Would you open the Word of God with me this morning
to Ephesians chapter 4, please, for our study.
We begin in verse 7. One of the things that I
have enjoyed doing in the past has been snorkeling.
I suppose of the water sports, it's my favorite.
I remember one time when I was in the state of
New York, and at Lake Chautauqua, snorkeling
out probably 50 yards from the beach. On that
particular side of the lake, the water was very
shallow. I suppose even out that far, it was
only two, perhaps two and a half feet deep. As
I came along watching the vegetation on the bottom
of the lake, all of a sudden there came into
view the ugliest fish I have ever seen in my
life. It had a nose on it about this long, and
the fish itself was about that long. But through
the goggles it appeared about this long. And
I came face to face, or should I say nose to
nose, with this underwater creature. I want you
to know that my faith was so great I walked on
water all the way back to shore. I've never been
so scared underwater in my life. Well, if any
of you have ever snorkeled, you know that...
one of the things you have to do is keep touch
with the surface. You can float along for a while
and then take a dive, but eventually you've got
to come back up for more air. Now the same is
true when one is studying, particularly when
one is studying the Word of God. Occasionally
you have to come back to the surface. You have
to come back, let us say, to the broad outline
of things so that you know where you are and
you get oriented. You get that perspective and
then you submerge again into the detail of truth.
I think it's time for us this morning to surface.
Ephesians falls into two main divisions, chapters
1 through 3, our calling in Christ. We have studied
that now in some detail. Chapters 4 through 6
talks about our conduct in Christ and is a practical
application of the truth that we learned in the
first three chapters. In chapter 4 and verse
1, There's the key verse to the whole last section
of the book. He says, I entreat you to walk in
a manner worthy of the calling with which you
have been called. Our walk is to be a worthy
walk. A walk worthy of the calling which has
been described to us in chapters 1 through 3.
We are to live a lifestyle equivalent. to our
profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Now he tells
us that that lifestyle is characterized by five
qualities in the last three chapters of the book.
The first one is unity. The second one, honesty.
Third, purity. Fourth, harmony. And fifth, victory.
We have been studying most recently in that first
quality regarding unity. It's talked about in
verses 1 through 16 of the fourth chapter. Now
let's think about that for a moment. If we're
going to walk worthy of our calling, it means
that we must walk in oneness with other people
of God. We have learned in verses 1 through 3
of the personal character which preserves that
unity. I think we spent three weeks talking about
that kind of character, the kind of character
you never forget. Then in verses 4 through 6,
we'll look at the doctrinal foundation providing
that unity, the oneness of our faith, sevenfold
oneness of our faith regarding the Holy Spirit,
God the Son and God the Father. Today we're going
to look at the practical plan promoting unity.
in the body of Christ, and then on another time,
the natural results proving that unity. The plan
to promote unity in the body of Christ is from
the Lord himself. It involves gifts which he
has given to his people. That is his practical
plan, to provide for unity in the body. Christ's
gifts to the body are intended, to promote its
oneness of heart and mind. Not only is that true
in the church universal, that is all true believers,
but it is well applied also in the local expression
of that universal church, in what we call the
local church, in our case, Grace Church Roseville.
My point is this, that Christ's gifts to us in
this church are intended to promote the unity
of our fellowship. A couple of statements that
I think are important before I go any further.
First, every Christian ought to be a member of
a local church, a Bible -believing, Bible -teaching
local church. That is not a good choice. Less
than that is not merely an option, but it is
an obligation. It is a critical need for every
Christian to belong to a Bible teaching, Bible
preaching local church. It is, on the one hand,
a great privilege to do that, and we should never
forget the privilege that is involved in being
a part of God's work in this world. But it's
also a great joy to be a part of a local church.
Because, folks, when we're involved in the ministry
of a local church, that means that we are investing
our lives and our resources in something that's
meaningful. It means that we are involved in
something that's going to last beyond our lifetime.
