Gifts For The Church
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Christ Gives All Gifts (7-10)
Christ Gives All Gifts (7-10)
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore it says,
“WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,
HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES,
AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”
(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.)
Romans 12: 4-6 describes the rest of the gifts.
For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
We'll see these verses set up some of the other gifts that scripture lists:
The Lexham Bible Dictionary The General Content of the Teaching
In 1 Corinthians 12:8–10, 28:
• Word of wisdom
• Word of knowledge
• Faith
• Healing
• Prophecy and prophets
• Tongues
• Interpretation of tongues
• Apostles
• Teachers
• Deeds of power
• Forms of assistance
• Forms of leadership
The Lexham Bible Dictionary The General Content of the Teaching
In Romans 12:6–8:
• Prophecy,
• Ministry
• Teaching
• Exhortation
• Giving
• Leading
• Showing mercy
And...The gifts in the passage we are studying today are these:
The Lexham Bible Dictionary The General Content of the Teaching
In Ephesians 4:11:
• Apostles
• Prophets
• Evangelists
• Pastors
• Teachers.
What we see happening in verses Eph 4:7-10 is the traditional expounding of scripture by Paul. Paul takes Psalm 68:18 and teaches it to his listeners. Check out Psalm 68 at your convienence. It is a Messianic Psalm of victory!
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.
Paul is teaching that Christ either came and descended, i.e. He died and experienced death for us, or that He descended from heaven to earth to become a servant.
Either way, Paul is saying Jesus conquered sin and death, sits in heaven and gives us what we need to fulfill His mission for us on earth!
In these verses, Paul teaches about some gifts specifically for the Church.
Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers
Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
God gave these specifically to the Church.
It is generally agreed upon that the APOSTLES were those were immediate followers of Jesus, plus Paul.
The PROPHETS were ones who spoke revelation from God. It's not the same of the gift of prophecy in 1 Cor. 12:10. In Eph 2:20, we read that the foundation of the church was laid down by the apostles and prophets. Therefore, this gift was not a perpetuating one.
and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
The EVANGELIST is someone who announces the Gospel. They train the church for evangelism. Traveling evangelists and church planters. Missionaries in areas where the Gospel is not preached.
The PASTOR/TEACHER is one and the same due to the sentence structure, specifically the way the word 'and' is used here. This word for pastor here literally means 'shepherd.' Acts 20:28
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
What I like about these is the fact that Paul gives the purpose for these in such a way that we can't really confuse it, although we do.
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Let's break this verse down for just a minute.
Equipping: "to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something"
2. Saints: 'to the ones called to be God’s people’ 1 Cor 1:2.
3. Work: 'giving the responsibility to his servants, to each one his particular work (to do)’ Mk 13:34
4. Service: to render assistance or help by performing certain duties, often of a humble or menial nature
5. Building up "has the essence of purpose-a result of the previous"
6. Body of Christ 1 Cor 12:27
Those gifted with these particular gifts are primarily for the church.
What Happens As A Result?
What Happens As A Result?
We grow up.
We grow up.
As a result, 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;
The NIV is the only translation to get the word for 'children' close to correct. It is better understood as "infants." The word means, "small child," probably no more than 3-4 years old.
3-4 year olds are tough to deal with sometimes.
They are selfish.
They make a mess.
They have difficulty thinking rationally.
They need constant care and attention.
They need someone to hold their hand.
We have a western church load of this type of people. Here is what Hebrews 5:13 says about it.
For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
Notice the main concern here though. It is not our inwardness, but the concern that this type of person will believe and fall for false doctrine.
Someone left a sheet of paper on our car warning us about the chip "they" are planning on implanting in us. Their latest research cited was 2005! It's been 11 years since then! Know that the end times are coming, but people don't spend 11 years doing nothing but worrying about a chip you may or may not receive.
People are falling for false teachers. If you don't believe it, check your FB feed and check out those who are posting Olsteen quotes. He doesn't believe in John 14:6.
The Word of Faith movement. You need only to believe it in order to receive it. Wouldn't that be nice.
We speak truth in love.
We speak truth in love.
Eph 4:15
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
Paul isn't talking about saying things that are 'true' in love, but telling the Gospel, training up those in the church in love.
We think we are providing a Biblical example of this verse when we say; "Bro. So and So needs to lose some of that pot-luck weight. He's too big. Bless his heart." It's true, Bro. So and So would be better off without the weight, and we said it so nice, but that's not what this verse is talking about.
We grow into all aspects of Him, when we have a church who is trained up under Biblical teaching and can and do speak lovingly to those within the body who begin to venture outside the lines of orthodox Christianity.
The body grows.
The body grows.
Eph 4:16
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
It's like Christian "Miracle Gro!!"
Step one: Trust that God gave each body of Christ exactly what they need to function properly.
Step two: Understand there is a Biblical authority in those who've been gifted for the training of the church. No for sorid gain, but for the benefit of the church.
Step three: Receive the teaching, and put it to work!