This is a stdy of Jesus as the giver of our grace He gives in different measures according to the needs of the church.

1. JESUS WAS THE GIVER OF OUR GRACE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Ephesians 4:7 7
But to each one of us grace has been
given as Christapportionedit.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Diversity Of Gift In Unity Of Body
Ephesians 4:7
T. CroskeryThere are three points suggestedby this verse.
I. THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH IS CONSISTENT WITHGREAT
DIVERSITYOF GIFTS. As in the human body there are many members with
different functions, so the Church is "not one member, but many." Diversity
of gift, so far from being inconsistentwith unity, is really essentialto it. "If all
were one member, where were the body?" All the greatpurposes of life would
be frustrated if every part of the organismdid not find its due place.
II. EACH MEMBER OF THE CHURCH HAS HIS SEPARATE GIFT. This
does not saythat any one member has all gifts. Eachhas receivedhis measure.
There are those who would make the Church all "tongue," as if all were called
to the gospelministry. The gifts differ both in nature and in measure. One has
the gift of speech, another the gift of sagacity, anotherthe gift of enterprise,
another the gift of sympathy, anotherthe gift of wealthand influence. All
ought to be contributory to the unity of the Church.
III. THE ORIGIN AS WELL AS MEASURE OF THE GIFTS IS TO BE
TRACED TO CHRIST. The position of eachmember in the body is not
determined by itself, but by God. The eye does not make itself the eye, nor the
hand the hand. So the position of believers in the Church is determined, not
by themselves, but by Christ. The grace "is given according to the measure of
the gift of Christ." Christ is the Source of all spiritual gifts, and he determines
their adjustment as well as their amount. He does not give according to our

2. merit, or our capacity, or our desires, but according to his sovereignpleasure.
There is, therefore,
(1) no room for self-inflation if we have receivedthe largestgifts;
(2) there is no room for envy or jealousybecause others have receivedmore
gifts than ourselves;
(3) but rather an argument in the fact that one has a grace which another
wants, for our helping eachother in the Lord. Thus the true unity of the
Church is promoted. - T.C.
Biblical Illustrator
But unto every one of us is grace given according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.
Ephesians 4:7
Grace determining function
A. F. Muir, M. A.I. THE FUNCTION OR OFFICE OF ANY CHRISTIAN IN
THE CHURCH DEPENDSUPON THE GIFT WHICH HE POSSESSES.
II. THIS GIFT ORIGINATES IN THE GRACE OF CHRIST.
1. It is not merely by nature or education.
2. Noris it the reward of desert.
3. Still less is it arbitrary or capricious.
III. THEREFORETHE POSITION AND TASK DETERMINED BYTHIS
GRACE SHOULD BE ACCEPTED WITHGRATEFUL UNQUESTIONING
OBEDIENCE.
1. Every Christian has receivedsome gift fitting him for usefulness.
2. Loyalty and faith towards the Head of the Church demands that he should
make the utmost use of it.

3. 3. By so doing he is the more certain to receive increase ofgrace forfurther
and higher service. "Everygift of the Spirit is a prophecy of greatergifts."
(A. F. Muir, M. A.)
The gift of Christ
J. Eadie, D. D."The gift of Christ" is the gift which He confers. Thatgift is
measured, and eachindividual receives according to the sovereignwill of the
Supreme distributor. And whether the measure be greator small, whether its
contents be of more brilliant endowment or of humbler and unnoticed talent
— all is equally Christ's gift, and of Christ's adjustment, and all is equally
indispensable to the union and edificationof that Body in which there is "no
schism." The law of the Church is essentialunity in the midst of
circumstantial variety. Differences offaculty or temperament, education or
susceptibility, are not superseded. Eachgift in its own place completes the
unity. What one devises anothermay plead for, while a third may act out the
scheme;so that sagacity, eloquence,and enterprise form a "three-fold cord,
not easilybroken." It is so in the material creation — the little is as essential
to symmetry as the great — the staras well as the sun — the raindrop equally
with the ocean, andthe hyssopno less than the cedar. The pebble has its place
as fittingly as the mountain, and colossalforms of life are surrounded with the
tiny insectwhose term of existence is limited to the summer twilight, Why
should the possessionofthis grace leadto self-inflation? It is simply Christ's
gift. The amount and characterof"grace" possessedby others ought surely to
create no uneasiness norjealousy, for it is of Christ's measurementas wellas
of His bestowment, and every form and quantity of it as it descends from the
one source is indispensable to the harmony of the Church. The one Lord will
not bestow conflicting graces,nor mar nor disturb, by the repulsive antipathy
of His gifts, that unity which Himself creates andexemplifies.
(J. Eadie, D. D.)
Gifts differ -- be natural
C. H. Spurgeon.!— Now you that have lately been converted, do not go and
learn all the pretty phrases that we are accustomedto use. Strike out your
own course. Be yourself. "But I should be odd." You need not mind that. All
the trees that God makes are odd. The Dutch chip them round, or make them
into peacocks, but that style of gardening is not to our mind. Some people say,
"What a lovely tree." I say, "What a horribly ugly thing it is." Why not let the
tree grow as God would have it. Do not clip yourselves round or square, but
keepyour freshness.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)

4. Use your own giftIt is said that in Derby resides Mr. Thomas Eyre, a veteran
in the temperance cause, forforty years an abstainerand an earnestworker,
but unable now to go out and labour, being paralyzed. In his window is hung a
small board, with the following notice: "A temperance pledge kept here. All
who are weary of drinking, come in and sign." "Yesterday," saidour aged
friend, "one who has long been a slave to drink, and in greatdistress, came in,
and for the first time signedthe pledge." This example is worthy of being
imitated.
COMMENTARIES
EXPOSITORY(ENGLISHBIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(7)But unto every one of us is
given grace.—Thisverse should be rendered, To every one of us the grace (the
one “grace ofthe Lord Jesus Christ”)was given—that is, given in the Divine
purpose in the regenerationofthe whole body, although it has to be received
and made our own, separatelyin eachsoul, and gradually in the course oflife.
It was and is given “according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” (See
below, Ephesians 4:13-16.)In Him it dwells “without measure” (see John
3:34); He gives it to eachaccording to the measure of his capacityto receive it
in faith (called in Romans 12:3 the “measure offaith”). Compare with this
verse the fuller description of the differences of “gifts,” “ministries,” and
“operations” in 1Corinthians 12:4-6, in which passagethere is the same
generalreference to the Three Persons ofthe Holy Trinity; but the particular
reference is there to the Holy Spirit, while here it is to the Son.
MacLaren's ExpositionsEPHESIANS
‘THE MEASURE OF GRACE’
Ephesians 4:7The Apostle here makes a swift transition from the thought of
the unity of the Church to the variety of gifts to the individual. ‘Each’ is
contrastedwith ‘all.’ The Father who stands in so blessedand gracious a
relationship to the united whole also sustains an equally gracious and blessed
relationship to eachindividual in that whole. It is because eachreceivesHis
individual gift that God works in all. The Christian community is the
perfection of individualism and of collectivism, and this rich variety of the
gifts of grace is here urged as a reasonadditional to the unity of the one body,
for the exhortation to the endeavour to maintain the unity of the spirit in the

5. bond of peace.
I. EachChristian soul receives gracethrough Christ.
The more accurate rendering of the RevisedVersion reads ‘the grace,’and
the definite article points to it as a definite and familiar factin the Ephesian
believers to which the Apostle could point with the certainty that their own
consciousness wouldconfirm his statement. The wording of the Greek further
implies that the grace was givenat a definite point in the past, which is most
naturally taken to have been the moment in which eachbeliever laid hold on
Jesus by faith. It is further to be noted that the contentof the gift is the grace
itself and not the graces whichare its product and manifestationin the
Christian life. And this distinction, which is in accordance withPaul’s
habitual teaching, leads us to the conclusion, that the essentialcharacterof the
grace giventhrough the act of our individual faith is that of a new vital force,
flowing into and transforming the individual life. From that unspeakable gift
which Paul supposed to be verifiable by the individual experience of every
Christian, there would follow the gracesofChristian characterin which
would be included the deepening and purifying of all the natural capacities of
the individual self, and the casting out from thence of all that was contrary to
the transforming power of the new life.
Such an utterance as this, so quietly and confidently taking for granted that
the experience ofevery believer verifies it in his own case, may welldrive us
all to look more earnestlyinto our own hearts, to see whetherin them are any
traces of a similar experience. If it be true, that to every one of us is given the
grace, how comes it that so many of us dare not profess to have any vivid
remembrance of possessing it, of having possessedit, or of any clear
consciousnessofpossessing it now? There may be gifts bestowedupon
unconscious receivers,but surely this is not one of these. If we do not know
that we have it, it must at leastremain very questionable whether we do have
it at all, and very certain that we have it in scant and shrivelled fashion.
The universality of the gift was a startling thing in a world which, as far as
cultivated heathenismwas concerned, might rightly be calledaristocratic, and
by the side of a religion of privilege into which Judaism had degenerated. The
supercilious sarcasmin the lips of Pharisees,‘This people which knowethnot
the law are cursed,’but too truly expressesthe gulf betweenthe Rabbis and

