Spiritual Gifts Build the Body of Christ toward Perfection (Ephesians Sermon 24)

So this week I had the opportunity to eat lunch with a dear friend who’s a member of this church, and we were talking about evangelism, and the desire that we have to share our faith, and both of us acknowledge that we don’t do it as much as we’d like, that we would like to be more faithful in sharing the gospel. And he told me about a friend of his in Raleigh, who was at a restaurant, and he wanted to share with the waitress that was working the table. And so, at a certain moment when there was time to talk, by the way, that happens right as they’re bringing you the check. They’re very chatty at that time, I’ve noticed. You ever notice? They’re really eager for a conversation. They’re really friendly at that moment, for whatever reason. And that’s a good time, that’s a good moment. If the restaurant’s not too crowded, that’s maybe a chance that you can talk to somebody. But anyway, this friend asked this question, “Why are you here? Why are you here?” Now, She answered here at this restaurant and etcetera, but no, no, no, he meant, “Why are you here on Earth?”  Have you ever asked that question? Have you ever asked, “Why am I here on Earth?” And that opened the door to a marvelous Gospel encounter.

So, I would commend that to you as a way of beginning a Gospel conversation, because people want to know ultimate reasons and meaning, and, “Why am I here?Do I have a purpose in life?” So much of us feels empty. We don’t seem to have a direction, don’t seem to know why we’re here. And it’s sad if that happens to Christians, because there’s no good reason that that should ever happen to a Christian. So why are you here? And I don’t just mean here this morning, but why are you here on Earth?

And the bigger picture would be another question similar to it: What is God doing in the world? And beautifully, those things come together for me today as I look at Ephesians 4, on the topic of spiritual gifts. I believe that God has left me on Earth, after I’ve come to faith in Christ, after I’ve won the victory that there is to win in this world, which is faith in Christ. I didn’t die, God didn’t take me immediately into His presence in Heaven, He left me here on Earth. Why? And I believe spiritual gifts and the good works that flow from spiritual gifts are a big part of the answer, not the only answer, but they’re a big part of it. I am here, in part, to use my spiritual gifts to do works of service, to build up the Body of Christ. And so are you. If you’re a believer in Jesus, that is why God left you here after He saved you through Christ.

And so for the second week now, we’re going to look from Ephesians 4, at the issue of spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts, it’s just a marvelous topic. It’s rich and full. And if I can just lay my cards on the table, my desire is that you would be convinced from Ephesians 4 that you have, as a Christian, that you have a spiritual gift package that should flow into a regular pattern of good works, organized by those spiritual gifts, for the up-building of the Body of Christ, that you have spiritual gifts. And either way, no matter whether you can see that kind of ministry going on in your life or not, that all of us would look in the mirror of God’s word here and study our lives and say, “Lord, am I being fully fruitful here with my spiritual gifts? Am I using my gifts maximally?”

Now, let’s just settle this thing in terms of context. Ephesians is a marvelous 6 chapter epistle, very brief, breaks into two main sections; Ephesians 1-3 gives us the doctrine and salvation, reaching back to eternity past, before the foundation of the world, Almighty God set His love on us, the elect, in Christ, and then at the right time, saved us through faith in Christ, and just three chapters of marvelous doctrine. But then in Ephesians 4-6, we have three chapters of application, of practical application. It begins with this marvelous statement in Ephesians 4:1, “As a prisoner for the Lord then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” And I think everything that follows could be a subset of that; How do we live a life worthy of our calling as Christians?

He immediately goes from that into a strong assertion of unity, and the need that the Body of Christ has to be one in Christ. So look at verse 3-6, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” So there’s this strong assertion of unity. But then we saw last week in verse 7, there is this change of direction with the word “but”. “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” So we go from unity, I think, to diversity; the diversity of gifts, of spiritual gifts, and a role that we play in the Body of Christ. And he says but, and this is by way of review, we went over this last week, but “to each one of us,” etcetera. So every single Christian has a spiritual gift package, or array of spiritual gifts that God, that Christ has given to you.

And he gives it to you according to His measure of grace. He measures out. I love the word “metron”, a sense of the measuring out of spiritual gifts. Again, I think of an array or a package of gifts, and He gives some of this, a little of that, a lot of the other, etcetera. Then He puts it together in a package, and that’s your spiritual gift package. And He gives each of it, each of us this gift according to His wise measure. It’s a beautiful thing to think about, as Christ apportioned it. So Christ thought about you, pondered you, and then measured out a gift package to you. It’s marvelous, isn’t it?

And then in verses 8-10, again by way of review, these spiritual gifts are flowing to us as a result of Christ’s triumphant descent from Heaven to Earth. His work on the cross, His bloody redeeming work on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead, and then His ascension through the heavenly realms to sit at the right hand of God, filling the whole universe with His greatness. You get a picture of a victory train going from Earth to Heaven, and we, the former captives of Satan, are in His victory train, and Jesus, this conquering hero, is just dispensing booty and plunder and just giving out gifts, and it’s just flowing. And so all of our spiritual gifts are blood bought. They were very expensive. And so, Jesus shed His blood to give you this spiritual gift package, a marvelous picture.

And then in verse 11, he gives us examples of the spiritual gifting that can happen. But it’s not just any that He chooses, we’ll talk about it more later in the message, but I’ve already said what. And it says in verse 11, “He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” So those are examples of gifted individuals who then have a ministry to play. But it’s not just any that he chose there. I believe, as I said last week, those five roles, “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers,” are the delivery system from Almighty God, from the mind of God to the hearts of the people of God of the Word of God. The Word of God delivered from God’s heart to ours by means of the “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.” We’ll talk more about it later in the message. Did mention it last week. And then, as the Word of God flows to the people of God, verse 12, these apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, are given to prepare God’s people, that’s all of us, to prepare God’s people for works of service, good deeds, acts of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up.

So, the ministry of the Word of God, as I said last week, primes the pump for an incalculable number of good deeds, small and great, and the good deeds grammatically, the good deeds build up the body to maturity, all of them, not just some of them, not just the preaching, teaching, everything builds it up. And so that’s the whole doctrine here. And the goal is, we’ll talk about more in a moment, is total conformity to Christ.

So what is a spiritual gift? Spiritual gifts is a special ability given by Almighty God to believers in Christ for the purpose of building the body up to maturity. Special ability. What we call in common everyday secular language, a talent. We could even use “gift”. He’s really gifted, a gifted musician, or a gifted scholar, etcetera, a sense of gifting or appointment by God. Now, as I’ve counseled with individuals, especially young men, Seminary and others that are growing, they want to know what are my gifts? What’s my ministry going to be? I’ve really benefited from these two words that help me differentiate gifting and non-gifting, and it’s the difference between functioning and flourishing in an area, between functioning and flourishing. So what do I mean by that? Well, spiritual gifts, generally take a common Christian activity. And in the hands of Christ, by the power of the Spirit, in the life of an individual, it just flourishes like a a verdant garden, that functioning area just flourishes. So, spiritual gifting has to do with flourishing, not merely functioning.  So, let me give you some examples.

I’ll take an example from my own life. I was asked recently rather pointedly, not negatively, but pointedly, “Why did you leave the mission field?” We were on a two-year church planner apprentice program with the IMB, and at the end of the two years, it was a time of evaluation, they evaluated us, we evaluated them, and evaluated the life. I came to the conclusion that I did not have the spiritual gift of a missionary. I was functioning in Japan, not flourishing. I felt that God had a better sight of ministry for the way he’d put me together. The next step for me was to go to Southern Seminary and get a PhD because I have an academic or bookish bent to me, to develop those gifts, and then God led me here, because I was gifted more as a shepherd than a professor. So it was gifting that led me eventually here. But I would stand and say, I am not gifted to be a cross-cultural missionary. I was functioning, I wasn’t flourishing. So that’s an example from my own life.

But you look at all of the gifts, like the gift of, let’s say, the gift of serving. Alright. People with the spiritual gift of serving, well, all Christians are called to serve, we’re all servants. But somebody with the gift of servant-hood, they just see serving tasks far more abundantly than those that don’t have the gift, and they do them and things just shine when they do them. So it’s just a beautiful thing to watch. Or let’s say the gift of hospitality, all of us are called unto be hospitable, to open our homes, but people with the gift of hospitality, it just flourishes. It’s more than just the mint on the pillow, you know what I’m saying? There’s just a flourishing of the gift of hospitality. You just feel like they couldn’t wait for you to come, not that they couldn’t wait for you to leave, you know? There’s a sense of, you just love having us here, it’s like we’re doing you the favor. It’s a gift. Or the gift of prayer. I love being with people, praying with people who have the gift of prayer, there’s just a way that they pray that you just feel like you’re ushered into the presence of God. And some of that gift, the gifting of prayer, most people never see it, people “go into their room and close the door, and they pray to their Father unseen,” and no one ever sees it.

So you can have a spiritual gift ministry and be flourishing and no one hardly even knows about it. But it has led to specific deeds again, and again, and again. You took a matter and got on your knees and prayed. So there are actions. The gift of evangelism, we are all responsible to share the Gospel, and I believe it wouldn’t be surprising if for every single one of us, there is an elect non-Christian out there, and God wants you to bring them to Christ. And you may not lead tons, dozens and dozens of people to Christ, but you’re going to lead that person to Christ. And so all of us are evangelists, we’re called on, we have a responsibility for evangelism, but we’re not all gifted in evangelism, and it just flourishes in that area, etcetera.

Then there’s the gift of giving, alright. We don’t all flourish in the gift of giving, but Christian giving is part of the healthy Christian life. Some people, let me tell you, they flourish at Christian giving. It’s not just how much they give, it’s the delight and the freedom and the way that they give. So that’s what I mean by flourishing not functioning. I hope that’s helpful. So now let’s look at the goal of spiritual gifts.

I. God’s Goal: Perfect Conformity to Christ (vs. 13, 15)

God’s goal here is perfect conformity to Christ. Look at verse 13, again, at verse 15. The idea here is that these gifts are given, verse 13, until “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and to become mature,” this is the NIV, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” So the word “mature” sometimes is translated perfect, but that’s misleading. I mean, we’re heading toward perfection in Christ, but it’s like the perfecting work or the maturing work. I just love verse 13. Listen to ESV, which you just heard Ben read, verse 13 in the ESV says, “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Or then the Holman Christian Standard Bible has it this way, “Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”

So the picture here is, let’s take it like the Apostle Paul, or even Jesus, growing from an infant to a toddler, to a boy, to a teenager, to a young adult, to a mature man, to mature manhood. The idea is one of development, fully mature in all respects. And so this is the unity of the Body by each individual member becoming more and more Christ-like, more and more conformed to Christ. You get the same thing also in verses 14 and 15. Look at verses 14 and 15, it says, “Then we’ll 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 and their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the head,” that is Christ. Same image, same goal. So the goal of the spiritual gifts is the maturing of the saints, the maturing of the Body of Christ to full maturity, conformity to Christ, that we will be made like Him, that we will be like Christ in every way.

Now, Christ-likeness, conformity to Christ, is the goal of sanctification, it’s the goal of the Christian life. Once you come to faith in Christ, God has set before each of us those two infinite journeys we’ve talked about again and again, the internal journey of sanctification, of becoming more and more conformed to Christ, and then the external journey of evangelism and missions, leading others to faith in Christ that they would be mature. So that’s the idea. So our goal then, personally, individually, in our internal journey is total conformity to Christ. I want to be like Christ, I want to be like him.

Well, in what way? I want to be like him in my mind, I want to think like him, I want to think like him about everything. I want my thoughts to be totally conformed to the thoughts of Christ. I’m told I have the “mind of Christ,” I want to use it all the time. I want to think like Jesus does about everything. I want to agree with Jesus. And the Word of God tells me what Jesus thinks about everything. I want my mind conformed to Christ.I want my thought life to be like Christ. I want to think about what’s “true, and noble, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable, and excellent, and praiseworthy.” I want to have the mind of Christ all the time, I want to be conformed to Christ in my mind. I want to be right doctrinally, I want to be pure in my mind that’s conformed.

