06PM February 19 Ephesians 4 7_16

February 19, 2006—Evening Worship

“The Glorious Grace of God” Series – Part 10

God’s Gifts to the Church

Considerations for Christian Servants

Ephesians 4:7-16

Intro:  I encourage you to turn in your Bibles to the 4th chapter of the book of Ephesians, as we concern ourselves w/the topic of God’s Gifts to the Church. We’re looking tonight at vv. 7-16, & there we will see several Considerations for Christian Servants from that text.

Paul writes in…

Ephesians 4 7 But to each 1 of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, & gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"–what does it mean but that He also 1st descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)  11 & He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & 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 & 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 & fro & carried about w/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 & 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.

          On May 22, 2003, I led a meeting of the Church Council. I presented in that meeting, a strategy for involving every member of our church in ministry. It was called “The Whole Body Ministry.” While we have made some progress w/positive steps toward that vision, we remain – what I’ll call, behind schedule.

          I’d like to see our Sunday School double in size over the next few years. I’d like to see our Youth Ministry grow exponentially, so that we either had to put Scott on full time or (if he didn’t feel led to do it) to search for someone to do it full time. I’d like to see our J.O.Y. Ministry grow to be one of the stronger ministries of our church. I’d like to see the A.W.A.N.A. Ministry multiply by families, not just children. & I’d like to see this space filled so that we had to knock down walls & build new spaces.

          Now if all that takes place, God will initiate it, but I don’t think He would lay it upon my heart & many of yours, if He didn’t want to do it too! But having said all that – that kind of growth is going to require every member to be a minister.

          Now you may ask me, “Pastor Dennis, where you do find that concept in the Scripture?” & I will answer back, in vv. 7 & 11-12 of our text tonight.

- So let’s look 1st at vv. 7-10 & see…

1. The gift of Promise. (vv. 7-10)

In v. 7 in particular, notice that…

    A. The Body is gifted Individually. (v. 7a) 7a But to each 1 of us grace was given

- Each one, every member of the Body of Christ has received a gift of grace directly from God.

- This verse tells us that grace was given to each one of us. It was given for a purpose.

- This gift of grace was blended together specifically for you to use for the glory of God.

- Every member of the Body of Christ is especially gifted for service.

- Now, this verse does not prove, on its own, that every member is a minister – but in just a moment we’ll see how it fits together w/the vv. that do.

- For now, let’s let it suffice to say that you’ve been given a special gift from God w/which you are to glorify Him.

- & that gift was given to you at the moment of your salvation.

- You could not have received it any earlier, b/c it’s a spiritual gift of grace, not a natural ability.

- God didn’t hold the gift until you had reached some spiritual plateau, He gives it at your conversion by grace.

- & the text says that to each 1 of us grace was given

- Now, the verse also goes on to tell us that…

    B. The Body is gifted Supernaturally. (vv. 7b-10) 7b …according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, & gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"–what does it mean but that He also 1st descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

- The phrase “according to the measure of Christ's gift” tells us that each one of us is uniquely gifted. We didn’t all receive the same gift.

- That’s what makes the Body function as it should.

- There may be 10 fingers & 10 toes but there are not 10 backs or arms or legs.

- There is harmony & unity in the Body of Christ, just like the harmony & unity in yours.

- So not only were we gifted individually – but we were gifted w/an individual gift!

- Now vv. 8-10 have given some people trouble over the years. They don’t understand the ascended & descended -- & they don’t understand the part about captivity being led captive -- & they don’t understand the phrase the lower parts of the earth.

- So let’s make this very simple.

- vv. 9-10 are an explanation of v. 8.

- How can anyone ascend far above all the heavens, w/o 1st having descended into the lower parts of the earth?

- From our point of view “What goes up must come down.” But from God’s point of view, “What came down must go back up.”

- This verse describes Jesus’ coming to earth to be born of a virgin.

- This speaks of the lower parts of the earth which is a euphemism in the Bible for the womb.

- Here, it also demonstrates the depths to which Christ came & the heights to which He ascended. That’s the far above all the heavens part.

- The fact that He led captivity captive is an illustration of conquering kings of that day.

- They would return in parade fashion w/the spoils of war, the captive enemy soldiers to prove their victory & their own soldiers who had been captives of the enemy now freed.

- These were called the “recaptured captives.” IOW, the king had recaptured his own men.

- & so, when Jesus came & led captivity captive, it’s a commentary on the fact that the elect of God, who have always been the Lord’s, though they were bound by Satan in darkness & unbelief, have been recaptured or set free!

- This could only be done supernaturally & therefore v. 8 says, "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, & gave gifts to men."

- & so, each member of the Body of Christ, has been gifted individually & supernaturally by God’s grace & through His promise.

- But let’s now look at…

2. The gift of Power. (vv. 11-12)

- The gift of power is like the engine in your car, it’s essential to movement & so in the church, God’s gift of power is…

    A. The Men God gave. (v. 11) 11 & He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers,

- Now you’ve heard me say before that there are no modern day apostles & prophets in 1 sense.

- & yet in another sense, we are all to be apostles & prophets.

- But let me also point out that the apostolic authority & prophetic ministry is also accomplished in us through the word of God.

- There we see & hear the model of church governance & the forth telling of the gospel.

- Having said that, the offices of evangelists & pastor-teachers are still applicable to the church today.

- These are the men God has given the church to lead the church to fulfill its ministry.

- These are the men God has gifted individually w/discernment & the ability to lead & to teach.

- These are the leaders of the modern church movement – the engine that’s essential to moving the church along the pathway of God.

- But these men have not been called to do the work alone.

- They are just facilitators to the ministry.

- You do know that the church operates for the most part w/volunteer labor, don’t you?

- You do know that it’s awfully hard to fire a volunteer who isn’t doing their share, don’t you?

