CHRIST THE KING GIVES GIFTS TO HIS CHURCH - EPH 4:7-12

Good morning, and welcome to the preaching ministry of Dillingham Moravian Church.

My name is Pastor Simon, and we have the great joy to hear from God's Word today,

so that we can know how to grow in the Lord together.

During our trip a few weeks ago into Anchorage after my medical appointment,

our family did a lot of shopping to stock up on the things we need for that year.

And throughout most of the stores we shopped in, inevitably,

the boys would ask me to buy for them many of the things they saw in those stores.

Daddy, can I have this? Daddy, can you buy this for me?

Now, I want to be generous to my boys, but my wife Abigail and I have a criteria

for giving gifts to our boys.

First of all, can we afford it? Do the boys already have the item?

Is it just going to add to the mess in our house? Is it something that will break quickly?

Those are just some of the thoughts going through my head when the boys ask me for something.

God in Christ is beyond generous in His gift-giving to His children,

and yet Christ too has criteria or purposes for the gifts that he gives us. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we come before you and we thank you for the wondrous gift of

your Son, Jesus Christ, and for your word.

Thank you. Thank you that you are speaking to us through your scriptures.

And Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit will work in us so that we may apply

what we hear today so that we can grow more in maturity in you.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we have been studying Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

The focus of Paul's letter is the unity of God displayed through the church of Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians chapter 4, where we've been studying, Paul taught the Ephesian

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

believers in Christ and us that we're all to consider ourselves as prisoners

of Christ Jesus, our only Lord and true Master.

God, through Paul, reminded the Ephesians of their extremely urgent calling

as Christ's disciples to live in the grace-filled love of Christ so that they

would be filled with the fullness of God.

We also studied the key characteristics or virtues that Paul listed that describe

what it means to live in and display the gracious love of God.

We looked at humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another,

and keeping the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace.

In Ephesians 4, verse 4 through 6, Paul taught us about the necessity of Christ's

Ephesians 4:4–6

church living in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

According to Paul, the unity or oneness of Christ's church is based upon and

based in the oneness of God.

And today we're going to continue on in our teaching series in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 7 through 13.

Ephesians 4:7–13

Ephesians chapter 4, verse 7 through 13, where Paul instructed the Ephesian church.

Ephesians 4:7–13

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

And therefore it says, when he ascended

on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.

Now this expression, he ascended, what does it mean except that he also descended

into the lower parts of the earth?

He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so

that he might fill all things.

He himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists

and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work

of the service to the building up of the body of Christ.

There are three main overarching truths that I believe God is teaching us from this passage.

The first principle that I want to bring to your attention is that each believer

is given grace according to measure of Christ's gift.

Paul in Ephesians 4-7 wrote.

To understand this section of Ephesians 4, we need to remember that Paul was

urging the Ephesians to live out the loving grace of God that had been given

to us, to his church and Christ.

For Paul, unity is the major way in which the love of Christ is displayed in

the church, because unity reflects the very oneness of the nature of God.

Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 4 through 6, There is one body,

Ephesians 4:4–6

there is one spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling. Here it is.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,

who is over all and through all and in all.

The key nature of God is his oneness. In Deuteronomy chapter 6,

Deuteronomy 6:4

verse 4, the Lord through Moses commanded Israel regarding the main foundational

truth of all his commands.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. Here it is, the Lord is one.

The nature of Christ's church is oneness because God, Father,

Son, Holy Spirit, is one.

From God's perspective, we, the church, are one body with Christ as our head.

And yet it's crucial to note that although the body of Christ is one in God,

there are many parts of that body.

Thus, all the parts of Christ's body must work as one to act as one.

To live unified as one in the body of Christ, Christians are called to understand

that we have been given by God grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.

The question is, what does this verse mean?

To understand what Paul meant by grace according to the measure of Christ's

gift, I want to show you two words that will reveal what Paul was getting at.

