Practical Christianity: Missional Community, Part 1

Do not ask what the church can do for you but rather what Christ wants you to do individually, collectively, and communally for His Church.

Ephesians 4:7-16 - 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 the one who also 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 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.

As we move from Missional Calling in Ephesians 4:1-6 to Missional Community in Ephesians 4:7-16, the term, Missional Community, can be defines as a community of believers in which each individual pursues his or her missional calling to build up the church to advance God’s kingdom. They don’t ask what the Church can do for them but rather what Christ wants them to do for His Church.

The problem is that when choosing a home church, people often don’t look for a place where they can serve but rather how the church can serve them. They need to know that such a consumer mindset is antithetical to a missional community. It hinders their maturity and harms the collective growth of a church.

In Ephesians 4:7-16, Paul wanted the readers to mature in their Christian walk by actively participating in the growth of the church. So, he zeroed in on the individual role of each Christian and their collective responsibility in a missional community to build up the church to advance God’s kingdom.

The big idea is that if we don’t want to hinder our individual growth or harm the growth of the church, then we need to replace our consumer mindset with a contributing mindset that doesn’t ask what the Church can do for us but rather what Christ wants us to do for His Church. Ephesians 4:7-16 outlines three truths that can help us replace our consumer mindset with a contributing mindset: the grace we have received individually, the gifts we have been given collectively, and the goals we are to pursue communally. Today, we will look at the first two points and finish with the third point next time.

The Grace We Have Received Individually (Ephesians 4:7-10)

The first word in the ESV translation of Ephesians 4:7 is the word, “But.”

When we started Ephesians 4, verse 1 started with “therefore.” Every time we see the word “therefore,” pause and ask what “therefore” is there for.

Whenever you see the word “but,” pause and look at the surrounding verses and the greater context of the passage and ask what contrasting idea or a shift in perspective is being communicated, whether positive or negative.

In verse 7, the contrasting idea or a shift of perspective is this. Ephesians 4:1-6 focused on the maturity and the unity of the church. The objective there was to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace with a Christ-like attitude, namely humility, gentleness, and patience. For this, Ephesians 4:4-6 listed seven absolute truths that every believer must believe: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

This means that the Christian character of congregants creates a Christ-like church with characteristics of Christ that function as unifying building blocks. These attitudes and characteristics do not cause unity but are necessary to maintain unity in the Body of Christ, the Church. What causes the unity is our common belief and profession of faith in Jesus. That trust in Jesus is the building material of the foundation of the unity of the Church.

The word “But” in verse 7 points to the profound reality of the Christian faith— unity in diversity. On the one hand, Christians are to be united in Christ and are expected to maintain that unity by exercising a Christ-like attitude, and on the other hand, they are expected to be different people.

Therefore, in verse 11, Christ gave diverse gifts for to the church. This apparent contradiction is well illustrated through Paul’s metaphor of the body in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. In the ESV translation, 1 Corinthians 12:12 starts with these words, “There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ…”

Therefore, verses 21-22 says, “21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.”

Verse 25 says, “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” Paul concludes this metaphor in verse 27 by saying, “You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.” This means our diversity is in the unity of Christ. The unity is not attained by being duplicates of each other; rather, it is because we are joined to the head of the body, Christ.

Now we know the context of “But” in verse 7, the rest of the Ephesians 4:7 “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.” Let’s make three quick observations together.

First Observation: Each one of us was given grace.

What is this grace, what does it do, and why was it given to each one of us? The Greek word for grace, charis, means favor. It is God’s undeserving and unmerited favor to save the ever-perishing humanity born in sin deserving death, hell, and God’s eternal wrath. Now, once we are saved by putting our faith in Jesus, this grace declares us innocent and empowers us to serve God and others. In verse 7, the grace that each of us has received according to the measure of Christ’s gift is not the saving grace but rather the serving grace. This means we are saved to serve and not to be served.

Second Observation: Grace is given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

The word “measure” in Greek, metron, refers to a standard of measurement for length, capacity, or limit. It carries the idea of determining what is enough or not enough, fair or not fair, acceptable or not acceptable. In Christianity, we all receive the same measure of saving grace, but we receive different measures of serving grace based on how Christ has distributed unique spiritual abilities to each of us with individual roles to carry out our collective responsibility as a missional community to build up the church and advance God’s kingdom.

