We began looking two weeks ago at some of the blessed assurances that are ours through the ascension of Christ. His Grace, His Gifts, which result in our Grandeur for His Glory. We were reminded again of the tremendous grace which was bestowed upon us through His resurrection. The very central hope of our faith is the fact that not only has Christ risen from the dead, and thus given to us the guarantee that we too have power over death, but He has ascended on high, and in doing so He led captives in His train. He has taken captive our spiritual enemies. He has freed us from the spiritual, emotional and physical strongholds which in times past held each one of us captive. We were trapped in a cycle of sin with no apparent way of escape, and He set us free. The first assurance we have as a result of Christ's physical resurrection is that of deliverance from our spiritual enemies.

As we approach the New year, it is very timely that we examine the second assurance that comes through His ascension.

II. The Distribution of Spiritual Gifts..

Ephes. 4:7-16 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. [8] This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." [9] (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? [10] He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) [11] It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, [12] to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. [14] Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. [16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

This is a wonderful assurance for the new year. Especially in the light of our vision for the future. The assurance that we will fulfill every purpose that Father has for us as a body of believers. In order to ensure that this will be fulfilled, He has given to us gifts to enable us to function as the organism He intended us to be. In recent years I believe the church may have missed the purpose for which God created it. But I believe things are changing. I believe the Spirit of God is healing a sluggish, ill, and faulty church. I believe He is bringing us back to a clear understanding of the true purpose for His church in these days.
This process of healing is interesting to watch. It is happening all over, in all kinds of churches, and it is a marvelous thing. The Holy Spirit is breathing new life into old bones that have long been covered by the dust of tradition and legalism. They are beginning to shake free. There is new wine being poured into new wineskins, stretching them to a new dimension. New and exciting manifestations of the Holy Spirit are breaking out in places where people would least have expected. It is being accomplished by a return to these fundamental principles that the Apostle Paul outlines here in the Epistle to the Ephesians concerning the intention of God for his body. It is a fulfillment of a promise made by a God who never breaks His promises.

There are several aspects of this promise that we will try to look at this morning.

In the first place, observe:

1. The People to Whom the Gifts are Given.

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes, "But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Eph. 4.7).

Here we notice two outstanding realities: (1) the gift of the Holy Spirit for ministry, is given to every true Christian without exception, and (2)along with the gift, there is a remarkable power by which that gift may be exercised.

The word "grace" in the original language is charis, from which the English adjective, charismatic, is derived. This "grace" is a God-given capacity for service which we have received as Christians, and which we did not possess before we became Christians. This "grace" is given to all true Christians, without exception.

In Ephesians 3:8, Paul refers to one of his own gifts or "graces" of the Spirit: Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace(charis) was given me:" What grace? "…to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,.."

Clearly one of his gifts was that of preaching--or, as it is called in other places, the gift of prophesying. When Paul writes to his young son in the faith, Timothy, in 2 Tim. 1:6, he uses a closely related word and says to him, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands."

This seems to be the first point of instruction for new Christians throughout the New Testament. The moment they were brought out of the kingdom of darkness of darkness into Christ's marvelous light, they were informed that the Holy Spirit had not only given to them the life of Jesus Christ, but had also equipped them with a spiritual gift or gifts which they were then responsible to discover and exercise. See what Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace (charis) in its various forms.

And again, in 1 Corinthians 12:7, Paul writes: "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

So we can see that the people upon whom the gifts are bestowed are we. You and me. Every believer in Christ has at least one, and it is our responsibility to discover what that gift is. To fan it into flame as it were. To be good stewards of that which Father has so graciously, without cost, bestowed upon us. You may have no idea at this point what that gift is, but it is there. That gift may be lying dormant within you, embryonic and unused. But it is there. The Holy Spirit makes no exceptions to this basic equipping of each believer. No Christian should say, "God has not given me a job to do" or, "I don't feel like I have any talent or ability to do anything in the church." Every one of us has one gift or another. At City View we use the phrase "Every Member a minister". We believe that every member of the church is in one way or another a "minister" unto the Lord, and unto one another. We help our members discover in what capacity they are called to serve. In our New Members class we have a module that is designed to help you discover your spiritual gift. This is all consistent with the New Testament idea that each member of the body of Christ is vital to the functioning of the body and has a place to serve.
The Lord knows that His church does not need any more "pew warmers". If you are visiting City View and you are in need of ministry and restoration, we welcome you. We have many adherents in our fellowship and I believe that Father will continue to send folks our way who are longing for something more in their lives and being drawn to Jesus. We welcome you. But know this. When you come to that place where you feel that God is calling you to this portion of His vineyard through church membership, you then become a co laborer. A fellow minister. A willing worker. That is the expectation of the New Testament Church.

It is vitally essential that you discover the gift or gifts which you possess. The value of your life as a Christian will be determined by the degree to which you use the gift God has given you. Therefore, knowing that each one of us has at least one gift, we can examine more closely the nature of those gifts. So we see in the second place,

2. The Peculiarity of the Gifts

Going back to vs. 7, we see the words, "as Christ apportioned.." This speaks both of the measure of the gifts and the character of the gifts. In 4:11 He lists the specific, functional gifts that are given to individuals for the benefit of the church. We may address these later, but for now it is sufficient to say that there is no clear, biblical basis for believing that any of these have been discontinued. I believe that all are operational in the church today in one form or another. In various other passages throughout the New Testament, other lists of gifts are provided. These range from functional, practical gifts to gifts that may be purely edifying in nature. Whatever the gifts are, they are all for the building up of the body.
In the distribution of the gifts, God knows that there are all kinds of resources needed to build an effective church. He also knows that different gifts are suited to different people. Different personalities. So He distributes these according to his wisdom.

Paul uses the analogy of the body to describe the church so many times. This is because the spiritual body is not unlike the physical body.

The human body is an amazing arrangement of many quite different functions. In a healthy body these functions are articulated with incredible smoothness. In a body which is not so healthy, some of these functions become erratic and clumsy and sometimes even cease.
As these major functions are carried out in the body they all work together sharing in a marvelous harmony and yet each one doing something different. The eyes see, the ears hear, the tongue tastes, the nose smells, the fingers feel. None of these compete with each other. That is the characteristic that is so remarkably evident in God's intention for the body of Christ.
The functioning of the senses in their own peculiar way is also a characteristic of the body's organs. Every one is a distinct and peculiar thing, having a function different than anything else in the body. You cannot substitute one organ for another. You will not see a surgeon trying to replace a stomach with a liver. It cannot be done. Every organ must exercise its own function. So every truly converted Christian has a special gift or gifts that God gives him when he becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. That gift is your privileged function within the body of Christ. No one else can do it. Others may have similar gifts but they cannot do what you can do. No one else can do what you can do in the body of Christ. Each gift is peculiar. And as we have already seen everyone in the body of Christ has a gift.
As we recognize the peculiarity of the gifts we will realize why different people respond to situations in different ways. Someone with the gift of mercy might respond to some confession of sin by a member of the body in a completely different way to the person who has the gift of evangelism or prophecy for instance. The Christian who has found himself in a compromising situation which has led to a sin may be gently and graciously counseled by the one with gift of mercy, while the evangelist might in no uncertain terms tell the brother that he needs to get on his knees and repent, and get back in church. The gifting is different, so the function is different. And God is the one who orchestrates all of this according to His wisdom. He knows exactly what we need at the time.

So we see that in God's purpose for the church, the peculiarity of gifts is an important aspect. In the third place notice:

3. The purpose for which the gifts are given

Ephes. 4:12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

This seems to be fairly clear, yet we get confused about why we are gifted.

It is important to see that in the New Testament, these functional gifts spoken of in vs. 11 were given to the body of Christ. In Paul's ecclesiology there is no question as to who he was referring to when he spoke of the body of Christ. In almost every instance he addressed individual groups of eclesia, or called out ones. There are some references to a universal body, but his teachings were always pointed towards a specific group within this universal order. Thus it is reasonable to conclude that Paul is speaking of gifts that were given to individuals for the use and for the equipping of the local church. These functional gifts are given to the church, not to the para church. The same is true for other spiritual gifts that are given to each of us. They are given primarily that they may be used in the establishing of the local body. This is the organism that Jesus chose to use to establish His kingdom. He did not need to, He could have done it without us, yet He chose to.
Family, there is a deficiency of effective, gifted workers in the church today because some who are gifted have the idea that they are gifted for their own ministry. There is no such concept in the New Testament. The gifts were given for the building up and equipping and edifying of the local church members so that they may be the ones who "as they go, make disciples." So that the church members may be the ones who carry on the ministry of the church in the world.

The ministry is to be done by the people--the ordinary, plain-vanilla Christians we often call "the laity." The four offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher exist for one function and one function only: to equip everyday Christians to do the work God has given them--and gifted them!--to do.

Our text says that the gifts were given for the equipping. What does this mean and how is it done? In the original Greek, the word is katartismon, from which we get our English word "artisan" An artisan is someone who uses his hands to make or build things. This is the same word used in the New Testament when Jesus found the first men that He called as His disciples. As He walked along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat busily working. Mark 1:19 They were found "mending" their nets. The word mending is this same Greek word used for equipping, or as it is translated in the NIV, "preparing" They were equipping their nets by mending them. They were fixing their nets, making them strong, preparing them for service, getting them ready for action!

This is why the gifts are given. Not only these four functional gifts, but every gift is given so that saints may be mended. That we may be prepared, and prepare each other for the work of the ministry. So that we may teach and exhort and encourage and heal and pray over and deliver in order that we may be strengthened for the task that is before us.

This Greek word is also translated as "fitting them out." According to Greek scholar, J. H. Thayer, it means "to make one what he ought to be." Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent is "to shape up." The ultimate aim of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor--teachers is the shaping up of the saints to do the work of the ministry.

So we see then that these gifts are uniquely distributed to every believer at God's discretion and according to His divine proportion, for a specific purpose. The people to whom the gifts are given are all who are members of Christ's body. The distribution of the gifts is peculiar to each individual. There is a purpose to all of this, and finally there is a goal. When we recognize and operate according to these principles there is:

4. The Potential Realized through the giving of the gifts.

Ephes. 4:12-16 "…to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. [14] Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. [15] Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. [16] From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Twice in this great passage, the apostle gives us the ultimate goal of the life of faith. It is the measuring stick by which we can judge our progress as Christians. In verse 13 he says it is "attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." And in verse 15 he urges us to "grow up in every way into him who is the head, that is, Christ." Here is the full potential of those who have been equipped and built up through the administering of the gifts that Father has given us. The end goal is that we become as Christ. This is the potential that is available to every believer. Maturity in the faith. We may not be there yet, but it is a very real possibility for each of us. There is a bumper sticker that I like. It says, "Christian under construction" We may not be there yet, but we will be someday.

Deep within our hearts that is our desire. To be all that God created us to be. Eccles. 3:11 says that God "has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;" This speaks of the eternal, perfect things for which we have been created. Augustine referred to this as a God shaped void that is within the heart of every person. A restlessness about temporal things that will not be satisfied until we come to full blown maturity in Christ. I love the song, "Someday I shall be like Him, some day like Him. Changed to heavenly beauty when His face I see." This is what the church is all about. It is the vehicle designed by God to achieve mature humanity--a humanity exactly like that which was exemplified by the life of Jesus Christ.
We have now come full circle from chapter one where Paul started out with a summary of our full potential which is already ours in the spirit. You may remember way back that assurance that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. We are blameless, free from the guilt and penalty of sin because we have the redemption through His blood. We are bonded. Forever one with Him, sealed by the guarantee of the Holy Spirit and united with each other through the connectivity of Christ. We are to be an organism that demonstrates to the world a new character, a spirit of lowliness, love, and unity, coupled with resurrection power, proving that the church is a body inhabited by God Himself!

This is our potential because of the gifts that God has given! Are we living according to that potential?