Spiritual growth is slow and it can be super agonizing. Sometimes, spiritual growth feels like I’m stumbling around in the dark trying to find the light switch so I can see where I’m going. Spiritual growth is similar to any other discipline in that most of it happens in the mundane, behind the scenes, along the roadside, in the nearly invisible places of life.
Spiritual growth is all about what’s happening on the inside of my heart as the Spirit of God shapes and molds me into the image of Christ. And since my ability to grow spiritually was purchased at the cross of Christ it shouldn’t surprise me that the journey of spiritual growth is filled with deep pain and extraordinary joy all at the same time.
The statement “no pain no gain” really is true. The pain that Jesus endured on the cross of Calvary gained access to and acceptance from our Father in Heaven. The pain that Jesus endured gives me the opportunity to fall into the arms of my Heavenly Father at the end of my road of sin. And at the end of that road of sin I begin another painful but truly joyful journey of becoming more and more like Jesus as my Savior becomes more and more satisfying to my soul.
What a picture of grace right! The pain of my Savior helps me to gain the presence of my Father. And my Father then molds me by the power of His Spirit to grow spiritually each and every day so that I look more and more like Jesus. He died so that I could be satisfied with him as I become more and more like him. That’s a picture of robust spiritual growth by grace that kicks the teeth out of the picture of cheap grace that gives me license to sin. Speaking of grace in the journey of spiritual growth, look at what Paul says in Ephesians 4:7 – 16.
In Ephesians 4:7 – 16 Paul says…
7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and the teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 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, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
The question we often ask is “How do I grow spiritually?” How does a body of believers grow spiritually? The grand vision that Paul has here for the spiritual growth of the church, the picture he sees in his head is a family of Christians exercising their spiritual gifts as they help each other to grow in godliness and lead faithfully. In short, spiritual gifts were given to spiritual leaders so that the church would grow spiritually.
Spiritual Gifts Help The Church Grow (7-10)
When we think about our spiritual gifts we tend to think of them in a consumeristic sense rather than a contributive sense. We tend to think of them as gifts that God has given to us for our own enjoyment or self-fulfillment. We tend to believe the gifts we have are given to us to serve others for our own fulfillment. The problem with this view is that when our new toy isn’t as fun as it used to be then we discard it for something newer and shinier. And when this happens in the church the church suffers and the name of Christ is dragged through the mud again.
The truth is God has given spiritual gifts to every one of us for the good of other people and the glory of God not for our own sense of self-fulfillment. We are called to use our spiritual gifts to help others grow and to bring attention to the giver of the gifts. When we have this Biblical thinking in place then our hearts are set free to follow Jesus and die to ourselves. And we are enabled to exercise our gifts with whole-hearted joy that is rooted in the smiling face of our Father because of what Christ has done for us at the cross. Rather then being rooted in how we are received or accepted by God’s creation we are set free to serve the Creator in joyful expectation of his name being made famous through us.
When I exercise my spiritual gift of preaching and teaching I am doing it to help Christians grow and non-Christians become Christians who grow spiritually. And my desire is to glorify God by doing it. This means that when some people resist my teaching or persecute me because of a Biblical stance that I take, I am enabled in that moment by the Spirit of God to continue moving forward in the exercise of these gifts because I am not derailed by the fear of man. I may feel disappointed and I may feel fearful but I am able to stand confidently in the acceptance of my Father in Heaven who is smiling and singing songs of joy over me as his son in whom he is well pleased with.
Every Christian has been given spiritual gifts to help the church grow. Every person has a unique wiring that has been given to him or to her by God for the purpose of growing the body of Christ. Church growth isn’t left to professional Christians who get paychecks or have formal training. While paid staff members are good and formal training is good God didn’t design the church to be lead solely by paid staff members.
God’s divine design for the church is that it is to be a family of believers that are uniquely wired to serve God by serving people inside and outside the body of believers for the good of the community and the glory of God. And the really beautiful thing is that every person is different. Every person has different gifts, different passions, different experiences, different temperaments and different capacities. This diversity that we see in the church brings glory to God and helps us to celebrate the vast complexity of God himself.
So spiritual gifts are given to every believer so that they can become spiritual leaders who help the church to grow spiritually. And there are two things Paul wants the Ephesian believers to know about spiritual gifts in this passage.
1. Spiritual gifts have been given to us measurably (7)
In verse 7 Paul says that grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. The moment you and I became followers of Christ we became spiritually gifted according to the measure of grace that Jesus in his authority gave us.
Every one of us has a part to play or a role to perform or job to do in the family of God. No person who has been saved by Jesus was saved to sit on the sidelines. We were saved and simultaneously drafted into the army of God so that we could join forces with other Christians, rescue lost people from behind enemy lines and then help each other to grow up spiritually.
And again, no one is the same but every one is gifted, valuable and needed. Paul expands on this thought in Romans 12:3 – 8 where he says For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Spiritual gifts have been given to us measurably. And the measuring cup is the grace of Jesus according to the authority of Jesus. He doesn’t give every gift to every person but he does give gifts to every person. Some people are gifted to communicate the truth boldly. Some people are gifted to teach or encourage others or invest generously or lead with energy or extend mercy to the broken. Can you imagine what it would be like to be in a church family where someone thought they were God’s gift of everything? Or maybe a church where people didn’t think they were gifted at all?