6. the ‘folk of the earth’ as the masses were commonlyand contemptuously
designatedby the former. Into the midst of a societyin which such distinctions
prevailed, the proclamationthat the greatestgiftwas bestowedupon all must
have come with revolutionary force, and been hailed as emancipation. Peter
had penetrated to graspthe full meaning and wondrous novelty of that
universality, when on Pentecosthe pointed to ‘that which had been spokenby
the prophet Joel’as fulfilled on that day, ‘I will pour forth of my Spirit upon
all flesh ... Yea, and on my servants and handmaidens ... will I pour forth of
my Spirit.’ The rushing, mighty wind of that day soondropped. The fiery
tongues ceasedto quiver on the disciples’heads, and the many voices that
spoke were silenced, but the gift was permanent, and is poured out now as it
was then, and now, as then, it is true that the whole company of believers
receive the Spirit, though alas!by their own faults it is not true that ‘they are
all filled with the Holy Spirit.’
Christ is the giver. He has ‘power over the Spirit of Holiness’and as the
Evangelisthas said in his comment on our Lord’s greatwords, when ‘He
stoodand cried,’ ‘If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink,’ ‘This
spake He of the Spirit which they that believed on Him were to receive.’We
cannot pierce into the depth of the mutual relations of the three divine
Persons mentioned in the context, but we can discernthat Christ is for us the
self-revealing activity of the divine nature, the right arm of the Father, or, to
use another metaphor, the channel through which the else ‘closedsea’of God
flows into the world of creatures. Throughthat channel is poured into
believing hearts the river of the waterof life, which proceeds out of the one
‘throne of God and of the Lamb.’ This gift of the Spirit of Holiness to all
believers is the deepestand truest conceptionof Christ’s gifts to His Church.
His past work of sacrifice forthe sins of the world was finished, as with a
parting cry He proclaimed on Calvary, and the power of that sacrifice will
never be exhausted, but the taking awayof the sins of the world is but the
initial stage of the work of Christ, and its further stagesare carriedon
through all the ages. He ‘workethhitherto,’ and His presentwork, in so far as
believers are concerned, is not only the forthputting of divine energy in regard
to outward circumstances, but the imparting to them of the Divine Spirit to be
the very life of their lives and the Lord of their spirits. Christian people are
but too apt to give undue prominence to what Christ did for them when He
died, and to lose sight, in the overwhelming lustre of His unspeakable
sacrifice, ofwhat He is doing for them whilst He lives. It would tend to restore
the proportions of Christian truth and to touch our hearts into a deeperand
more continuous love to Him, if we more habitually thought of Him, not only

7. as the Christ who died, but also as the Christ who rather is risen again, who is
even at the right hand of God, who also makethintercessionfor us.
II. The gift of this grace is in itself unlimited.
Our text speaks ofit as being according to the measure of the gift of Christ,
and that phrase may either mean the gift which Christ receives orthat which
He gives. Probably the latter is the Apostle’s meaning here, as seems to be
indicated by the following words that ‘when He ascendedon high, He gave
gifts unto men,’ but what He gives is what He possesses, andthe Apostle goes
on to point out that the ultimate issue of His giving to the Church is that it
attains to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
It may castsome light on this point if we note the remarkable variety of
expressions in this epistle for the norm or standard or limit of the gift. In one
place the Apostle speaks ofthe gift bestowedupon believers as being
according to the riches of the Father’s glory; then it has no limit short of a
participation in the divine fulness. God’s glory is the transcendent lustre of
His own infinite characterin its self-manifestation. The Apostle labours to
flash through the dim medium of words the glory of that light by blending
incongruously, but effectively, the other metaphor of riches, and the two
togethersuggesta wonderful, though vague thought of the infinite wealthand
the exhaustless brightness which we call Abba, Father. The humblest child
may lift longing and confident eyes and believe that he has received in very
deed, through his faith in Jesus Christ, a gift which will increase in riches and
in light until it makes him perfectas his Father in heaven was perfect. It was
an old faith, basedupon insight far inferior to ours, which proclaimed with
triumph over the frowns of death. ‘I shall be satisfiedwhen I awake with Thy
likeness.’Wouldthat those who have so much more for faith to build on, built
as nobly as did these!
The gift has in itself no limit short of participation in the likeness of Christ. In
another place in this letter the measure of that might which is the guarantee of
Christian hope is setforth with an abundance of expressionwhich might
almost sound as an unmeaning accumulationof synonyms, as being
‘according to the working of the strength of His might which He wrought in
Christ’; and what is the range of the working of that might is disclosedto our
faith in the ResurrectionofJesus, and the setting of Him high above all rule
and authority and powerand lordship and every creature in the present or in
any future. Paul’s continual teaching is that the Resurrectionof Jesus Christ

8. was wrought in Him, not as a mere human individual but as our head and
representative. Through Him we rise, not only from an ethical death of sin
and separationfrom God, but we shall rise from physical death, and in Him
the humblest believer possessing a vital union with the Lord of life has a share
in His dominion, and, as His own faithful word has promised, sits with Him on
His throne, even as He is setdown with the Father on His throne.
That gift has in itself no limit short of its own energy. In another part of this
epistle the Apostle indicates the measure up to which our being filled is to take
effect, as being ‘all the fulness of God’ and in such an overwhelming vision
breaks forth into fervent praise of Him who is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, and then supplies us with a
measure which may widen and heighten our petitions and expectations when
He tells us that we are to find the measure of God’s working for us, not in the
impoverishment of our present possessions, but in the exceeding riches of the
powerthat workethin us-that is to say, that we are to look for the limit of the
limitless gift in nothing short of the boundless energy of God Himself. In the
Epistle to the Colossians Pauluses the same illustration with an individual
reference to his own labours. In our text he associateswith himself all
believers, as being conscious ofa power working in them, which is really the
limitless powerof God, and heartens them to anticipate that whatever
limitless powercan effectin them will certainly be theirs. God does not leave
off till He has done and till He can look upon His completed work and
pronounce it very good.
III. This boundless grace is in eachindividual case bounded for the time by
our own faith.
When I lived near the New ForestI used to hearmuch of what they called
‘rolling fences.’A man receivedor took a little piece of Crownland on which
he built a house and put round it a fence which could be judiciously and
silently pushed outwards by slow degrees and enclosed, yearby year, a wider
area. We Christian people have, as it were, our ownsmall, cultivated plot on
the boundless prairie, the extent of which we measure for ourselves and which
we can enlarge as we will. We have been speaking ofthe various aspects under
which the boundlessness ofthe gift is presented by the Apostle, but there is
another ‘according to’ in Christ’s own words, ‘According to your faith be it
unto you,’ and that statement lays down the practical limits of our present
possessionofthe boundless gift. We have as much as we desire; we have as
much as we take;we have as much as we use; we have as much as we can

9. hold. We are admitted into the treasure house, and all around us lie ingots of
gold and vessels full of coins; we ourselves determine how much of the
treasure should be ours, and if at any time we feellike empty-handed paupers
rather than like possible millionaires, the reasonlies in our ownslowness to
take that which is freely given to us of God. His word to us all is, ‘Ye are not
straitened in Me, ye are straitenedin yourselves.’It is wellfor us to keepever
before us the boundlessness ofthe gift in itself and the working limit in
ourselves which conditions our actualpossessionofthe riches. For so, on the
one hand, should we be encouragedto expect greatthings from God, and, on
the other hand, be humbled by the contrastbetweenwhat we might be and
what we are. The river that rushes full of waterfrom the throne can send but
a narrow and shallow trickle through the narrow channel chokedwith much
rubbish, which we provide for it. It is of little avail that the sun in the heavens
pours down its flood of light and warmth if the windows of our hearts are by
our own faults so darkened that but a stray beam, shorn of its brightness and
warmth, canfind its way into our darkness. The first lessonwhich we have to
draw from the contrastbetweenthe boundlessness ofthe gift and the narrow
limits of our individual possessionand experience of it, is the lessonof
penitent recognitionand confessionof the unbelief which lurks in our
strongestfaith. ‘Lord I believe, help Thou mine unbelief,’ should be the
prayer of every Christian soul.
Not less surely will the recognitionthat the form and amount of the grace of
God, which is possessedby each, is determined by the faith of each, leadto
tolerance of the diversity of gifts. We have receivedour own proper gift of
God, that which the strength and purity of our faith is capable of possessing,
and it is not for us to carp at our brethren, either at those in advance of us or
at those behind us. We have to remember that as it takes allsorts of people to
make up a world, so it takes all varieties of Christian characterto make a
church. It is the body and not the individual members which represents Christ
to the world. The firmest adherence to our own form of the universal gift will
combine with the widesttoleration of the gifts of others. The white light
appears when red, green, and blue blend together, not when eachtries to be
the other. ‘Every man hath his own proper gift of God, one after this fashion
and another after that,’ and we shall be true to the boundlessness ofthe gift
and to the limitations of our own possessionofit, in the measure of which we
combine obedience to the light which shines in us, with thankful recognitionof
that which is granted to others.
The contrastbetweenthese two must be kept vivid if we would live in the

10. freedom of the hope of the glory of God, for in the contrastlies the assurance
of endless growth. A process is begun in every Christian soul of which the only
natural end is the full possessionof God in Christ, and that full possessioncan
never be reachedby a finite creature, but that does not mean that the ideal
mocks us and retreats before us like the pot of gold, which the children fancy
is at the end of the rainbow. Rather it means a continuous successionofour
realisations ofthe ideal in ever fuller and more blessedreality. In this life we
may, on condition of our growth in faith, grow in the possessionof the fulness
of God, and yet at eachmoment that possessionwill be greater, though at all
moments we may be filled. In the Christian life to-morrow may be safely
reckonedas destined to be ‘as yesterdayand much more abundant,’ and when
we pass from the imperfections of the most perfect earthly life, there will still
remain ever before us the glory, which, according to the measure of our
capacity, is also in us, and we shall draw nearer and nearerto it, and be for
ever receiving into our expanding spirits more and more of the infinite fulness
of God.
BensonCommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/ephesians/4-7.htm"Ephesians
4:7-10. But — Though there be so many, and those infinitely important
particulars, in which the true members of the church agree, and which
furnish such powerful motives to love and unity, yet there are some things
wherein they differ. For they occupy, by God’s appointment, different stations
in the church, and for these they are fitted by different gifts. These
distinctions, however, ought to be regarded by them, not as matters of
emulation, and causes ofcontention, but rather as additional obligations to
love and union, considering the greatsource and designof them all. Forunto
every one is given grace — Or some particular endowment proceeding from
grace;according to the measure of the gift of Christ — In such a measure as
seems bestto him, the great Head and Governorof the church, to bestow it;
whose distributions, we know, are always guided by consummate wisdom and
goodness;so that all his disciples have the highest reasonto acquiesceentirely
in what he does. Wherefore he saith — That is, in reference to which God
saith by David, When he ascendedup on high, he led captivity captive — He
took captive those who had held mankind in captivity; he conqueredand
triumphed over all our spiritual enemies, especiallySatan, sin, and death,
which had before enslavedall the world. This is spokenin allusion to the
custom of ancient conquerors, who led those they had conqueredin chains
after them. And as they also used to give donatives to the people at their
return from victory, so Christ gave gifts unto men — Namely, both the
ordinary and extraordinary gifts of the Spirit: of the propriety of applying

11. these words of the psalmist to the ascensionofChrist, see note on Psalm68:18.
Now this expression, that he ascended, whatis it? — What does it imply, but
that he descendedfirst? — Certainly it does, on the supposition of his pre-
existence as the Son of God, who had glory with the Father before the world
was, and who came forth from the Father, and came into the world: otherwise
it would not imply that he descendedfirst, since all the saints will ascendto
heaven, though none of them descendthence. Into the lowerparts of the earth
— That is, into the womb of the virgin at his incarnation, and into the grave at
his passion;including, however, all the other steps of his humiliation. Bishop
Pearson(on the Creed, p. 229)hath shownhow very precariouslythis text is
urged as a proof of Christ’s descentinto hell, this phrase, the lowerparts of
the earth, in some other passagesofScripture plainly signifying the womb, as
Psalm139:15, and the grave, Psalm63:9; Matthew 12:40. He that descended
— That thus amazingly humbled himself; is the same that ascendedup —
That was so highly exalted; far above all heavens — Above the aerialand
starry heavens, into the heaven of heavens; or, as the meaning rather is, above
all the inhabitants of the heavens, above all the angelicalhosts;which is the
meaning also of Hebrews 7:26, where he is said to be made higher than the
heavens:that he might fill all things — The whole church with his Spirit,
presence, and operations.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary4:7-16 Unto every believer is given
some gift of grace, fortheir mutual help. All is given as seems bestto Christ to
bestow upon every one. He receivedfor them, that he might give to them, a
large measure of gifts and graces;particularly the gift of the Holy Ghost. Not
a mere head knowledge, orbare acknowledging Christto be the Sonof God,
but such as brings trust and obedience. There is a fulness in Christ, and a
measure of that fulness given in the counselof God to every believer; but we
never come to the perfect measure till we come to heaven. God's children are
growing, as long as they are in this world; and the Christian's growth tends to
the glory of Christ. The more a man finds himself drawn out to improve in his
station, and according to his measure, all that he has received, to the spiritual
goodof others, he may the more certainly believe that he has the grace of
sincere love and charity rooted in his heart.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleBut unto every one of us - Every Christian.
Is given grace - The favor of God; meaning here that God had bestowedupon
eachsincere Christian the means of living as he ought to do, and had in his
gospelmade ample provision that they might walk worthy of their vocation.
What "are" the endowments thus given, the apostle states in the following
verses. The "grace"referredto here, most probably means "the gracious

12. influences of the Holy Spirit," or his operations on the heart in connection
with the use of the means which God has appointed.
According to the measure of the gift of Christ - Grace is bestowedupon all
true Christians, and all have enough to enable them to live a life of holiness.
Yet we are taught here:
(1) That it is a "gift." It is "bestowed"on us. It is not what is originatedby
ourselves.
(2) it is by a certain "measure." Itis not unlimited, and without rule. There is
a wise adaptation; an imparting it by a certain rule. The same grace is not
given to all, but to all is given enough to enable them to live as they ought to
live.
(3) that measure is the gift of Christ, or what is given in Christ. It comes
through him. It is what he has purchased; what he has obtained by his merits.
All have enoughfor the purposes for which God has called them into his
kingdom, but there are not the same endowments conferredon all. Some have
grace giventhem to qualify them for the ministry; some to be apostles;some
to be martyrs; some to make them eminent as public benefactors. All this has
been obtained by Christ; and one Should not complain that another has more
distinguished endowments than he has; compare Romans 12:3 note; John 1:16
note.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary7. But—Though"one" in our
common connectionwith "one Lord, one faith, &c., one God," yet "eachone
of us" has assignedto him his own particular gift, to be used for the goodof
the whole:none is overlooked;none therefore canbe dispensedwith for the
edifying of the Church (Eph 4:12). A motive to unity (Eph 4:3). Translate,
"Unto eachone of us was the grace (which was bestowedby Christ at His
ascension, Eph 4:8) given according to," &c.
the measure—the amount "of the gift of Christ" (Ro 12:3, 6).
Matthew Poole's CommentaryButunto every one of us is given grace;either
by grace he means gifts which are not common to all believers, but proper to
some, according to their various functions and places in the church, Romans
12:6 1 Corinthians 12:11. Or rather, more generally, it comprehends also
those graces whichare common to all believers as such, faith, hope, love, zeal,
&c.;which though they are of the same kind in all, and have the same object,
yet they are receivedin different degrees and measures.
According to the measure of the gift of Christ; in that measure in which it
pleasethChrist to give them, who gives to some one gift, to some another; to

13. some one degree of grace to some another: all have not the same, but need the
help of those that have what they want.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleBut unto everyone of us is given grace,....
Which may refer to the saints in common, and may be interpreted of
justifying, pardoning, adopting, sanctifying, and persevering grace, bestowed
upon them all, freely and liberally, not grudgingly, nor niggardly, and without
motive and condition in them; or to the ministers of the Gospel, and so design
gifts fitting for the ministry, which every one has, though differing one from
another, and all of free grace:
according to the measure of the gift of Christ: either according to the gift of
grace to Christ before the world began, and the measure of it, which he
communicates to them in time, even grace for grace;or according to that
measure of gifts which Christ receivedfrom men at his ascension:it may be
observedthat every member of Christ, and minister of his, receive more or
less grace and gifts from him; and that what they receive is all of free grace,
and in measure;and though they may have gifts differing one from another,
yet all are useful; so that there is no room for pride, envy, and contempt,
which would break in upon the unity of the Spirit; for what is said from
Ephesians 4:3 contains so many arguments to stir up the saints to endeavour
to preserve that.
Geneva Study Bible{5} But unto every one of us is given grace according to
the measure of the {f} gift of Christ.
(5) He teaches us that we indeed are all one body, and that all goodgifts
proceedfrom Christ alone, who reigns in heaven having mightily conquered
all his enemies, from where he heaps all gifts upon his Church. But yet
nonetheless these gifts are differently and variously divided according to his
will and pleasure, and therefore every man ought to be content with that
measure that God has given him, and to bestow it to the common profit of the
whole body.
(f) Which Christ has given.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/ephesians/4-7.htm"Ephesians
4:7.[203]Δέ] forms the transition from the summary πάντων, πάντων, πᾶσιν,
Ephesians 4:6, to eachindividual among the Christians. No single one,
however,—inorder to adduce this also as motive to the preservation of the
ἑνότης τοῦ πνεύματος,—wasoverlookedin the endowing with grace;on every
individual was it conferred, the grace, according to the measure of the gift of
Christ, so that eachindividual on his part canand ought to contribute to the

14. preservationof that unity.
ἡ χάρις] i.e. according to the context, the grace ofGod at work among the
Christians, the communication of which is manifested in the diverse
χαρίσματα;hence our passageis in harmony with the representationgiven,
Romans 12:6.
ἐδόθη]by Christ.
κατὰ τὸ μέτρον κ.τ.λ.]τῆς δωρεᾶς is genitive subjecti (Romans 12:3; Romans
12:6; Ephesians 4:13). Hence:in the proportion in which the gift of Christ is
meted out, according as Christ apportions to the one a larger, to the other a
smaller measure of His gift (i.e. the gift of the divine χάρις).
The δωρεὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ is the gift which Christ gives (2 Corinthians 9:15),
not: which Christ has received(Oeder, in Wolf; see in opposition to this view,
already Calvin), in oppositionto which Ephesians 4:8, ἔδωκε δόματα τ. ἀνθρ.,
is decisive.
[203]See on vv. 7–9, Hoelemann, Bibelstudien, II. p. 93 ff.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK"/ephesians/4-7.htm"Ephesians
4:7. ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις: but unto eachone of us was given the
grace. Forἡμῶνsome few authorities (including, however, B) read ὑμῶν.
After ἡ χάρις some few insert αὕτη ([367]2, 31, etc.). The article before χάρις
is omitted in [368][369]1[370][371], etc., but inserted in [372][373][374]
[375]3[376], etc. The evidence is pretty evenly balanced. Hence WH bracketἡ;
TRV retain it; LTr omit it. The article defines χάρις as the grace ofwhich the
writer and his fellow-believers had experience, whichthey knew to have been
given them (ἐδόθη), and by which God workedin them. What is given is not
the χάρισμα but the χάρις, the subjective grace that works within and shows
itself in its result—the charism, the gracious facultyor quality. The emphasis
is on the ἑκάστῳ, and the δέ is rather the adversative particle than the
transitional. It does not merely mark a change from one subjectto another,
but sets the eachover againstthe all, and this in connectionwith the
injunction to keepthe unity of the Spirit. God’s gracious relationto all is a
relation also to eachindividual. Not one of them was left unregarded by Him
who is the Godand Father of all, but eachwas made partakerof Christ’s gift
of grace, and each, therefore, is able and stands pledged to do his part toward
the maintenance of unity and peace. (Cf. Romans 12:6.)—κατὰ τὸ μέτροντῆς

15. δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ: according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Statement
of the law of the bestowalof grace. Each gets the grace which Christ has to
give, and eachgets it in the proportion in which the Giver is pleasedto bestow
it; one having it in largermeasure and another in smaller, but eachgetting it
from the same Hand and with the same purpose. The δωρεᾶς is the gen. of the
subject or agent—the gift which Christ gives, as is shownby the following
ἔδωκε δόματα.
[367]Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorfin
1843.
[368]Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889
under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[369]Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by
Tischendorfin 1852.
[370]Codex Augiensis (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Trinity College,
Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almostidentical with
that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its
Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.
[371]Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collatedby Tischendorfand others.
[372]Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile
type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[373]Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in
photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).
[374]Codex Ephraemi (sæc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorfin
1843.
[375]Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by
Tischendorfin 1852.
[376]Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges7. Butunto every one] A motive to
holy union from the opposite side; that of “diversity of gifts.” See Romans

