THE GIFTS TO THE CHURCH

Ephesians 4:7-16 (KJV)

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

I want to repeat what I believe, is the general theme of the book of Ephesians:

·   What matters to God is Jesus

·   What matters to Jesus is the church

·   What matters to the church is unity

·   You must see God rightly in order to see Christ rightly

·   You must see Christ rightly in order to see the church rightly and

·  You must see the church rightly in order to see unity rightly.

Notice that this passage begins and ends in the same place – Christ.

Hear me now.

Church is EVERYTHING to Jesus Christ.

He compares the church to His bride whom He loved and gave Himself for.

He did come to seek and to save that which is lost, but He did not do that in a vacuum. His intent from the beginning was to organize those who are saved into churches.

Your view of the church, and your contribution to it, is vital to your relationship with Jesus Christ.

That’s why doctrines such as:

·   Universal church vs local church

·   Water baptism into the church and

·Lord’s Supper exclusively for members of the church

are so important.

All of those things speak to what is the church and what is a real relationship to that church.

Verses 1-6 is “drilling down” into church unity until we get to the place where he said in the church there is, Ephesians 4:4-6 (KJV)

…one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

It is impossible to say all of that of the universal church folks.

Among all those who are a part of Christendom there is:

·   A variety of subtle differences about the hope of salvation

·   A variety of doctrinal differences

·   A variety of modes and opinions about baptism and even

·   A variety of differences in teachings about the relationship between God the Father, the Spirit, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is only in a local church and really only in a local church that teaches there is no such thing as a universal church, Ephesians 4:4-6 can be true.

Having spoken about the unity of the church the Word of God now moves to the instrument that creates this unity – the preachers and teachers.

Without consistent teaching of the Word of God there would be no unity in the churches.

When I was in Bible college there was a student – a man I still maintain communication with – who was constantly causing problems.

·   On more than one occasion he got up and walked out of class angry.

·   Many times he was called into the Executive VP’s office for correction of his attitude

·   Often he would gather a little circle of students together to “preach” the truth that the teachers had missed

Because I worked for the college[1] I had a little closer access to the Executive VP than some other students did. Another student, Rob Hadley, who was the college’s maintenance guy, and I got to go to lunch and pick Dr. Schrader’s brain pretty often.

One time, after this student had gone into one of his “fits” Bro Rob and I got to go out to lunch with Dr Schrader and ask him about this guy.

Dr Schrader said this, “Dennis’ problem is that he has gone to several different Bible colleges that teach several different doctrinal positions and he is confused about what he believes.”

Dr Schrader said that Dennis’ real anger was not with the teachers of the college there but within himself.

He didn’t know where he stood so he was confused and angry.

I think a lot of people are like that in church.

·   Some independent Baptist churches accept just about anyone’s baptism

·   Some independent Baptist churches teach there is a universal church

·   Some independent Baptist churches let just about everything slide

·   Some independent Baptist churches are real tough on dress standards

·   Some independent Baptist churches believe that repentance is not necessary for salvation

Fact is, since there is no law forcing only certain churches to call themselves independent Baptist its is anyone’s guess what some independent Baptist churches teach and preach.

And without consistent teaching of the Word of God there can be no unity in the churches.

So the Word of God now touches on the subject of the preacher/teacher. They are called here gifts to the churches

Notice with me:

I. THE GIFTS ARE FROM CHRIST

Ephesians 4:7-10 (KJV)

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

I see three things in this passage

A. Christ gave gifts unto men

Vs 8

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

There is a supernatural element to those in the ministry that is, I am afraid, being lost in today’s Christianity.

·   I do not say that we are Popes who are substitutes for Christ

·   I do not believe we are priests who can turn bread and juice into the body of Christ

But I do believe that the Bible teaches that a God gifted preacher is more than someone who has chosen the ministry for his profession.

·   I know that there are charlatans

·   I know that there are people who have abused the ministry

· I know that there are fakes and phonies and people who should not be in the ministry

But I also know that there are some who are chosen by the Lord and gifted from heaven for this work.

And every one of us would do well to find one of them and get under his ministry.

B. Christ gives gifts according to His own measure

Vs 7

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Speaking now specifically of preachers/teachers,

·   Jesus determines which gift each of us has

·   Jesus determines the measure of each gift we have

In just a few moments we are going to look at these different gifts.

