Spiritual Gifts: Every Believer Has A Spiritual Gift
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such UNITY in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever THEY SOUND LIKE THE TRUTH. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.
The Gifts for Unity (Eph. 4:7–11)
God has given each believer at least one spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:1–12), and this gift is to be used for the unifying and edifying (building up) of the body of Christ.
God has given each believer at least one spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:1–12), and this gift is to be used for the unifying and edifying (building up) of the body of Christ.
“Special gift” is a translation of the word “grace” (charis [5485, 5921]). This indicates that the spiritual gift is an act of God’s grace.
the measure of the gift of Christ.”
those who were held in bondage to Satan, sin, and death have been freed and have obtained the gifts of the Spirit from their victorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
18 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.
Christ’s descent from heaven to earth at the time of his incarnation and the “ascent” as a reference to his ascent from earth to heaven after the Resurrection.
Nevertheless, these two verses are important in order to establish that after his descent to the earth Christ ascended as victor over the enemy, thus giving him the right to give gifts.
Paul applied this to the church in that Christ had victory over his enemies—namely, Satan, sin, and death—and gives gifts of the Spirit to those who have been identified with him
Christ ascended as conqueror to the Father’s right hand, his train of captives being the principalities and powers he had defeated, dethroned and disarmed.
18 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.
those who were held in bondage to Satan, sin, and death have been freed and have obtained the gifts of the Spirit from their victorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Paul applied this to the church in that Christ had victory over his enemies—namely, Satan, sin, and death—and gives gifts of the Spirit to those who have been identified with him
The unity of the church is due to charis, God’s grace having reconciled us to himself; but the diversity of the church is due to charismata, God’s gifts distributed to church members.
Christian unity is enriched by the diversity of our gifts (verses 7–12)
The unity of the church is due to charis, God’s grace having reconciled us to himself; but the diversity of the church is due to charismata, God’s gifts distributed to church members.
For ‘grace’ is charis, and ‘gifts’ are charismata. Moreover, it is very important to understand the difference between them. ‘Saving grace’, the grace which saves sinners, is given to all who believe;
but what might be termed ‘service grace’, the grace which equips God’s people to serve, is given in differing degrees according to the measure of Christ’s gift (verse 7)
The unity of the church is due to charis, God’s grace having reconciled us to himself; but the diversity of the church is due to charismata, God’s gifts distributed to church members.
a. The giver of spiritual gifts is the ascended Christ (verses 7–10)
b. The character of spiritual gifts is extremely varied
The Gifts for Unity (Eph. 4:7–11)
God has given each believer at least one spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:1–12), and this gift is to be used for the unifying and edifying (building up) of the body of Christ.
There are three lists of spiritual gifts given in the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, 27–31; Romans 12:3–8; and Ephesians 4:11.
Prophets (v. 11b). We commonly associate a prophet with predictions of future events, but this is not his primary function. A New Testament prophet is one who proclaims the Word of God (Acts 11:28; Eph. 3:5). Believers
Apostles (v. 11a). The word means “one who is sent with a commission.” Jesus had many disciples, but He selected 12 Apostles (Matt. 10:1–4). A disciple is a “follower” or a “learner,” but an apostle is a “divinely appointed representative.”
The purpose of prophecy is “edification, encouragement, and consolation” (1 Cor. 14:3, literal translation).
Apostles (v. 11a). The word means “one who is sent with a commission.” Jesus had many disciples, but He selected 12 Apostles (Matt. 10:1–4). A disciple is a “follower” or a “learner,” but an apostle is a “divinely appointed representative.”
Christians today do not get their spiritual knowledge immediately from the Holy Spirit, but mediately through the Spirit teaching the Word. With the Apostles, the prophets had a foundational ministry in the early church and they are not needed today (Eph. 2:20).
Evangelists (v. 11c). “Bearers of the Good News.” These men traveled from place to place to preach the Gospel and win the lost (Acts 8:26–40; 21:28). All ministers should “do the work of an evangelist,” but this does not mean that all ministers are evangelists (2 Tim. 4:5).
Pastors and teachers (v. 11d). The fact that the word “some” is not repeated indicates that we have here one office with two ministries. Pastor means “shepherd,”
indicating that the local church is a flock of sheep (Acts 20:28), and it is his responsibility to feed and lead the flock (1 Peter 5:1–4, where “elder” is another name for “pastor”). He does this by means of the Word of God, the food that nourishes the sheep.
The Growth of Unity (Eph. 4:12–16)
The first evidence of spiritual growth is Christlikeness.
The second evidence is stability. The maturing Christian is not tossed about by every religious novelty that comes along.
One more evidence of maturity is cooperation (Eph. 4:16).
we belong to each other, we affect each other, and we need each other. Each believer, no matter how insignificant he may appear, has a ministry to other believers. The body grows as the individual members grow, and they grow as they feed on the Word and minister to each other.
“forbearing one another in love” (Eph. 4:2); “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15); “the edifying of itself in love” (4:16). Love is the circulatory system of the body.
Truth unites, but lies divide. Love unites, but selfishness divides. Therefore, “speaking the truth in love,” let us equip one another and edify one another, that all of us may grow up to be more like Christ.