The first word I want to bring to your attention is the word grace.

Now, there are two ways that this word is viewed. Grace is the unmerited favor

that God, in Christ's death and resurrection,

has bestowed on us as humans who are completely unworthy and undeserving of all his favor.

This aspect of grace is overwhelmingly bestowed. It's lavished in Christ upon all God's people.

Those who responded to God's boundless grace with faith in Jesus as the only Lord.

However, there's another way that Paul used the word grace, and this could be

described as focus grace.

The word that Paul used in Ephesians 4, verse 7 for grace has the concrete sense of a special gift.

Ephesians 4:7

This grace is the special grace where God gives gifts to the individual members

of the body of Christ so that they may stay in oneness with Christ and each other.

This concept of special grace or specific grace is not limited to just one gift,

but easily could be plural here.

There's also something else that I want to impress upon you about Paul's use

of God's special or focused grace in this verse.

Paul's focus was not so much on

the gifts themselves, but of the gifted believer by a super generous God.

And this leads us to the second word that I want you to see in this verse,

and that is according to the measure of.

According to one commentary, in some instances, it may be possible to translate

in proportion to what Christ has given us as the great size of this gift,

which shows how generous Christ has been.

Or how great this gift is tells us how good Christ is in giving I share this

translation of this word Because what is the measure of Christ's grace?

Whether for salvation or for specific grace.

Immeasurable, boundless, overwhelming Paul was teaching the Ephesians that God

gives specific gifts of his grace to his church out of the immeasurable generosity of Christ.

Some have taken this verse to mean that God gives one gift only to believers,

but that is not what Paul is getting at here.

The focus is that God is so generous when he doesn't have to be.

That God gives generously and immeasurably specific gifts or grace to us to

enable us to live in the oneness that spiritually, from God's perspective,

we're already living in.

The question is, that you and I have to be asking is, Are we accepting the spiritual

gifts that God has given us or is going to give us?

And are we using those graces or those special gifts to keep the unity of Christ's church?

So far, we learned that God gives the specific gifts to his church.

The second major truth that Paul was instructing the Ephesians about was that

The victorious king ascended and gave gifts to the captives that he freed In the U.S.,

according to the laws of this country A president's action after winning an

election Are primarily focused on fulfilling campaign promises and governing

the country Not on directly giving gifts to individual supporters Presidents

are not allowed to give gifts to those who helped him become president.

Direct personal gifts from a president to individual citizens are heavily restricted

by law and ethics regulations, and accepting such gifts could raise concerns

about bribery and illegal gratuities.

However, supporters can benefit from a new president and administration by new

policies that may benefit a certain demographic of taxpayers or voters.

The president can also appoint major campaign donors and allies to high-level

government permissions or positions.

The president and his administration have the power to award government contracts

or tariffs that can indirectly benefit the company or organizations that support

the president's campaign.

My point with using this illustration is that although presidents are not legally

allowed to give direct gifts to supporters, kings in the ancient world gave

gifts to those who helped him secure victory.

And this concept of a king giving gifts to his people is what Paul was instructing

the Ephesian congregations in.

Ephesians 4, verses 8-10 Therefore

Ephesians 4:8–10

it says when he ascended on high He led captive a host of captives And he gave

gifts to men Now this expression he ascended What does it mean except that he

also descended Into the lower parts of the earth He who descended is himself

also he who ascended Far above all the heavens So that he might fill all things.

As Paul went on in verse 8, he quoted from Psalm 68, and at least partly from verse 18.

Psalm 68 verse 18 proclaimed, You have ascended on high, you have led captives

Psalms 68:18

your captives, you have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious

also, that Yah, God, may dwell there.

According to one commentator, most think it quotes Psalm 68 verse 18 with five

Psalms 68:18

minor and two major changes.

The two major variations are the change from the second to the third person

and the change of direction from having received gifts from men to giving gifts to men.