And then in my heart; I want to love what Jesus loves, and I want to hate what He hates. And I want to love them to the measure with which He loves them. I want to love God and love my neighbor the way Jesus did, that’s conformity to Christ. And then I want to have desires and ambitions for the future the way Jesus does. I want to yearn for what’s coming. And I just want to choose it, I want to use my will the way Jesus did, saying, “Not my will, but yours be done,” in Gethsemane. I want to live like that. And I want my emotions to be conformed to Him, I want to rejoice at what He rejoices at, and I want to mourn at what causes Him grief. I want to be conformed in every way to Christ in my heart.

And then, ultimately, dear friends, I want my body conformed to Jesus. Don’t you? Aren’t yearning for the resurrection body? Be done with aches and pains, be done with aging. As Augustine said, we’ll be 21 for eternity. I don’t know that he was right, but anyway, we’ll be in maximum physical condition forever, and we will be radiant and glorious, we will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father, we will be conformed to His resurrection body, and death will have no mastery over us. That, dear friends, is perfection, that’s total conformity to Christ, that’s what the gifts are given for. That’s what the gifts are given for. The gifts are given to move all of the elect around the world from being dead in their transgressions and sins and in Satan’s dominion, rescued, brought over from death to life, and then growing and flourishing more and more in conformity to Christ, until we are all, all the elect are in our resurrection bodies. That’s the big picture. And friends, that’s exciting, that’s why we’re here. Amen? You don’t ever need to lack for purpose. Like, why am I here? This is why you’re here, this is what God is doing in the world, and oh, is it exciting and sweet. Oh friends, don’t you want more and more baptisms? Amen. Don’t you yearn for that? I would love to see more and more baptisms. And even better, to see those baptized still walking with Jesus five years later, amen. And far more mature in growth, that’s what the gifts are given for. So that’s it.

II. God’s Word Gives Life and Growth (vs. 11-16)

Now, verses 11-16, we’re going to see again and again the ministry of the Word of God is key to everything. I glossed over it lightly before, mentioned it more in depth last week, but I want to zero in on it. I want to focus on it. Throughout this passage, the Word of God is central to everything. Central to everything. Everything comes about because of the Word of His power. Physical creation, the physical universe, the sun, the moon, and the stars, planet Earth, all of the mountains and rivers and oceans, and all of the swarming insects, and the land creatures, and the sea creatures, and man, male and female, created in the image of God, all of it by the word of God’s power. God speaks, and it’s so. So, by the Word of His power.

And also, we’re told in Hebrews 1:3 that Christ “sustains everything also by the Word of His power.” So it’s the continual giving of the Word of God, that’s the key to everything. Well, that’s strong in this passage, too. It was in Ephesians 1, we know that it was, “when we heard the word of truth,” Ephesians 1:13, “the Gospel of our salvation, having believed it, we were included in Christ. And we received the sealing of the Spirit.” So, it’s in the hearing of the Gospel, so also it’s the ministry of the Word of God that primes the pump for everything going on in the Body of Christ.

So look again at verse 11, it was said, “He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers.” What I said last week, and I’ve already mentioned briefly this morning, the thing that holds those five together is the Word of God. The apostles and prophets are the gifted ones by which we have the Scripture, by which we have the Bible. Then the evangelists are God’s marvelous delivery system by which, first, the Gospel and then the implications of the Gospel are delivered to lost people. Evangelists take it within, I think, one culture. Missionaries take it across cultural divides, but they’re doing essentially the same work, they’re bringing the good news to those who are as yet on the outside. And then shepherds, ESV has shepherds, I love that, pastors and teachers settle in in a locality. And pastors and teachers shepherd those individuals until they die, until they are done, out of this world. Doesn’t mean that pastors have to stay with one body and be with those people, etcetera, but God raises up shepherds and teachers to pastor the people for the rest of their time on Earth. The beauty. But all of this is a delivery system of the Word of Go, and it primes the pump for everything.

The immediate effect of faithful teaching, biblical teaching, are “works of service,” verse 12, “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up.” I love that idea here, to prepare God’s people for works. Just think about that. Prepare the people to do the works, but we already had in Ephesians 2:10, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God went ahead of us to prepare in advance.” So He’s working both sides of the equation. He is out there providentially in the world preparing good works for us to walk in. And meanwhile, here in church, and I just don’t mean Sunday morning, but throughout the week, the ministry of the pastors and teachers with the prior work of the apostles, prophets and evangelists, is to get us ready to do those good works. Isn’t that beautiful? So God’s working both sides of the equation. He’s getting you ready right now for the good works you’re going to do this week, month, year, 10 years, getting you ready right now for that. And then, conversely, he’s providentially, in a very cool, amazing way, getting good works ready, for you in particular to do. Marvelous.

So why are you here? For that. Those good works are the way that God builds up the Body of Christ, that’s how it happens.

And so we have this image of the body of Christ in Ephesians 2:21. Some of you can just look there on the page or just listen. It gives you this beautiful picture of the Church as a building, a spiritual temple. Ephesians 2:21, “In whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” That’s weird. By the way, it’s my job to tell you when something’s a little weird and interesting, and pausing at it, you look at it. It’s like, “What’s so weird about that?” Okay, here’s what’s weird: The verb is a biological verb, the image is an architectural image. That’s what’s interesting about this. So you have a growing building. Isn’t that amazing? A living building. And then here, amazingly, in verse 12 it says, “To equip the saints for work of ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ.” What do we have there? A biological image of the Church with an architectural verb. So, we’re going to construct the body, and we’re going to grow the temple. And it’s really amazing this mixing, it’s the living reality, this church, and God is working on it, He’s growing it and building it all the time through these spiritual gifts.

