, we want to know what our gifting us, but we run into two problems in answering the question. First, as we compare spiritual gifts passages (Rom. 12:6–8; 1 Cor. 12:8–10; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 4:10–11), we run into difficulties developing a definitive list of gifts. These passages seem indicate general categories of gifts, with each list differing according to the purpose of the author. Indeed, it doesn’t appear that an individual Christian only has one gift, nor does it appear that the same gift in two believers would look the same (e.g., a pastor must have multiple gifts, but his teaching ministry may not look like someone else’s). MacArthur uses the comparison of fingerprints or snowflakes here to demonstrate the uniqueness of our gifting.

A second problem we have is that we miss church. Warren Wiersbe notes, “How does the believer discover and develop his gifts? By fellowshipping with other Christians in the local assembly. … Christians are not to live in isolation, for after all, they are members of the same body.” A computer can’t determine your spiritual gifts, and they can’t be practiced outside of the church.

Indeed, a spiritual gift comes only by the decision of Christ. We read here that it is an act of grace, which, like salvation, is unmerited on our parts (cf. 2:8–9). Christ decides the measure, not man, and He sends the Holy Spirit accordingly. This is the measure that Christ sovereignly wills, so this should direct our thinking.

In fact, as MacArthur notes, “Believers’ gifts are not determined by their preferences, inclinations, natural abilities, merit, or any other personal consideration, but solely by God’s sovereign and gracious will.” It may be that God uses us in ways that are uncomfortable for us but beneficial for His kingdom. If I were left to myself, I would selfishly stay away from people and the spotlight, happy to live the life of an introvert, yet Christ has different plans. His gifts are for the church, and He despoils His enemies for them.

Christ Wins the Gifts He Gives to the Church (vv. 8–10)

This section may prove confusing. Paul gives here the reason why Christ can distribute His gifts. The answer, interestingly enough, centers around His ascension. His rise back into Heaven recorded in Acts 1:9–11:

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.

Let’s consider some facts about His ascension.

His is a Victorious Ascension (vv. 8)

Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.”

It seems that Paul’s quoting Psalm 68:18 here, which says, “You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.” The reason why Paul quotes this psalm and why he quotes it the way he does are both debatable questions.

He obviously applies the psalm to Christ. Let’s consider for a moment why Paul states, “He led captive a host of captives.” One explanation is that Christ is victorious over Satan and the powers of darkness. As Colossians 2:15 says, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Through the cross, burial, resurrection, and successful ascension of Christ back in Heaven, He won the victory over Satan. This is certainly, in my view, part of what he means, especially based on what he says in v. 8.

Yet, Paul also likely meant something more to the point. A minority of commentaries (e.g., Calvin, MacArthur, etc.) posit that Paul’s referring to those who were former prisoners of Satan who are now the prisoners of the Lord. This may include the Old Testament saints, but also all believers throughout history in His one act of ascension. In other words, Christ rescues the yet-unsaved in the ascension.

In that case, we’re talking about people, not impersonal gifts! In fact, if we think of Christ as a conquering King despoiling the enemy, we then have a New Testament application of Psalm 68. Just as the Lord defended and protected Israel in the past, plundering His enemies and turning them into a blessing for His people, Christ takes the spoils to give gifts and to bless His people. Indeed, there are even those who, like Paul, might even currently be enemies of the cross who He then gloriously converts, defectors from the domain of darkness.

He knows those who are His, and He will sovereignly turn them to His side. After Pentecost, we read that “the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). We’ve already seen in Ephesians 1 that salvation is entirely of God’s predestined choice.

This seems to be the context in which He gives gifts to men. He’s victorious over Satan and sin, and so He leads captives captive in His train. He then chooses to give some men as specific gifts for the church in v. 11. Before we get there, however, let’s consider a bit more about the ascension and the giving of the gifts.

