That They May Be One: Part Three

(This is an exegetical article from Eph. 4:1-16 NASB. I have divided it into several parts. For the best reading, get out your Bibles and read the passage, then read these blogs. Enjoy!)

“To each of one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift… ‘He ascended on high…and He gave gifts to all men.’…He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints…to the building up of the body of Christ…” (vs. 7-12)

What Paul is referring to in this segment is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the significance that Christ’s ascension means for anyone, who believes in Him. What Christ did on the cross, and the victory that He won on our behalf, goes far beyond simply the redemption from sin. He rose on high and was given all authority, riches, and honor (ref. Jn. 17:2), which He so gladly shares with us.

These gifts are not what you would find under the Christmas tree or by your birthday cake; they are those related to the power and authority of spiritual things and for the use of building up the Body of Christ. I’ll give you an example. Have you ever noticed how you can just do something naturally and easily that maybe someone else has to really work hard at to do well? Or have you noticed an inner itch of your heart, in which you really hurt with others, or have a passion for learning, or you strongly desire to reach the lost? That inner itch, my friend, is a gift from Christ, which He earned for you when He died and rose again!

Paul differentiates, here, what different types of these gifts include. There are others, but in this letter, he mentions five. First, the apostle: these are men and women who have an eagle’s eye view of the Body of Christ as a whole, and could be considered the pastors of pastors. Then, there’s the prophet: these are the preachers, the mouths of the Church, who are natural at exhorting and challenging the believer in his walk of faith.

Third, there are the evangelists: the hands and feet, who meet the lost wherever they are and bring them the Gospel of Jesus. Fourth, there are the pastors, the shepherds of the flock, our ministers. They could be considered the heart of the church because they remain within the church walls a watch over those, who are already saved, ministering to the needs of fellow believers. Whenever you have a hurt or a need, they will be there. Finally, you have the brains! These are the teachers of the Word, who diligently study and dig out its truth for others to glean from and grow in their knowledge of Christ.

Can you imagine how effective this body would be if the brain had a new revelation, but the mouth refused to speak it? The truth that the brain had found would be lost, stuck in the silent place of thought and imagination, unable and ineffective to reach the ears of eager listeners. What about the hands and feet? What if they longed to help a homeless drunkard on the street, but the brain didn’t think it was a good idea? Can you see how the Church would lose her ability to follow Christ’s command of making disciples (ref. Matt. 28:18)? She wouldn’t be able to do anything! If her bodily members don’t cooperate and appreciate the abilities of each part of her frame, she is incapacitated, bound in a lost mess of confusion.

This is why Paul is so adamant about the importance of unity. “Unity of the faith” he calls it, “to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ…” (ref. vs.13) We are all members of Christ’s body. We are all gifted with our unique abilities and talents, in every denomination and worship preference; these abilities are meant to build us up as believers and reach the nations of this world on behalf of our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.