Now, the goal of this is doctrinal unity. Unity in the faith, it says, and in the knowledge of the Son of God. And become “mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of God.” So, the purpose of ongoing pastoral ministry, preaching and teaching, is to get everyone thinking the same things, doctrinally. That we all agree about biblical doctrine. There’s the unity, unity in the faith. The words “the faith” in the New Testament is a body of doctrine. Starting with the Gospel, teachings about Christ, how He was born of the Virgin Mary, fully God, fully man, lived a sinless life, died an atoning death on the cross as our substitute, was raised bodily from the dead. The the things that Abby said she believed in, that’s the Gospel, that’s the faith. But it’s more than that, but that’s the start, the Gospel. Raised from the dead, ascended to Heaven, sits at the right hand of God. If you trust in Him, all of your sins will be forgiven; past, present and future, that’s the faith.

So I just want to pause and say, spiritual gifts are for Christians, not for non-Christians. They’re not given to non-Christians. If you’re here today, and you know you’re on the outside looking in, you’re not yet a believer in Christ, I’m just calling out to you now. And when I went over the sermon this morning, I prayed just for this moment. I just prayed that you would hear forgiveness in the Gospel, that you would hear that Christ is reaching out with His hands and saying, “Don’t stay on the outside, don’t stay under the wrath of God. Come into faith in Christ, trust in me for the forgiveness of your sins. And if you do, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And part of the gift of the Holy Spirit is a spiritual gift package. So, come to faith in Christ, don’t walk out of this place under the wrath of God. I’m pleading with you. I’m pleading with you. But that’s what unity in the faith is. But the faith doesn’t end just with the basics, the milk of the Gospel, there’s all kinds of doctrinal truths that just expand from there. Expand. And so, we’re going to get good teaching so that we grow in our understanding and embracing of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. So it’s more than just doctrinal like facts and figures, and getting things right on the test, it is that, it’s like you’re going to be tested. But that there are perceptual truths that we believe, but oh, it’s so much more than that, isn’t it? The knowledge of the Son of God.

Like we were talking about the end of Ephesians 3, that you would have power together with all the saints to grasp how much Christ loves you, that you have a sense of the dimensions of Christ’s love for you. Regularly, that idea literally brings me to tears, and did this morning. I’m like, “I’ve got to pull myself together, I got to go preach in a couple of minutes. It’s no good to have my face red and puffy. Oh Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. But can we talk more about it later? I need to get ready to preach.” Because it melts me. And so it’s doctrinal but it’s also experiential of knowing that Christ loves you, the knowledge of the Son of God, that’s what he’s talking about here. And then as a result of this experiential and doctrinal maturity, we will, verse 14, no longer be immature. We’re no longer going to be infants. So the issue here, the picture is of instability.

A few Sunday mornings ago, I saw one of the kids of one of our musicians. She’s beginning to walk, actually, she’s beginning to run. I never knew she could walk, and now she’s running. But it’s a tottering kind of run. Have you ever seen little kids? They just like skipped the walking and went into running, and it was just fun to watch. But a little nerve wracking, but it was right down here, so I felt pretty safe. If she were running along here, I’d be nervous. There’s a teetering instability to immaturity. And that’s the image that Paul gives us in verse 14, isn’t it? He brings in the weather image of blown and tossed like you’re a little dinghy in a bad storm, and you’re just blown and buffeted and tossed back and forth by false doctrine, unable to resist false doctrine. It seems so alluring. And there are so many different false teachers, prosperity gospel teachers, and legalism teachers, and others. And we’re drawn by it, it seems so plausible, and it’s cunning and crafty, and Satan is behind it, and he’s alluring, and if you’re immature, you can’t resist it.

But, if you sit under good teaching, and you take it to heart and you grow. To change the metaphor, but you get a root system now. And you’re not moved anymore, you’re stable doctrinally, and you’re able to refute false teachers, like elders need to do in Titus 1. And like the church at Ephesus was able to hear and reject the Nicolaitans and the false doctrine. Just knew it and said, “No, that’s wrong.” And so we’re no longer infants blown back and forth. Let me tell you something, I think this is one of the big problems in the American Evangelical Church, is that there’s a lot of doctrinal immaturity. Doctrinal immaturity. People haven’t grown up into maturity, they’re not able to face hard verses and talk about hard words like predestination or election or whatever, and they shrink back from it. Look, it’s not that they’re not brothers and sisters in Christ, but they haven’t grown up into full maturity dealing with the meat of the Word. And so we’ll no longer be infants, we’ll no longer be immature, Satan buffeting us.

Instead, verse 15, “speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the head, that is Christ.” And so this image here is of a mature church, a local church, or individual, brother or sister in Christ, speaking right doctrine, that’s what I think it means here in context. Speaking right doctrine, the faith, in love. Isn’t that beautiful? Now, I’ve heard so often “speaking the truth in love” has to do with going to a sinning brother or sister and be willing to say hard truths, say some hard things, you confront them and deal with them and their sin. Look, that’s a biblical theme but that’s not what this verse is about. Other verses teach that. Galatians 6:1, “If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should go gently and restore them.” Got it. That’s great. That’s Galatians 6:1. This is not about that, this is, we’re going to speak out true doctrine, the truth, mature doctrine. We’re going to talk about it, but we’re not just going to talk it like head knowledge, we’re going to delight in it and love God and love our brothers and sisters and love others. We’re going to be characterized by love.

So, having grown up into maturity, we are characterized by love. And that’s, I think, the whole purpose of 1 Corinthians 13, isn’t it? 1 Corinthians 13 is situated in a series of chapters about spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12, about spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 14, spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 13 is about weddings and should be read at weddings. Well look, it should be read at weddings, I think love is vitally important in marriage, but it’s about spiritual gifts. And if you look at it, 1 Corinthians 13, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,” that’s the gift of tongues, “But I have not love, I’m only a resounding gong” or a, “clanging symbol.” “If I have the gift of prophecy,” he says, “and I can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” So there’s all these gifts, gift of faith, gift of prophesy, gift of tongues. “If I give all I possess to the poor and I surrender my body to the flames but I have not love, I gain nothing.”