16. 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4, &c.; 1 Peter4:10-11. Harmony of spiritual life and
work should be promoted by equal remembrance of the oneness ofthe source
of life and the inevitable diversity of its exercises andapplications.
is given] Was given, in the greatideal distribution at the Lord’s exaltation,
and actually when we were each“sealed” (Ephesians 1:14).
according to the measure of the gift of Christ] I. e., not indefinitely, or
confusedly, but as the greatMaster, Christ, adjusted, measured, His mighty
Gift to His sovereignallotmentof eachservant’s work. All was mere bounty,
free gift; but all also profound design, manifold in detail, one in end.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK"/ephesians/4-7.htm"Ephesians 4:7. Δὲ, but)
The antithesis is the word one [εἷς Κύριος and ἓν βάπτισμα, εἷς Θεός]in the
foregoing verses.[57]—ἐδόθη, has beengiven) This is takenfrom the psalm in
the following verse.
[57] i.e. Though there is one Lord, etc., to us all, yet to eachof us there is given
grace according to, etc.—ED.
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 7-16. - VARIETY OF GIFTS IN CONNECTION
WITH UNITY; USE TO BE MADE OF THEM. Verse 7. - But to eachone of
us was grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. In the
Church all do not get alike;grace is not given in equal measures as the manna
in the wilderness;Christ, as the greatBestower, measures outhis gifts, and
eachreceives according to his measure. Compare parable of talents. "Grace"
does not refer merely to supernatural gifts, but also to the ordinary spiritual
gifts of men. These are varied, because whateachgets he gets for the goodof
the rest; the Church is a fellowship or brotherhood, where eachhas an
interest in all and all in each, and is bound to act accordingly.
Vincent's Word StudiesEveryone (ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ)
Rev., each. From the Church as a whole, he passes to its individual members.
In the generalunity the individual is not overlooked, andunity is consistent
with variety of gifts and offices.
Grace (ἡ χάρις)
The article, omitted by A.V., is important: the one grace ofGod, manifesting
itself in the different gifts.
END OF BIBLEHUB RESOURCES

17. Ephesians 4:7
Ephesians 4:7
But unto everyone of us is given grace
Which may refer to the saints in common, and may be interpreted of
justifying, pardoning, adopting, sanctifying, and persevering grace, bestowed
upon them all, freely and liberally, not grudgingly, nor niggardly, and without
motive and condition in them; or to the ministers of the Gospel, and so design
gifts fitting for the ministry, which every one has, though differing one from
another, and all of free grace:
according to the measureof the gift of Christ:
either according to the gift of grace to Christ before the world began, and the
measure of it, which he communicates to them in time, even grace forgrace;
or according to that measure of gifts which Christ receivedfrom men at his
ascension:it may be observedthat every member of Christ, and minister of
his, receive more or less grace and gifts from him; and that what they receive
is all of free grace, and in measure; and though they may have gifts differing
one from another, yet all are useful; so that there is no room for pride, envy,
and contempt, which would break in upon the unity of the Spirit; for what is
said from ( Ephesians 4:3 ) contains so many arguments to stir up the saints to
endeavour to preserve that.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-
bible/ephesians-4-7.html
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Ephesians 4:7 But to eachone of us grace was given according to the measure
of Christ's gift. (NASB: Lockman)
Greek:Eni de hekasto hemonedoHYPERLINK
"http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=1325"the (3SAPI)e
chariHYPERLINK
"http://studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=5485"skata to metron
tes doreas tou Christou.

18. Amplified: Yet grace (God’s unmerited favor) was given to eachof us
individually [not indiscriminately, but in different ways]in proportion
to the measure of Christ’s [rich and bounteous] gift. (Amplified Bible -
Lockman)
NLT: However, he has given eachone of us a specialgift according to
the generosityofChrist. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Naturally there are different gifts and functions; individually
grace is given to us in different ways out of the rich diversity of Christ's
giving. . (Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: But to eachone of us there was given the grace in the measure of
the gift of the Christ. (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal: Yet to eachof us individually grace was given,
measuredout with the munificence of Christ.
BUT TO EACH ONE OF US GRACE WAS GIVEN: Eni de hekasto hemon
edothe (3SAPI) e charis
• Eph 4:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14;Mt 25:15;Ro 12:6, 7, 8; 1Cor12:8, 9, 10,
11,28, 29, 30
• Ep 3:8; 2Co 6:1; 1Pe 4:10
• Ephesians 4 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
• Ephesians 4:7-10 Christ's Purpose for His Church - Steven Cole
• Ephesians 4:7-12 - Wayne Barber
• Ephesians 4:7-10:Preserving the Unity of the Spirit -2 - Wayne Barber
• Ephesians 4:7-11 The Gifts of Christ to His Church - John MacArthur
Church Growth 101
There has been a greatdeal of emphasis at the beginning of the 21stCentury
in American Christianity regarding church growth, especiallyregarding the
utilization of man-made methods to attractand hopefully keeppeople
attending. What Paul is doing in Ephesians 4:7-16 is giving God's plan for
church growth, not so much in numbers, but in every increasing spiritual
maturity of the members of the Body of Christ. I would subtitle this section
"Church Growth 101". MayGod grant that many localbodies composing the
universal body of Christ complete His course on church growthwith "flying
colors"!
But - The idea is "on the other hand". It is a conjunction which implies
contrast(note) at the same time referring us back to that which has gone

19. before. Paul is still expounding how we are to preserve the unity in the bond
of peace. He uses the disjunctive word but to emphasize that his call for unity
is not a callto uniformity. He is not calling for the body of Christ to be
absolutely identical in every single respect, with no differences at all. Unity is
indeed oneness andharmony but it is not sameness in all casesand at all times
without variation.
Eachone of us - at first this statement seems to shatter the seven fold unity
Paul has just outlined. Yes, all believers are one in Christ, all one in respectto
our salvationand relationship to God as His children. But even though we are
all of one family, we are not identical and this is the very point that Paul has
been stressing - Jews and Gentiles in one body, one new man, but still
composedof different individuals (in ethnic, economic, etc terms). And so
Paul introduces diversity within the backgroundof unity, a unity in diversity
if you will, a unity that comprehends variation and variability. As believers we
are essentiallyone, but in many respects we differ and we must keepthese two
principles constantlyin our minds. The diversity does not destroy the unity
and converselythe unity does not do awaywith the diversity.
The question naturally arises as to how our unity which has been so strongly
emphasized in the preceding six verses be preservedin the light of this
diversity and variation? The answeris found beginning in verse 7 through
verse 16 in which Paul marvelously explains how the body of Christ is
characterizedby and held togetherin the face of both unity and diversity.
Observe also that in Ephesians 4 Paul moves from his focus on unity (Eph 4:4-
6) to diversity in Eph 4:7-10, and back againto unity in Ephesians 4:11-16.
Grace was givenaccording to the measure of Christ's gift - With this
statementPaul explains that the reasonunity and diversity cancoexistin one
body is because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the Head of that body and as
such He is the Giver of the variety of gifts which are enjoyed by the Church as
a whole and by every single member in particular. This principle guarantees
the unity in the diversity! Paul explains this same controlling principle using
the metaphor of a human body in 1Corinthians 12 writing...
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are
varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. (1Cor12:4-5)
Here in Ephesians 4 Paul goes onto what amounts to a parenthesis in verses
8-10 (the parenthesis mark could just as easilyhave been placedbefore verse
8, but the translators choose verse 9). This divinely inspired "parenthesis" not
only ascribes proper glory to the Giver but also explains how Christ came into

20. the position of being able to be the Head of the church and the Giver of all
gifts.
Eachone (1538)(hekastosform hékas = separate)refers eachone separately
and thus refers to the individual members of the body who were to be diligent
to keepthe unity of the Spirit. Here Paul is saying that unity does not negate
diversity of the members of the body. Every member of the body is given this
grace in the form of a gift from the Head of the body, Christ. Every believer
has receivedthe gift, the divine enablement, the divine endowment, the divine
capacityto minister to the Body. For more discussionon spiritual gifts,
including some ideas about how you candiscern your spiritual gift click here
for summary chart.
Although Paul could have used just the word hekastos (eachone separately)
Paul adds the Greek word"heis" or one, the first cardinal numeral. Hekastos
(‘to eachone’) by itself would have conveyedthe sense ofhis appeal to
individual believers but the addition of heis (‘to one’) strengthens the point.
The Greek sentence literallyreads "Yet to eachone of us individually". In
addition Paul's use of heis connects this verse with the preceding sevenfold
repetition of "one" (see notes Ephesians 4:4;4:5; 4:6). The point is that this
added word emphasizes unity in the midst of diversity.
S Lewis Johnson writes that this verse makes...
a striking statement, because it means that every single individual in the
body of Christ has a specific spiritual gift. Do you know what your
spiritual gift is? Are you sure that you’re ministering your spiritual gift
in the body of Christ?... Four chapters in the Bible are devoted to
spiritual gifts simply in the listing of them: Romans chapter 12, 1
Corinthians chapter 12, Ephesians chapter 4, 1 Peterchapter 4 (two
twelves, two fours; that’s easyto remember). (Pdf)
Eachone (hekastos)is used in eachof the four primary discussions on
spiritual gifts and serves to reiterate that eachand every member of the body
of Christ has receiveda spiritual gift. Before we go any further we want to
make absolutely certain that we clearlydistinguish between“spiritual gifts”
and natural abilities you were born with. In the spiritual realm, eachbeliever
has at leastone spiritual gift independent of their natural abilities. A spiritual
gift is a sovereigngiven, supernatural ability to serve God and other
Christians in such a way that other believers are edified and Christ is
glorified.
Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to every man
among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think;

21. but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each
(hekastos)a measure of faith.
1Cor12:7 But to eachone (hekastos)is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good.
1Cor12:11 But one and the same Spirit works allthese things,
distributing to eachone (hekastos)individually (idios - related to
oneself, one's own) just as He wills.
1Cor12:18 But now God has placedthe members, each(hekastos)one
(heis) of them, in the body, just as He desired.
Comment: The designationindicates that God's relation is not just to all
but is a personalrelationship witheachone and represents a personal
ministry through eachone.
Ephesians 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held
togetherby that which every joint supplies, according to the proper
working of each(hekastos)individual (heis) part, causes the growth of
the body for the building up of itself in love.
1 Peter4:10 As eachone (hekastos)has receiveda specialgift, employ it
in serving one another, as goodstewards ofthe manifold grace ofGod.
Grace was given- a more detailed discussionof grace is presentedbelow, but
note that this reference to grace is not so much the grace that saves but the
grace that enables one to live the supernatural life and in context to exercise
one's spiritual gifts. Here grace is the ability to perform the task God has
calledus to. There is a parallel use in Romans 12 where Paul writes that...
"we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us" (see note
Romans 12:6)
Paul had a similar use earlier in Ephesians writing that in regard to the
gospel...
I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was
given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very
leastof all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the
unfathomable riches of Christ (See note Ephesians 3:7; 3:8) (Comment:
Note that Paul is enabled by this grace to preach).
Enabling grace is measuredout to be consistentwith what is necessaryfor the
operationof Christ’s gift. Eachof us has receivedthis enabling grace in the
exactproportion that Christ gave it.

