Ephesians 4:7-10To: Ephesians Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page Ephesians 4:7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. While we live out our lives on earth, God's plan for us includes giving us a measure of His grace. We are left on this earth so that we can grow towards maximum spiritual maturity, so that we can enjoy prosperity, and so that we can see the grace of God in our adversities. When we reach heaven, there will be no more tears, no more sorrows, and best of all, there will be no more sin and no more desire to sin! But in this life God is able to demonstrate to us His wonderful grace in times of maximum stress, in times of great need, when we are physically worn out and broken down, and even when we have sinned and need to be forgiven, restored to fellowship, and set on the road to maturity again.. Ephesians 4:4-6 have shown us what is provided for all of us at salvation, the great assets which we have as members of God's family and as part of the Body of Christ. In the verses from 4:7-16, we are shown what God provides to us after salvation, His post-salvation provision. ---------- "but unto every one" But word "but" is used to show that there is a difference between that which is common to all members of the royal family (one Lord, one faith) and that which differentiates among believers. Each individual Christian is given a unique capacity, by grace, to function and grow as a Christian and to produce as a member of the Body of Christ. The words "unto every one", or "unto each one" takes into consideration the differences among a wide variety of believers. ---------- "is given grace" - aorist passive indicative of DIDOMI, thus "has been given". There is a unique grace package designed for each Christian. The aorist tense of the verb "given" shows that there was a time in the past when this grace package was given. The passive voice shows that we were given this by God. The plan of God for every believer includes: o Salvation and the assurance of a glorious eternal future There is something that prevents Christians from having the happiness and prosperity in this life that comes from being a member of God's family. What's missing in many lives is Bible doctrine in the soul! Indifference to the Word of God, rejection, apathy, or antagonism toward Bible truth keeps many believers dirt poor and malnourished spiritually, in spite of their being members of God's royal family. People try to reach happiness by substituting something else for the Word of God, such as some religious experience, emotionalism, ecstatics; but any attempt to live for the Lord apart from God's plan of grace will cause a person to miss the boat. But ... ---------- "according to the measure of the gift of Christ." This is a gift without any strings attached. The Lord Jesus Christ was the greatest gift that could be given, and He was given without measure to any person who believers on Him, who calls on Him. In the same degree, without measure, grace is provided in the plan of God to supply the needs and provide all the assets required for a successful life on earth for every Christian. The letter the Ephesians is one of the principal "how to" books of the Bible. In these chapters we learn what the plan of God is, how we can become a part of it, how we can have access to "all blessings in heavenly places in Christ", how we can become powerful Christian operatives in the grace of God. Ephesians 4:8Wherefore, he says, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ---------- "wherefore" - "for this reason". The word "wherefore" follows a conclusion in order to allow inferences about the conclusion. ---------- "he says" - LEGW, "he says" or "the scripture says". What follows is a documentation of the conclusion and is a quotation from Psalm 68:18. ---------- "when he ascended up on high" - ANABAINW. These verses refer to the ascension of Christ as part of His victory over the forces of Satan in the ongoing spiritual conflict. According to Greek scholars, this verb is in a tense called a "culminative aorist". It views the ascension of Christ in its entirety but regards it from the viewpoint of its results, namely, the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father as the unique person of the universe. Topic: ASCENSION OF CHRIST It is a blessing to remember Eph. 2:5,6, which tells us that "even when we were dead in sins, (God) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace are you saved), and has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We are saved by grace! We are given living grace! Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father! We are seated with Him! Therefore, we are already placed in a position of victory with the One who will have ultimate victory! We are there to observe when His enemies shall be made His footstool! ---------- "he led captivity captive" - aorist active indicative of AICHMALWTEUW. This verb means either "to take captives in battle" or "to lead a triumphal procession of one's own soldiers along with their captives." The consensus of the commentators which I studied is that this phrase is a reference to Christ leading the Christians who had previously died, that is, they died prior to his ascension. This would include all Old Testament believers and those saved during Christ's lifetime. They have been residing in Paradise (also called "Abraham's bosom") until the Ascension of Christ. They are called captives because they do not have a resurrection body yet. They will not have a resurrection body until the second coming of Christ, 1 Cor. 15:51-54. Topic: SALVATION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT There are references to Paradise in Luke 23:43; Luke 16:23; Gen. 37:5; 1 Cor. 15:55; and Hab. 2:5. I think this view is the most likely from several that have been presented in many commentaries; but the documentation for this opinion is sketchy. I base my opinion on the fact that, to me, the tenor of scripture seems to be least disturbed by this version of the account. ---------- "and gave gifts unto men" - "distributed gifts unto men". Here is a reference to the distribution of spiritual gifts among believers of this age. There have been many books and written about spiritual gifts over many generations of Bible teachers. I have read many of these publications over the years along with my Bible studies; but I still don't feel that I can be dogmatic about much that has been claimed. Without question, the Lord Jesus Christ has made available some sort of divine enabling power to every Christian, i.e., "a gift or gifts." These are spiritual gifts, and a number of scriptures show that the Holy Spirit is intimately involved both in the supplying of spiritual gifts and in the exercise of these gifts. See chapters 12 to 14 of 1 Corinthians. Where I have trouble is in the area of discerning one's spiritual gift or being sure that one has some particular gift or other. I have heard many men claim, for example, to have the spiritual gift of pastor or "pastor-teacher," and I have heard a few claim even to be apostles or prophets. But I have never heard a good explanation of how those men discovered that they had this gift, other than to cite certain circumstantial evidence that led them to think they had the gift. (Claims of miracles I discount entirely.) Three or four times I have asked men "How do you tell the difference between discerning that you have a communication gift and simply deciding that being a pastor is what you want to do?" I have not heard a good answer. Nevertheless, we see that in Eph. 4:11-16, some have been given communication gifts, those of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher - divine enablings to be used to "feed the flock of God", to bring us to unity, to be conformed to the image of Christ, to be productive Christians. Until I have better information, then, I think I'll regard any Christian who is doing the work of "feeding the flock" by thoroughly teaching the Word of God to Christians as having a communication gift and a divine enabling for the work. I'll leave the titles and other accouterments of religion for someone else to work out. Those who occupy pulpits, or who rule as elders, and do not teach the Word of God, are not "pastors" ("shepherds" or "feeders"), anyway. They are either impostors, or they have communication gifts and are not using them. In either case they are best avoided. Ephesians 4:9,10(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.) Verses 9 and 10 are a parenthetical expression for the purpose of amplifying the statement in verses 7 and 8. The following comments have been transcribed from taped messages of R. B. Thieme, Jr., Pastoral Messages on Ephesians, 1963. "Christ's body was in the grave, His spirit was in the presence of the Father, and His soul descended to a region called Hades (Greek) or Sheol (Hebrew). End of Lesson 23Grace Notes - a ministry of Village Missions InternationalThere is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. You can help further this work by your prayer and by sending a contribution for Grace Notes to Village Missions (address below)Village Missions International 4258 S. Sheridan, Suite 217 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74145 Warren Doud [Grace Notes] wdoud@bga.com 1705 Aggie Lane Austin, Texas 78757 URL: http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/ FTP: ftp://ftp.bga.com/vendors/wdoud/ |
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