However, it's better to think that Paul was not quoting one particular verse

of the psalm, but rather he was summarizing all of Psalm 68,

which has many words similar to those in Psalm 68, verse 18.

Psalms 68:18

The essence of this psalm is that a military victor has the right to give gifts

to those who are identified with him.

Christ, having captivated sinful people by redeeming them, is victor and gives

them as gifts to the church.

Paul's point in verses 8 through 9 is that Jesus Christ descended from heaven to become a man,

and through his death and resurrection led those who were once captive to sin free.

When he ascended to his rightful place at the right hand of God.

Jesus generously gives the gifts of saving grace and the specific gifts of grace

to those who believe in him.

We do not pick and choose what gifts we

want Or which one we should choose Christ is

the victorious king He is back on

his throne He is sovereign over all Christ is under no obligation to give us

his specific graces Yet out of his generous kindness Christ does lavish his

gifts upon us And what is the right response of a freed slave to God?

Gratitude In gratitude to Christ We, you and I Are to wholeheartedly Use the

gifts We've been given by God For the advancement Of Christ's glorious kingdom,

God through Paul Has taught us That the Ephesians And.

And he's taught also to us that Christ is the victor over the battle of sin and death.

Christ has freed his people and has graciously considered to give his people

gifts with which to serve him.

And this leads us to the next foundational truth that I wish to bring to your attention.

God gives the church offices to equip the saints to use their gift of service.

For most jobs, in order to do them well, we need to have the right equipment

and someone to teach us and often show us how to do the job.

For fishing with a set gill net, a person doesn't just go to the beach and fish

automatically, jump in our arms, and then we're done.

No, first of all, we need the right type and size of net with the right size

of mesh and cork and lead lines.

We need to put our stakes down and lines out and tie them off correctly to the

seawall or to stakes that we are using, depending on the configuration of our set net site.

We need to learn the tides and where to find out where the tides are low or

when the tides are low and high.

We need to learn how to pick the fish and how to correctly bleed the fish.

As you can tell, there are many steps to set net fishing, and it's very helpful

to have someone teach you.

And this is not even getting to the processing the fish yet This is just the

fishing And this is similar to being able to serve Christ Each of us needs someone

to equip us and train us to serve the Lord effectively.

Paul in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11 through 13 went on And he himself gave some as apostles,

Ephesians 4:11–13

some as prophets And some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers For

the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ.

Now, I'm not going to look much at the offices that Paul writes about in verse

11, because in the context of chapter 4, I do not believe that focusing on the

offices was Paul's point here.

His point was that Christ gives gifts to his people for the building up of the

unity of Christ's church.

I want you to notice that these offices, that of the apostle,

prophet, evangelist, Bible teacher, and pastor, are part of God's gift to the church.

Now, although these offices have distinct roles and responsibilities attached

to them, they all have the primary goal of equipping the members of the church

to do the work of the service or the service of the ministry.

The idea of equipping or completing that Paul used in verse 12 meant the bringing

of someone or something to completion perfect and adequate in every respect and fit for some purpose.

I'd like you to see what all saints or holy ones, all believers in Christ, are being equipped for.

And that is the work of service.

The word for work of service referred to the performance of a service,

to prepare God's people for productive service.

The ESV translates this verse to mean to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

What God through Paul was teaching the Ephesians, and subsequently us as well,

was that the primary reason for offices of apostle, prophet,

evangelist, and pastor and teacher is to equip or lead Christ's believers by

Christ's strength to be complete in the Lord and be fitted for ministry in the local church.

A pastor is not called to do all the ministry himself, but to work diligently

at training and giving his flock the tools so that they can be productive in ministry.

Pretty much everything a pastor does in one way or another is to equip believers

in Christ for the service of the ministry, whether it's mentoring,

counseling, teaching Bible studies and preaching,

evangelism, which is discipling new believers, visiting believers,

taking men along on ministry visits, Short-term

mission trips Are some of the more direct ways Pastors equip believers And yet

there are indirect ways That pastors equip the saints Even when praying for

the sick and dying Other Christians see how the pastor Did that act of service

And can learn how to effectively minister In that way By the example of the pastor.