Alright, well, what is love, Paul? “Love is patient, love is kind.” “Love is patient, love is kind,” just that. That’s maturity, to be a consistently patient kind man or woman. It isn’t rude, it’s not proud, it’s not easily angered, it’s mature. There’s a maturity there, a mature love and delight in the Body of Christ. That’s what these gifts bring about. So, we’re going to speak right doctrine in love, in that kind of love. So verse 16, all of God’s people are spiritually gifted to serve. 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. Now, here’s how I think about it; individuals and the whole body, both grow by these spiritual gifts.

III. God’s People: Spiritually Gifted to Serve (vs. 16)

You grow individually by getting out and about with your spiritual gift and doing ministry. That becomes the matrix of your own personal sanctification, as you’re busy doing works of service. Meanwhile as you’re busy doing works of service, the whole body is growing up. This local church, yes. But the universal Church of Christ is growing by people actually doing works of service. And as each part does its work, the whole thing rises to maturity. And that’s a beautiful thing. That’s how the spiritual gifts work.

So how do they work? Well, very practically, as we look at just application, spiritual gifts, as a stream of good teaching is going on, gifts start to rise and flourish and function in the Body. Okay, so those with leadership gifts, they exercise them, they organize God’s people in faithful outreaches to win the lost in the community. The leaders lead out boldly, they set an example so that more inexperienced evangelistic Christians can just follow their example. That’s how my discipler at MIT taught me how to share my faith. So just be quiet and watch. I really do want you to be quiet, okay, because I had nothing good to say. Anyway, just be there and listen and watch. But I felt so at peace. He was taking the heat, but I was learning Evangelism by watching him do it, by operating, leaders going out.

People with the gift of hospitality, as they use their gifts, they provide a warm, inviting matrix for Bible studies, for home fellowships, for discipleship going on, for mentoring between older couples and younger couple, hospitality. As people with gifts of service exercise them, as I already mentioned, the hundreds of behind the scenes details for putting on a worship service like this or a short term mission trip, all the phone calls that have to be made, all the logistics. Friends, if it were left to me, things would get left behind. Mistakes would happen. I love it when you get on the plane and someone dear to you, someone very dear to you says, “Do you have your passport?” I’m like, “We’re already in the air.” Or, “Do you have… ” The time to think of that is ahead of time, and people with those gifts think ahead of time, that detailed gift. Alright.

I think about Jack Evans, and how many mission trips he organized to the Caribbean. Those of you who have been on a mission trip with Jack, you know what I’m talking about. The details. I’m so glad it was him and not me. He used to gather all our passports and get us through customs, and that was awesome to watch. So people with gifts of service. People with gifts of prayer exercising their gifts, and as they do, and nobody sees what they’re doing, but guess what? Doors start to open, visas are given by reluctant governments. Hesitant bosses suddenly are interested in the gospel. You’ve been trying to share with them, but you’ve got a workplace evangelism thing going on. Church planners suddenly find that school officials are willing to have that church plan to meet in their cafeteria. Why? People were praying, invisible, behind the scenes.

Brothers and sisters, do you realize that First Baptist Church made our Lottie Moon goal? $153,600, I think. Now, days ago we were about halfway there. Days, not weeks, days ago. How did we get from halfway there to all the way there? Ponder. People with gifts of giving gave by faith, generously. What’s the result? Missionaries go out, more acts of service through the IMB, because people gave, because of the giving. Praise God. I’m just blessed by that. That was just a sweet moment for me, so praise God. And many gave small gifts along with those big gifts. As people with gifts of counseling use their gifts, then marriages, broken marriages are healed, and they don’t go and get a divorce, but instead they’re together. Or people that are struggling raising their kids get some good insights on parenting. Or premarital counseling is given and a couple is on a solid basis before they even get married. People with gifts of counseling. As people with gifts of discernment use their gifts, they see wise paths of action, and they give good counsel to what ministries, let’s say the church should be involved in and what we should not. It’s very difficult to discern between good, better and best.

Now, next time we talk about spiritual gifts, I’m going to talk about 4 D’s. Not going to take time today, but 4 Ds. Alright, 4 Ds. And I think these are going to help us. Alright, next time. Not next week, next week’s Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, but two weeks from now, we’ll finalize this sub-series on spiritual gifts. The 4 Ds are… What are they? Sorry. Discover your gifts, delight in your gifts, develop your gifts, and then deploy your gifts. These are the four, and we’re going to talk about it especially from Romans chapter 12. I think is the best sub-section of Scripture on how to do these things. So discover what your gifts are, and what the gifts are. We’ve been doing that already. And then delight in them, that that would already be happening. You just see the wisdom and the delight of God in this and you’d be motivated by it. And developing the gifts, we’ll talk more about that next time, but that the gift would be much better and sharper and more skillfully done 20 years down the line. And then, deploy. Now, the standard verb would be “used”, but it doesn’t begin with a D. So deploy, that’s what we’ll talk about next time.

Close with me in prayer. Father, thank you for the time we’ve had to study today. Thank you for the Word of God. Thank you for the truth of spiritual gifts. Thank you for this church. There’s nowhere else I’d rather serve than here. And I’m grateful for the brothers and sisters that just really, abundantly use their gifts. I can think of dozens of brothers and sisters whose gifts I’ve seen operating today already, and who have blessed me by what they do. God, help us. I pray, if there any that are here that are not using their gifts, maybe they’ve held back or they’ve been a little worldly in the way they’ve looked at life, God, help us to repent and be willing to start serving in vibrant, new ways. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

What is God doing in the world? And what are you doing in the world?

For Christians, these two questions come together magnificently! God has a majestically glorious work that he is doing—building the church of Jesus Christ to final perfection. He has a specific role for you to play in that glorious work.

For the second week, we are going to contemplate the powerful doctrine of SPIRITUAL GIFTS… one of the most astonishing truths imaginable, if you take the time to ponder it scripturally. Christ has specifically pondered YOU, and has made you and shaped you and prepared you to play a specific role in his glorious church. And you MUST play that role if you are to grow into maturity, and if the church as a whole is to grow into final perfection. Spiritual gift ministry is not optional. This is not window dressing… this is not some extra frill in the redemptive plan of God. It is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL that each part does its work.