We are involved in investing in eternity. It
is significant to be a part of a local church.
There are many of us who are involved in good
activities, from the Red Cross to the Boy Scouts.
I personally collect funds on our cul -de -sac
for the Kidney Foundation. It's no great sacrifice
of time, and many of you do things like that.
Others are involved in the PTA. All of these
involvements are good, and there's a place for
them. But if we're going to be wise stewards
of this thing that we call life, then wisdom
would seem to dictate that we should invest the
majority of our time and resources in what is
going to last forever, and not for a few months
or years or a better lifetime. Every Christian
ought to be a part of a local church. Every member,
then, of a local church is purposed by God to
contribute toward Christ's goal that that body
be built up and unified. There's no exception
to that. We're going to talk more about it this
morning, but I wanted to say it up front, that
every member, and every Christian ought to be
a member, every member is purposed by God to
contribute toward Christ's goal that the body
in that local church be built up and unified.
Now in our text today, let me say again that
we learn about Christ's gifts to the body, which
are intended to promote the unity of the church.
Let's talk about the giver of the gifts first.
In verse 7 he's identified, But to each one of
us grace was given according to the measure of
Christ's gift. And so Christ is the giver. He
has given gifts to us, and we're going to see
in our study of this passage that he has given
gifts in two respects. This morning we'll only
look at one of them. The scriptural evidence
is given to us in verse 8 that Christ is, in
fact, the giver. Psalm 68, 18 is loosely quoted
here. Would you turn back with me to the original?
in Psalm 68. Psalm 68 was penned by David. The
occasion seems to have been that procession that
took the ark of God from the house of Obed -Edom
to the city of Jerusalem. This is a song or a
hymn of victory. And in it, David poetically
goes all the way back to the captivity of the
people in Egypt. And he shows how God delivered
the people, and he provided for them through
the wilderness. And even up to that very day,
he was bringing them into Jerusalem, the city
that he had chosen to be his habitation. There's
great victory. God is seen here as the conqueror.
He is seen here as the great leader, the general,
as it were, of his people. Now in the midst of
all of that, in verse 18, David says, Thou hast
ascended on high. Thou hast led captive thy captives.
Thou hast received gifts among men, even among
the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell
there. referring in this particular context to
that which was gathered for the building of the
tabernacle and then the place for the ark in
the city of Jerusalem. That is this verse which
the Holy Spirit chooses to bring to Paul's mind
as he is writing the book of Ephesians. The Holy
Spirit, as he is well able to do, changes the
words a little bit. Now, he is the author. He
has the author's privilege of doing that. And
so he shifts the wording slightly to fit it into
the thought that is needed to be communicated
in Ephesians chapter 4. What the Apostle Paul,
and really the Holy Spirit, is telling us is
that that verse written by David back in Psalm
68 has messianic implications to it. In other
words, there is within that verse something about
the Christ, the Messiah. And that's why he says,
as he does in Ephesians 4 .8, Therefore it says,
When he ascended on high, he led captive a host
of captives, and he gave gifts to men. Now if
you compare the readings, you will be able to
see the variations. The Apostle Paul is led by
the Spirit of God to take this verse and to apply
it to Jesus Christ, and specifically to Christ's
ascension, his return to heaven, which was as
one who had conquered. He was the victorious
one who had in his hands the keys of death and
Hades. He returned back to heaven as the captain.
of our salvation. Now the apostle refers to the
fact that he led captive, a host of captives.
And commentators, Bible students, have through
the ages pondered as to who these captives are.