That's how I learned most of pastoral ministry, because seminary didn't teach

me as much practical ministry as I hoped it would.

Now, I'm not saying that every role that a pastor has is only for equipping the saints.

Rather, amid shepherding and loving the flock and praying and other needed actions,

the pastoral roles also are designed to equip the saints for ministry. Does that make sense?

Even our church services are designed to lead the church attender,

not just to worship the Lord in the service, but also encourage,

train, and equip believers to what true worship of God looks like through the

teaching of the weekly sermon.

The songs, the prayers are all, well, usually are, all focused on the teaching

of God's word for that week.

Paul's point was that as members of Christ Church, we were equipped by those

who held church leadership offices to be servants to each other in the church

and outside the church for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

Some Christians tell me that since they don't have a particular gift of service,

that they do not need to serve others in the church.

This is completely contrary to what this passage is teaching.

Regardless of what spiritual gifts we have, our first priority as part of Christ's

church is serving each other.

As we will study more of next week, serving the Lord and each other is critical

for us as a local church and as part of the worldwide church to be able to live

in oneness with each other.

What Paul was teaching in Ephesians 4, verse 12, goes beyond individual gifting,

Ephesians 4:12

But rather the gifting of ourselves in service to others as we serve Christ

We are God's gift to each other in the church and outside the church What happens

when some believers are serving and using their gifts and others are not?

Disgruntlement, bitterness, anger, gossip, maybe division The Holy Spirit's

unity is not being upheld, is it?

I want to personally thank our church in Dillingham for their tireless work

that they've all put into serving each other and using their gifts for the building

up of Christ Church here in Dillingham and in Southwest Bush, Alaska.

We do unity and service well here at DMC. Yet I want to encourage us that there's

always room for improvement because the goal is to be complete in Christ, right?

Additionally, if you're here or you're listening to this message and you're

not serving the local church,

Whether in programs or in an organic Jesus-like

manner I want to strongly encourage you to start serving your brothers and sisters

in Christ And your community for Christ Because as you serve others in your

church and community You serve Christ and maintain oneness in the body And are

a marvelous witness of what Christ is doing in his church.

What then has the Lord through Paul been teaching us today? The first truth

that we've been taught is that God gives generously and immeasurably specific

gifts or graces to us to enable us as Christians to live in the oneness that spiritually,

from God's perspective, we are already living in.

Secondly, Christ is the victorious King who has generously lavished His spiritual gifts upon us.

In gratitude to Christ, we are to wholeheartedly use the gifts we've been given

by God for the building up of Christ's glorious kingdom.

And lastly, Paul's point was that we as members of Christ's church are to be

equipped by the church offices to be servants to each other in Christ's church

and in the world for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

I want to encourage us today that the unity of Christ's church may perhaps be,

if not the most important truth of the Bible, it is pretty close.

I say this because if Jesus prayed in John 17, that it is our unity in the church

that lets the world out there know that Christ is being sent by the Father.

But unity is not just about attending potlucks or going to Bible studies with each other.

Although useful, unity is about lovingly serving each other with the gifts Christ

has given us, as Christ has served us.

We are God's gift sent to bring the good news of God's salvation to a spiritually

dead world that's desperately in the need of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's pray.

Father, we are grateful for your word. We're grateful for your truth that you

have overwhelmingly loved us with.

We thank you most of all for your Son.

Use us, Lord. Help us to use our gifts. Help us to have your humble servant

heart to serve those around us in serving you.

We praise you, we bless you, and we so thank you for all that you've done and

are doing and will do in the future.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with this blessing from Romans chapter 15, verse 5 through 6.

Romans 15:5–6

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony

with one another In accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one

voice Glorify the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ Have a wonderful Sunday May the Lord bless you.