So this text is staring you in the face… like a mirror. And you are called to study your life… study the way you spend your time, the way you engage the church, other Christians. ARE YOU FULFILLING YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFT PURPOSE???

Gaining context and perspective:

Ephesians 1-3: God’s awesome salvation plan from a 50,000 foot altitude… Overarching goal: the unity of all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10) God’s saving purpose toward that end:

Election before the foundation of the world Predestination in love

Adoption as sons

Redemption, forgiveness of sins thru The Blood of Christ, shed on the cross

Grace, wisdom, understanding

Included in Christ by hearing the gospel Faith

Sealing of the Spirit

Understanding of the greatness of God’s power and the glory of heaven Understanding of the terrible plight we were in

The destruction of barriers, dividing wall… One new man

Understanding of the glorious spiritual temple being built Paul’s ministry as Apostle to the Gentiles

The “unsearchable riches of Christ”

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians: a grasp of the infinite love of Christ Ephesians 4-6: Summed up in one verse… 4:1

Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Last week: Ephesians 4:2-6 Strong sense of UNITY

Ephesians 4:3-6 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called– 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

Then… “BUT…” = DIVERSITY… spiritual gifts, specialization

Vs. 7 “to each one” = universality of spiritual gifts… EVERY SINGLE CHRISTIAN has a spiritual gift

“grace has been given” = spiritual gifts are amazing grace from God to the church (both to us individually and to the church corporately)

“as Christ apportioned it” = according to the wise measure of Christ; not all gifts given equally, but all gifts given intentionally, as the fruit of careful consideration by Christ of each of us… WHAT GIFT YOU GET, and HOW MUCH OF THAT GIFT… a wise measurement

Vs. 8-10: Paul quotes Psalm 68 and applies it to Christ… these spiritual gifts are part of Christ’s resurrection victory!!

Ephesians 4:8-10 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.)

Vs. 11: “He gave some to be Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers…” = examples of spiritual gifted servants that Christ has given to the church, to build the church up to maturity; also, all of those gift have one thing in common: THE WORD of GOD!! They are a delivery system for the Word of God

Vs. 12: “to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the Body of Christ will be built up” = as the Word primes the pump, the people do the works, and as the people do the works, the body of Christ is built up

Goal… perfect conformity to Christ

SPIRITUAL GIFTS are special abilities given by Christ through the Holy Spirit to individual Christians to enable them to build the Church to spiritual maturity…

Flourish not function:

Like the wind at the perfect angle to the way your sails are set

I.   God’s Goal: Perfect Conformity to Christ (vs. 13, 15)

A.  Concept: Hostile, fractured human race brought into perfect UNITY by CONFORMITY to Christ

Ephesians 4:13 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.

The word “mature” is sometimes translated “perfect”… the Greek of verse 13 is fascinating…

ESV Ephesians 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

CSB Ephesians 4:13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

“to a mature man” = the concept of a male who has grown from infancy through toddlerhood, to boyhood, through the teen years, to early manhood… finally to MATURE MANHOOD

[Paul chose a strongly masculine image here… perhaps to link back to Jesus’ own development to perfect humanity

Luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Fully mature in ALL RESPECTS… mature in mind, heart, body, relationships with other people and with God

Unity comes by our increasing CONFORMITY to Christ as we grow more and more like Him

Also, verse 14-15…

Ephesians 4:14-15 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.

A strong picture of growth to maturity… not an infant, but a mature adult…

Unity by conformity to the Head… we will all be made LIKE CHRIST… LIKE HIM

B.  Unity: Already Seen this Again and Again

1.  First time: Ephesians 1:10

Ephesians 1:10 to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

2.  Again in Ephesians 2:14-15

Ephesians 2:14-15 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

3.  Strongly in Ephesians 4:3-6

Ephesians 4:3-6 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called– 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

4.  Based on Trinitarian unity: John 17

John 17:20-23 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity

Literally… may they be made PERFECT into ONE

This is God’s final goal for the elect from all nations on earth

Think of how much churning division and strife and conflict and warfare there is on plant earth

Isaiah 57:20-21 But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. 21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Galatians 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: … hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy

But heaven is a WORLD OF LOVE… and WORLD of perfect peace and unity… and of WORHSIP for God and for Christ:

Revelation 5:13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

This is what God wants… UNITY… and he gets it by working CONFORMITY to Christ

C.  Conformity to Christ

1.  God’s original intention

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness

2.  Sin fatally marred the image of God

Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

3.  God willed a salvation BACK INTO the image of God

Ephesians 4:24 … the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

4.  Predestined for it… Romans 8:29

Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

5.  Also Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:4-5 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ

6.  By all the elect coming to perfect conformity to Christ we will also be perfectly ONE IN HIM

D.  Positionally Conformed… but not Practically Conformed

1.  At the moment of justification, we were made immediately perfect POSITIONALLY… by faith, God sees us as perfect in Christ

Hebrews 10:14 by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

2.  BUT because of indwelling sin, we still have a great deal of growing to do in our salvation

Romans 7:21-25 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God– through Jesus Christ our Lord!

3.  He wants ALL THE LOST ELECT rescued out of Satan’s dark Kingdom by evangelism and missions

4.  Then, he wants all the JUSTIFIED ELECT to grow more and more into Christlikeness by sanctification… by growth in the Word

5.  Spiritual gifts are God’s means to achieve this amazing building of the Body of Christ

E.  What is Perfect Conformity to Christ

1.  Conformity of the MIND: to think what Christ thinks about everything… to agree with Jesus about everything there is to think about; to ponder what Christ ponders, to think only what is TRUE, NOBLE, RIGHT, PURE, LOVELY, ADMIRABLE… all the time

2.  Conformity of the HEART: to love what Christ loves and hate what Christ hates with the same intensity with which he loves and hates… perfectly conformed to Christ’s heart in everything… yearning for what he yearns for, celebrating what he celebrates, willing what he wills, rejecting what he rejects

3.  Conformity of the BODY: to have a resurrection body as glorious as his…radiantly shining with the glory of God; completely free from all corruption and from death itself

Philippians 3:21 will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

PERFECT CONFORMITY TO CHRIST… in every way!

