1. The
of the gifts… everyone has one - vs. 7
7 However, he has given EACH ONE OF US a special gift through the generosity of Christ. —Ephesians 4:7
18 …I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. —Matthew 16:18
10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. —1 Peter 4:10
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. —1 Corinthians 12:11
2. The
of the gifts… Jesus - vs. 8-10
8 That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 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. —Ephesians 4:8-10
3. The
of the gifts… stay plugged in - vs. 11
20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. —Ephesians 2:20
4. The
of the gifts… to mature the body of Christ - vs. 12-16
12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 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. —Ephesians 4:12-13
4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? 5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but IT WAS GOD WHO MADE IT GROW. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. —1 Corinthians 3:4-9
14 THEN WE WILL NO LONGER BE IMMATURE LIKE CHILDREN. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 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. —Ephesians 4:14-15
16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. —Ephesians 4:16