Gifted by Christ to Serve

Gifted by Christ to Serve

Nov 12, 2023

Passage: Ephesians 4:7-16

Preacher: Bill Massey

Series: God's New Community

Category: Sunday Morning

Detail:

Title: Gifted by Christ to Serve
Text: Ephesians 4.7-16

Intro: Paul established that there is only one body, one faith, and one family of God. But our unity shouldn’t be misunderstood as a kind of colorless, monotonous uniformity! Each Christian is not an
exact replica of every other one as if we had all been mass-produced in some celestial factory. Instead, the unity of the church is exciting in its diversity. Not solely due to our different temperaments and personalities, we are uniquely equipped by gifts given by our ascended Savior. As we use them, we enrich our common life. Paul speaks of “grace,” but a distinction must be made between saving grace and gifts. Saving grace (the grace which saves sinners) is given to all who believe. We might call these gifts “serving grace” (the grace of God which equips God’s people to serve). While Paul has spoken lengthily in this letter already about the church as the “body of Christ,” he now emphasizes that as the body of Christ every single member has been given a gift by God as a result of Christ’s ascension to perform. As we exercise them, the body of Christ grows to maturity.

  1. Our Duty 
  2. Our Differences 
  3. Our Dependence
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