Lesson 9 – Ephesians Chapter 4:9-16
It’s been about 3 weeks since we’ve been in our study of Ephesians chapter 4, so let’s do a brief recap.
• Don’t ever take your calling by God for granted, know that you were bought with a very high price. The believer’s life should match the excellency of Christ’s calling. In other words, this refers to a day-by-day living for God, meaning we should never stop in our walk with Christ.
• Then we’re to walk the talk with humility, gentleness and also with exceeding patience. Remember God is not just patient with us, He is exceedingly patient with us. So, we should try to do the same.
• There’s one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism.
• Everyone has a spiritual gift given to them from the Holy Spirit.
• We are captives set free through Christ’s victory. This means that we were once slaves of sin, but now we are set free through the blood of Jesus Christ.
We’re in verse 9 now, but to keep it in context, let me read verses 7 and 8 first from the NLT:
“However, He has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say, “When He ascended to the heights, He led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to His people.”
Eph. 4:9
“Now this, “He ascended” – what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.”
Again, from the NLT:
“Notice that it says “He ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same One who descended is the One who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that He might fill the entire universe with Himself.”
After Christ was crucified, before He ascended into heaven, He first descended to the lower parts of the earth, into Hades, also called “the place of the dead”, or hell. In this Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Matthew 16:4, 12:40.
“A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
In other words, during the three days Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, before He ascended to heaven, Jesus descended into hell.
According to Jesus’ parable in Luke 16, “Abraham’s bosom,” or “paradise,” as it was called, was the place where the Old Testament believers went when they died. These believers died having faith that God was going to send the Messiah. The problem was they were unable to go directly to heaven because Jesus had not yet died for their sins, so they went to Abraham’s bosom, or paradise, which was the good side of Hades or hell.
After Jesus died, He went to Abraham’s bosom (or hell) and led the Old Testament believers into heaven, where they are today.
I Peter 3:18-19
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,”
Jesus descended into hell not to preach the gospel, but He went making a triumphant announcement, and in this case it was the announcement of His victory over satan and his demons even though they tried to hold Him in death and failed.
When I was young and recited the Apostle’s Creed, the part where it said that Jesus descended into hell always bothered and confused me. Hopefully now this meaning is a bit clearer for you.
Jon Courson, “Not only that, but, according to our text, He gave gifts to men. This is amazing. Three days after He was crucified by us… for we all turned our backs on Him, we all like sheep have gone astray… our Lord is so magnanimous, so generous, merciful, and kind that He heaped us not with grief nor with guilt, but with gifts.”
Another view of He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth can also refer to Christ’s coming to our humble planet as a man.
Phil. 2:5-8
“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (NLT)
Paul teaches us that Jesus was willing to leave His throne in heaven, come to this earth, and allow sinful man to inflict pain and suffering on Him, ultimately nailing Him to a cross.
The last part of verse 10… the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things means that Jesus is the One who descended from His heavenly throne and after His work was done on earth, He ascended into heaven.
Continuing with our passage from Philippians about Jesus it says…
Phil. 2:9-11
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
As the book of Hebrews teaches, Jesus Christ is supreme over all. In the simplest of terms, to affirm the supremacy of Christ is to affirm that Jesus is God.
Paul’s point in Ephesians 4:8-10 is to explain that Jesus’ paying the infinite price of coming to earth and suffering death on our behalf qualified Him to be exalted above all the heavens as it says in our text, that is, He is exalted to the very throne of God in order that He might rightfully have the authority to give gifts to His saints.
Eph. 4:11-12
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”
Paul is going to continue his explanation of spiritual gifts. God not only gives gifts to His children, but also to the body of Christ… His church. Which makes total sense, because His children are indeed the church. Here we have the specifics given to the church… apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
The term He gave shows us Jesus’ sovereign choice and His authority, which all lines up perfectly with the Father’s will. Jesus gives to His church specially gifted men and women. It’s important to note that women are included in this because women are needed as teachers. Their job is to teach and mentor other women, but they can also teach men as well, as long as the man chooses to do so.
The gift of apostles was for the early church. Apostles, meaning an ambassador of the Gospel, is officially a commissioner of Christ with miraculous powers. In the strict sense of the word, it refers to those who saw the resurrected Christ, performed miracles, and were specially chosen by Jesus to tells others about Him from their eyewitness accounts.
It goes without saying that there are no apostles today, although there are some religions who call their leaders apostles.
In our past studies we talked about Paul being an apostle even though he wasn’t part of the 12 apostles, Paul had seen the resurrected Jesus. At least 13 of the books of the New Testament were written by the Apostle Paul. Of the original 12 Apostles, Matthew, John, and Peter wrote 8 books between them. This leaves 5 to 6 books that were not written by one of the main Apostles: James, Mark, Luke, Acts, Jude, and possibly Hebrews. Many people feel that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews.
