Almost
everyone enjoys receiving gifts. Small gift, large gift, we enjoy gifts.
Paul tells us
that the ascended Christ gave special gifts to his
people. Those gifts are intended to help his people to
live and work for God in the real world.
Remember, Paul
is continuing to write about the life of the people of God; as he does so, he
begins to move from the abstract to the concrete. You might be surprised at
some of what he says. At the same time, we are still in the context of unity.
Nothing any Christian does in the way of ministry should produce disunity in
the church.
Why is it so
important for us to understand what Paul is saying in Ephesians 4:7-11? Because
Christ still gifts his church. Through the gifts he gives the church, Christ
provides the resources we need to minister as his people.
We see a
picture of...
I
A GIVING CHRIST
EPH 4:7-10
Christ's gifts
affirm the victory Christ won on behalf of the church. (New English
Translation: "He 'took captive those who had captured us' and gave 'gifts
to people.)
This is
militant language, recalling the world in which the Ephesians lived. They knew what happened when one power
conquered another. The language Paul uses suggests a conqueror who gives spoils
to his people.
If Christ is
depicted as a conqueror, where did the battle take place? In "the lower earthly
regions .... "
To be honest,
commentators disagree about the meaning of that phrase: Was he talking about a battle in Hades, the
realm of the dead? Or was he talking about a battle on Earth, an event during
Christ’s earthly ministry?
Most contemporary
interpreters say that it is a reference to earth and Paul is talking about what
happened during the earthly life of Christ. He is giving us a glimpse of what
happened when Jesus walked the roads and streets of Judea and Galilee.
Throughout his
ministry Christ battled the forces of sin and evil. Not every observer
recognized the battle going on but it was, nonetheless, happening. The Resurrection and Ascension were
demonstrations of his victory. He regained the glory that was rightfully his. More
than that, as Victor, he bestowed gifts upon his people.
Christ's gifts
affirm the concern Christ has for the church.
Do you recall
the tension many felt when we had to begin writing dates using 20—rather than
19--? Lots of voices were asking how we
would be able to face the demands of a new century.
The answer
involves those gifts Christ continues to give to the church. These gifts are a part of Christ's ongoing
work on behalf of the church.
Christ did not
leave the church without resources. What we will need to do his work he will
provide.
II
THE GIFTED
CHURCH
In recent
years there has been much discussion of the "spiritual gifts." Most
of the discussion has focused on what Paul says in I Corinthians. As we deal
with this passage, there is an important distinction we must make. In I
Corinthians Paul shows us that each individual in the church is
"gifted" in some way to enhance the life of the church; here Paul
tells us that some individuals in the church are, themselves, "gifts"
to the church.
We need to
look at the diversity of these gifts to the church. The work of the church is
diversified so the gifts given by Christ to the church will be diversified.
They are
different in function, not in value or worth. That’s important to recall.
They cannot
perform their function within the church unless there are those who are
themselves gifted by the Spirit and willing to minister for the good of the
entire church.
No Christian
can say, "I don't need other Christians;" nor, "Other Christians
don't need me. "
Look at the
dimensions of the church's giftedness.
This is not an
exhaustive list but illustrative of the kinds of ministry the church needs.
Among the 'gifts' were apostles.
These seem to
have been individuals especially appointed because of their ability to witness
to the resurrection. More than 12. Some evidence suggests both men and women
functioned as apostles. (Ro.16:7 Junia is likely a woman’s name and the phrase
might be translated as “they are prominent apostles.” Early writers believed
Paul was describing her as an apostle.)
These apostles
possessed the authority of the one who sent them. Their ministry was attested
by miracles.
Are there
apostles today? Good Christians disagree
on the answer. Obviously, we have no
more witnesses to the resurrection. But Vincent
points out a another feature which may continue to be relevant, apostles
"possessed an unlimited commission to preach and found churches." We
still need the gospel to be taken to new areas.
The term has been used to describe those who have opened new fields for
the gospel. (Samuel Zwemer, for example, was called “the apostle to Islam.”)
Among the 'gifts' were prophets.
In the Old
Testament, prophets spoke the words of God to the nation. The New Testament
prophets had the capacity to speak to special circumstances in the church. Some
believe “prophets” ceased to function after the New Testament. Their ministry was no longer needed after the
New Testament writings were available.
Of course, not
everyone agrees. Some insist there are
“prophets” in today’s church. Anyone holding that position should be very
careful to examine the word of such prophets against the Biblical materials and
the consistent testimony of the church.
Among the 'gifts' were evangelists.
("traveling missionaries”
AMP)
They seemed to
possess a special ability to share the gospel. While every Christian is called
upon to share the gospel, some Christians are clearly gifted in this ministry.
(Billy Graham, for example.)
It is
interesting to notice that one of the greatest revivals in recent history, the
Revival of 1858, seemed to have no clear leaders. Certainly it had few ordained leaders; in
fact, it was also called “the laymen’s revival.” Yet, that revival produced many evangelists
whose ministries brought countless men and women to Christ.
Among the 'gifts' were pastor-teachers.
Some
translations seem to separate the roles. Paul sees the two roles combined in
one person.
The person
fulfilling this role has a twofold ministry: to shepherd and to instruct. The
two roles are intertwined. Preaching and teaching is never simply to be an
academic exercise. Sermons need solid content, something for the mind and
understanding; they also need something for the Christian to use in daily
living, facing challenges and hurts of life.
I haven’t always kept that in mind.
Observations
1. Whatever is said about those who fill specialized
roles within the church must be understood in light of the entire New Testament
view of ministry.
Every
Christian is to be involved in the ministry of the church. So,there are two
extremes to avoid: (1) Drawing too great a distinction between the clergy and the
laity. Some groups ascribe a special sanctity and authority to those who serve
the church. At one time, I would have said there was not much danger of that in
Baptist life. Now, I’m not so sure. The
New Testament makes clear that no Christian is to surrender his or her mind to
another. If a Christian believes the
pastor is wrong on some doctrine, she should say so. If a Christian sees
leaders abusing their power, he should confront them. (2) We should also avoid another
extreme: Denying that a specialized
ministry has a place in the church. It has become popular in some quarters to
deny the very notion of a "call to special service" or even the
concept of ordination; yet both have their roots in the New Testament.
Many
Christians don't know they, too, have been gifted by the Spirit. Think about
discovering your gift and getting busy using that gift.
2. It seems clear that the most valuable resource any
church possesses is people.
The most
dynamic time in the history of the church was a time when all the church had
was the church-the people.
I would not be
so naïve to say a small church can “do” as much as a large church. Obviously, the large church likely has more
material resources at its disposal, not to mention professional personnel. But, if a small church doesn’t have a paid
youth pastor, it does have individuals—even among the grey-haired folk—who can
show Christ’s love to young people in their neighborhoods. Small congregations, instead of listing all
the things they don’t have, should take the time to list what they do
have. They might find they have more
resources for ministry than they imagine.
3. Ultimately, Christ gave "gifts" to the
church so his "gifted people" could give themselves in ministry for
him.
CONCLUSION
Sometimes we
look at the task before us and conclude that it is too much for ordinary
people. We're right.
So we long for
Christ to provide his church with extraordinary people to do the work of
ministry in the world.
Look around
you. He already has.