- So these men are facilitating the actual ministry of the church.

- & they do that by…

    B. The Motivation God gave. (v. 12) 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ

- The word translated ‘equipping’ in that verse could have as easily & accurately been translated “mending or repair.”

- So God gave the church leadership to mend & repair the saints.

- That doesn’t mean that they are broken, it means that God has given them a gift of grace, & they may not know what it is or how to use it.

- So the church leadership is to “fix” the saints; to help them discover their gift & implement its use for the glory of God.

- They are to do that through the work of ministry, IOW, the saints are to serve each other w/the gifts that God supplies.

- Here again the idea of the body illustration comes into play.

- Every minute part of your body is supplies w/oxygen, nutrients, etc. by the other parts as they do their job.

- The church is to be the same. We do what we do for each other & the glory of God!

- & all that’s done, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

- Now that word simply means to build up.

- So the motivation God gave the church leadership was to help the saints discover & implement their spiritual giftedness in such a way as to cause the whole body to be built up or to grow.

- Every SS teacher we have, every AWANA leader, every Youth worker, every worker in the JOY ministry, every deacon, elder & pastor we have at this church has as their biggest desire – to see this body grow.

- We want to grow in grace, unity, love & purpose. We want to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus, & we want to grow numerically.

- Built up for the glory of God as every member does what God has gifted them to do!

- Which brings us to…

3. The gift of Potential. (v. 13)

- This verse tells us what we are to do & how long we are to do it.

- We are to be…

    A. An Army of One. (v. 13a) 13a till we all come to the unity of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God,

- Just like President Bush’s initiative in education called “No Child Left Behind,” the church is to have an education initiative called “No Saint Left Behind.”

- Notice v. 13 says we teach & lead till we all come to the unity.

- There must be unity in the Body of Christ & that unity must be of the faith & of the knowledge of the Son of God.

- We are to operate in such harmony, that we act as 1 unit.

- I’m not saying that there can never be disagreement among us—that’ impossible.

- But I am saying that around the faith we’ve been given & the knowledge we’ve been allowed to acquire, there must be complete unity.

- The BSC of NC has for years been essentially split over matters of doctrine.

- The Liberals, who like to be called Moderates, have denied the authority of Scripture, preferring to take their authority from the experiences they have.

- IOW if they like it & it feels good to them it’s okay.

- But the Conservatives, who the Liberals call Fundamentalists, have consistently stood for the inerrant, infallible, plenarily inspired Word of God.

- That makes it difficult to work together b/c we’re not walking in the same direction under the same guidance.

- & that can never happen in the church – we must be 1 unit in faith & knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.

- & we are to do it…

    B. With the Ability of One. (v. 13b) 13b to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

- The word translated ‘perfect’ means complete.

- & the last phrase of v. 13 is so packed w/meaning that we could not begin to expound it tonight.

- But we can say that in the context of these verses, v. 13 tells us that we should be whatever Christ is.

- Our corporate efforts at serving God are to be realized as the church exemplifies Jesus Christ to the world.

- & that takes every member ministering w/the gifts they have received.

- That means that the personality of our church should be compatible w/the personality of Jesus Christ.

- Now you say, “Pastor, we’ve got a long way to go!” & I would agree, but that’s why the verse says we keep on teaching & training & working & laboring & loving each other for as long as it takes until we reach our potential for the glory of God!

- Is the standard set high? YES

- Do we measure up? NOT YET

- Therefore we don’t lose heart but we keep on going; working for the glory of God in the unity of this Body of Christ!

- Which takes us to…

4. The gift of Purpose. (vv. 14-16)

- & according to vv. 14-16 there are at least 2 purposes God has for you & your gift.

- The 1st is…

    A. The Purpose of Maturity. (v. 14) 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to & fro & carried about w/every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

1 Peter 4 10 As each 1 has received a gift, minister it to 1 another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

- We are to use our gift of grace for the service of others – or to minister to others – so that they will develop into strong, mature believers.

- One problem that exists today is that many Christians will believe anything they hear.

- They don’t have a strong Biblical base on which to stand & they are blown about by various doctrines.

- That’s why it’s so important to teach the Bible; to teach doctrine; to instruct our people in the word of God.

- Men are cunning & tricky & it’s easy to be tossed to & fro if you don’t have a good foundation.

- So let’s use our gifts to build maturity in the Body for the glory of God.

- The 2nd purpose we find is…

    B. The Purpose of Multiplication. (vv. 15-16) 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 & 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.

- This is not speaking specifically about numerical multiplication, although that is a part.

- It speaks to the whole body multiplying its strength; power & abilities by what each person supplies.

- Your gift is given to multiply the ministry, the service of this Body of believers.

- If you don’t supply what’s needed through your gift, the body is not joined & knit together as it should be.

- Notice that that unity & multiplication of ministry takes place as the whole body, joined & knit together by what every joint supplies.

- Your gift, your ability, your willingness to be used – gives the whole body the ability it needs to do the will of God.

1 Peter 4 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as w/the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory & the dominion forever & ever. Amen.

- That’s the the effective working that Paul speaks about. It’s God, doing in & through us, what we could never do alone!

Conclusion:  Whether you realize it or not, you are a part of the Whole Body Ministry. Every member of the Body of Christ is a minister to the Body of Christ. & as we serve 1 another, we glorify God, we build each other up, we encourage each other & we do it all in love. & Jesus said, “By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love 1 for another.”

Invitation:  Are you part of the Body? Have you discovered your spiritual gift? Are you developing it by using it for the glory of God? Will you? ---- If God is calling you, would you come to Him in repentance of sin & faith in Jesus Christ alone? ---- If God is nudging you to discover & develop your gift, would you commit to do that tonight?

Hymn 283 Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated