Gifts to the
Body of Christ
It was
He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for
works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 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.
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV)
Let us
all thank God for His gifts! And, let us thank God for those gifted
people in our lives who labor among us to share these wonderful gifts from
above. Did you know that each one of us has been gifted from
above? Paul writes in Ephesians 4:7, "But to EACH ONE OF US
grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift". Our very
salvation is only by His gift of grace, through faith, in the
redemptive work of the cross! And through His grace He has
gifted men and women in various ways; some in small ways, some in large,
but all equally important for the
One of
the most beautiful and practical metaphors Paul uses to describe the Church in his letters to the Ephesians and to the
Corinthians is that of a body. In I Corinthians 12:13-14,
Paul writes,"For we were all baptized
by one Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were
all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one
part, but of many". Paul goes on to describe how each one of us as
believers are members of Christ's body, and that each one of us has a vital
role to play as part of His body.
Those
gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 (sometimes referred to as the "five fold
ministry gifts") should not be understood as just a listing of gifts
per say, but GIFTED PEOPLE! In this verse, Paul describes
what Christ has given to us through His grace... some to BE apostles,
evangelists, prophets, pastors, teachers... it is not only the employment of a
gift that is described, but it is PEOPLE with whom God has gifted
us! You cannot separate the gift from the gifted here. And God
has given these people to His Church! It is not something removable; not
something transferable, not something based on merit. It
is their calling and they, as servants of the Lord, are gifts to US!
And thank God for these special servants of God, for they are given to us to
prepare us, to walk in OUR gifts for works of service, so that we, as the
Church, may be built up... (verse 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".
I’m
reminded of how some eagles teach their young to fly. The mother will carry their young high in the
air and drop them, a seemingly cruel method of instruction. However, as the young eagle struggles, and
sometimes fails, to conquer the sky the first few times, the mother will swoop
down after them and scoop them up for another go around. Isn’t that how God is with us? He has placed ministers among us to teach us
with words of instruction, sometimes words of admonition, to guide us by their
example, so that we can become mature Christians, able to fly in good weather
and bad. Let us always pray for them as
they are given to us by God for our benefit…
…Lord
Jesus, I thank you for those people, Your gifts to the
Church, who are dedicated to You and Your Kingdom. We are grateful, Lord, for Your servants who equip us for the works You have
prepared for us to walk in. Help us to give honor to those who readily
give of themselves for our growth and spiritual well being. Help us
recognize and support those who labor among us; those in
ministry who lay down their lives for Your people each and every
day. We pray Lord for their safety as they do Your work, and we pray that
we all may find our calling, not just to employ your gifts for our own sakes,
but to BE a gift to your Church, just as You were the ULTIMATE Gift to us as
wayward sons and daughters, ransoming us to Your side to
become the very Body of Christ! Thank you Jesus!
In Christ's name I pray,
Amen
Raymond Hahn
Forked
River, NJ