This is why some believers excel in certain ministries and others don’t. Some are more talented in a certain serving capacity than others. We need to accept that and allow the one strong among us in certain areas to function fully to cover what is lacking in other parts of the body.

Take the example of a plant. If you put the plant in a small box, it will restrict it growth. Similar, if we restrict the growth of a gift, it will restrict the church growth. Nevertheless, there is no single Christian who has not received the grace to serve. In other words, we all have received at least one gift, and when one Christian fails to exercise his serving grace, he hinders the work of God in building up the Church and advancing God’s Kingdom.

Third Observation: Christ’s gift.

The Greek root word here for gift is didomi, which means giving or granting. In the NIV, it is translated as “as Christ apportioned it.” So, Christ gave or apportioned serving grace to each one of us in the exact amount that He found fit for each one of us to perform individual roles to aid the church in carrying out its responsibility to build up the church and advance God’s Kingdom.

In Ephesians 4, verses 8-10 bridge verse 7 with verse 11, where Paul lists different gifts that Christ has given to each individual for the benefit of the Church.

In verse 8, we read, “Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” Here, Paul quotes Psalm 68:18 to show how Christ was able to secure and give the gift of serving grace from which all the spiritual gifts in verse 11 flow out.

The imagery he draws is of a victorious king in ancient times who, after victory, will march to the highest point of the city to receive the spoils of victory from the people. In Paul’s exposition of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:9-10, he writes, “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 the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)”

Paul points to the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. In the incarnation, Christ, in the form of man, descended from heaven to earth to save the sinful world. In the crucifixion, Christ descended to Sheol, also known as Hades, to liberate the captives, that is, the Old Testament saints waiting for redemption. In the resurrection, Christ ascended to His divine throne with the Father, from where, as the victorious King, he grants gifts out of the spoils of victory.

Christ’s ascension to the cross defeated sin and paid the price for our sins to appease God’s wrath, but His descension into Hades defeated Satan and death to secure eternal life for us. So, the cost for the gifts was God taking on flesh and dying on the cross.

Have you ever thought that every gift you receive, whether on your birthday, wedding, or anniversary, does not cost you anything, but it does cost the giver? Every gift you receive is not reflective of you, but it is the reflection of the generosity and love of the giver, such is the case of Christ’s gift/s given to us individually.

Application

Christ has given each of us individually specific gifts in a specific amount according to His Will and Purpose. You will not know the limit and capacity of your unique gift(s) unless you use them in a missional community to serve. Try different serving opportunities that our church offers to test the limit, capacity, and uniqueness of your gift.

The Gifts We Have Been Given Collectively (Ephesians 4:11)

Ephesians 4:11 says, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.” The word “gift” in verse 7 refers to the serving grace but also to Christ Himself for Him give Himself to us and the word “gifts” here in verse 11 refers to the diverse, unique abilities that Christ has equipped us collectively not for our benefit but for the benefit of others. These gifts are diverse, yet they serve a common purpose, as stated in verse 12, which is to build up the community and advance God’s kingdom.

Not too long ago, I met a pastor who handed me his business card with his title as Apostle so and so. Perhaps you have met such people, too. There are no more Apostles with the capital letter A and there is no need for Prophets. We will come back to this next time to address why there are no Apostles with a capital A. For now, let me explain why we do not need prophets because the living Word of God and the Holy Spirit warn and instruct us.

Application

We need to discover and embrace our gifts because they are instrumental in fostering unity and maturity to build up the Church and advance God’s Kingdom. One way we can discover our spiritual gifts is by having a mentor, a spiritual advisor in life who can identify those gifts. My mentor did for me, and I do for those I mentor. So, recognize your spiritual gifts and use them for the benefit of others. This is what Christ wants us to do individually, collectively, and communally for His Church.

Imagine what would happen if each of us began to serve according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Imagine what our church would look like if every person here performed his or her role to build up the Church and advance God’s Kingdom.

Actions Steps

What would that role look like for you in this church? As you prayerfully consider that, tart fresh this Easter. We have created a campaign to help you take an active role in the growth of this congregation. We have sent out an email with a media post. All we ask you to do is share through your social media and email. Church, the gift of serving grace is not just a gift, but it is also a missional calling in the context of a missional community in which each one of us is uniquely equipped by Christ’s grace to contribute to the church’s mission.