F.  Who? ALL THE ELECT… from every tribe, language, people, nation… all over the world… that every elect male and female will be brought to perfect conformity to Christ and therefore to each other… NOT A SINGLE ONE LOST!!

G.  When? Progressively now… perfected only in heaven

II.   God’s Word Gives Life and Growth (vs. 11-16)

A.  Throughout this Passage… the Word of God is Central

1.  All things come about because of the Word of God’s power

2.  It is by the word of God that the universe was created and continues to exist

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

3.  It was by the word of the gospel that salvation first comes to every individual sinner

Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit

4.  As we’ve noted, the five gifted offices initially mentioned in this passage all have the WORD OF GOD in common:

Ephesians 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers

5.  The Apostles and Prophets were the original source of the inerrant Word of God

6.  Evangelists bring the word of the gospel to distant places and to people who have never heard it or not yet believed it… the evangelists TRAVEL with the word of God and bring it to the people

7.  BUT THEN, the pastors and teachers settle in and TEACH the word of God over years and years to bring about full maturity in Christ

B.  The Immediate Effect of Faithful Teaching: Works of Service Done by the People

Ephesians 4:11-12 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

1.  The Word of God is faithfully taught and shepherded by the pastors and teachers in verse 11…

2.  SO THAT God’s people (the saints) are PREPARED to do works of service

Note that God prepares BOTH SIDES of the equation in this WORKS: He goes ahead of us and prepares the works for us to do

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

But he uses pastors and teachers to prepare US to DO THE GOOD WORKS!!

As you hear good teaching from the Book of Ephesians, you will be prepared to do WORKS OF SERVICE… or literally “the work of ministry”

STOP: what is your ministry?? Do you have a regular pattern of ministry that you are doing consistently?

3.  The result of the work of ministry BY ALL GOD’S PEOPLE: the Body of Christ is BUILT UP

a.  Amazing mixed image both in Ephesians 2 and Ephesians 4

b.  Ephesians 2 pictures the church as a BUILDING, a spiritual temple… the verb used for its development is GROWTH (a biological image applied to an architectural metaphor)

Ephesians 2: 21 … in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

c.  But here we have a BIOLOGICAL metaphor for the church—the BODY OF CHRIST—in which an architectural verb is used

Ephesians 4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

i)  A temple that grows like a plant, and a body that is built like a building!!

ii)  How complex and beautiful is the doctrine of the church

C.  Goal: Doctrinal Unity

Ephesians 4:13 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.

1.  Unity in “THE FAITH”

a.  The faith is a body of doctrines… a set of truths that we believe

b.  This body of doctrines is delivered to us in the Word of God

c.  As the Apostles and Prophets wrote the scripture, as the evangelists carried it to the distant reaches of the inhabited globe and won souls to initial faith in Christ, as pastors and teachers settle in and disciple the people in the scriptures, they are little by little understanding the FAITH of Christianity… the complex body of doctrines—of milk and of meat—that will make for full spiritual maturity

d.  It is a DOCTRINAL image that Paul gives here… unity that comes from the steady diet of the Word of God:

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

e.  As that is happening to everyone in the church, the church is more and more unified…

2.  Unity in the faith AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God

a.  This is doctrinally based but also experiential as we saw in Ephesians 3

Ephesians 3:18-19 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge– that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

b.  Right teaching leads to DEEPER FELLOWSHIP with Christ

c.  Doctrine about Jesus leads to love for Jesus

3.  Result of this steady stream of good teaching: WORKS OF SERVICE that result in MATURITY in Christ

Ephesians 4:13 attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

4.  Paul’s eye is on BOTH the individual Christians AND the overall BODY OF CHRIST… the WHOLE grows to maturity as the INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS grow to maturity

D.  Doctrinal Maturity Clearly in View in verse 14

Ephesians 4:14 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.

1.  Paul is very much focusing on the doctrinal maturity of the Body of Christ here!

2.  The contrast is between a doctrinal INFANT that is tossed by the undulating waves of false teaching… buffeted by the howling, gusty, and swirling winds of false doctrine… and a stable, strong, doctrinally MATURE Christian, that is deeply rooted in the truth of scripture and easily sniffs out false teachers

3.  Satan is constantly assaulting the church with false teaching… their smooth talk and flattery can be effective in deceiving the minds of naïve people

4.  The picture is one of instability… to the doctrinally immature, sketchy things SOUND PLAUSIBLE, because they don’t have the discernment and know enough of the scriptures to refute the false doctrine

5.  Paul mentions the CUNNING and CRAFTINESS of men in their DECEITFUL SCHEMING… human false teachers are diabolically skilled in winning the immature and unstable to themselves

6.  BUT behind all of this is the cunning, crafty, scheming DEVIL HIMSELF

2 Corinthians 2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

7.  Paul is clearly presenting the gradual upbuilding of the church in terms of DOCTRINAL MATURITY… transformed by the renewing of their minds by the Word of God

8.  The mature are able to resist the false doctrines of the age:

Titus 1:9 [An elder] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Revelation 2:2 I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.

9.  DOCTRINAL MATURITY leads to TOTAL CONFORMITY to Christ… So also verse 15:

E.  Speaking the Truth in Love

Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

1.  Many take this verse out of context and use it to refer to faithfully giving a hard message to confront someone living in sin, but doing it gently

2.  Other verses do teach that:

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

3.  But “the TRUTH” here in context means MATURE DOCTRINE… maturity in THE FAITH… the whole body of Christian truth

4.  Yet… right doctrine is NOT ENOUGH, as important as it is… it must result in a heart transformation, LOVE… love for God and love for others…

1 Corinthians 8:1 Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

1 Corinthians 8:2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.

5.  Doctrine should result in love… just as all spiritual gifts should be done in love

1 Timothy 1:5 Now the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

1 Corinthians 13:1-6 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 ¶ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

III.   God’s People: Spiritually Gifted to Serve (vs. 16)

A.  All This Maturity Happens as each Member Uses His/Her Gifts

Ephesians 4:16 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.

