EPHESIANS 4:7-16

GIFTS GIVEN FOR CHURCH GROWTH

INTRODUCTION

Two weeks ago we began the Practical Teaching of the Book of Ephesians by looking at Church Unity.

I mentioned that 4:1-16 was a look at Church Unity

The two ideas of Church Unity we explored were:

There are two ideas of Church Unity to be explored today:

UNITY IS A SPIRITUAL GRACE (vv. 1-3)

UNITY IS GROUNDED IN BIBLICAL DOCTRINE (vv. 4-6)

The theme carries on to verse 16.

Please turn in your Bible to:

Ephesians 4:7–16 ESV

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Did you there are five lists of Gifts given in the Bible?

Ephesians 4:11

Ephesians 4:11 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

Here in , and ; ; and .

There are about 20 gifts listed in these verses and some think that is all there is and others thinks there are more gifts.

and

Our focus today will be on ’s gifts.

Gifts are given to keep unity in the church.

Each believer in Jesus Christ has at least one spiritual gift.

That gift is to be used for the unifying and edifying of the Body of Christ.

When you were born into this world God gave you certain natural abilities— arts, music, maybe athletics.

This past Thursday, flying back from Dallas to Baltimore, I heard that Bobby Knight was onboard our airplane. Come to find out he was sitting across the isle from me.

Now if you don’t know who Bobby Knight is you are probably not a fan of college basketball.

He was the volatile basket ball coach of Indiana University.

Now I mention this because I can’t dribble a basketball, can’t shoot a basket ball well and can’t do a decent lay up.

You might say I was not a natural athlete.

So Bobby Knight was on another level from me in sports.

But as a believer, I have gifts given to me by God.

So do you.

Let’s look at our two ideas for today’s message:

GIFTS GIVEN FOR UNITY (4:7-11)

GROWTH OF UNITY (4:12-16)

Lets start with:

GIFTS GIVEN FOR UNITY (4:7-11)

The purpose of:

As mentioned earlier:

A spiritual gift is a God-given ability to serve God and other Christians in such a way that Christ is glorified and believers are edified.

By continuing in the fellowship of a local church, a believer will discover and develop his gift.

Gifts are not toys to play with.

Gifts are not given to promote ourselves.

Gifts are tools to build with.

Gifts require Love.

IF they lack love, they become weapons to fight with.

APOSTLES (v 11)

“And he gave the apostles…”

This is one who is sent with a commission.

While Jesus had many disciples, he choose 12 Apostles.

Our Men’s Fellowship on Saturday mornings has been looking at the Apostles.

These were ordinary men commissioned by Christ for a specific purpose.

They were witnesses of the Resurrected Christ and had the task of laying the Foundation of the Church.

After Judas Iscariot’s death, Peter led the Apostles in the choosing of Matthias, who had most likely travel much with Christ and the other disciples. ()

Paul equally was an Apostle as mentioned in .

There are no apostles today in the strictest NT sense.

These men laid the foundation of the church by their writings and teachings— which we have in the form of our Bible.

PROPHETS (v. 11b)

“… the prophets...”

We usually think the word prophet means prophecy.

That is future events...

That is not the prophet’s primary function.

The NT prophet was those who proclaimed the Word of God.

They were given an understanding of “all mysteries and all knowledge” as found in .

Since there was not written NT at the time, these prophets had Holy Spirit leading in teaching the scriptures.

Again the gift of prophet was a foundational gift and as such are not needed today.

EVANGELISTS (v. 11c)

“… the evangelists...”

Kent Hughes calls them:

“… the obstetricians of the church—those gifted in bringing new births.”

D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham comes to mind.

Please understand, we are not to leave this task of reaching the lost to just those with the gift of evangelism.

Each believer is to have a part in this ministry.

PASTORS AND TEACHERS (v. 11d)

“… the shepherds and teachers...”

The words Pastor and Shepherd are used interchangeably in scripture.

What is the task of the “Pastor and Teacher”?

To feed the sheep—the church and to lead the sheep—the church.

How does the pastor lead the sheep?

He uses the Word of God—the food that nourishes the sheep.

The Word is the staff that guides and disciplines the sheep.

The Word of God is the local church’s protection.

The Word of God is the provision for the local church.

If the evangelist is the obstetrician...

then the pastor/teacher is the pediatrician.

1 Peter 5:2 ESV

2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

Acts 20:28 ESV

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

This tender, caring, nurturing title suggest a touch here, a kind word there, a gentle prod at the right time.

Yet is also suggest resolute strength and protection of the flock.

A pastor/teacher is to make feed the sheep a top priority.

Christ charged Peter three times with this task ().

Let’s move to our second point:

GROWTH OF UNITY (4:12-16)

Wiersbe tells this story:

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eight: Let’s Walk Together (Ephesians 4:1–16)

A free-lance missionary visited a pastor friend of mine asking for financial support. “What group are you associated with?” my friend asked.

The man replied, “I belong to the invisible church.”

My friend then asked, “Well, what church are you a member of!”

Again he got the answer, “I belong to the invisible church!”

Getting a bit suspicious, my friend asked, “When does this invisible church meet? Who pastors it?”

The missionary then became incensed and said, “Well, your church here isn’t the true church. I belong to the invisible church!”

My friend replied, “Well, here’s some invisible money to help you minister to the invisible church!”

Paul has mentioned these gifts because they are responsible to help true believers grow to maturity in Christ.

FIRST EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS CHRISTLIKENESS (vv. 12-13)

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:12–13 ESV

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

It is important to understand that a church does not call a pastor for the task of doing the work alone.

The pastor’s ministry is to equip the church to the the work of ministry.

Paul tells Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:13–17 ESV

13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The

THE SECOND EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS STABILITY (v. 14)

Ephesians 4:14 ESV

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

A mature Christian does not fall for every religious speaker who comes around.

There are religious quacks waiting to kidnap God’s children.

The cults are full of Christians who were weak in their faith.

THE THIRD EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS LOVE (v. 15)

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ...”

Truth without love is brutality

Love without truth is hypocrisy.

It is a mark of maturity when we are able to share the truth with our fellow Christians, and do it in love.

Proverbs 27:6 NLT

6 Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

THE FOURTH EVIDENCE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS COOPERATION (v. 16)

Ephesians 4:16 ESV

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

If you are a believer:

You are a member of the universal body

If you are a member of this local body:

We belong to each other

We affect each other

We need each other.

Each member, no matter how insignificant he may appear, has a ministry to other believers.

The body grows as each member grows.

Growth comes through the Word of God.

Growth comes through ministry to others.

Ephesians 4:2 ESV

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Ephesians 4:15 ESV

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Eph 4:

Ephesians 4:16 ESV

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Eph

Love the the circulatory system of the body.

CONCLUSION

As we come to a close today, the questions are:

Are we using our God given gift for the edifying of the church?

Are we using our God given gift in Love?

Are we growing in Christian maturity?