22. Paul used grace with this same nuance of that which enables writing to
Timothy
You therefore my sonbe strong (continually allow yourself to be
strengthenedor empoweredwith divine power) in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus. (See note 2 Timothy 2:1)
Wayne Barberhas this comment on grace...
What was the supreme gift of grace?It was the Spirit of God. God gives
the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is the one who gives out the
gifts. But remember, it is God’s idea. The source ofit all is the Lord
Jesus and what He did for us in His finished work on Calvary, in His
resurrection, His ascensionand ultimate glorification. Christ became
the source ofall of our diversity.
When Paul says "to eachone of us grace was given," he is talking about
grace gifts. Those grace gifts, as you know from I Corinthians 12 and
Romans 12, are there to minister inside of the body.
Grace (5485)(charis from chairo = to rejoice, be glad) (Click word study on
charis) in this contextrefers to God's unmerited favor and supernatural
enablement and empowerment for salvationand for daily sanctification.
When we begin to understand the word "grace"there is a rejoicing in our
heart. And so to an extent grace canbe defined by what it causes,including
joy, pleasure, delight, gratification, favor and acceptance. If you feelthe urge
to sing click here for 104 marvelous hymns by Isaac Watts, allof which
include the mention of grace.
Expositor's Bible Commentary writes that this grace was...
equipping rather than saving grace that Paul describes. Charis (grace)here is
not equated with charisma (grace-gift), but denotes the grace provided for
and manifested in the gift. The distribution of grace, and so the distribution of
grace-gifts, is in Christ's own hands and apportioned as He decides.
(Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New
Testament. Zondervan Publishing)
The God of grace is a God Who freely gives, which describes a gift which
(because it is from grace)has nothing to do with anything we have done.
Grace is God’s self–motivated, self–generated, sovereignactof giving. The
grace ofGod is undeserved, unsought, and unbought (that is we paid nothing
for it but it was paid for with the precious blood of the Lamb of God). As Paul
renders it, the infinitely high price of redemption was paid for by

23. "the grace ofour Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your
sake He became poor (His incarnation), that you through His poverty might
become rich (spiritual riches that Jesus gives to all who place their trust in
Him)." (2Cor 8:9)
The grace ofGod is described as...
• Glorious (see note Ephesians 1:6)
• Abundant (Acts 4:33)
• Rich (see note Ephesians 1:7)
• Manifold (many-sided, multi-colored, variegated)(see note 1 Peter4:10)
• Sufficient (sufficing, enough, adequate - there is never a shortage)(2Cor
12:9)
Kenneth Wuest adds that although grace is free, grace is not license to do as
we please for "grace in the form of salvationis so adjusted that the one who
receives it, turns from sin to serve the living God and live a holy life, for grace
includes not only the bestowalof a righteousness, but the inward
transformation consisting of the power of indwelling sin broken and the divine
nature implanted, which liberates the believer from the compelling power of
sin and makes him hate sin, love holiness, and gives him the power to obey the
Word of God." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New
Testament:Eerdmans)
Grace (Gr. charis)is the basis for joy (chara), and it leads to thanksgiving
(eucharistia). Certainly when we begin to understand the "grace ofGod"
there’s rejoicing in our heart and thanksgiving on our lips. There is a lift that
comes to our spirit. How many of us feel beat down? How many feellike we
are in a valley? We look around and nothing seems very appealing. But when
we come to God’s "word of grace" andbegin to understand His sufficient
grace, His grace canhas the powerto lift our spirits and rejoice our soul! His
grace is the absolutely free expressionof His loving kindnesses to mankind.
Given (1325)(didomi) means it was grantedbased on a decisionof the will of
the giver and not on the merit of the recipient. The passive voice indicates the
the subject(eachone) receives the actionof the verb, thus the giving was from
an outside source, Christ, the Head of the Body. The point is reiterated in
1Cor12:7 below making it is clear that every gift is totally and absolutely
given by God (here in Ephesians by Christ and in 1Corinthians 12 by the
Spirit) and individual believers don't have anything to do with choosing the
spiritual gift. One can conclude that there is no indication here that gifts
should be sought.

24. It is interesting that immediately after calling for unity in the body, Paul
emphasizes that unity is not uniformity, but is consistentwith a variety of gifts
and offices in the church.
ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF CHRIST'S GIFT: kata to metron tes
doreas tou Christou:
• Eph 3:2; John 3:34; Romans 12:3; 2Corinthians 10:13, 14, 15
• Ephesians 4 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
• Ephesians 4:7-10 Christ's Purpose for His Church - Steven Cole
• Ephesians 4:7-12 - Wayne Barber
• Ephesians 4:7-10:Preserving the Unity of the Spirit -2 - Wayne Barber
• Ephesians 4:7-11 The Gifts of Christ to His Church - John MacArthur
According to (2596)(kata)or proportionate to Christ's wealth, not just a
portion thereof. If I am a billionaire and I give you ten dollars, I have given
you out of my riches; but if I give you a million dollars, I have given to you
according to my riches. The first is a portion; the secondis a proportion. The
first would take it out of His riches, and would be like Mr. Rockefellerwho
used to give his caddy a dime. How wealthy is Christ?
Earlier Paul alluded to Christ's riches writing...
To me, the very leastof all saints, this grace was given, to preachto the
Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ (See note Ephesians 3:8)
(In Colossians Paulwrote that in Christ)
are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (See note
Colossians 2:3)
Measure (3358)(metron) refers to a measure of capacity.
Barber explains that measure...isthe idea of portioning something out.
Someone in the church told me something that I think it is a greatidea. He
said, "Sometimes we would have pie left from a meal. We knew we had
enough for two pieces but it had not been cut yet. We always let one of our
children cut the pie, but the other one gotthe first choice of the piece." Now I
like that. That means it is going to be cut evenly. You had better believe it is
going to be cut evenly because if you cut it unevenly, and the other one gets
the first choice, you get the smallestpiece. Paul is saying it is Christ who cut
the pie. Don’t you wish sometimes that you had a biggerpiece of the pie? I
mean, you look around and see what others get to do that has a kind of
glamour to it. Then you look at your own piece of pie and say, "Waita

25. minute. I got short-changed. How come my piece of the pie is so small and
their piece of the pie is so large?" Friend, what he is saying here is, we haven’t
got a thing to say about it. Christ is the one who made sure that the pie was
cut. He is the one who made those kinds of decisions. You see, so oftenin the
body of Christ, we don’t realize that. We are jealous of others. We are envious
of others. We want somebody else’s ministry. We want somebody else’s gifts
without realizing anything short of hell is grace. Justto have a gift at all is
certainly beyond what any of us deserve. The word for grace, charis, means
that which you don’t deserve. It is Christ who is the source of every bit of it.
Again, unity is not uniformity. We are all diversified in our gifts as to the
amount and as to the gifts themselves.
O'Brien writes that...Within the unity of the body eachmember has a
distinctive service to render for the effective functioning of the whole. The
ability to perform this service is due to the ‘grace’given by the ascended
Christ to eachone. Grace is viewedin terms of its outworking in a variety of
ways in the lives of individuals, and thus comes to signify much the same as
charisma does in the parallel passagesin Paul (1Cor 12:4; Ro 12:6). Perhaps
the use of charis here, rather than charisma, is to stress the source of divine
grace in providing the gifts. Not all believers, however, have the same abilities
or receive the same gift. Grace was distributed in varied measure to each
individual, and this is ultimately due to Christ’s sovereigndistribution. The
proportionate allocationofgifts is underscored elsewhereby the apostle:
according to 1Corinthians 12:11 it is the Spirit who ‘apportions to eachone
individually as He wills’, while in Romans 12:3 the similar notion of God
measuring out different degrees of faith appears. In Ephesians 4 this
measuring, like the giving in general, is the work of the ascendedChrist. So
grace was givento the apostle Paul for his ministry to Gentiles (cf. 3:2, 7, 8);
now it is said to be given to eachindividual Christian for the benefit of the
whole body. (O'Brien, P. T. The Letter to the Ephesians. W. B. Eerdmans.
1999)
Constable comments that...
Whereas eachbelieverhas receivedgrace (unmerited favor and divine
enablement) from God (see notes Ephesians 3:2) Goddoes not give each
Christian the same measure of grace. Paulspoke of God’s gift of grace
here as ability to serve God. Though Jews andGentiles both receive
enabling grace from God, God gives this ability to different individuals
differently (Ephesians ExpositoryNotes)
Hoehner writes regarding according to the measure that...

26. Eachbeliever is to function in Christ’s body by God’s enablement,
proportionate to the gift (spiritual ability) bestowedon him, no more
and no less. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge
Commentary. 1985. Victor).
MacArthur explains that the term measure means that the...
specific portion given is by sovereigndesignfrom the Head of the
church. The Lord has measuredout the exactproportion of each
believer’s gift (compare Paul’s use of the phrase “the measure of faith”
in Ro 12;3-see note). The exactproportion of enabling grace onthe part
of God is linked with the exactproportion of enacting faith on the part
of eachbeliever; and God is the source ofboth. The sum of this is that
God gives both the grace and the faith to energize whatever gift He gives
to the full intent of His purpose. In light of the truth just stated it is
clearthat since they sovereignlygiven (cf. 1Cor. 12:4-7, 11), no gifts
should be sought; that since they are essentialelements in God’s plan
(cf. 1Cor. 12:18, 22, 25), no gifts should be unused; and that since they
come from the Lord, no gifts should be exalted (cf. Ro
12:3).(MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago:MoodyPress)
Wuest explains that...
This grace which is in the form of the enabling and empowering of the
Holy Spirit, is given the saint “according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.” Expositors explains as follows:
“Eachgets the grace whichChrist has to give, and eachgets it in
the proportion in which the Giver is pleasedto bestow it; one
having it in largermeasure and another in smaller, but each
getting it from the same Hand and with the same purpose.”
We must be careful to note that this grace has to do with the exercise of
specialgifts for service, not the grace for daily living. The former is
limited, and is adjusted to the kind of gift and the extent to which the
Holy Spirit desires to use that gift in the believer’s service. The latter is
unlimited and subject only to the limitations which the believer puts
upon it by a lack of yieldedness to the Spirit. The context here, (Eph
4:11, 12), is one of service, not of generalChristian experience (Ibid)
Christ's (5547)(Christos from chrio = to anoint, rub with oil, consecrateto an
office)is the Anointed One, the Messiah, Christos being the Greek equivalent
of the transliteratedHebrew word Messiah. As a Jew learnedthe Torah, now
the Christian learns Christ!

27. Christ's gift - Each and every believer has a gift that is measuredout to us and
this gift includes certain distinct capabilities, parameters, and purposes.
There are 4 major passagesonspiritual gifts in Scripture - Romans 12:3-8,
1Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11ff, and 1Peter4:10-11, (they are easyto
remember for there are 2 twelves and 2 fours).
Romans 12:3-8
For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think
more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound
judgment, as God has allotted to eacha measure of faith. 4 For just as we
have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same
function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually
members one of another. 6 And since we have gifts that differ according to the
grace givento us, let eachexercise them accordingly:if prophecy, according
to the proportion of his faith;
7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches,in his teaching;8 or he who
exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with
diligence;he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
1Corinathians 12:4-31
12:4 Now there are varieties (diaresis from diaireo = divides and so
distributions - not merely that the Spirit bestows different gifts, but bestows
certain gifts to certainpeople, not the same to all) of gifts (charisma = -ma
speaking ofthe result or effectof grace, always ofthe gifts of the Spirit), but
the same Spirit (cf, the "unity of the Spirit", or the unity which the Spirit
gives, see notes Ephesians 4:3, "one Spirit" Ephesians 4:4).
5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord (cf "one Lord", see
note Ephesians 4:5).
6 And there are varieties of effects (energema - suffix –ma makes it the result
or effectof energeia = energy.), but the same God (note the Triune God in
spiritual gifts, cf "one God" Ephesians 4:6) Who works (energeo -energizes)
all things in all persons (no matter how well trained and experiencedor how
unselfishly motivated, we cannot exercise our gifts in our own power. Spiritual
gifts are supernatural abilities, sovereignlygiven and divinely energized.
Regarding effects note that every exercise ofa spiritual gift does not produce
the same effecteachtime. The same message givenin severaldifferent
circumstances willnot produce the same results. It is God's choice).
12:7 But to eachone (the repeatedemphasis found in all four groups of
passageson spiritual gifts) is given (passive voice)the manifestation (making

28. visible or observable, opento sight, making known or evident - others can spot
your gift - this truth should help you discernyour specific gift or gifts - see
Discovering and Using Your Gift) of the Spirit (eachgift is a visible evidence
of the Spirit's activity) for the common good(sumphero from sun = with
speaking ofintimacy and phero = bring, literally bring together, and then
confera benefit, profit or advantage. Notonly does the exercise ofour
spiritual gifts minister to others but it also helps them to better use their own
gifts - As we eachminister our own gifts we help others to better minister
theirs. On the other hand, as we fail to minister our own gifts we hinder others
in ministering theirs. A Christian who does not exercise his spiritual gifts
cripples his own ministry and the ministry of others—to saynothing of
forfeiting the blessing and rewardthat would have come to his ownlife).
12:8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another
the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith by the same Spirit (This does not refer to saving faith but
the ability for example to see something that needs to be done and to believe
that God will do it even though it looks impossible. Trusting that sense of
faith, a personwith this gift moves out and accomplishes the "impossible"
task in God's name and for His glory), and to another gifts of healing by the
one Spirit,
10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to
another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and
to another the interpretation of tongues.
12:11 But one and the same Spirit (cf, "one Spirit" Ephesians 4:4) works
(energeo - energizes and makes effective - idea is that we allow God to work
through us by powerof the Spirit) all these things, distributing (diaireo -
dividing, assigning, apportioning)to eachone individually (idios - pertaining
to a private person, an individual) just as He wills (carries strongeridea of
choosing one thing over another).
12:12 (The metaphor of the human body) Foreven as the body is one and yet
has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many,
are one body, so also is Christ.
12:13 (Paul explains the origin and compositionof the spiritual body of
Christ) Forby one Spirit we (only believers) were all baptized (identified with,
brought into union with Christ and eachother) into one body, whether Jews
or Greeks, whetherslaves orfree, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.

29. 15 If the foot should say, "BecauseI am not a hand, I am not a part of the
body," it is not for this reasonany the less a part of the body.
16 And if the earshould say, "BecauseI am not an eye, I am not a part of the
body," it is not for this reasonany the less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole
were hearing, where would the sense ofsmell be?
18 But now God has placedthe members, eachone of them, in the body, just
as He desired.
19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
20 But now there are many members, but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or againthe
head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem
to be weakerare necessary;
23 and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we
bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more
abundant seemliness,
24 whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed
the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked,
25 that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should
have the same care for one another.
26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is
honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.
28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, secondprophets, third
teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various
kinds of tongues.
29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not
teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?
30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do
they? All do not interpret, do they?
31 But earnestlydesire the greatergifts. And I show you a still more excellent
way.
1Peter4:10-11

30. 1 Peter4:10 As eachone (hekastos)has received(aoristtense = past
completed, effective action; indicative mood = a reality) a specialgift
(charisma - the result of grace), [employit] in serving (diakoneo - render
assistanceorhelp by performing certain duties often of a humble or
menial nature) one another, as goodstewards (speaksofresponsibility
of proper use of that which the ownerhas entrusted to another) of the
manifold (variegated, multicolored) grace of God.
1Peter4:11 Whoever speaks,lethim speak, as it were, the utterances of
God (be sure that the words he speaksare, as if were, the very words
God would have him say on that particular occasion- closerone sticks
to Scripture, the better!); whoeverserves, lethim do so as by the
strength (ischus - latent power, God's capability to function effectively)
which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified (the
ultimate purpose of the exercise ofour gifts) through Jesus Christ (His
mediatorial or function as our Great High Priest), to Whom belongs the
glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (See notes 1 Peter4:10,
4:11)
Comment on 1Peter4:10-11:One conclusionfrom 1 Peter4:10 is that
believers are not meant to be the terminalsof God’s gifts like the Dead
Sea that has no outlet. When His grace flows into us is is not to end with
us. We are intended to be channelsthrough whom His grace associated
with that specific gift [edification, encouragement, etc]canflow to
others in the body of Christ, so that the body might be healthy and fully
functional. In other words, when a believer does not minister his or her
gift properly as God’s steward, God’s work suffers to that degree—
because Godhas not calledor gifted another Christian in exactlythe
same way or for exactlythe same work. That is why no Christian is to
be a spectator. Every believer is on the team, part of the body, and is
strategic in God’s plan, with his or her own unique skills, position, and
responsibilities.
Boice writes that...
the gifts are given to eachChristian—that is, everyone has at leastone
gift—and for that reason, the church is only fully vigorous and healthy
when all are ministering. It has been a failure to see this truth which
more than anything else has led in church history to what John Stott
calls “the clericaldenomination of the laity.” As Stott points out, there
has developedwithin the church (for a variety of reasons)a division
between“clergy” and “laity” in which the clergyare supposedto lead
and do the work of ministry while the people (which is what the word

31. “laity” means)are to follow docilely—and, of course, give money to
support the clergyand their work. (Boice, J. M.: Ephesians:An
ExpositionalCommentary)
Gift (1431)(dorea from didomi = to give) refers to a free gift and emphasizes
the gratuitous characterof the gift. Dorea describes thatwhich is given or
transferred freely by one person to another. It is something bestowedfreely,
without price or compensation.
In context Paul is referring to a supernatural gift, commonly referred to as a
spiritual gift. In ancient Rome we we find dorea used in an Imperial during
the time of Hadrian referring to the Emperor's beneficium (in Roman law this
referred to some specialprivilege or favor granted) to the soldiers.
Dorea emphasizes the freeness ofHis grace and gifts, whereas charisma (gift)
highlights the gracious aspectofwhat God has done. Dorea does not focus on
the undeservedness ofthe gift as does charismata (the special “gifts”;see
above 1Cor. 12:4; cf 1 Peter 4:10 - notes) nor on the spiritual source ofthe gift
as does pneumatikon (“spiritual gifts,” literally spiritual things as in 1Cor.
12:1). In other words, dorea places the stress on"free" and does not emphasis
the quality or characterofthe gift as much as it does the gratuitous nature.
Vine - dōrean, from dōrea, = “a gift,” something bestowedfreely, without
price, or compensation, as in John 4:10; Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 9:15, e.g.
Hence dōrean also means “freely,” “gratuitously,” as in Matthew 10:8;
Romans 3:24; 2 Corinthians 11:7; 2 Thessalonians 3:8;Revelation21:6; 22:17.
But it also = “gratuitously” in the sense ofcauselessly, as in John 15:25, of the
hatred of the Jews for the Lord Jesus, and“vainly,” or without either purpose
or result, as here.
The English words bounty and largess pick up the idea as it speaks of
something given generouslyor liberally.
Peterused dorea 4 times in Acts to refer to the gift of the Spirit...
Acts 2:38 And Petersaid to them (to the Jews), "Repent, and let eachof
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christfor the forgiveness ofyour
sins; and you shall receive the gift (dorea) of the Holy Spirit. (Comment:
Contrary to much contemporary teaching, Peter attachedno condition
to receiving the Spirit except repentance. Nordid he promise that any
supernatural phenomena would accompanytheir receptionof the
Spirit)
Acts 8:20 But Peter(to Simon the Sorcerer)saidto him, "Mayyour
silver perish (ruin of all that gives worth to existence)with you, because

32. you thought you could obtain the gift (dorea) of God with money
(source of our English word simony - he buying or selling of a church
office, pardons or other ecclesiasticalprivileges)!
Acts 10:45 And all the circumcisedbelievers (born againJews)who had
come with Peterwere amazed, because the gift (dorea) of the Holy Spirit
had been poured out upon the Gentiles also (Roman centurion
Cornelius and those with him - they discernedthe Gentiles had the gift
because they spoke in tongues - God wanted the Jews to know that the
church was to be composedof Jews and Gentiles on equal grounds at
the footof the Cross!).
Acts 11:17 "If God therefore gave to them (the Gentiles who believed in
Messiah)the same gift (dorea)as He gave to us (Jews atPentecost,Acts
2) also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could
stand in God's way?"
Here are the other 9 NT uses (4 uses in the Septuagint - Da 2:6, 48; 5:17;
11:39)of dorea...
John 4:10 Jesus answeredandsaid to her, "If you knew the gift (dorea)
of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would
have askedHim, and He would have given you living water(fulfilled in
New life through the Spirit, as in John 7:37-39)."
Romans 5:15 (note) But the free gift (charisma) is not like the
transgression. Forif by the transgressionof the one the many died,
much more did the grace ofGod and the gift (dorea) by the grace ofthe
one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many (who receivedHim by
faith).
Romans 5:17 (note) For if by the transgressionofthe one, death reigned
through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift (dorea) of righteousness willreign in life (especiallyas
they supernaturally experience powerover their former master"Sin")
through the One, Jesus Christ.
2Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable (incapable of
being adequately uttered or expressed)gift (dorea)!
Ephesians 3:7 (note) (Paul speaking ofthe gospelthrough which the
mystery of Jew and Gentile in one body was revealedsays that in regard
to this gospel)I was made a minister, according to the gift (dorea) of
God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His
power.

33. Hebrews 6:4 (note) For in the case ofthose who have once been
enlightened and have tastedof the heavenly gift (dorea) and have been
made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
Ray Stedman summarizes this introductory passagein Ephesians 4:7 on
Church Growth 101 writing...
In that brief sentence there is a reference to two tremendous things: (1)
the gift of the Holy Spirit for ministry, which is given to every true
Christian without exception, and (2) the new and remarkable powerby
which that gift may be exercised. We will look carefully at both of these
in due order, but let us begin with the gift of the Spirit, which Paul
refers to as a "grace."
The word "grace"in the original language is charis, from which the
English adjective, charismatic, is derived. This "grace"is a God-given
capacityfor service which we have receivedas Christians, and which we
did not possessbefore we became Christians. This "grace"is given to all
true Christians, without exception.
Paul himself, in Ephesians 3:8, refers to one of his own gifts or "graces"
of the Spirit:
"To me, though I am the very leastof all the saints, this grace
[charis] was given."
What was the grace?He goes on:
"To preachto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
Clearly one of his gifts was that of preaching--or, as it is calledin other
places, the gift of prophesying. When Paul writes to his young son in the
faith, Timothy, he uses a closelyrelatedword and says to him,
"Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift [charisma] of God that is
within you" (2 Tim. 1:6).
There seems little doubt that this is where the early church beganwith
new converts. Wheneveranyone, by faith in Jesus Christ, passedfrom
the kingdom and powerof Satan into the kingdom of God's love, he was
immediately taught that the Holy Spirit of God had not only imparted
to him the life of Jesus Christ, but had also equipped him with a
spiritual gift or gifts which he was then responsible to discoverand
exercise. The apostle Peterwrites, "As eachhas receiveda gift, employ
it for one another, as goodstewards of God's varied grace"(1 Peter
4:10). And again, in 1Corinthians 12:7, Paul writes:

34. "To eachis given the manifestationof the Spirit for the common
good."
It is significant that in eachplace where the gifts of the Spirit are
describedin Scripture, the emphasis is placedupon the fact that each
Christian has at leastone. That gift may be lying dormant within you,
embryonic and unused. You may not know what it is, but it is there. The
Holy Spirit makes no exceptions to this basic equipping of eachbeliever.
No Christian can say, "I can't serve God; I don't have any capacityor
ability to serve Him." We have all, as authentic followers of Christ, been
gifted with a "grace" ofthe Spirit.
It is vitally essentialthat you discoverthe gift or gifts which you possess.
The value of your life as a Christian will be determined by the degree to
which you use the gift God has given you. (Body Life -- Ch 4- All God's
Children Have Gifts - Ephesians 4:7)
Ephesians 4:7-12 by Wayne Barber
Ephesians 4 Resources
Updated: Sat, 02/21/2015 -00:00 By admin
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Ephesians 4:7-10:PRESERVING THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT, Part 2
by Dr. Wayne Barber
We are going to push on in chapter 4 and find something that is very exciting.
In chapter 4 Paul wants us to see how diversified we are. In other words, we
are one in the Spirit, but we are so different in our gifts, our personalities and
our individualities. This is all by the designof God. Do you ever want
somebody else to be just like you? That is the way most of us are. We can’t
seemto acceptthe fact that it is God’s plan, God’s idea, that we are different,
that we are totally different, that our gifts are different, that our personalities
and abilities are all different. There is diversity in the body. However, when
that diversity is properly put under the leading and controlof the Holy Spirit
of God, that diversity actually works to preserve the unity of the body. He
wants us to have unity not only by the waywe bear with one another, not only
by the way we believe, but by the way we are built together.

35. Remember in chapter 2 we are told we are of God’s household and also His
Temple. We are living stones being fitted into His Temple, eachone of us with
different sizes, shapes, gifts, personalities and individualities, but every one of
us under the control of the Spirit of God. If someone played a middle C on the
piano for a while, it is a pretty note. If he played it for a long time, you would
say, "Will you quit? You are driving me crazy!" Isn’t it greatthat unity
doesn’t mean uniformity? It doesn’t mean we are all alike. Wouldn’t that
make church the most boring place you have ever been in your life? If that
fellow added an E and a G and a high C, all of a sudden you would say,
"Whew, that sounds good!Now that blends." You’ve gotmore than just one.
You’ve gotother diversified notes. But when you put them together played by
the same hand, you have unity amongst the diversity. That is what Paul wants
you to see. This is the body. This is how it functions. When we are each
functioning under the Spirit’s power, letting His ability be ours, then our gifts
begin to function. Even though our gifts are different, we are still preserving
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are different. Folks, you need
to grasp that and stop coveting somebody else’s giftand somebody else’s
ministry and simply say, "God, anything short of hell is grace. I acceptwhat
you have given to me. I receive what you have given to me. Let me just be who
I am in your power." When you do that, the unity of the body is being
preserved.
First of all, let’s look at the source of our diversity, our diversified gifts.
Where does it all come from? Whose idea is this anyway? Look at verse 7.
Paul says:
"But to eachone of us grace was givenaccording to the measure of
Christ’s gift."
What was the supreme gift of grace?It was the Spirit of God. God gives the
Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is the one who gives out the gifts. But
remember, it is God’s idea. The source of it all is the Lord Jesus and what He
did for us in His finished work on Calvary, in His resurrection, His ascension
and ultimate glorification. Christ became the source ofall of our diversity.
When Paul says "to eachone of us grace was given," he is talking about grace
gifts. Those grace gifts, as you know from I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12,
are there to minister inside of the body.
The idea of "measure" is a neat word. It is the idea of portioning something
out. Someone in the church told me something that I think it is a greatidea.
He said, "Sometimes we would have pie left from a meal. We knew we had
enough for two pieces but it had not been cut yet. We always let one of our

36. children cut the pie, but the other one gotthe first choice of the piece." Now I
like that. That means it is going to be cut evenly. You had better believe it is
going to be cut evenly because if you cut it unevenly, and the other one gets
the first choice, you get the smallestpiece.
Paul is saying it is Christ who cut the pie. Don’t you wish sometimes that you
had a biggerpiece of the pie? I mean, you look around and see what others get
to do that has a kind of glamour to it. Then you look at your ownpiece of pie
and say, "Wait a minute. I gotshort-changed. How come my piece of the pie is
so small and their piece of the pie is so large?" Friend, what he is saying here
is, we haven’t got a thing to say about it. Christ is the one who made sure that
the pie was cut. He is the one who made those kinds of decisions. You see, so
often in the body of Christ, we don’t realize that. We are jealous of others. We
are envious of others. We want somebodyelse’s ministry. We want somebody
else’s gifts without realizing anything short of hell is grace. Justto have a gift
at all is certainly beyond what any of us deserve. The word for grace, charis,
means that which you don’t deserve. It is Christ who is the source ofevery bit
of it. Again, unity is not uniformity. We are all diversified in our gifts as to the
amount and as to the gifts themselves.
Look with me in Romans 12. I am not going to do a study on gifts because that
is not Paul’s whole concernhere in Ephesians 4. He is just bringing up
something to help us learn how to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds
of peace. In Romans 12:3 Paul is going to share that his being an apostle is by
the factthat God chose him to be an apostle. He had nothing to do with it.
God cut that piece of pie. He put Paul’s name on it. Now I am sure some of the
other people around that day would have loved to have been an apostle, but
God didn’t choose them. He chose Paul. Romans 12:3 says,
"Forthrough the grace givento me I sayto every man among you not to
think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as
to have sound judgment, as God has allotted[or proportioned or
measured], to eacha measure of faith."
Every one of us is given something. We are all different, and God did it. He is
the source ofall this. If you have a problem with what you have, go to Him.
He is the one who saw to it that the pie was cut. He is the one who decided
what proportion of the pie eachof us gotin the measure of our grace gifts.
Romans 12:4-5 says,
"Forjust as we have many members in one body and all the members
do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in
Christ, and individually members one of another."