One answer is that these captives may refer to
those righteous people who were in Hades. During
the Old Testament, there is some indication in
the Word of God that the righteous and the lost
went to the region which the Bible calls in the
Old Testament Hebrew Sheol, or in the New Testament
Hades, and that there were two areas, two compartments,
some people call it. One, a place of terrible
suffering, a place the Bible calls hell. a place
of fire and torment that never ceases. On the
other side of this place called Hades, or Sheol,
was the place of the righteous, which is termed
in Luke, Abraham's bosom. The place, the idea
is, of closeness or of comfort, which Abraham,
for example, would give to those who... were
his descendants and who were children of God
by faith. Now there are those who believe that
the captives spoken of here as being led by our
ascended Lord back to heaven were those righteous
people who were in Hades up to this point, the
place of Abraham's bosom. Not a place of torment,
of course. These are those who were saved by
faith in the Old Testament who now have been
taken back. to heaven, the heaven of heavens.
That is the explanation of that verse that I
heard first and which in the past I have held
most closely to. However, in studying this passage,
I believe that there is probably a better explanation
of it. I do believe what I've just said, but
I don't believe that this passage is necessarily
a good proof text for that. I believe that the
captives that are in view here are those who
are captured by Jesus Christ from sin's captivity.
That is, these are the redeemed. He pictures
here our Lord taking with him to heaven the redeemed.
And as he does this, our Lord provides gifts.
Notice that it says here he gave gifts to men.
If you compared those texts quickly, you will
notice that in the Old Testament, Psalm 68, it
says he received gifts, which was common for
a conquering leader. He received gifts, first
of all, the spoils of war from his conquered
enemies, and then gifts of congratulation from
his countrymen. But here the Holy Spirit reverses
the word, and instead of him receiving gifts,
he says Christ gave gifts. He gave gifts to men,
to the church, that is. Now, we're going to understand
a little bit more of what that means in a moment.
But for this moment, I want you to look on to
verses 9 and 10. For here we have an apostolic
commentary upon this passage. The Apostle Paul
says, now this expression, he ascended. That's
primarily what he wants to talk about. He says,
what does it mean? except that he also had descended
into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended
is himself also he who ascended far above all
the heavens, that he might fill all things. And
so the apostle tells us that this one who descended,
or rather ascended, first descended. Now this
is parenthetical really to his main thought here,
but it's worth looking at. Where he's talking
about one who has ascended and who has given
gifts. And he says, lest you wonder who that
might be. He says this one who ascended is the
one who first descended. And notice how he puts
it. He descended into the lower parts of the
earth. That particular phrase, the lower parts
of the earth, can be rendered several ways. Each
way leads to a little different interpretation
of what this means, that Christ descended. For
example, it can be read this way. He descended
to the lower parts, even the earth. If, in fact,
it is translated that way, then the most natural
understanding would be the incarnation of Christ.
That is, that he descended from heaven to earth.
in the incarnation, and took upon himself our
humanity, was born in Bethlehem. That is a possible
understanding of it, and perhaps the best one.
But this phrase can also be translated, the lower
parts than the earth. He descended to the lower
parts than the earth. Any of us understood that
way, and some Bible students take it that way.
It means that our Lord visited Hades after his
death, and I believe that to be true. I do not
believe that he went to hell, to the fiery hell,
and suffered during those three days. There was
absolutely no need for him to do that, because
he had suffered hell fully for us on the cross.
He himself said before he died, it is finished.
Now if his plan of redemption was fulfilled at
the cross, pray tell, why would he need to go
to hell for those three days? But I do believe
he went to Hades, roughly meaning the realm of
the dead. Obviously his spirit was dismissed
from his body. And his spirit went to Hades,
and it could be that this text refers to that,
to the lower parts than the earth. That is a
common way of expressing Sheol, or Hades, or
the realm of the dead, particularly in the Old
Testament. It is said frequently they went down
to Sheol. Not up to heaven, but went down, which
may well indicate that Hades, is somewhere below
the surface of the earth. There is a third possible
translation of this phrase, the lower parts of
the earth. It would be this. He descended to
the lower parts belonging to the earth. Now this
translation would seem to say that Christ's burial
is in view here. That he was taken down from
the cross and his body was placed, into a grave,
to the lower parts belonging to the earth. Now,
as I said, my personal preference is the incarnation,
the first one that I gave. That's referring to
the coming of our Lord into this sphere of things,
the earth, in his incarnation. But then he goes
on to say that he who descended is the very same
one who ascended. Now he's talking about our
Lord's return to heaven from the Mount of Olives.
