Praize Blogs

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.    Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesian 4:7-12).

V.7- The measure of grace each believer is given is the enablement to perform whatever tasks God has chosen for us. We are each given a position within the body, and to perform it, we need the grace of God. Let’s read I Corinthians 12:4-11. “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;  to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”

This is God’s way of equipping the church to be able to carry out our anointing in the body. We are only to work within the talents and gifts we have been given, and not try to exceed that. The grace we have been given is the ability to accomplish the great things for God that He asks of us. We know that great things are not always visible works, or positions that bring fame, wealth or glory.  But all ministries given us by God are valuable to the body, and therefore seen as great in His eyes.

V.8 - After Jesus walked the earth for the forty days following His resurrection, He ascended to heaven to take His seat at the right hand of God (Acts 1:9).  What is captivity? It’s satan. satan binds us in the chains of sin and destruction. When Jesus took captivity captive, what he did was expose the devil, and break those chains. We are no longer in the dark about where sin comes from, or how to overcome it in our lives. Jesus won the overall victory. We need to win the skirmishes of each day against the devil.

If you remember, in the Old Testament, after the people were finished fighting a battle against nations that rose to overtake them, they distributed the spoils among those who fought. This was there gift for having been faithful to the General during the war. In this verse, we are seeing Jesus distribute spiritual gifts according to His will. We who stand by Jesus in His victory over sin and death are rewarded by the distribution of the gifts that we need to continue to defeat the enemy daily.

V.9,10 - One thing I’m finding out by studying the Word is that no one agrees on much. These verses have created quite a controversy. It make sense that for Christ to ascend, He first had to descend. The controversy comes from the question, where did He descend to? Some say that the descent was Jesus’ incarnation when He came to earth and was carried in Mary‘s womb. Some say He went to Sheol to release the dead patriarchs, but that would make I Thessalonians wrong. Let’s read that.

Still the third thought is that it was Jesus separation from God as He carried our sin. It was a torment like hell to feel God’s wrath upon Him. I have always been told that this meant Jesus walked in hell. Let’s read Acts 2:27 to see what David said about Jesus. If God will not leave His soul in hades, it means He went there, in my opinion. Let’s look at Philippians 2:5-11. Every knee, over the earth (the angels) on the earth (us) and under the earth (the dead in Christ) will bow to Jesus. And every single tongue in those places will testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Holy Son of God, and God will be glorified.

V. 11- Who is He Himself? Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who set up the offices of the church. In my research, again, I found controversy about what apostle and prophet is, and if they still operate in the church today. I believe that since Jesus set up the hierarchy of the church, these offices still exist. No one now can become a true apostle as the meaning that they are the ones who were hand chosen by Jesus, and were “ones sent out as authoritative delegates.” But I believe there are people working in the office of apostle as did Timothy, Silas and James.

Do prophets work in this day? Yes. I think so anyway. Their function is to forthtell what is happening in the church now. They are not prophets like of Old, but new prophets that help to build the church, and keep it together.

Evangelists are pastors who are not assigned to one church, but roam around bringing the Word to the lost.

Then the pastors are the ones who are attached to a particular church, run their political system, and teach the Word of God. Teachers are often used within the church for Sunday school and other teaching things. They are also the teachers in seminaries, and in Christian schools. Anyone who studies the Word, and presents it in an understandable fashion is a teacher. Although pastors and teachers can be separate beings, I think pastors must be teachers as well.

V. 12- Why were we given these things?  They are the way to equip God’s people for His service. We are given gifts, talents, and abilities so that we can impart the information to others as they become saved, and send them out to continue the work as one of these officers. Not everyone will become a prophet, or evangelist/missionary, or even teacher, but each one will be able to give a word in due season to build the church.

More studies at http://www.newbeginmin1.org/BIBLESTUDYOPENING.html