Ephesians 4 v 7

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Take your Bibles if you would this morning and turn to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians 4. Those of you who were in Sunday school this morning, you already know we got a lot of ground to cover today. We're gonna look at one verse, but there's a lot in this verse. We're gonna look at verse 7 this morning. And as we reach this point in Ephesians, we really have uh one of the great turning points in Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. We've seen in the first three chapters uh Paul has unfolded the glorious, incredible doctrines of redemption. And we've seen God's election from eternity past and the fact that Christ accomplished our redemption, uh, that the Spirit is the one who seals us in Christ, and uh we've seen the miracle of salvation being by grace through faith, um, and and that Jews and Gentiles are reconciled as one body in Christ Jesus. And Paul's prayer is that we as believers would know the immeasurable love of Christ. And then chapter four, he starts the practical application, and uh we looked at verse one. He says, I urge you therefore to walk worthy of the manner of the calling to which you've been called. And in the first six verses, he has emphasized things like the fact that we are one body, we are one spirit, we have one hope, there is one Lord, we have one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are in that seven affirmations of the unity in the body of Christ, that we are all one because we have one God, we have one Lord, we have one faith. But biblical unity is never uniformity. God has never intended that every believer possesses identical personalities or abilities or talents or gifts or callings for that matter. Instead, the the unity of the church is displayed through diversity because we all have individual gifts. And that's where this verse begins, verse 7. And there's a contrast there, and so let's read that verse together. It says, But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Let's pray, Father, we thank you for your word. Lord, may it speak to us, minister to our hearts, may it shape us and mold us more into the image of Christ today. Open our minds and our hearts and our understanding that we might know you more and we might be more like Him. In Christ's name we pray, amen. So he starts there with grace was given. Notice the word but at the beginning. What comes right before that one God and Father of all, who's over all and through all and in all. So God is unifying us all, and then he says, But grace was given. Paul shifts from what every believer shares together with that word, but he begins to speak about our individuality in the body of Christ. What every individual believer receives uniquely in Christ. One commentator said that the church is united, but it is not homogenized. We're not all generic same people doing everything the exact same, having the same calling, accomplishing the same things. But this verse answers a very important question, and that is if every believer belongs to one body, then why do we serve in different ways? This verse gives us the answer to that question, and the simple answer is because Christ Himself distributes grace according to his wisdom, which is sovereign. So this verse is only a single sentence, but it contains incredible truths that concern things like the generosity of Christ, the sovereignty of Christ, the diversity of our spiritual gifts, and the unity of the church. So the outline this morning is pretty simple. There's the giver of grace, the recipients of grace, and the measure of grace. All in this one verse. I have 20 pages of notes this morning on this one verse. It's like I just could not stop because uh I would uncover this nugget, and then that would reveal this and this and this. And so Paul starts there, the giver of grace. Grace was given. It wasn't earned, it wasn't something we merit by our own inherent goodness. So we we discover right off the bat, Paul tells us something very important that grace is not earned, it is not achieved, it is given to us. The the verb there means to give. And it's in the passive voice. I know we don't have a lot of that stuff in our English language, but in foreign languages you have very active words, you have very passive words. And the idea of a passive verb is that it is something that is done on our behalf for our benefit and given to us. And so it means that Christ has acted upon believers, that the implied giver here is Christ. Grace was given. And then he says, according to the measure of Christ's gift. So we can read in that that Christ is the one giving this grace, and and so everything that we possess in a spiritual sense comes to us through Christ. Remember way back in chapter 1, verse 3, one of my favorite verses in the Bible, by the way, Ephesians 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God blessed us in Christ with what? Every spiritual blessing. And he gives us one of those blessings and one of those gifts. The most important one is grace. The concept of grace is mind-boggling. I mean, James tells us in James 1.17, every good and perfect gift is from above. Grace is a good and perfect gift, therefore it is given to us. Paul told the church in Corinth and 1 Corinthians 4 7, he says, What do you have that you did not receive? We didn't make it, we didn't earn it, but we received it as a gift. I mean, the obvious answer to Paul's question there is nothing, because everything is grace when it comes to our spiritual life, our Christian life. So grace is the word codis in Greek. And it appears over 150 times in the New Testament, and has a number of shades of meaning, depending upon the context in which it's used. Sometimes it refers to saving grace, the grace that brings about our salvation. Sometimes it's thanksgiving, sometimes it's God's favor. Sometimes it's God enabling us in a divine way to do what He has called us to do. The emphasis here is not primarily saving grace, because Paul has already discussed saving grace extensively in the first three chapters. And if you didn't see that, you missed the whole concept of the first three chapters. Here's who you are in Christ, here's what God has done for you in Christ, here's what God has given you in Christ. That's what the first three chapters of this letter are all about. Who we are, what we have, what God has given us, what Christ has done for us. And then we turn the page in chapter 4, and it says, Therefore, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you are called. Why? Because we're given grace. Paul, Ephesians 2.8, remember, for by grace you're saved through faith. And he goes on, that is not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of work, so that no one may boast. We have no boasting except in the cross of Christ, is what Paul says. That concerns justification, our salvation, justification, being declared righteous by God because of his saving grace. But here, Paul is talking about ministry. So