Can you imagine the gift of teaching sitting on the sidelines or the encourager refusing to encourage people or the investor keeping his investments to himself? Or, can you imagine someone being gifted in encouragement but instead despising his gift and longing to be a teacher instead? Can you imagine how anemic or immature or sick or divided a church family would be if this was the reality? Sadly, this is the reality of many churches where people have become shareholders, customers and consumers instead of spiritually gifted leaders who think soberly while putting others first and working hard to utilize their gifts for the spiritual growth of the church. Every one of us has been given a certain measure of spiritual gifts for the growth of the church body.
2. Spiritual gifts have been given to us and our enemies have been removed (8-10)
In verses 8 – 10 Paul says that when he (Jesus) ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. This line that Paul uses here is from Psalm 68:18 and he uses it to paint the picture of Christ as the victorious king. This is why there is a parenthetical statement in the next few verses. Paul is explaining why he used the line from Psalm 68 when he says in parentheses (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
This is the picture of Christ reigning as our victorious King. First he came to earth to give himself away in death and then he rose on the third day from the grave and went back to heaven as our victorious king. When kings go out to battle they descend from their throne, they go and make war in enemy territory and then they return with captives and gifts for their people.
This is what Jesus has done for us. He took Satan, sin and death into captivity. He beat them once and for all so that we could be free from our enemies. And then he gave each and every one of us spiritual gifts. It’s like someone coming into my broken down home that is eating me alive and taking it from me and then giving me the gift of a brand new home with endless resources to maintain it and keep it healthy.
The sad thing is that far too many professing Christians today still live under the tyranny of Satan, sin and death. They’ve been given tremendous gifts according to the grace and authority of Jesus and they have a brand new family to exercise their gifts in but they love their sin and they live in bondage to a cruel slave master named Satan and they live their lives in the stench of death so they sit on the sidelines with their lights hidden under their complaining, their secret sins and their utter contempt of the grace that Jesus has poured out at the cross on their behalf.
That isn’t the picture that Paul has for the church. And it isn’t what the Lord wants for his bride. He gave his Son at the cross so that his bride, the church, could flourish spiritually out from under the reign of her enemies as she uses her newfound gifts for the good of other people and the glory of her King.
If you are a Christian, this is the blessing you have. It is a blessing to have a King who removes our enemies, gives us gifts according to his grace and then sets us free to grow spiritually while helping others to grow spiritually too. The question is what will you do with this blessing? Will you run back to the enemy camp and live in slavery? Or will you live in freedom as you grow spiritually? Will you use your gifts to help others grow spiritually?
Conclusion…
In conclusion I want to try hard to make some practical application of what we’ve learned. Application is a funny thing because it involves doing. And doing can so easily lead to performing. We must never forget that application is all about truths that we need to believe and truths that we need to obey. And we must also remember that application isn’t based on what you know it’s based on whom you know. We are called to know Jesus first and serve Jesus second. Our serving must flow out of our being. We must be growing spiritually to help others grow spiritually.
The reason that flight attendants tell passengers to put the oxygen mask on themselves first before helping someone else is because you won’t save very many lives if you die. You cannot give what you do not have. And the gifts you have will not carry you where your character will not sustain you. I say all of this because I think the most important application of this message for us is the invitation to grow spiritually and help others grow spiritually.
God has given every one of us gifts and he has removed our enemies. The way forward is wide open in relation to spiritual growth. And while spiritual growth is nearly invisible as it is happening there is visible fruit we can look for. The fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control must be growing in our lives as we seek to serve God and others with the gifts he has given us.
So here are three basic application points.
1: Spend time with Jesus daily…
This is the discipline of putting the oxygen mask on your self first. You must be getting into God’s Word daily, praying daily, seeking silence and solitude daily and literally being in the presence of Jesus daily. You must actively remove every excuse and every hindrance and every sin that seeks to stop you from this daily nourishment.
Hebrews 12:1 – 4 says Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. Consider and seek the presence of Jesus daily. The presence of Jesus is the only life-giving source you have. You will die without it. So spend time with Jesus daily.
2: Spend time with Jesus’ people weekly…
This is the discipline of putting oxygen masks on each other. Most of us struggle to put on our own oxygen masks regularly so we need people around us to help us do it. I’m not talking about mere friendship groups that enjoy playing golf, or eating at Applebee’s, or watching football games, or going to movies together.
These things are all important. But those aren’t the kinds of gatherings I’m talking about. I’m talking about sitting down and opening the Bible together with other believers, sharing our struggles together, challenging each other with the truths of God’s Word and praying for each other. God’s Word says in Hebrews 10:24 – 25 that we are to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. We are called to spend time with Jesus’ people regularly.
I think this needs to happen weekly. This seems to be the pattern of the early church so it seems like it would be good for us too. In these weekly spaces the gifts that God has given every member will naturally be utilized by the Spirit to grow each other spiritually. So spend time with Jesus’ people weekly.
3: Spend time with people Jesus wants to save monthly…
We cannot become an inward focused family. If we do we will become sick with selfishness because it will become all about the immediate wants and needs of our own little community. We must remember that God has designed us to be gifts to the outside world so that lost people can be invited into the family of God.
This is why Jesus says that we are to go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matt. 28:19 – 20) We are called to spend time with people that Jesus wants to save.
We grow spiritually as we spend time with Jesus and as we spend time with Jesus people and as we spend time with people that Jesus wants to save. God has been so gracious to us. He has given every one of us spiritual gifts to help others grow spiritually. He has removed our enemies and He has drafted us into his army called the church. In this army, we grow spiritually as spend time with Jesus and spend time with Jesus’ people and spend time with people that Jesus wants to save.
Are you growing spiritually? Are you clinging to enemies that Christ has removed? Are you using your gifts for the good of others and for God’s glory? Pray that God produces this fruit in you.