BRETHREN, grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (in saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
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One of the greatest attributes of Paul is his optimism and positivity towards the church in the face of growing resentment from paganism and idolatry. Ephesus at the time of Paul was a major cosmopolitan city known for its outstanding temple to Artemis who was the protector of that city and the object of intense local patriotism, pride and enthusiasm. In that religious milieu the early church was struggling for survival when Paul arrived there in approximately 54 A.D. There he found approximately a dozen of Apollo’s old converts who knew only of the baptism of John. Paul baptised them in the name of Jesus and began, through his zeal, to grow the church to the point where the local citizenry turned upon him to drive him out. Paul left and went to Jerusalem, however, by the spring of 61 A.D. he found himself in prison in Rome. It is from there that Paul writes to the Ephesians. Even though Paul was on trial for his life, the Epistle radiates joy. Paul is filled with thanksgiving at the goodness of God despite his present peril.
The Epistle is in two parts: the first three chapters are an extended prayer and intercession for the Ephesians and the balance exhorts them to act in accordance with their status as children of light, members of God’s church who are awaiting patiently the Bridegroom by doing his will.
In order to encourage them, Paul extols them to keep fast in the faith that they have received. He reminds them that there is only one body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism – all under one God who is over all, through all, and in all.
He further reminds his fellow Christians that grace comes to each according to their talents. Both gifts and grace are given by Christ who apportions them amongst the believers as he wills. One is reminded of chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel and the allocation to the servants of the master varying amounts of talents. That would have been in the back of Paul’s mind when he wrote this epistle. Indeed, we all receive according to the measure of Christ’s gift. This has the obvious implication that the greater the spiritual gifts we have, the greater shall our labour be in the field of the Lord. In other words, we are all obliged to shoulder and fully utilise our talents to give the greatest return from those talents back to the one who gave them to us as loan in the first place. Do not think that the more talents you have at your disposal implies any favouritism or partiality toward you. No! – What it does imply is that the more you are given, the more will be expected from you. In Luke 17:7 – 10 we encounter this proposition: does the master thank the servant because the server did what the master had commanded him to do? Remember the answer Christ gave to his apostles: “so you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘we are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’.”
So how do we return our efforts back to the master who has no need of them in the first place? Remember, God is self-sufficient and lacks nothing so the return on our efforts is measured by what we do for our fellow man, for it is in our fellow man that we find and honour the image of God. It is in loving and serving one another in the name of the Lord that we are carrying out the great commandment given to us.
To reinforce this point, Paul refers to Psalm 68, verse 18, which describes the Lord as having ascended on high. Christ, on earth, was called the Messiah. After his resurrection he became known as “Kyrios” or Lord. As Lord he rules in heaven and can allocate his gifts as he will. But Paul makes a further point based upon the ascension of the Lord: that if he is the Lord then just as he ascends, he descends to the lower earthly regions. By so descending Christ has broken the gates of Hades and bought into completion and fruition the divine plan for the salvation of the human race. It is through Christ’s voluntary assumption of death that we are saved, for he now fills the entire universe. By taking human body, Christ has given to his church through his glorification, the ability to attain unity of faith through theosis. However, the faithful are obliged to take on and fully utilise the respective gifts given by Christ. Notice that all gifts vary in terms of purpose and degree. To some was given the gift of apostleship, to others the gift of prophecy, to others the ability to evangelise, to others to provide pastoral care and to others to teach. All are called upon to develop and utilise their special talent or ability to contribute to one purpose – and that purpose is to attain the unity of faith and to attain the knowledge of the Son of God. Not in some immature way but in the full measure, taking into account the fullness of the Lord. In that way we become fellow labourers, leaving behind our childish ways. It is children who are swayed by cunning and the silvery words of deceit. The co-workers with God, on the other hand, are steadfast in doctrine and can see through the wiles of the evil one and speak the truth in love.
So, all the gifts and all the various ministries of the church have as their purpose to provide the faithful with all that they need to do their job. And, what is the job of the faithful, of the holy laity? The job is to do the work of service and to build the body of Christ. It is only when we serve one another that true growth in the body of the church is possible, that the church might grow to its fullness. When we are fully grown, we shall become Christ-like and entirely conformed to his image. In this way, as mature believers we don’t just know about the Son of God – we know him personally as he has entered our lives and become Lord and God. Then we can repeat the words of the great prokeimenon: “Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders”. In this way, we become spiritually mature in attaining the fullness of the gifts given to us by the Lord.