He says he ascended far above all the heavens
that he might fill all things. If you go back
to chapter 1 and verse 23, you see a very similar
phrase used there, certainly of Jesus Christ.
So let there be no doubt that the Apostle Paul
has in mind here in his commentary on verse...
and his quotation from Psalm 68, that he has
in mind the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he says imparts
the fullness of blessing to the church as he
ascends to heaven, and not only to the church,
but to the universe, the whole cosmos, for he
fills all things. I think the point that Paul
is trying to make here and to underscore is the
fact that Jesus Christ and only he could fulfill
the messianic promise of Psalm 68, 18. He is
the giver, Jesus Christ. And he is pictured here
as giving as he returns to heaven. And is that
not appropriate? For it was as he returned to
heaven and then sent the Holy Spirit that the
spiritual gifts came to us. And that is exactly
what he has in mind. We've looked at the giver,
now let's look at the gifts. which the giver
gives. I said earlier that he is talking about
gifts here in two respects. They are personal
gifts given to individual believers and corporate
gifts given to the church as a whole. We'll talk
about the latter next Sunday, Lord willing. And
this morning, let's focus on the personal gifts.
Those are suggested in verse 7. He says to each
one of us, not to those who are spiritual, not
to those who are mature in their faith, but to
each one of us, even to the carnal Christian,
even to the babe, the immature one, to each one
of us, he says, grace was given. And notice it
was given. In other words, he's looking back
at a particular event, and that event is when
the Holy Spirit came to reside in you and me
at the moment of our salvation. At that moment
that the Spirit of God personally resided in
us, he brought with him certain gifts. Perhaps
a better way to say it is, he brought with him
a blend of gifts, which he calls the spiritual
gift that each of us has. So the gifts that we're
going to talk about now are those gifts in verse
7, which are given to each individual. What we
learn from this is that each individual is intended
to have a function in the church, a role. in
the body of Christ. Now we need to correct some
mistaken ideas, perhaps, before we go any further,
for the people have funny ideas regarding ministry
and spiritual gifts in a local church. First
of all, I'd like to say that there is no such
thing in the plan of God in any church for a
working minority and a watching majority. The
church of Jesus Christ is not a spectator arena.
The plan of God in every local church, and I
say that without exception, whether it be Grace
Church Roseville or any church some guest may
belong to here today, every church is intended
by God to be a working church, an involved church,
a ministering church. How sad then. That so very,
very many churches have opted for another plan
that is not God's. And that plan is that a minority
in the church carry the load of the ministry
while the majority simply spectate. God did not
create any of us to be super saints. God does
not expect any of us to do everything. That should
be a comfort to some. We're trying to do everything,
perhaps. God has created no super saints who
have received every gift and who are to do all
the work in a church. His plan is for total involvement
of all of the members of the body. Just as in
your physical body, all the members have to work,
and not just the eye or just the heart. or just
your big toe. But everything has to work together
if it's going to be a healthy body. And so it
is spiritually in the body of Christ. Secondly,
if there is not a superman in the plan of God
in the church, neither is there a lone ranger.
God does not have a plan for Christians to do
their own thing. without any respect for the
local church. God has created us together to
be related to each other and to be interdependent
upon one another. How sad, then, that there are
those believers who think they don't need the
church, that they can well get along without
worshiping a church. I've heard people say, Although
I must confess not true believers say, I don't
go to church on Sunday. I can worship God while
I'm out hunting or I'm out fishing in my boat.
I don't need the church. Well, that's sheer foolishness.