Prophets…
John MacArthur, “The prophets sometimes spoke revelation from God (Acts 11:21-28) and sometimes simply expounded revelation already given where they are connected with teachers. They always spoke for God but did not always give a newly revealed message from God. The prophets were second to the apostles, and their message was to be judged by that of the apostles. Like the apostles, however, their office ceased with the completion of the New Testament, just as the Old Testament prophets disappeared when that testament was completed, some 400 years before Christ.”
Today evangelists, pastors and teachers are still alive and kicking, doing their job of advancing God’s kingdom.
The work of an evangelist is to preach and explain the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to those who have not yet believed. He is a proclaimer of salvation by grace through faith in the Son of God. An evangelist isn’t a man with 10 suits and 10 sermons who runs a road show, although there are some characters out there doing just that. An evangelist has real reverence for God’s Word, and is dedicated to spreading the gospel, to seek and save the lost as Jesus did.
Pastors… the real meaning of the word is, shepherd. It emphasizes the care, protection, and leadership of the man of God for the flock. Just as a shepherd guards and cares for his sheep, a pastor watches over and protects his congregation. God has ordained this office to only men. Sadly, there are some denominations out there that ignore this statute.
Teachers… The gift of teaching involves the study and proclamation of the Word of God, explaining the meaning, context, and application to whoever they’re teaching. The gifted teacher is one who has the unique ability to clearly instruct and communicate spiritual knowledge, specifically the doctrines of the faith and truths of the Bible.
Because we live in a fallen world there are good and bad evangelists, pastors, and teachers. That being said, if you think you have found the perfect church, don’t go in, you’ll probably mess it up. (Only kidding)
Why did Jesus give these leaders in the church?
Eph. 4:12
“For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”
It’s been said the church of Jesus Christ exists for three reasons…
• To exalt God… which is why we sing praises and offer prayer to Him.
• To edify His people… which is why we study His Word.
• And to evangelize the unsaved… which is why we preach salvation.
The equipping of the saints is the reason why we do church. It’s why I study God’s Word and present it to you, so that you’ll be equipped to go out into the world. The work of ministry… this is where you take what you’ve learned, apply it to your life, and then share what you know with others.
Going to church or attending a Bible study is not for you to keep all to yourself. God wants you to be an ambassador for Him and tell others how He saved you. The message here is for us to be hungry in our heart for what God wants us to do.
From GotQuestions.org: “Personal evangelism is the responsibility of every believer. God calls each of us to different tasks and endows us with different gifts, but the goal is the same – the salvation of the lost.
He places us in strategic positions for influence, not privilege. We have neighbors, coworkers, friends, and relatives who need to hear the good news about Jesus. Whether we’re called to lead evangelistic crusades, or simply cultivate a relationship with an unsaved neighbor, personal evangelism should be the driving force in our lives.”
Mark 16:15-16
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
The true reality of an effective personal ministry takes place when you’re on the job, at school, with your friends, working out somewhere, or maybe just out getting something to eat. In the book of Acts it tells us how the early church was hearing the teachings from the apostles, breaking bread together and then going out and turning the world upside down. We should try doing that.
Eph. 4:13
“Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”
“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” (NLT)
I think we can see this verse as an action verse, meaning that we take what we learn from evangelists, pastors, teachers, and our individual Bible study… digest it, apply it, and then run with it. Then let it become a life-style. This should be the goal for the believer, to get to the place of maturity, holding on to God’s truth and living in love for others.
When it comes down to it, Jesus is our standard. We should go through life saying the things that Jesus might say, and to do what Jesus would do. Our goal is to be like Jesus… and Jesus didn’t spend His life hanging out in the local temple. He was always out among the people, impacting the world.
Eph. 4:14
“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”
If we apply the things we have been learning from God’s word, we are going to see a growing take place in our life. This is what it means to achieve a certain level of maturity in our Christian walk. The benefit for us is we won’t be as Paul says, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
If someone says, “Hey check out this new teaching,” or “read this book it has a whole new way at looking at the Bible,” run away from it. How do you know if someone is presenting you with some kind of false doctrine? By staying in the Word, read it, study it, and meditate on it… then you’ll know when something false is coming your way. How do banks teach their tellers to recognize counterfeit currency? They have them only handle the genuine article, then when a false bill is given to them, they’ll know it right away.
Heb. 2:1
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”
Then Peter says in I Peter 2:2
“Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,”
The bottom line is, if you want to continually grow in Christ, it’s going to take an investment of time and devotion on your part.