B.  The Process of Actually Using Your Gift is the Matrix of Your Own Growth

C.  AND Your Exercise of Your Gift is Essential to Other People’s Growth

D.  Paul Strongly Emphasizes Human Works Here

1.  He knows that God builds the church

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

2.  He knows that Christ builds the church

Matthew 16:18 I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

3.  But yet, he says the church GROWS AND BUILDS ITSELF UP IN LOVE

4.  AS EACH PART DOES ITS WORK

5.  Our spiritual gifts are essential to this growth

E.  How Spiritual Gifts Build the Body

a.  As this stream of good teaching is going on, the entire Body of Christ is mobilized to do their spiritual gift ministries

b.  As those ministries are happening, the church is growing more and more like Jesus

i)  As those with leadership gifts exercise them, they organize God’s people in fruitful outreaches to win the lost in their community… the leaders lead out boldly and give courage to the members of the Body of Christ to witness for Jesus… this wins the elect lost in the community

ii)  As people with gifts of hospitality use their gifts, they provide a warm, inviting matrix for fellowship, for bible instruction, for friendship, for community

iii)  As people with gifts of service exercise them, the thousand behind the scenes details needed for a worship service or a mission trip are done with great joy and detailed effort… as people with humble gifts of service use their gifts, they attend to details of caring for the sick, or meeting the needs of the poor in the church… think about the first deacons in Acts 6 who organized the food distribution to the Greek- speaking widows… that took skill, organizing, diplomacy, and hard work… and it enhanced the unity of the Body

iv)  As people with gifts of prayer exercise their gift, often in secret where no one but God can see or hear, God answers prayers and amazing things happen: doors of ministry open in the community, government officials grant visas for mission trips, school principals grant permission to church plants to use their gym for worship on Sundays, hardened neighbors get softened… ALL IN ANSWER TO FAITH- FILLED, PREVAILING PRAYER

v)  As people with gifts of generous giving use their gifts, the financial needs of the vocational pastors are met, enabling them to give their full-time to preaching, teaching, prayer, and leadership; as the givers give, buildings are built, missionaries are sent out, medical bills are paid, literature is printed

vi)  As people with gifts of counselling use their gifts, broken marriages are healed, frustrated parents are taught how to raise teens, suicidal lost people are comforted with the gospel, depressed Christians are pointed to Christ

vii) As people with gifts of discernment and wisdom use their gifts, the church is able to go in a wise direction strategically for reaching their community with the gospel; also young married couples are given wise counsel for key decisions they are making about their future

F.  As all these WORKS OF SERVICE, this work of the ministry is done, the WHOLE CHURCH GROWS UP into maturity in Christ

IV.   God’s Call on You: Discover, Develop, Deploy Your Gifts

A.  We Must Apply this to ourselves!!!

B.  Non-Christians: trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ!

1.  Spiritual gifts are given to Christians to help build up the Body of Christ

2.  If you are not yet a Christian, you are on the OUTSIDE of this glorious building project… you are excluded, under the judgment of God for your sins…

3.  God sent His Son into the world to die on the cross for sinners like you and me

4.  TRUST IN CHRIST! God raised him from the dead on the third day to give eternal life to all who call on his name

5.  If you call on his name, he will forgive you… and he will give you the gift of the Holy Spirit… you will be immediately involved in building the Church by your gifts!!

C.  FBC Members… DO YOU HAVE A MINISTRY?

1.  Is there a regular pattern of service in your life?

2.  Are you devoting yourself to the use of your spiritual gifts?

3.  LOOK IN THE MIRROR:

James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it– he will be blessed in what he does.

D.  Three Key Words on Spiritual Gifts: Discover, Develop, and Deploy

1.  Discover your spiritual gifts

a.  Look at the doctrine of spiritual gifts here in Ephesians 4, and understand that, if you are a Christian, you have a contribution God wants you to make… he’s given you a “gift package” to use for the upbuilding of his church

b.  Look at the various lists of spiritual gifts in the NT: Romans 12 lists some, 1 Corinthians 12 lists some… go online to get a comprehensive list of what the gifts are

c.  Begin praying about your gifts and what they are

d.  Romans 12:1-8 is the key passage in the Bible on discovering your spiritual gift

i)  First: live your whole life in view of the mercies of the gospel

ii)  Second: present your body to God as a living sacrifice

iii)  Third: make sure you are putting to death any known sin… “holy and pleasing to God”

iv)  Fourth: do not think in a worldly way about your life… do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world

v)  Fifth: be transformed by the renewing of your mind

vi)  Sixth: you will then be able to TEST and APPROVE what God’s will is for you… his “good, pleasing, and perfect will”…

vii) Seventh: that involves SPIRITUAL GIFTS (for that is the next thing Paul talks about in Romans 12: 4-8

viii)  Eighth: do not think too highly of yourself

ix)  Ninth: THINK OF YOURSELF WITH SOBER JUDGMENT

(i) Remember: spiritual gifts are those areas on ministry in which you FLOURISH, not merely FUNCTION

x)  Tenth: DO MINISTRIES… try things out… see what you love to do, what you’re good at; get feedback from other Christians who know you well

e.  This is how you DISCOVER your spiritual gifts… study, and try things out!

2.  Develop your spiritual gift:

a.  get GOOD at it!!

b.  Study it!!

c.  Key passages:

1  Timothy 4:14-15 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.

2  Timothy 1:6 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.

d.  Preachers and teachers of the word of God should get continually better at preaching and teaching by studying the art

e.  So also should those with the gift of giving!! Read Randy Alcorn’s books on stewardship and become EXPERT givers

f.  So also those with gifts of hospitality, or leadership, or music, or prayer… anything we’re good at we can become EVEN BETTER!!

3.  Deploy your gift: (that means USE it!!)

Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Parable of the talents:

Matthew 25:18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

Matthew 25:24-27 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

Every member of this church should have a regular spiritual gift ministry

If you withhold your spiritual gift and don’t use it, you will NOT GROW as you should, and neither will the church

If you use it, you will be BLESSED by growth now and REWARDS on judgment day:

Hebrews 6:10-12 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.