Untitled Sermon (3)

Good morning. Please take your Bibles and turn them with me to Ephesians 4 ,Ephesians 4. We are thankful that you have joined us this morning - whether here in person or online - and it is our desire to point your eyes and hearts to the living Christ. This morning’s passage is a great passage with which to do that as it centers on Christ.

Last week Paul began the second portion of Ephesians by telling us what we as believers all have in common. He implored the Ephesian believers and us to be united and then explained how we can achieve that unity through our treatment of one another and adherence to the truths of the faith - namely the seven “one” statements that Paul makes in verses 4-6.

Ephesians 4:4–6 CSB

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Having implored them to unity on a personal level, Paul will now exhort them unity on a corporate level. The paradox in this is that unity on the corporate level was for each person to fulfill the calling that Christ has placed on their life and to serve in the manner He has determined for them. No entity or organization can last long if everyone is fulfilling the same role and the same is true of the body of Christ. Paul has already told the Ephesians that they were called to accomplish good works that Christ has predetermined for each of them to complete. Ephesians 2:10 says

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

Now I’m sure this never happens in the corporate world - but there were times in my Navy career where I was told to go and accomplish a mission and we knew we didn’t have the resources necessary. And yet the expectation persisted that surely the mission would be not only accomplished but excelled at. The beauty of what Paul is going to reveal to us this morning is that we not only have the resources but we have been specifically gifted by our magnanimous Captain to accomplish the mission that He has determined for each of us. We are fully equipped for the good works that He has determined for us to complete.

Ephesians 4:7–10 CSB

Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people. But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.

A new favorite in my household is the Disney movie Encanto. It is a cute movie about a family with wonderful, magical gifts that they use to help their community. The family was nearly exterminated by marauders but the requests of the matriarch are answered and the family is saved. Now each child is given gifts - one has superhuman strength, one can heal just by cooking, a third can control the weather and so on. The difference between the characters of Encanto and the church is this - in Encanto a few are given gifts to benefit the many. In the church all are given gifts and expected to use them for the benefit of the church. But there is one more significant difference that we should note - beyond the obvious that Encanto is a fictional movie and the Bible is the true and inerrant Word of God. The Abuela, the grandmother, in the movie nearly loses her family because she lost sight of who they were and started to only identify them with their gifts.

In the church we should lose sight of ourselves to some extent but not so that we can focus on the roles that we are given to serve in. Rather we are to lose sight of both ourselves and our roles in favor of seeing the magnificent glory of Christ. Paul is going to focus our eyes on His glory this morning before he focuses our eyes on the application of the gifts that we have been given - not to a few but to each of us for the benefit of the church.

A Generous King

Paul begins by saying that to each grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. This should sound familiar to our ears as it is the same phrasing that Paul used frequently at the beginning of chapter three with reference to himself. Look back at the beginning of that chapter with me briefly as we seek to understand what Paul is meaning here.

Ephesians 3:1–2 CSB

For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that he gave me for you.

Paul says that he is given and administration of God’s grace for the benefit of the Gentiles

Ephesians 3:7–8 CSB

I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ,

For our purposes of understanding this grace that Paul is speaking of here in chapter four, verse seven gives us the clearest picture but three times in the beginning of chapter 3 Paul points to a grace that is given to him according to the working of Christ’s power within him.

This brings us now to the passage before us as he writes that grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. This again isn’t pointing us towards the grace that each receives at salvation for two reasons. The first is that, to reiterate what was observed when we studied chapter 3 and Paul’s first use of this phraseology, salvation by grace is already a gift (a statement we acknowledged in our study of verses 8&9 in chapter 2) and so to characterize his conversion and the grace shown to him there as the gift I think is to take an elementary view. Second is that a reference to salvation here wouldn’t continue the case that Paul is making in his appeal for unity. He has already stated in verses 4-6, specifically in verses 4 and 5 saying there is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope at your calling. Another reference to the grace given at salvation here would be superfluous - and while Paul is often not above that it would seem to be out of place here.

