SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/9/2019
9:26 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Intro to “The Gifts of Christ to His Church”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians 4:7-11
Message of the verses: “7 But to each one
of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
"WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE
GIFTS TO MEN." 9 (Now this expression, "He ascended,"
what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the
earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the
heavens, so that He might fill all things.) 11 And He gave some as
apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some
as pastors and teachers,”
I
have mentioned that the Spiritual gifts are spoken of in 1 Cor. 12, Romans 12,
Ephesians 4, and then 1 Peter 4, and so this is the first time that I have
actually studied the different Spiritual gifts since I studied the book of 1
Peter, and off hand I don’t remember when that was, but it was a while
ago. The gifts of the Spirit have had a
lot of controversy stated about them for a very long time, and so it is very
good that I will get to studied those that Paul mentions in this section, mainly
from verse eleven, and he does not mention many in this letter to the
Ephesians, but we will study all that he mentions as we go through these five verses. I am excited to look at this section.
Before
we talk about these verses I want to once again mention what John MacArthur
wrote at the end of his introduction to verses 1-6 of this fourth chapter, and
I think as I go on with this introduction you will understand why I am doing
this. “In Ephesians 4:1-6 Paul appeals
to believers to walk worthily of their high position in Jesus Christ, In describing that walk he discusses its call, its characteristics, and
its cause.” We spent the last
several weeks going over those three main points.
Let
us begin this introduction by looking at what is the essence of the
gospel. Think for a moment about John
3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be
lost, but should have eternal life” (Phillips). What we see here is not what men should do
for God, but what we see here is what God has done for man, and that is the
essence of the gospel. Now as we study
both the OT, and the NT we see many commands and requirements, we see many
standards to be met and also obligations to be fulfilled. However as important as those things are,
they are not the heart of Christianity.
What these are, are simply what God calls and also enables us to do for
His glory, and they are in response to what He has done for us through our Lord
Jesus Christ. As we look at each of the
New Testament books we will find that they all teach what Christ has done for
believers, and also every NT exhortation is built on that foundation, the
foundation of what Christ has done for us, that is the foundation of God’s
gracious provision through the Savior.
God has given us the supreme gift of grace and so His children are to
respond in faithful obedience as seen in a verse which I have quoted many times
in these SD’s and that would be Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that
we would walk in them.”
John
MacArthur writes “Paul begins this passage by referring to what God has done
for those who have trusted in His Son.
The worthy Christian walk he has just described (4:1-6) is carried out
through the ministry of the gift He has given us. In verses 7-11 the apostle first assures us
that every believer has been individually gifted; then he shows us how Christ
obtained the right to give gifts; and finally he mentions some of the specially
gifted men through whom the Lord blesses the whole church.”
As
I look at this quotation from John MacArthur it confirms what I have been
learning for some time as I have studied the Word of God, and that is that what
I am to do for the cause of Christ is to do the things that He has planned for
me in eternity past, and in order for me to do that I have to receive His gifts
so that I can accomplish those things He wants me to do. This all boils down to having everything I do
bring glory to my Lord, for after all Jesus paid it all so that I can be a
believer, and I must remember that He came to earth doing the will of His
Father, and then I must also remember that the Spirit of God gave me an
effectual call 45 years ago so that I could become a born-again believer in
Jesus Christ. All of this was done by
the triune God in order for me to bring glory to God. I can do all things through Christ who gives
me strength to do them so that He will be glorified.
Today’s quotation: “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that the stuff
life is made of” (Benjamin Franklin).
3/9/2019 10:05 AM
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