But to each one of us
grace was given
according to the
measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore He says:
"When He
ascended on high
He led captivity
captive,
and gave gifts to
men."
(Psalm 68:18)
(Now this, "He
ascended" -- what does it mean
but that He also first
descended into
the lower parts of
the earth?
He who descended is
also the One
who ascended far
above all the heavens,
that He might fill
all things.)
(John 3: 13; Acts 1:
9)
Ephesians 4: 7 -- 10
The
Scriptures earnestly pressed upon the children of God to walk as those who have
been called into Christ's Kingdom and glory.
Christian unity is at the very heart or spirit and this does not consist
in just one set of worship or in one unity of heart and affection for it is
brought forth by the fruits of the Spirit. Yesterday I wrote in yesterday's blog in regards to this attempt to bring
multiculturalism into the church which is simply and a utopian idea that
everyone should be equal in every thing, every thought, every desire, and so
on; but this is an impossibility and it is in contradiction to God. Think about it, the birds alone are in
various size shapes colors and patterns, the wildcats of the forest are in many
different shapes, stripes, spots, large manes, and built for particular
activity. Think of man alone in which
there are those who are of the Chinese race, of the Indian race, those of
the European race, those of the African race and everything shows diversity. The
bond that Christians have with all this diversity is a bond of peace and is
the strength of authentic Christian society.
We must remember this fact; every Christian, every authentic Christian,
everyone who has converted to the Lord Jesus Christ, is the temple of God. Therefore let us persevere and seek and pray for the peace of the church, for the church is and are the children
of God.
Consider
the variety of gifts that Jesus Christ has given to His people. Christians who are members of Christ's
Church agree on many things, yet in some may differ: we should not allow this
to cause a difference of affection among the brothers and sisters, all
Christian are derived from the same bountiful Author and Designer for the same
great end. Let us remember that there
are matters of indifference and while we may not want to participate with one or
another of those in differences yet there are those things that are not a
matter of indifference and those are the things that we all should hold in
common. All authentic Christians have
been given grace, some a special gift of grace, and all this for the mutual
help for the brothers and sisters in Christ.
All of us have been given the message that we are to take it to the
world this we hold in common. We all owe
to Jesus Christ the gifts that He has given, and possess, and should in the very
least lead us to love one another.
Am I here saying that we should accept everything that is said or
taught? No! We examine all things (1 Thessalonians 5: 21). Those things that are in contradiction to
the Word of God and are false teaching even to go so far as to be heresy we
must remove from the church to purify the church and wash it clean.
Paul
reminds us of this diversity of gifts among Christians so that the body of
Christ is fed to maturity: "And He
Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ;" (Ephesians 4 11 -- 13). It is Jesus Christ who gives the gifts and
in this list of gifts we are shown the God has in His economy and dispensation
provided for the church to edify the believers of Jesus Christ and to equip
them for the ministry. I am afraid that
too many Christians today are "waiting" for the Lord to do something
in their lives when the Lord said to do this: "as you go," so if you
want God to do something we are not as a child of God to wait, we are to go and as
we go we will be fulfilling the gift that God has given. I want to address this word
"perfect" for some in the past and even today believe that a
Christian can reach a point where they cannot sin. That is heresy! Why? Our sinful bodies, our sinful and corrupted
soul will not reach perfection so that we cannot sin in this life and will only
occur when Jesus Christ comes again to take His church, His bride back with Him
to live with Him forever. The word that
we translate perfect, and that is a good word to use but we need to have a full
understanding of the word: the word perfect carries this meaning: to be
conformed absolutely to the description or definition of an ideal type and that
type is Jesus Christ. This is in conformance
with the Greek word that is used here that comes from the Greek word to mean
completeness, wanting nothing more necessary to complete them to be, consummated
in integrity and in virtue. This perfecting
of the saints is for the ministry, and this perfecting of the saints is done by
the gifts given to those who work to be Christians that God has intended, and teach Christians how to do the ministry. Are
you getting the point? You are called
to be a minister of the word, you are not called to be successful in business
or anything else albeit that you may be successful in business by following the
commands of God but this is done in order so that you can be a minister for the Gospel that you
will have been called to do and to become.
Question: what has the priority in your life? Only you can answer that
question.
He gives power to
the weak,
And to those who have no might
He increases
strength.
Isaiah
40: 29
Give glory to God:
use your gift
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