Here we learn that

·   Not every preacher has exactly the same gifts or combinations of gifts and

·   None of us have those gifts in the same measure.

But that doesn’t mean that one is less gifted or chosen.

They say that, during his lifetime, London could not build a building large enough to house the crowds of people who wanted to hear him preach.

That does not mean that Spurgeon’s message was any more anointed than that of the preacher faithfully preached to smaller congregation in a forgotten village.

When you trace it down through history you will discover that the charlatan, fake and abuser of the ministry is far more likely to be in those larger congregations than the less known ones.

C. Christ is qualified to give these gifts

Vs 9-10

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

·   The One who descended and became our sacrifice

·   Is the One who ascended to fill all things

Who could be better qualified to choose out His preachers and to choose out how and in what measure he will use those preachers than Jesus Christ?

·   It is He who gave Himself for the church and

·   It is He who loves the church more than any other

II. THE GIFTS ARE THESE

Ephesians 4:11 (KJV)

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

There are five gifts to the church listed here

·   Apostles

·   Prophets

·   Evangelists

·   Pastors

·   Teachers

A. Apostles

The term Apostle is usually limited in our minds to those twelve who followed Jesus in His lifetime and are called the foundation to the churches.

They are no doubt included here but they are not the only ones called apostles in the Bible.

Acts 14:14 (KJV)

Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,

The word apostle means “sent one.”

I tend to think in this case it speaks of missionaries.

B. Prophets

We tend to think of prophets as Old Testament foretellers of the Word of God.

There is another application of the prophet as not only

·   foretelling God’s Word but

·   forthtelling it

There is the one whose ministry is now ceased, who received revelation from god and delivered it to men in God’s Word.

There is the other, whose ministry continues, who having received that Word, proclaim it with boldness and urgency.

I tend to think this is the ministry we now call evangelist.

C. Evangelist

Paul told Timothy to stay in Ephesus and do the work of the evangelist.

An evangelist isn’t someone who travels and preaches.

An evangelist is someone who stays in an area and gives others the good news that Jesus saves.

D. Pastors

Many modern Bible teachers like to say that pastors and teachers is one ministry.

I do not believe the Bible says that clearly.

I see the pastor as the shepherd, who leads and comforts and loves on his flock.

E. Teachers

I believe the teachers are exactly what the word sounds like except that I believe in this case it is a gift of teaching and not merely a discipline.

There are five of these gifts.

But it does not mean that a person is one and not the other.

If in fact the term apostle refers to our modern day missionary, he had better be

·   A pastor and love on people

·   An evangelist and witness to people and

·   A teacher and teach people the Bible

·   He might sometimes also need to be a prophet and pronounce judgment on people too!

I am a pastor but

·I have, I understand, a gift for teaching and

·   I have a passion for “propheting”[2]

III. THE GIFTS ARE GIVEN FOR THIS REASON

Ephesians 4:12-15 (KJV)

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

No matter what gift or combination of gifts the “men in the pulpit” might have, they all have same purpose for the church:

A. To perfect the saints

Vs 12

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

B. To unify the faith

Vs 13

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

C. To solidify the doctrine

Vs 14

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

D. Submit to the Lord

Vs 15

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Finally,

IV. THE GIFTS CREATE THIS FUNCTION

Ephesians 4:16 (KJV)

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

When all of the above happens, the church

A. Fits together

B. Functions effectively

C. Sees increase

and

D. Edifies itself

Conclusion

I want to close by looking at the last two words in verse 16, “in love.”

Wouldn’t you call that the ultimate expression of unity?

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[1] As a part time janitor.

[2] In Bible college, Dr Barry Settle told me my gift was teaching. I was offended because I really wanted to be a prophet and “tell everybody off.”

PURSUING HAPPINESS IN THE LEAST OBVIOUS PLACE

Proverbs 4:14 (KJV)

Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

I have a problem.

It has been a lifelong problem as far as I can tell.

I remember it being a problem when I was a kid

It causes me trouble and I am reminded I have this problem very, very often.

I am not alone in my problem.

I have passed it on to my children

And as far as I can tell it affects about half of the world’s population.

I am a male.

Being male has a number of negative side effects. There is one in particular that applies to my message today.

I can’t find things once I put them down.

