The Gifts of Christ Pt 2
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11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 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 of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 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.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
To each one grace was given. Paul uses the word grace or “charis” here instead of the usual word that he uses for gift which is “charisma” form which we get our english word charismatic. We sometimes use this word to refer to a particular type of church which puts emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit. However, from what we see here the identification of charismatic applies not only to a particular portion of the church but to the whole body of Christ. We are all charismatic in that we all have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and to each and every one of us was given grace or gifts to be exercised in work of the ministry.
It’s my experience that the callings gifts of God are not natural talents. Natural talents are gift from God no doubt but I have found that God calls us to do things in areas where we lack talent so that He can demonstrate His power in us.
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
So as you consider your calling you may find yourself feeling like you lack talent. I would encourage you that God love to use those who lack talent and His strength is made perfect in our weekness.
Today I would like to focus on these offices that Paul mentions which I would call equipping office because their purpose is to equip the rest of the church for the work of the ministry. But I think it’s important to note that these offices are not the only gifts that Paul referred in vs.7. We know this because he said to each one of us is given grace. Not just a few but to every believer. We also know this because in vs 12 it is the saints who do the work of the ministry and it is for this ministry that they are given gifts.
However, there are callings and gifts given specifically for these offices which Paul mentions here.
The Equipping Offices
Ephesians 4:11 (NKJV)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
Apostles and Prophets
This is not the first time that apostles and prophets have been mentioned in Eph. Eph 2:19-20
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
So apostles and prophets are foundational offices. These are people especially call by God to help establish His people. This was done by the teaching, preaching and working of miracles as well as the writing of the New Testament scriptures which have served to ground the church in the teachings of Christ and to guide the church through the last 2000 years.
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,
4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
So God made know this mystery to Paul, namely that the Gentiles should be engrafted into Israel and become one body, fellow heirs of all the promises of God to Israel. And Paul was sent as an apostle to make this mystery known through his preaching and teaching and writing.
So the apostles and prophets are both given for the foundation of God’s people under the new covenant.
37 If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.
38 But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.
English Standard Version (Chapter 14)
38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. ESV
In other words Paul is saying if the prophet does not acknowledge that Paul is writing the commandments of the Lord then don’t recognise them as a prophet.
Apostles had more authority because Jesus had appeared to them and taught them directly.
1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
Evangelist
The word literally means one who heralds the good news the gospel.
So once the foundation is laid by the apostles and prophets you then have to proclaim the revelation that was receieved (the gospel). That is make disciples or convert the elect of God. This is done no doubt by the apostles and prophets as well as pastors and the rest of the saints. However, God has especially called and gifted some to be heralds of the gospel.
But just as God gave some to proclaim the good news as those who are converted form congregations or flocks they need a shepherd. That is pastors.
We see here that Paul doesn’t say some pastors and some teachers but he puts these together. Some pastors and teachers. That’s because this is what pastors do they teach the doctrine of the apostles and prophets.
34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.
The primary ministry of the shepherds is to teach.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
Why is teaching so important? Not just teaching anything but the teaching of the apostles doctrine, that is the Word of God. Well, to Paul it is critical for the church to be able to grow into the mature perfect man.
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 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 of deceitful plotting,
We don’t need pop psychology, and worldly wisdom and ideology. What the church needs and hungers for is the revelation of gospel truths given to the apostles and prophets and handed down to us in the Holy Scriptures. It is these doctrines which will equip the saints for the work of the ministry for the building up of the body till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man the fullness of Christ, and will guard the church from being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine.