7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of 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 Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Commentary
Vs. 7-8 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”
The mention of grace here is not God's grace given us at salvation, but rather of Christ Himself having conquered death by His Resurrection from dead and then by His ascension back to God the Father in heaven, He now reigns as the triumphing Victor over sin, Satan, and death. And so in celebration of that fact and that new reality that Christ now brings us to life and unites us with Himself the moment we believe in Him, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior also bestows upon each one of us who believe in Him Spiritual gift/s. Now it is the Holy Spirit Himself who does this and who decides what Spirit gift/s each individual believer will receive (1 Cor 12:11).
Vs. 9-10 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
And so the Apostle Paul in quoting Psalm 68:18 in verse eight now mentions that because in order for the Lord Jesus Christ to ascend to victory back with God the Father in heaven, He had to first descend to the earth. His doing so was to first preach the Gospel in even the lowest regions of the earth before fulfilling the Gospel by His own death on the cross. Now from this we can gather that there is no place in heaven or on earth where we too should not also preach the Gospel, though discernment and discretion must also be with us when we do, so as to hopefully effect a positive outcome for those who hear it, when they hear it.
Vs. 11-12 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
Having Fulfilled the Word and thus the Will of God by suffering Crucifixion death for us all, Jesus when He rose from the dead and then later ascended back to God the Father in heaven, then sent His Holy Spirit to indwell us all who believe in Him, and thus too establish His church (i.e. body of believers) here on earth. Now in doing so He not only gave Spirit gifts to individual believers, as the previous verses states, but He also chooses individual believers to be His gifts to the church itself. And so He gives (by first Spirit equipping) some of us to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers etc., "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." vs. 12
Now though there at times maybe some overlap between these Spirit offices as they are sometimes referred too as, each serves a primary function in the church, and thus we are given Spirit gifts specific to Christ's calling and function that we are to serve in for the churches service and edification. Which as the Apostle states entails equipping the saints ( that is each and every believer) for the work of ministry. Thus preachers preach, teachers teach, leaders lead etc. all with the great, grand goal of equipping all the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. For that is foundational to having both a productive church, as well as an edified one, because no church will never be fully productive and completely edified as long as there are those whose Spirit gifts and talents are being left out of Christ's service. For within each and every believer that Christ has chosen, equipped and called there is a deep burning desire to fulfill that purpose He has placed on their persons and lives. And so those whom Christ has equipped with the leadership gifts, and which He has placed in such roles in the local church, all need to exercise their Spirit gifts in such a way so that they themselves are not only fulfilling their own ministry call, but they are also training and enabling and encouraging all others to fulfill their own "ministry" call, by being all they can be as Christians both inside the church and out. Which begins with being sure they are well instructed in the faith so that they can not only fully live out the faith, but also bring forth much fruit by it in their own lives as well (Titus 3:8, 14). For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry is the means by which the whole church becomes edified, because all are involved, and all are being instructed and all are being blessed by the Spirit given gifts and talents that Christ has given us all for that purpose, to be a blessing to each other and to all. Therefore wherever believers are being salt and light in this world, so a good testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel is being given.
Vs. 13 "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;"
Equipping of the saints for the work of ministry (through the ongoing preaching and teaching of the Word of God) has a grand purpose, and that is bring us all to a unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, "to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Thus the preaching and teaching and expounding of the Scriptures must continue on as the central activity in the church until the Lord returns. For they are the basis of our sanctification and ongoing Spiritual growth (John 17:17; 1 Cor 14:20; Heb. 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2). And so our pursuit of the knowledge of the Son of God (which is the basis of our sanctification for it is Christ whom we are to be conformed too) has to be rooted in the Scriptures, which Christ has given us all for the churches instruction and edification and comfort and hope which began in the O.T. Scriptures (see Rom 15:4) but in regards to the church, all of it's directives (outside of the moral precepts and such that we find in the Old, as well as in the New) are given us in New Testament. Now this I say not to lesson the importance of the Old Covenant Scriptures in any believers life; since they are very rewarding and edifying when one spends time with them; but only so as to keep anyone from putting themselves, or anyone else back under the Law, (and thus binding themselves to some or even all of the regulations found in it which were specifically given for Israel in their covenant relationship with God). For we are ministers of the New Covenant, not the Old (2 Cor 3:5-6, 7-9). Therefore exercising Spirit gifts these are be done for the unity and growth of us all in the faith, through the right expounding of the Scriptures.
Vs. 14 "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting"
The only defense that any individual believer or congregation has against the lies of this world and the father of them (John 8:44) is the Word of God (2 Cor 10:3-6). That said, the Apostle Paul's emphasis here is not on the world and the lies within it, rather his concern for us all who believe in Christ is our growing in our knowledge of God and Christ so as not to be taken in in by the false teachings and doctrines which are perpetually being propagated by false teachers and false brethren in every generation who only make schisms and divisions amongst us (consider 1 Cor 11:19; 2 Cor 11:3-4, 12-15; Gal 1:8-9), or try to make "disciples" after themselves (Acts 20:28-32). The burden then is on each and every one of us to know God and know Christ His Son through His Word, and not "know" Him through mans (Heb 13:9). For again that is why Christ gave some of us to the church to be His apostles, prophets, teachers and evangelists for the instruction and edification of us all in the faith, through His Word. That said, we must also be discerning with all that is it out there in Christendom, because not all that is out there is of Christ or His own. And so it is only by Holy Spirit discernment through the Holy Scriptures that we ourselves can know truth for ourselves (1 John 2:27). For as the apostle Paul makes clear here and elsewhere in the N.T. there are many who would subvert or pervert the faith for either their own gain (2 Cor 1:21-22; 1 Tim. 1:6-5-10; Titus 1:10-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3) or for their own agendas (Acts 15:1-2; Gal 4:17; Jude 3-4).
Vs. 15 "but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ"
The Apostle Paul's Word to us now is one of the great exhortations given us all in the N.T. For all edification, both personal and corporate, begins with us all "speaking the truth in love" to each other. For one can "speak" the truth without love, and just end up sounding like a clanging bell or crashing cymbal, as the Proverbs warns; "There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health." Prov. 12:18 And so when we speak the truth to each other it must always be governed by love, because the truth can hurt, and sometimes it needs to "hurt" (consider Prov. 27:6), but only so as to open ones eyes to the truth, and not do careless damage to another person's psyche or soul. And so with that all said, the primary point of our speaking the truth in love to each other is for the growth of us all into Him who is the Head of us all, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Vs. 16 "—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the Head of us all, and thus He is the one whom we are all to grow up into (that is become more and more like Him in our character and disposition) but He is the Source of all that is making for the growth and edification of the Body, His church. Which is critically important to remember because apart from Him and abiding in Him we can do nothing (see John 15:5). Now linked with this as the Apostle Paul makes clear here is our being joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, (that is every individual believer by contributing their gifts, talents, and time is helping to nit the whole together as one equipped and effective unit), all which "causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." And that is the great grand goal Christ has for us all in His Body, His church, that we all become active and contributing members of it via the gifts and talents He has given us all, for the growth of the Body, for the edifying of itself in love. To serve the Body of Christ then is to serve Christ Himself and just as Jesus has already promised He will reward each and every one of us according to our own labors (1 Cor 3:8; Col 3:23-24). Let us all then seek to serve the Lord by serving and caring for each other so that the Body maybe edified and healthily grow up into Him who is the Head of all things, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
The mention of grace here is not God's grace given us at salvation, but rather of Christ Himself having conquered death by His Resurrection from dead and then by His ascension back to God the Father in heaven, He now reigns as the triumphing Victor over sin, Satan, and death. And so in celebration of that fact and that new reality that Christ now brings us to life and unites us with Himself the moment we believe in Him, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior also bestows upon each one of us who believe in Him Spiritual gift/s. Now it is the Holy Spirit Himself who does this and who decides what Spirit gift/s each individual believer will receive (1 Cor 12:11).
Vs. 9-10 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
And so the Apostle Paul in quoting Psalm 68:18 in verse eight now mentions that because in order for the Lord Jesus Christ to ascend to victory back with God the Father in heaven, He had to first descend to the earth. His doing so was to first preach the Gospel in even the lowest regions of the earth before fulfilling the Gospel by His own death on the cross. Now from this we can gather that there is no place in heaven or on earth where we too should not also preach the Gospel, though discernment and discretion must also be with us when we do, so as to hopefully effect a positive outcome for those who hear it, when they hear it.
Vs. 11-12 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
Having Fulfilled the Word and thus the Will of God by suffering Crucifixion death for us all, Jesus when He rose from the dead and then later ascended back to God the Father in heaven, then sent His Holy Spirit to indwell us all who believe in Him, and thus too establish His church (i.e. body of believers) here on earth. Now in doing so He not only gave Spirit gifts to individual believers, as the previous verses states, but He also chooses individual believers to be His gifts to the church itself. And so He gives (by first Spirit equipping) some of us to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers etc., "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." vs. 12
Now though there at times maybe some overlap between these Spirit offices as they are sometimes referred too as, each serves a primary function in the church, and thus we are given Spirit gifts specific to Christ's calling and function that we are to serve in for the churches service and edification. Which as the Apostle states entails equipping the saints ( that is each and every believer) for the work of ministry. Thus preachers preach, teachers teach, leaders lead etc. all with the great, grand goal of equipping all the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. For that is foundational to having both a productive church, as well as an edified one, because no church will never be fully productive and completely edified as long as there are those whose Spirit gifts and talents are being left out of Christ's service. For within each and every believer that Christ has chosen, equipped and called there is a deep burning desire to fulfill that purpose He has placed on their persons and lives. And so those whom Christ has equipped with the leadership gifts, and which He has placed in such roles in the local church, all need to exercise their Spirit gifts in such a way so that they themselves are not only fulfilling their own ministry call, but they are also training and enabling and encouraging all others to fulfill their own "ministry" call, by being all they can be as Christians both inside the church and out. Which begins with being sure they are well instructed in the faith so that they can not only fully live out the faith, but also bring forth much fruit by it in their own lives as well (Titus 3:8, 14). For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry is the means by which the whole church becomes edified, because all are involved, and all are being instructed and all are being blessed by the Spirit given gifts and talents that Christ has given us all for that purpose, to be a blessing to each other and to all. Therefore wherever believers are being salt and light in this world, so a good testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel is being given.
Vs. 13 "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;"
Equipping of the saints for the work of ministry (through the ongoing preaching and teaching of the Word of God) has a grand purpose, and that is bring us all to a unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, "to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Thus the preaching and teaching and expounding of the Scriptures must continue on as the central activity in the church until the Lord returns. For they are the basis of our sanctification and ongoing Spiritual growth (John 17:17; 1 Cor 14:20; Heb. 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2). And so our pursuit of the knowledge of the Son of God (which is the basis of our sanctification for it is Christ whom we are to be conformed too) has to be rooted in the Scriptures, which Christ has given us all for the churches instruction and edification and comfort and hope which began in the O.T. Scriptures (see Rom 15:4) but in regards to the church, all of it's directives (outside of the moral precepts and such that we find in the Old, as well as in the New) are given us in New Testament. Now this I say not to lesson the importance of the Old Covenant Scriptures in any believers life; since they are very rewarding and edifying when one spends time with them; but only so as to keep anyone from putting themselves, or anyone else back under the Law, (and thus binding themselves to some or even all of the regulations found in it which were specifically given for Israel in their covenant relationship with God). For we are ministers of the New Covenant, not the Old (2 Cor 3:5-6, 7-9). Therefore exercising Spirit gifts these are be done for the unity and growth of us all in the faith, through the right expounding of the Scriptures.
Vs. 14 "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting"
The only defense that any individual believer or congregation has against the lies of this world and the father of them (John 8:44) is the Word of God (2 Cor 10:3-6). That said, the Apostle Paul's emphasis here is not on the world and the lies within it, rather his concern for us all who believe in Christ is our growing in our knowledge of God and Christ so as not to be taken in in by the false teachings and doctrines which are perpetually being propagated by false teachers and false brethren in every generation who only make schisms and divisions amongst us (consider 1 Cor 11:19; 2 Cor 11:3-4, 12-15; Gal 1:8-9), or try to make "disciples" after themselves (Acts 20:28-32). The burden then is on each and every one of us to know God and know Christ His Son through His Word, and not "know" Him through mans (Heb 13:9). For again that is why Christ gave some of us to the church to be His apostles, prophets, teachers and evangelists for the instruction and edification of us all in the faith, through His Word. That said, we must also be discerning with all that is it out there in Christendom, because not all that is out there is of Christ or His own. And so it is only by Holy Spirit discernment through the Holy Scriptures that we ourselves can know truth for ourselves (1 John 2:27). For as the apostle Paul makes clear here and elsewhere in the N.T. there are many who would subvert or pervert the faith for either their own gain (2 Cor 1:21-22; 1 Tim. 1:6-5-10; Titus 1:10-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3) or for their own agendas (Acts 15:1-2; Gal 4:17; Jude 3-4).
Vs. 15 "but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ"
The Apostle Paul's Word to us now is one of the great exhortations given us all in the N.T. For all edification, both personal and corporate, begins with us all "speaking the truth in love" to each other. For one can "speak" the truth without love, and just end up sounding like a clanging bell or crashing cymbal, as the Proverbs warns; "There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health." Prov. 12:18 And so when we speak the truth to each other it must always be governed by love, because the truth can hurt, and sometimes it needs to "hurt" (consider Prov. 27:6), but only so as to open ones eyes to the truth, and not do careless damage to another person's psyche or soul. And so with that all said, the primary point of our speaking the truth in love to each other is for the growth of us all into Him who is the Head of us all, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Vs. 16 "—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the Head of us all, and thus He is the one whom we are all to grow up into (that is become more and more like Him in our character and disposition) but He is the Source of all that is making for the growth and edification of the Body, His church. Which is critically important to remember because apart from Him and abiding in Him we can do nothing (see John 15:5). Now linked with this as the Apostle Paul makes clear here is our being joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, (that is every individual believer by contributing their gifts, talents, and time is helping to nit the whole together as one equipped and effective unit), all which "causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." And that is the great grand goal Christ has for us all in His Body, His church, that we all become active and contributing members of it via the gifts and talents He has given us all, for the growth of the Body, for the edifying of itself in love. To serve the Body of Christ then is to serve Christ Himself and just as Jesus has already promised He will reward each and every one of us according to our own labors (1 Cor 3:8; Col 3:23-24). Let us all then seek to serve the Lord by serving and caring for each other so that the Body maybe edified and healthily grow up into Him who is the Head of all things, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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