I will ask my wife where something is

·   She will tell me specifically where it is

·   I will look and look and look and finally demand to here that it is not there.

·   She will walk in to the room, and point it out to me – exactly where she said it was.

The problem is that I don’t see it, even when it is staring me in the face.

The reason that applies to my message today is that the word asher – which means happiness, is staring us right in the face in this verse – but I suspect you have as much trouble seeing it as I do.

It’s the word “go.”

Can you believe it?

·   The same word that is translated happy and

·   The same word that is translated blessed

·   Is here translated “go.”[1]

I am reminded that the theme for the year – one that I borrowed from our country’s Declaration of Independence is “The Pursuit of Happiness.”

·   It’s not the rest of happiness

·   It’s not the retreat of happiness

·   It’s not the surrender of happiness

It’s the pursuit of it. If we want to be happy we have to go after and hunt it down.

All right, having said that, I found three of these very curious applications of this word that is most often translated blessed and happy.

There is, first of all,

I. A POSITIVE

Proverbs 9:6 (KJV)

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

I have in my head right now the picture of a couch potato.

·   Maybe it is a kid slouched over playing a game on his phone

·   Maybe it's a guy laying on the couch with a bag of potato chips watching football

The fact is, it is impossible to be truly happy living that way.

I understand that we are all different and that we enjoy different things.

·   Some people cannot be still, their metabolism and nature is wired in such a way that they just can’t stop moving

·   Other people are more settled down. It is their nature to be quieter, stiller and more reflective

Some people are content with less.

Some are driven to produce more.

And I don’t mean to judge anyone for being the nature that they are.

But whether you are a more content person by nature or a more aggressive person by nature, no good thing will happen in absolute inactivity.

The Bible says “Go.”

Pastor Caleb has been preaching on the many passages that tell us to go on Wednesday nights.

I just want to remind you that the Bible says

·   Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every Creature and

·   Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

This passage tells us to “go in the way of understanding.”

In other words, there are blessings involved in following after and gaining an understanding.

The happiness people are going to be those who seek understanding.

I notice that understanding is not qualified in this passage.

We are not told whether this is

·   Spiritual understanding,

·   Practical understanding, or even

·   General understanding

I personally would recommend that the happiest people of all the world are those people who, “…grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ…”[2]

But a case can be made that pursuing any kind of understanding promotes happiness better than pursuing no kind of understanding.

Benjamin Franklin was not born into a family of wealth.

As a young teenager his father did what many in those days had to do in order to provide for their family and secure for them the best possible future, he let him out as an indentured apprentice at a printer’s shop.

It wouldn’t have been much different than that of being a slave.

The term was limited, but while being indentured, Franklin was in no better standing than a slave would have been.

·   He was completely at the subject of his master

·   He was no allowed to seek the affections of a girl without his master’s permission

·   He could be physically punished for anything his master wasn’t pleased with and

·   Many indentured servants in those days did not survive their term of indenture

Having no opportunity to go to college, however, did not prevent Franklin from pursuing an understanding.

·   He borrowed books

·   He organized a group of friends for the improvement of their skills

·   He mastered his trade of printing and turned it into a fortune and

·   He then became, a philosopher, scientist, and world famous statesman

Do you suppose his pursuit of understanding made him a “happier” man than he would have been had he wallowed in self pity over the conditions in which he was born?

George Washington was similarly situated.

Though he was born to a fairly wealthy father, he was the son of the second wife of his father and his father died when he was but a teenager.

Washington’s older half brother inherited his father’s estate leaving young George with nothing really but an earnest mother and a well known name.

George Washington could never afford to get an education but he did pursue understanding through the avenues that were available to him:

·   He memorized a code of manners on how to behave around respectable people

·   He learned the trade of surveying, then a very lucrative skill and one that enabled him to search out and apply for unclaimed land and

·   He enlisted in the military, which at the time, if a person was successful in it, could promote a person to nearly the level of royalty

Washington endured some unbelievable hardships as a surveyor and as an officer in the Virginia Militia.

He failed a few times in very big ways; many historians blame the French and Indian War on a mission Washington bunged up.

But he persisted and eventually

·   Inherited his father’s estate when his brother died

·   Assumed the role of Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and

·   Became the founding President of our country

Do you really think George Washington would have been better off if he had grown bitter that his brother got the farm and lived like a slob?

