Gifts

Epiphany 19  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  45:05
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Ephesians 4:1–16 NIV
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The Church as The Body of Christ

a powerful, radical metaphor

Christ Distributed Gifts for His Church

Blessings and Responsibilities.

5 Areas of Gifting that Help Guide the Church

-Equip the believers for works of service
-Build up the Body of Believers in growth and maturity
-Create unity of faith
-Increase in knowledge about God, Jesus and the Kingdom
-Grow believers to be mature in their faith with sound doctrine
-Develop strong believers who are secure in their faith
-Mature the saints to be able to stand in the face of the challenges and deceits of the world
-Disciple believers in continual growth with an ever increasing outward manifestation of love

Apostle. Prophet. Evangelist. Pastor. Teacher.

Apostles see what could be for the kingdom and work to start new things and rally people
Prophets see what could be better and work to see our values lived out well in community
Evangelists paint pictures of the kingdom and live in connecting redemptive ways
Pastors bring people together to develop Christian relationships and serve the church
Teachers make things clear and light the way to truth and right living

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