37. Do you see that unity, that bond there? Even though we are different, we are
still a part of eachother. You might be saying, "Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I
had been given the gift of speaking? I would love it a whole lot better because
I like the gifts that are seen, that are visible, that people praise you and
applaud you for. I don’t like the gifts that are behind the scenes andnobody
ever sees. Nobodyeversays anything. There is no glamour in it at all." He cut
the pie! We didn’t! One of the biggestproblems people have is they don’t
seemto be grateful for their portion of the pie that He cut. The source ofall
these grace gifts, of this diversity of the body, is the Lord Jesus Himself.
Let’s make sure that we understand the difference betweena grace gift(see
chart on Spiritual Gifts) and a talent or ability. I think this would be
important right here. You see, a grace gift is something given at salvation.
You may be able to play the piano. You may be able to sing so well that you
make the birds jealous. I mean you have just got talent flowing out of your
ears. That is your ability. That is your talent. It has nothing to do with your
salvation. A grace gift is given at salvationby the Giver. He gives the Gift of
the Holy Spirit of God. When He is in your life, He comes in bearing gifts.
Those gifts are for ministry within the body of Christ. "You mean I am seeing
things one way but you might be seeing them another way?" Yes. "You mean
it is not wrong?" No, becausewe are diversified. If I take care of what I am
seeing and you take care of what you are seeing, then the body is unified as the
Spirit produces that unity.
Now He doesn’t throw awayour abilities. He doesn’tthrow awayour talents.
He uses them, but He infuses them with His divine grace gift that comes in at
salvation. You must see the difference and see how they work together. So
who is the cause ofall this diversity? Who thought this thing up? The Lord
Jesus Himself. He is the One who wants it this way. He is the One who sees to
it that it is going to continue to be this way. He is the source ofour diversity.
The secondpart is the most exciting. There is a sacrifice required in order for
us to have the diversity of gifts. If you realize what it costGodfor you to have
a grace gift, then perhaps you would getbusy allowing that gift to function in
your life. If you are not using your gift you are frustrating the grace ofGod. A
person who is not willing to be a part of that which God has set up is slapping
God right in the face. It costJesus something in order for us to have these gifts
in His body on this earth.
Let’s walk through what we are talking about here. The thrust of what Paul is
talking about here is the work of Jesus on the cross. The giving of these gifts,
absolutely ties into the result of His triumph as our resurrectedand ascended
Lord. There is one thing about the Gospelthat we don’t talk about much. We

38. talk about the resurrectionof Christ, but very few times do we evertalk about
the ascensionofChrist. Somehow we forget the fact that until He ascended
into heavenand went into the throne room by His ownblood, as Hebrews
says, as the God-man, He could not even have a body on this earth. He
certainly could not give gifts to that body. He had to ascendand go back to the
Father. That is what Paul is about to bring out.
Ephesians 4:8 says,
"Therefore it says, ‘When He ascendedonhigh, He led captive a host of
captives, and He gave gifts to men.’"
Paul is jumping back to the Old Testamentto the book of Psalms. Turn with
me to Psalms 68:18. This is such a beautiful picture of what Christ did for us.
In the Old Testamentit was a picture of God, who was always the deliverer of
His people. When He ascends to His Holy mountain, there is where He rules
and He reigns. Psalm 68:18 says,
"Thou hastascendedon high, Thou hast led captive Thy captives."
The writer is giving a picture here of those days when the generalwould go
out to battle. He would win a victory, and then on the wayback into town the
commander and his chariot would be up front. Boy, he is proud. He has won
the victory. The people line the streets and are all shouting, "Hallelujah, the
victory has been won." Behind him, chainedto the back of his chariot, are all
the people that he has conquered, the generals and the leaders of the armies.
Then behind them are all the spoils of war. As soonas he gets into town, he
goes up to the holy mountain and there on the holy mountain, the riches or
spoils of war, are given to him. He in turn disperses them to all the other
people. He has to receive the gifts in order to give the gifts.
Now I am saying that for a reason. In Psalm68:18 it says, "Thouhast received
gifts among men,… " When Paul quotes that Scripture, he doesn’t saythat.
He says,
"And He gave gifts to men."
The liberal stands up and says, "There is a contradictionin Scripture right
there. It says in the Old Testamentthat He receivedgifts. Paul says He gave
gifts. There is something wrong here." Friend, how are you going to give them
until you have first receivedthem? Paul just takes it that extra step that the
Psalmistdid not take. He is not contradicting anything. He is just fully
explaining what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross whenHe ascended
back in to heaven.
Now, let’s go back to Ephesians 4:8.

39. "When He ascendedon high, He led captive a host of captives, and He
gave gifts to men."
The Lord Jesus came down and conquered sin, death and many other things.
He ascends back to the heavens. He has His captives with Him. Then and only
then can He give gifts unto men.
There is a wonderful picture here of what Christ has done for us. You see,
without the ascension, there would never be a Christ who could send His Holy
Spirit, the Gift, who in turn could display all the different gifts. What did He
say in John 14? "I must go to My Father." Why? "So that the Holy Spirit
might come." He is the gift. The Holy Spirit is the one who is going to be
making sure He carries out God’s desires of having the pie slicedin the way
that it is sliced. But Jesus has to ascendfirst. You say, "I don’t understand. He
is the Sonof God. Why does He have to qualify for anything? Why does He
have to ascendin order to do anything? He is God." That is right, but He is
also the God-man. We forgetthis. He uniquely became a brand new creature
never seenbefore. He became the God-man. Not only that, but when He
ascended, He went into the throne room by His own blood and there received
the name that is above every name. He was exaltedon high. Now, as Lord of
the Universe, He qualifies to give gifts unto men.
Paul is pointing to what it costGodfor us to have our gifts! Jesus had to go to
the cross!Jesus had to resurrect! Jesus had to ascend!Jesus had to go into the
presence ofthe Father before the Spirit could come who is the actualone who
disburses the gifts unto men.
During World War I there was a tradition in the towns, particularly in
France. During the war, many times the cities defended themselves.
Therefore, their little army was the army of that particular city. They had a
tradition. They had walledcities with huge gates and walkways overthe gates.
When the group of men who had left the town to representthem in battle
came back, the people would get on top of that gate. They would have a choir
who would chant. The men would come back, wounded and broken and
bleeding from battle, but they came back waving their flag, which meant they
had won the victory! The people on top of the wall would shout at them,
"What right do you have to enter through these gates?" Theywould hold up
the hands of the wounded. They would hold up the hands of the bleeding.
Then they would raise that flag and say, "We have been to battle, and we have
won the victory!" The gates wouldswing open, and they would walk through.
The streets would be lined with people. They would showerthem with
hallelujahs for the victory that had been won.

40. Can you imagine the Lord Jesus’return back into heaven? He ascended. He is
the ascendedChrist. Without His ascension, we would have no gifts. Without
His ascensionwe would have no body. Without His ascension, we would have
nothing. He had to ascendand go back to the Fatherso that the Spirit could
come and give gifts to the body. As He walkedup to the gates ofheaven, the
choir of heaven on that gate would say, "What right do you have to enter
these gates?"The Lord Jesus Christ would hold up His hands with the nail
prints in His wrists. He would show them the nail prints in His feet and the
spearmark in His side. Then He would say, "I’ve been to Calvary, and I have
won the victory!" Then the gates would open up in heaven, and the Lord
Jesus would march triumphantly to the Fatherand sit at His right hand, the
name above every name, the One who is going to send His gift to His body
who will dispense the gifts unto all men.
It costGod everything for us to be diverse. It costGodeverything for us to
have our gifts. Until we are free in His Spirit, empoweredwith His might, then
the church is not operating. Whatever we are doing is nothing more than a
secularorganizationon this earth. We have gotto see that. We are not
preserving the unity of the Spirit when we criticize a brother because they see
things differently. They are gifted differently. Friend, we need to function in
the gift that was blood bought for eachone of us. You’ve got enoughto do
simply living in your own gift.
That is why Paul says to work out your own salvation. Beginto function in the
gifts that you have and honor the fact that it costHim everything for you to
have those gifts. He illustrates them in verses 9 and 10.
"(Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’what does it mean exceptthat He
also had descendedinto the lowerparts of the earth?"
Here is where theologians jump on this thing. They say, "Well, Paul says, ‘the
lowerparts of the earth.’ Where are the lowerparts of the earth? The grave.
That’s Sheolor Hades in the New Testament." Thatis not what he is trying to
show you. He is saying He went as far down as was necessary. He descendedto
the very pits, as far down as He could go. He says in verse 10,
"He who descendedis Himself also He who ascendedfarabove all the
heavens, that He might fill all things."
There are a lot of different definitions of "fill all things." I think he is talking
about His powerand His presence, as a result of His crucifixion, resurrection,
ascensionand glorification. His powerand presence now fill all the universe
and all things. He fills it. It is there. Do you know how it is manifested?
Through the people of God who have tapped into the divine ability of His

41. Spirit working in them. The church is the body of Christ, the dwelling of God
in the Spirit, people with gifts to minister to that body.
Do you realize that the very moment you getin touch with your gifts and start
living, you are preserving the unity of the body? The only unity we have is the
unity that the Spirit produces when we are being filled and controlledby the
Spirit of God. Otherwise, we are tearing the ligaments and have no clue about
what oneness is all about. What you think about the unity of the Spirit dictates
the wayyou live.
ALAN CARR
ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
Intro: Many of you are familiar with the book by Alexander Dumas entitled
“The Three Musketeers”. The heroes of that story had as their motto “All for
one and one for all”.This meant that eachmember of that group of men
would fight for the group or for any of the others. In other words, they were
vowing to stand togetherin their common fight. As I thought about this
passageofScripture, I realize that this is what the Apostle Paul is trying to get
the Ephesianchurch to adopt as their motto. I will take it a step farther than
that; I believe that God wants Calvary BaptistChurch in Lenoir, North
Carolina to adopt as its motto the phrase “All for one and one for all!”
Simply stated, I believe that Lord expects us, as a church family, to walk
togetherin absolute unity for His glory. These verses tellus that unity is not
just a possibility, it is a divine requirement if we are to be everything God
wants us to be as a church.
Notice Paul’s use of the word “therefore” in verse one. This word draws our
attention back to the previous chapters, where Paul has been laying a
foundation of biblical, Christian doctrine. As he begins his remarks in chapter
4, Paul is saying that there is no divorcing Christian doctrine from Christian
duty! He is saying, “You know the truth, now walk in it!” The bottom line is
this: Where there is genuinefaith, there willbegenuineworksto back it up!,
James 2:18.
This morning, I want to take this passageandtalk to you on the thought: “All
For One And OneFor All.” Iwant us to see that being one in the Lord is God’s
will for His people, Phil 1:27; 1 Cor. 1:10, and I want to show you how it is