Gifts for the Church

Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  37:51
0 ratings
· 35 views
Files
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →
Introduction:
Santa and gifts
Why do people love Santa? They want to know that there is someone who is kind and jolly and who wants to bless you and give you good things.
Did you know that there is a Person that actually does all of these things. God loves you and delights to give us good gifts. He has given several that we will look at tonight.
Ephesians 4:7–12 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,
Pray

1. God’s Perfect Gift of Grace (v.7)

Paul reminds the church that there is a common gift of grace that each of us have been given. This gift is the perfect gift. It is the gift of salvation.
The measure of the gift of grace is our ability to accept the gospel. In the preceeding verses, what Paul is talking about is laid out. There is one faith, one body, one Spirit, one baptism.
In other words we are saved into a common faith by a common grace. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done, you are saved the same way as everyone else.
Once saved, then we are given spiritual gifts to use for the building up of the whole body of Christ. These are the gifts that vary by the measure of grace that God has given us.

2. God’s Gifts to the Church (vv. 8-11)

Paul now uses a passage from Psalm 68 to describe Christ as equal with God and as the victor over sin and death. The Psalm is about God defeating his enemies and putting them on display and then leading a parade showing his triumph. There is a celebration that takes place and gifts are given to the victor.
This is symbolic of what happened when an army was victorious in the ancient world. They would lead a parade through the streets and parade their enemies bound in front of the army and gift gifts from the spoil to the soldiers who fought.
Jesus conquered our enemy and put him on display, triumphing over him. He has given gifts to his church in the meantime that are to be used for the church.

A. They are for the Church Family (vv.8-10)

These gifts are first of all given to those who are part of God’s family.
Illustration: Do you gift Christmas gifts to perfect strangers? No. Most of the time we have to know the person we buy a gift for. In the same way, we receive gifts from the Lord when we become a part of His family. These gifts are to be used in the church to build up the church.
In the same way, God has given to all who have trusted in Him gifts to use to serve the church. Every person when they accept Christ receive spiritual gifts. These gifts are outlined in greater detail in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12.

B. They are Gifts of Leadership (v.11)

We may not think of our leaders as gifts, or we may think of them as gifts that we don’t want!
Paul goes on to describe several of the ministry offices of the church
This list is not exhaustive
Apostles - foundation on which the church was built and is no longer active
Prophets - those who declare “thus sayeth the Lord” - different today
Evangelists - those with a natural gift of speaking to others about Jesus
Shepherds and teachers - Pastors

3. God’s Purpose in the Gifts (v.12)

We always hear people say that it is better to give than to receive. This time of year we love to gift gifts to bless other people.
The gifts that God gave to the church are for the building up of the church.
Verse 12 says, these gifts are given for the work of ministry. They are given for us to accomplish the mission of taking the gospel to the nations.
They are also given to build up the body. We should be building one another up with our gifts.
Conclusion:
Do you know what your gift is? Have you used it for the building up of the church? Have you even received God’s common measure of grace by trusting in Jesus to save you from your sins?
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more