TUESDAY-THURSDAY BIBLE STUDY
Ephesians Studies Chapter 4:7-16 by Dr. Lloyd T. Anderson Pastor, Bethany Baptist Church, West Covina, Calif.
NOTE: On February broadcasts, Dr. Anderson begins ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ¿ ‘ newverse by verse series on Philippians
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U n ity is a pre-requisite to usefulness, especially in the church, where one finds the widest variety of per sonalities and the greatest diversity of gifts. But no matter how striking and winsome the personality, or how cap able one might be in the exercise of gifts, grace is needed. And so, writes Paul: “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (4:7). In the verses before us attention is drawn to the gifts that our ascended Lord has bestowed upon the members of His Church which is His body. Vine, “Before examining the various gifts and the contribution that each member makes to the whole, Paul tells us that every one has been the recipi ent of the gift of grace. Each gift is a bestowment of grace, each comes from the same divine source, and each is in proportion as the Lord Himself is pleased to bestow. The gifts are given by measure, each member receiving his gift from the same Person. As we shall see later, there is a difference in gifts (Rom. 12:6) as well as a differ ence in the ministration of them, but each member functions to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the body.” In support of his statement that the ascended Christ gives'gifts unto men, the apostle dips back into the Old Testament and brings forward a quota tion from Psalm 68:18. Paul writes: “Wherefore He saith, When He as cended up on high, He led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men” (4:8). The point for us to observe is that Paul saw in this Old Testament Scripture our Lord Jesus Christ, the Anti-type of the story, in His incarna tion, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension (4:9, 10). In the conquest of the Old Testament king, Paul saw our Lord’s triumph over death as well as over him that had the power of death, even Satan (Heb. 2:14). Upon His triumphant return to His Father’s house, He distributes gifts to His sub jects. All of this Peter must have under stood when he said at Pentecost: “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). Pentecost was the first great display of the exercise of gifts. The main thought in these four verses (7-10), then, is the bestowal of gifts by the ascended Christ. The mighty victories which God wrought for Israel where noble tri umphs. But, says Calvin: “The noblest triumph which God ever gained was when Christ, after subduing sin, cpn- quering death, and putting Satan to flight, rose majestically to heaven, that He might exercise His glorious reign over the Church.” Now the Church on earth ■has a goal toward which she moves, and Christ as the Church’s Head determines her actions. The duty of the Church is to evangelize the (continued on next page) 33
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