He Distributes Gifts Because of His Ascension (v. 9–10)

(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

The fact that Christ descended and was victorious is the reason why He can endow the church. It starts with the descent of Christ to the “lower parts of the earth.” This is a disputable point, as there are several concepts which Paul may have intended here.

First, he could refer to the “simple” incarnation of Christ. The expression, “lower parts of the earth,” could be translated “lower parts which are the earth.” Some verses use the expression to refer to objects on the surface of the planet (Isa. 44:23, Psa. 139:15). That understanding fits with the next verse, which seems to contrast the heavens to the earth. That is a view that many Bible teachers hold.

Second, Scripture uses the expression “lower parts of the earth” to refer the grave, like in Psalm 63:9–10, where it references death. The similar expression “heart of the earth” does, as well (Matt. 12:40). That would, of course, fit well with His incarnation, where He came in real flesh and shed real blood on the cross as a sacrifice; as such, His ascension into heaven (the perfect tabernacle) indicates the finished and successful work of Christ’s sacrifice (Heb. 9:11–12).

Third, the expression could mean the depths of the earth, referring past the grave to the domain of damnation itself. I’m not talking about the unbiblical view that Jesus went to Hell and suffered for sins there; rather, this is the view that He willingly descended to put Himself on display to the spirits. Many church fathers held this view, linking Ephesians 4:9 with 1 Peter 3:19 (“He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison”). While this is disputed by many good teachers, Scripture appears to teach that fallen angels are imprisoned there attempted to thwart God’s plan by cohabitating with women in Genesis 6. In this view, Jesus descended into the depths of the earth, into the prison of those wretched angels, and pronounced His triumph over them.

Of course, these views are not mutually exclusive; Christ descended, taking on human flesh, was crucified and buried (descending into the grave), and then descended into hell itself, proclaiming His victory over the imprisoned powers of darkness. As such, MacArthur writes, “The intent of the phrase in this letter is not to point to a specific place, but to refer to the depth of the incarnation.” Jesus went as low as possible.

This contrast is visible in v. 10. There, we read not that “He who descended is Himself also He who ascended back into the heavens,” but that He ascended “far above all the heavens.” The point isn’t how many “heavens” there are, but that Christ is above them all. As Paul said back in Ephesians 1:20–21, God “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Hebrews 4:14 says that Jesus is “a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,” and Hebrews 7:26 says that He’s “exalted above the heavens.” Christ is supreme.

He descended as low as He could, and He is now more highly exalted than any earthly or heavenly power! This comes out in the latter half of the verse: “so that He might fill all things.” This could speak of the omnipresence of Christ through the Spirit, such as the indwelling of Christ in the hearts of believers (3:17) or with believers in their decisions concerning church discipline (Matt. 18:20) or during the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 10:16). He is all in all.

This also looks forward to the consummation of all things in Christ. His current “filling” speaks of His sovereignty. We’ll talk more about when we get to chapter 5, but the idea of “filling” is that of control. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to allow Him to control your actions, and we’ve seen before that the filling of the Spirit is synonymous with being filled with Christ. This is the Christ who desires to fill the whole body (1:23) and gives gifts to the church (4:7, 11). Because He’s so highly exalted, He controls the church, and thus, can give the gifts He desires for the church to have, pointing to a time when He fills everything.

Conclusion

The Son of God descended to earth and taking on human flesh. He lived a perfect life in the place of those He would claim, and then He died a perfect death for them. He was buried and harrowed the halls of hell, parading His victory over the deeds of darkness. He then raised from the grave, victorious even over death. He then ascended, not simply back to His previous position, but in a triumphant parade over even the glories of heaven. In doing so, He seats all the previous captives in heavenly places, those who He would save, now captive to His will.

He’s victorious over everything. And, with that, He turns around, taking those He won, and giving them gifts for the church. He won the right to do this. He promised that He would send the Spirit, and with Him, He gives gifts. What does the supreme Christ give to the church? The answer is in v. 11, and that will have to be next week, but note that He can give you gifts because of everything else He has done for you!