I can understand that as an unsaved person, but
I can't understand a genuine Christian making
a statement like that because it shows ignorance,
terrible ignorance of what the Bible teaches
us. God has not created any lone rangers. We
are all to be a part, a vital part of a church.
We need that ourselves for growth and maturity.
And then the church needs it as well. If I see
myself as an independent sort of person who doesn't
need the church, I am robbing myself and I am
robbing the church. And I'm denying the plan
of God. And if there are no supermen or lone
rangers, let me say thirdly, there are no hired
men either. God's plan is not for there to be
a professional clergy who is supposed to do the
work of the church. That is not the plan of God.
I don't know where that came from. It would be
interesting for someone to trace that back in
church history. I suppose it may well go back
to the clergy -laity separation which began in
the early centuries and which is seen in particularly
the Roman Church and others, where there is a
separation of people from the clergy. But please
understand that is not found in the Word of God.
There is not a hired clergy that is supposed
to do the ministry. And the church pays the clergy
to do it. That is not God's plan. And we're going
to get to God's plan regarding that next week.
For now, let me repeat my main thrust here. It
is that every member, everyone, has a function
in the body of a local church. You say, well,
that lets me off because I'm not a member of
a local church. Shame on you. That's no excuse.
Because it's God's plan for every person to be
a member of a local church. Every one of us.
Now there are four thoughts about this that I
want to talk about. The fact that every member
has a function. First of all, that function is
for the good of the whole body. There is no place
in the body of Christ for what I call spiritual
narcissism. The gifts that are given are given
for the good of the whole. I've heard some people
say that they have a gift of tongues in which
they exercise in private in a prayer closet.
I find that a very interesting interpretation
of the gift of tongues. Because, my friend, what
good to the body is a gift that is performed
in private in a prayer closet? The very idea
that that could be a spiritual gift is against
the teaching of Scripture. Because the teaching
of Scripture is that the gifts are given not
for personal edification merely, but for the
good of the whole body of Jesus Christ. A second
thought I want to share is this, that gifts are
given to enable each one to function to his full
capacity. What I'm saying is that God has custom
designed you. child of his, to be plugged into
a ministry in a local church in a certain way.
It may be a serving capacity. It may be a speaking
capacity. It may be a public capacity or a private
one that no one sees. But God has designed you
in your talents, in your personality, in your
makeup, in your background, so that you can be
plugged into a local body in a certain way. He
knows what that purpose for you is. And now he
has given you gifts so that you can fully function,
so that you can fully perform the capacity that
God has given you. God does not require that
each individual shall have the capacity for everything.
But each individual does have the capacity and
the gifts for some things. A third thought is
this, that gifts must be used in the spirit of
love. If they are not, there is a danger that
exists for damage. For love is a lubricant so
that the parts of the body will function together
harmoniously and smoothly. This was the big problem
in the Corinthian church. It was a church that
was gifted as well as any church in the New Testament
era. Indeed, Paul says to them that they were
enriched with all the gifts, but it was a church
devoid of love. That's why after chapter 12,
in which he goes through many of the gifts and
he lists them and talks about them and their
importance, he says, I want to show you a better
way. Notice he didn't say, I want to tell you
now about a better gift. He says, I want to show
you a more excellent way, a better way. A better
way for what? A better way to serve and to use
these gifts. And he goes right to chapter 13,
which is the great love chapter of the New Testament.
And he says, though I have the gift to speak
with the tongues of men or of angels, that is,
as a mere man, or if I have the gift of oratory,
the gift of the tongues of angels is not some
ecstatic language. Paul is there using that in
contrast to common speech. He says, if I am eloquent
or I'm not eloquent, but I speak and I don't
have love, then he says, I'm just like a sounding
gong. Bong, bong, bong means nothing. He says,
if I had the gift of giving to the point that
I would give my body itself to be burned at the
stake, But I don't do that in love. It profits
nothing. Zero. His point is that love is essential.
