Ephesians 4:7-13

Here’s another one from Ephesians. Did I ever mention how much I love this book? It’s so amazingly full of truth and insight. It’s just amazing.

Into: Paul is in the second half of his letter to the Ephesians, switching from theology and doctrine to practical application and Christian living.

Through: Paul makes a transition in verse 7 that I wouldn’t have caught without the help of my handy dandy study notes. John MacArthur points out that Paul has just moved from the unity of believers to their uniqueness. He says that we have been given grace, a common theme throughout the Bible. He then quotes Psalm 68:18, an interesting verse. Paul explains in the next verse the implications of Christ ascending, saying that in order to have ascended He must have first descended after which He could rise on high and fill the universe with His goodness. Paul then lists a few specialized tasks Christ has assigned people, gives two reasons why those gifts are given and what they are to be used for, and then states in many words the ultimate goal of the giving of these gifts.

Beyond: There is so much to talk about in this passage. Paul seems to have a knack for covering so many different subjects in such a short time. The main theme of this passage seems to be spiritual gifts, and the fact that each person has his own spiritual gift. This is what makes Christians separate from each other. Believers are to be one, yet they are also distinct. Sound like any familiar theological doctrines? Interesting. The first verse says each Christian has been given graciously a little bit of the character of Christ. That is why Christians need to all work together, because we all play our little part in completing the body of Christ. Paul then quotes an interesting verse that talks about Christ giving gifts to men, but the part that stuck out to me was where it says “He led captivity captive” (8). That just sounds so poetic and so great. It has a great ring to it, but even more so a great ring of truth to it. Christ, upon dying and rising from the grave, literally bound what had once bound mankind. He destroyed its power over man by doing what He did on the cross. He defeated the sting of death, and freed us from the power of Satan and sin. If that’s not good news, I don’t know what is. In verse 10, Paul basically explains how Christ is God. He descended and then ascended far above the heavens. He reigns on high. He fills the earth and the universe with His glory.

Then Paul gives a fairly short list of possible gifts, which all happen to be related in this way: they are to be used for “equipping the saints for the work of the ministry” and “for the edifying of the body of Christ.” My youth pastor Bobby often brings up this point: that it is not necessarily the pastors or teachers whose job it is to minister. It’s their job to prepare you for ministry. It is their job to equip the saints for that work, so the work of the ministry can’t simply be passed of as something that the pastors or teachers should do. We as individual Christians should be actively making service to Christ a personal part of our lives. If the Holy Spirit puts something on our heart, we should do it instead of passing it off to those more “experienced” or “better” at it than we are. After all, how do you think those people got “experience” or “good” at it in the first place?

This edification and building up and working continues until every Christian is absolutely perfect, like Christ. It continues to bring us closer together as one unit in our faith and in our knowledge of Christ, until each one is “a perfect man…the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (13). So many times people say that is impossible. We’re only human they say. I say that’s trash. We have the power of God Himself literally inside us. Christ lived up to the standard, and He’s living inside us.

Let’s strive for the goal without hesitation.