Wednesday, April 28

Begin your time with God today by reading and reflecting on this passage…

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. – Ephesians 4:7-13


Question: How is the church supposed to demonstrate the power of God and impact the world?

Is it by some miraculous, wonder-working, dramatic display of divine power? Is it something that captures the attention of the multitudes by miracles? Or is it by the power of big numbers and big budgets? Is it by shouting from the pulpits about how bad the world is today? Is it by exercising political power - getting people together to vote the same way and thus exert pressure upon the government to “do the right thing”? Is that the power of the church? Is it by joining picket lines and sit-ins and walk-outs and rise-ups? Is it by attending conventions and conferences devoted to discussions of various things and the passing of resolutions?

Notice that Paul does not waste time on any of these kinds of activities. He suggests very clearly that the power of the church lies first in the “One who ascended” – that’s Jesus! And second, the power of the church is in each Christian discovering and putting to use the spiritual gift that was given to them when they became a member of the body of Christ.


Ephesians talks a lot about our unity in the church, what we have in common and the power of community. But this does not mean that we are all clones or that we have no individual value. The great theologian Dr. Seuss once said, “You are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is You-er than You.”

One of the indications of our uniqueness is the particular shape of grace God gives to our lives. We are not clones; we are individuals with distinctive personalities and giftedness. There is no one who can say, “I have nothing to contribute to the whole”. It is not too strong to say we, as God’s people, will not be complete or mature if even one person opts out and keeps their gift to themselves.

Okay. So we are uniquely and individually gifted by God, but Paul says that our individual giftedness is for the common good. Peter makes the same point. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4: 10). So our gifts are ours uniquely, but all are given for the common good – in the context of our unity in Christ.

Do you see yourself as uniquely gifted by Christ? You are!

Ask God to give you the insight to identify the gifts He has given you.

Ask God to give you the courage to use your gifts for His glory.

Jeff Frazier