From Billy Graham, “Nothing takes God by surprise. Everything is moving according to a plan, and God wants you in that plan. The devil also has a plan for the world. God has a plan and the devil has a plan, and you will have to decide which plan you are going to fit into. Scripture says that God allows us 70 years and some beyond. The first 15 are spent in childhood and early adolescence. Twenty years are spent in bed, and in the last five, physical limitations start to curtail our activities. That gives us about 30 years in which to live as adults. We take time out for eating, and for figuring our taxes, and we are down to perhaps 15 years. Now suppose we spend seven of those years watching television. That cuts us down to seven or eight years. Our time is short! The time we can invest for God, in creative things, in reaching our fellowmen for Christ, is short!”
By the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…
Trickery… the Greek word is koo-bi’-ah which is where we get “cube” and it was used for dice playing. And, just as we see today, the dice were often loaded, or otherwise manipulated by professional gamblers to their own advantage. The term for dice then became synonymous with dishonest trickery of any sort.
Craftiness… is a similar term, carrying the idea of a clever manipulation of error made to look like the truth.
The point Paul is making for us is that “neither” the trickery of men nor the deceitful plotting of satan will mislead the spiritually equipped and mature believer. Thus the reason for making the effort to be equipped.
Eph. 4:15
“But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ”
“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” (NLT)
Pastor Jon Courson, “We are drawn to a crackling fire in a fireplace on a cold winter night because it provides both warmth and light. And such is the perfect combination of truth and love. Truth without love is like the light of the fire without warmth. Love without truth is like the heat of the fire without light. Truth without love makes people cold in the light. Love without truth makes people stumble in the dark. Thus, we need both.”
God isn’t going to give us things like knowledge, understanding, spiritual gifts, and maturity just so we can keep for it ourselves… to do so would mean that the love of Christ is not in us. Also, God does not equip us to stagnate, but to always be serving others.
May grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ…
Just as we saw in verse 14, that we should keep seeking a level of maturity in our Christian walk. Paul reinforces this by saying that we May grow up in all things into Him (Jesus). In all things… this calls for a wide-ranging pursuit into Christ-likeness.
II Cor. 3:16-18
“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.” (NLT)
Just like in everything that God wants for you, you are never alone. When it comes to becoming more and more Christlike, it is the Holy Spirit who is in you and with you doing the work. Now, even though the Holy Spirit is in you working, there is also a human responsibility on our part.
Romans 12:1-2 (You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating)
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Then…
I Peter 2:21
“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.
As we’ve talked about before, being a Christian does not mean that your life is going to be trouble free. There will always be sickness, death and possibly persecutions that take place, but Christ will always be an example for us.
Becoming more like Christ should be the desire of every believer, and it is encouraging to know that God has the same desire for us. In fact, the Bible says that God “predestined [believers] to be conformed to the likeness of His Son” in Romans 8:29. Making us Christlike is God’s handy-work, and He will see it through to the end.
Philippians 1:6
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (NLT)
The Holy Spirit will continue His work in the believer. One day, however, the process will be complete:
I John 3:2-3
“When He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
The promise of being fully Christlike in the future is in itself a motivation for us becoming more Christlike now:
“Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). (ESV)
(15) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
Eph 4:16
“From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Jesus is the head of His church, and as you know, it’s called the body of Christ. Here Paul says the whole body of Christ is joined together. He uses the human body as a reference. Each of us in this “body” have a certain roll to play. Just as with our own body, we are fashioned in such a way that if we didn’t have muscles, ligaments and tendons we would have a hard time getting around. The same is true spiritually speaking as well. When it comes down to it, we need each other. The Lord has brought us together as a church in order that together we might conform to Christ.
John MacArthur, “The growth of the church is not a result of clever methods but of every member of the body fully using his or her spiritual gift in close contact with other believers. Christ is the source of the life and power and growth of the church, which He facilitates through each believer’s gifts and mutual ministry in joints touching other believers. The power of the church flows from the Lord through individual believers and relationships between believers.”
It is imperative that we understand that every part, meaning, every person, is essential to achieving growth within the church. That’s why “Home churching,” shutting yourself in, is not a good idea.
In closing…
We know that Jesus left His throne in heaven to come down to our sin-soaked earth, and He suffered and died at the hands of sinful man. While His body laid in the grave three days, Jesus went to the good part of Hades and brought the Old Testament saints into heaven. And on the third day God raised Jesus from the dead… defeating sin, death, and satan.
As gifts to the church God gave evangelists, pastors and teachers. This was all done to equip the believers for service unto the Lord. We also covered that it is the responsibility of believers to reach a level of maturity in their Christian walk, and in doing so they become more and more Christlike. A mature believer will see the importance of the church and begin to function within the church, making for a strong healthy church, which glorifies God.
There’s an old Christian song out there, and I’ll paraphrase, it said “I hope by the time Jesus comes for me there won’t be any big change in me.” As time goes by growing believers become more Christlike every day.
Which goes along with this, “As a believer, I can’t say that I’m sinless, but as time goes by, I sin less.”