Instead, just as in chapter 3, Paul is pointing the Ephesian believers toward the grace that is given then daily as they move through their Christian walk. This is sustaining grace that is according to the measure of Christ’s gift on behalf of each of them. If Christ’s death on the cross only gives enough grace for salvation but not for sustainment then I would assert that we are in serious trouble. If, as the Catholic church teaches, we only receive a measure of Christ’s grace sufficient to cleanse us at the moment of salvation and then we are to provide the power to maintain or sustain our salvation after that we are all condemned. Yet that is not the facts of the matter. Instead it is as the old puritan prayer reads

“Help my soul to breathe after holiness, after a constant devotedness to thee, after growth in grace more abundantly every day. O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness, And am ready to sink because I fall short of my desire; Help me to hold out a little longer, until the happy hour of deliverance comes, for I cannot lift my soul to thee if thou of thy goodness bring me not nigh. Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender, lest I offend my blessed Friend in thought and behaviour; I confide in thee and lean upon thee, and need thee at all times to assist and lead me. O that all my distresses and apprehensions might prove but Christ’s school to make me fit for greater service by teaching me the great lesson of humility.”

We of course must recognize that grace cannot sustain what grace has not first saved - so in that sense the grace provided for and at salvation is in view here but I think the view that Paul has in mind encompasses saving grace, sustaining grace as well as enabling grace. The Greek word for grace here is charis not charismata that is generally used to refer the special gifts given to believers that Paul will bring into view in the next verses. What is in view here is the enabling grace that makes those gifts operative in the believers life, that enable the use of the gifts of Christ specifically for the glory of God.

Each of us has a unique gift that is meant to be used for God’s glory. There could be some thinking that this verse is a reference only to the apostles of Paul’s day or that it refers specifically to the offices that he outlines in verse 11 which we will look at next week. But every time Paul has previously used the word “us” in Ephesians it has been to include himself and his audience and so it would be a stretch to think that he would now expect them to read the word “us” as only applying to a narrow or select group of people.

There is a subtle beauty to Paul’s progression in this chapter. We are to be unified but diverse at the same time. We are to be one in the faith but each of us has a diverse role to play. That also makes this use of the word grace unique and points to more than saving grace. Each of us is condemned simply for one sin so to say that the grace imputed to one sinner compared to the grace imputed to another would be polarizing and be counterproductive to the unity that Paul is seeking to foster. The story of the kid who grew up in a Christian home and never committed the “big” sins is of no less significance than the story of a rabble rouser who made sin into an art form. All of us are fallen and all fall short of the glory of God.

The enabling grace that Paul is pointing to here is given to each believer according to the measure of Christ’s gift - not the gift of His life on the cross but the gift that has been given to each believer for the express purpose of service to the church that Christ has determined beforehand for them to complete. Peter refers to this in 1 Peter 4:10.

1 Peter 4:10 CSB

Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

Dr. MacArthur offers a much needed warning in his commentary on this passage

Ephesians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (The Gifts of Christ to Individual Believers)

In light of the truth just stated it is clear that since they are sovereignly given (cf. 1 Cor. 12:4–7, 11), no gifts should be sought; that since they are essential elements in God’s plan (cf. 1 Cor. 12:18, 22, 25), no gifts should be unused; and that since they come from the Lord, no gifts should be exalted (cf. Rom. 12:3).

My gifts are not more important or better than yours - we are all necessary for the effective propagation of the Gospel here in Spokane Valley and all of us should be seeking to use our gifts in the service of the church. And we should be using them - to not use them would be to rebuff our King who earned the right to bestow gifts on those whom He chooses.

A Conquering King

These remaining verses have caused no shortage of opinions and angst among commentators and Biblical scholars over the centuries. It seems that Paul is making an allusion here to Psalm 68 - but even the phrase “for it says” is a bit awkward. This specific phrase is used only three times in the New Testament - twice in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and once in James epistle. It is made even more awkward in Paul’s usage - James’ usage of it directly quotes from Proverbs 6 but Paul’s usage in Ephesians 5 introduces a mod podge of texts put together to make a saying and here he changes the wording of Psalm 68 in such a way that some scholars think he isn’t even quoting from Psalm 68 at all. The verse in question is Psalm 68:18

Psalm 68:18 CSB

You ascended to the heights, taking away captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious, so that the Lord God might dwell there.