On the other hand, there are some things after which a wise person does not chase.

Go back to our original passage where we find

II. A NEGATIVE

Proverbs 4:14 (KJV)

Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

It is unrealistic to expect that happiness will fall into your lap. You are going to have to go after it somehow.

You may not have all of the advantages of others, but you need to make the most of whatever is at your disposal, but as you pursue happiness be aware that there are some things after which you are best not to chase.

The Bible says, “…go not in the way of evil men.”

I used Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as illustrations for the positive; allow me to use another figure from the same era as an illustration for the negative.

Benedict Arnold had about as many opportunities to succeed as did either Franklin or Washington.

Like Franklin and Washington, his upbringing wasn’t stellar.

He had reasons to be upset and bitter as a kid but seemed like he had pulled out of it just as Washington and Franklin had done.

By the time the war had begun Arnold was far from successful, but he wasn’t doing poorly.

He had succeeded enough in life to be an officer and not just a foot soldier.

Arnold saw, just as Washington had a decade earlier, an opportunity to improve his status in life through the military and it looked as if he would be successful.

During the first years of the war Arnold was

·   a rising star,

·   a war hero and

·   Washington’s right arm man

But then Arnold fell in with the wrong crowd.

·   He met a woman who bedazzled him and

·   She introduced him to a British spy who beguiled him

In some ways you could say that Arnold’s treason resulted in his personal success:

·   He and his wife, Peggy Shippen by, escaped to England

·   He was made an officer in the British army

·   After the war he was paid a stipend from England for the rest of his life

He became:

·   A land speculator in Canada and

·   A shipping privateer during the French Revolution

But he was never a happy man.

On his deathbed he asked to be dressed in his uniform as and officer in the Continental Army saying, “Let me die in this old uniform… God forgive me for ever having put on another.”

He was able to attract the attention of the British because there was an enemy to the cause for which he fought.

Let me tell you that there is an enemy to the cause for which you fight too.

Evil men will seek to rob you of

·   Righteousness

·   Honor

·   Virtue

·   Holiness and

Ultimately destroy your hopes for any sort of happiness.

There is only one way to protect yourself from them

·   Identify them and

·   Have no company with them

Romans 16:17 (KJV)

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 (KJV)

And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

Let me tell you where I find that most people fail in this; they are too sensitive to obey the Word of God on this point.

·   They do not want to be judgmental, so they will not label something or someone as evil

·   They do not want to hurt someone’s feelings so they will not avoid or having no company with them

I think I should move to my final point and show you

III. A NEUTRALIZER

Proverbs 23:19 (KJV)

Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.

If we have a proton and an electron, this would be the neutron.

The Hebrew word Asher, so often translated

·   Blessed

·   Happy and in the verses we have seen this morning

·   Go

Is here translated “guide.”

Perhaps this would be the perfect time to tell you that this variation of the word Asher is also defined as “straight up, level or to be honest.”

When I was an apprentice ironworker my foreman assigned for me to plumb up this row of rebar legs.

We had poured a concrete foundation and had placed in the pour hundreds of these legs, about three foot tall, intended to tie the foundation to the concrete walls that would be poured later.

Anyway, I went to each of them, bent over them, and bent them so they looked straight to me. I finished the job and went on to the next assignment.

Later my foreman, his name was Denny and he didn’t like me anyway because he thought I was Mexican, come to get me. He took me to the row of rebar legs to have a look at my work.

Standing back and looking at them in a row I could see that NONE of them were straight up.

You can’t look over the top of something like that and bend it straight up and down. You have to get back a bit and get some perspective.

And you have to use a level to bend it plumb.

Here’s the thing

You will never choose the right way based on what your heart or your feelings want. You are just to close to see what’s straight from that perspective.

·   You are going to have to take a step away from your emotions and

·   You are going to need to use something to show you level – the Bible

It’s this simple, we will always be happier when we guide our heart in the honest, upright and Bible way.

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[1] Actually it is one of the variations of that word.  Strongs H883 aw-shar', aw-share' A primitive root; to be straight (used in the widest sense, especially to be level, right, happy); figuratively to go forward, be honest, prosper: - (call, be) bless (-ed, happy), go, guide, lead, relieve.

[2] 2 Peter 3:18