Gifts must be used in the spirit of love. And
that love is described to us a couple of verses
before this, back in verse 2, where he says that
that means humility, it means gentleness, it
means patience, it means forbearance. That's
what it means to exercise these gifts in love.
And finally, the earthly temporal function that
you and I have somehow fits you and me, as well
as the whole body of Christ, for our heavenly
eternal place. I don't know how that works. But
folks, what we are doing now not only prepares
us personally, but our whole church and the body
of Christ universally. for what God has prepared
for us in the future. So why is it important
that now I am diligent in using my gifts for
Christ, that I am plugged into a local church
and serving Christ faithfully, fulfilling my
God -given capacity? Why is that important? Because
it impacts eternity and what I will become and
what the church will be and the plan of God.
That's why it's important. What an exciting concept
that is for each of us. I don't think there's
a more important teaching for us to grasp and
apply than the one that we're talking about right
now. For it is possible for any church to collapse
under its own weight if everyone doesn't do his
part in the church. Our church, like most, struggles
because of too many. who are sitting on the sidelines.
You say that sounds like a preacher's perspective.
Well, it is that. But it was interesting in the
Project 2000 meetings which we had a few weeks
ago, that was the number one weakness that was
observed by the several hundred who participated.
As we collected the results, that was the number
one thing on the list people saw as a weakness.
in Grace Church, Roosevelt. Too many sitting
on the sidelines, too few who are involved in
the work. Sadly, that is not peculiar to our
church only, but it is true of our church. The
tragedy of such a thing is not that there are
so many churches who are therefore partly or
even largely paralyzed. and unresponsive to the
opportunities around them because there just
aren't enough people involved. Tragedy is not
that. Nor is the tragedy that some who are committed
will burn themselves out trying to do the work
of those who won't work. That's not the greatest
tragedy. But the tragedy, the real tragedy, is
the waste of God's gifts. and the energy of the
Holy Spirit that he has made available to us.
It is the real sad abuse of life's opportunities.
The real tragedy is Satan's successes in the
world, not because he is stronger than God, but
because some of God's soldiers have gone AWOL
in the battle. That, my friend, is the real tragedy.
The waste of what God has given. Beloved, whatever
our spiritual gifts, those are given to us by
our ascended victorious Lord as an investment.
An investment in us. An investment in you and
in me. Are you functioning in the body as God
intends you to? Are you a healthy part of the
body so that you can function? Are you yielded
to the Lordship of Christ in your gifts, your
talents, your resources? You see, those are the
bottom line questions that we have to answer
before we can apply this teaching to our church.
Each of us has to go on our knees before our
Christ and say, Lord, are you Lord of every area
of my life? And then we have to go down the list.
Take my life. Take my talents. Take my gold.
And we have to give those to him. And then we
have to learn about spiritual gifts. And that's
one reason that this seminar is being conducted
in our church regarding spiritual gifts. And
it will be offered again for those of you who
missed the first few sessions. Because we need
to know what God's gifted us to do. And then
we need to find out, am I really committed to
the church where I say I belong? Or am I just
going through motions? Is my commitment merely
superficial? Am I committed only enough to keep
my conscience from feeling too guilty? Or do
I really mean business about serving Jesus Christ
with the gifts he's given me? In World War II
there was a cathedral that was bombed. The result
of that was damage to a large statue of Jesus.
His arms were outstretched, but because of the
damage, the hands of the statue were missing.
A group of German students volunteered, in fact,
to go to Britain to repair damage such as that.
And when they came to that statue, they looked
at it. And they asked themselves, and others
asked, should they attempt the fragile and delicate
work of reshaping the hands of Christ? And finally,
they came to a decision that still stands today.
The statue is still there in that cathedral in
England. And the inscription at the bottom no
longer reads, Come unto me. as it did before,
but it's been changed. Now it says, Christ has
no hands but ours.