And you will notice some significant departures from the original to the quotation by Paul. First instead of the subject being the second person (you) it is third person (he). Rather than the rebellious being in view he changes it to the more general people. In the original languages the change is from the singular humanity to the plural human beings. Finally and most significant is the change in recipients of gifts. Rather than God receiving gifts in Psalm 68, Paul says that He gives gifts to people. The first two differences are really inconsequential - but the change wrought by the third makes this departure significant.

Psalm 68 is the chronicle of God’s conquest of Jerusalem and the subsequent triumphal ascent of God up Mount Zion in the Ark of the Covenant. In this sense it is the perfect comparison for Paul seeking to depict what happened when Christ rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven.

Christ’s ascension and return to Heaven was as a conquering King returning from battle. His work had been completed. Death had been defeated, the wrath of God had been satisfied and the King could return to His throne that He had condescended to leave in order to effect the victory.

In so doing He leads the captives captive. What a picture this is. This is not the picture of Christ leading the principalities and powers, the authorities and dominions captive although He has certainly established His dominance over them

Ephesians 1:20–22 CSB

He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens— far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church,

No this is Christ leading the captives who had once been held captive under the kingdom of darkness but had now been redeemed and set free.

Colossians 1:13 CSB

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

But it is also a recognition that we haven’t been completely freed but rather have had our ownership transferred if you will. Paul has already set the stage for this realization on our parts in Ephesians 3:1 and more specifically Ephesians 4:1 writing

Ephesians 4:1 CSB

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,

He is not making the case here that his imprisonment is the sovereign work of the Lord - that is the case he made in Ephesians 3:1. Rather he is making the case that he is completely the Lord’s prisoner and is subject to His will and desire, that he is sold out to what the Lord commands and that he is a captive of the Savior. There could be no greater master to be subjected to than our magnanimous, benevolent Lord who counted it no loss to set aside His divine prerogatives, to condescend to take on our flesh and to live as we do so that He could redeem some.

The incarnation is what Paul is getting at as he writes what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? The lowest part of the earth that Christ descended to was into the tomb. He did not go to the place of the dead - remember that He tells the thief on the cross that today you will be with me in paradise - or to Hell. He did not experience the punishment of the sinner in Hell but rather bore the wrath of God on the cross - when He pronounced “it is finished” it actually was.

Paul’s reference to His descent was simply to establish that He who came in the flesh, who became flesh and dwelt among us, would have also had to ascend to return to Heaven. Had He not physically come to earth He wouldn’t have had to ascend anywhere. He who descended in the flesh also ascended in the flesh.

Paul uses a triumphant Psalm to demonstrate that Christ is a conquering King who is worthy and capable of bestowing gifts on His people. These people are those whom He has shed His blood to rescue and to lead them in a victorious procession up to Heaven.

Ephesians 2:6 CSB

He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,

We have been raised up and seated with the triumphant Christ in the Heavens.

A Transcendent King

As a result of His humble descent and triumphant ascent, Christ has now ascended far above all the Heavens, to fill all things. The Creator is also the Conqueror. He is above all, through all and in all. He is the Lamb who is worthy to open the scrolls. There are so many superlatives that could be given but all of them would fall short except for those in His Word

Colossians 1:15–20 CSB

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Philippians 2:7–11 CSB

Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 5:8–12 CSB

When he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne, and also of the living creatures and of the elders. Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands. They said with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!

The late Samuel M Lockridge has a great sermon entitled “That’s My King” that eloquently portrays our King

That King has given you a gift - according to the measure of His grace that was given to you to enable you for service in His kingdom. What are you doing with your gift today? Next week we will explore more about the interoperation of our giftings as Paul will continue to instruct us on the unity of the church and deepen our understanding of what it means to be a church 2.0.