grace in this context is talking about divine enablement. God giving us the ability to do what he has called us to do. I've heard a saying, I don't know, it's probably been 30 years now, that God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. That's this grace. That is God's grace poured out so that we might do what he has already called us and led us to do. God not only saves his people, but he equips his people to do those things. Grace is God's empowering presence that enables believers to accomplish what we are called to do. John Calvin commented on this. He said, No man possesses anything except by the gift of Christ. Whatever ability exists in the church has flowed from his liberality. That's what Paul's point is. Everything that is useful in the church originates in Christ. The starting point is Christ. And it talks about this concept of grace beyond our conversion. There are a lot of people who think that grace ends at conversion. We just need grace to be saved. We need grace to get out of bed in the morning. We need grace to have a Christ-like attitude when we get up, and our knees ache and creak and pop, and our back hurts from laying in bed, and all of these things are happening. We need God's grace to get us through that. It is amazing to me. Grace and repentance are two things that I think for too long many in the church have thought these things are only necessary for my salvation. They're necessary for every day of your life and every day of my life. Grace. Repentance. Why? Because we all stumble and sometimes we fall flat on our faces. And so repentance and grace are an active part of the life of every genuine believer in Christ. The idea that grace stops at conversion is a foreign concept to the theology that Paul presents to us in his letters. And it's a foreign concept to the gospels. Grace saves us, grace sanctifies us, grace keeps us, grace strengthens us, it equips us, it sustains us. Grace is necessary for every moment of every day. Paul testified himself. He said, By the grace of God I am what I am. And then he adds in 1 Corinthians 15 10 10, he says, His grace toward me was not in vain. There was a purpose in God's grace, in Paul's life, and in our lives. There's a purpose and a means for that. Notice Paul doesn't just say that grace forgave him, grace made him into the apostle that he grew to be. Remember, he's the guy back in Acts who's standing there watching the coats as the religious people are stoning Stephen for preaching the gospel. And then he's traveling down the road to Damascus, and this blinding light appears to him, and he's struck blind, and he hears this voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And in the end, these things like scales, it says, fell off his eyes, and he could see. I don't know about you, but I'm thankful for that because I'm not Jewish. He called him to be apostle to the Gentiles, and that grace that saved Paul and that called him to be an apostle is the same grace that rescues sinners, and it's the same grace that transforms the hearts of servants. So it's not just we need grace to be saved, we need grace for every aspect of our Christian walk. In fact, the church father Augustine of Hippo wrote that God crowns his own gifts, not our merits. God crowns his own gifts, not our merits. We don't receive grace because we're just awesome people. That would not be grace. That would be a wage that we've earned. Grace, God's riches at Christ's expense. Us getting unmerited favor from God. See, grace is God blessing us in spite of us. Grace is God saving us in spite of us. It is God equipping us to do what He's called us to do in spite of us, not because we deserve it or we've earned it. Whatever ministry God blesses is ultimately his own work. If someone teaches faithfully, that's grace. If another one encourages those who are discouraged, that's grace. If another one has the ability to give generously, that's grace. Another shepherds with wisdom, that's grace. Every spiritual accomplishment is ultimately Christ displaying his own generosity in our lives. Every single one. Charles Spurgeon said that the least saint owes as much to grace as the greatest apostle. I'm gonna let that sit there for a minute because I don't think you understood what I said. The least saint owes as much to grace as the greatest apostle. Why? Because every one of us is utterly dependent upon grace. First and foremost for our salvation, but then for every aspect of our life in Christ. A mature believer is not any less dependent upon grace than someone who just came to saving faith in Christ two seconds ago. We are all equally dependent on grace. We never graduate beyond grace. We never move beyond that need. Every day of a Christian life is lived by grace. It's by grace through faith we are saved. And it's, you could say it's by grace through faith that we live that life of salvation in Christ. The great preacher Martin Lloyd Jones said everything in the Christian life is a result of grace. There is nothing natural, meaning man-made, that just naturally occurs, about Christianity. It is supernatural. And that statement challenges modern thinking. Self-improvement. You know I gotta say it. Your best life now. I agree with John MacArthur. If we're living our best life now, the only truth is we must be going to hell. Because this does not compare to the life we have in heaven with Christ. As good as it may be, at times, other times it may be a struggle. But this cannot be the best life for a genuine believer in Christ. It just can't be. Paul says that Christianity is supernatural from beginning to end. It's not self-help, it's not self-improvement. It's not, let's go sit down with tens of thousands of people in a former basketball arena and hear a self-help encouragement seminar and call it a sermon. That's not grace. That's not God at work. The reality is that the truth of the fact that we are utterly dependent upon grace accomplishes something. It destroys pride. That's why Paul says we're saved by grace through faith, not of ourselves, as a gift of God, so that no one may boast. I have nothing to boast about. Why? Because he chose me in Christ, Ephesians chapter 1 says, from before the foundation of the world. So how is that my doing? It can't be. Who can boast? I don't throw myself in this category, but a gifted preacher cannot boast. Because anything accomplished through that preaching is grace. A faithful missionary cannot boast. Because any souls that are one and disciples that are made is grace. A gifted musician, why? Because anything good is grace. It's a gift of God. A wise elder can't boast. A generous giver cannot boast. Why? Because every ability we have belongs to Christ, and it is given to us on loan as a gift. Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 4, verse 7, he says, What do you have that you did not receive? What do you have that you did not receive? The obvious and only answer to that question is nothing. Absolutely nothing. Then we have the recipients of grace, but grace was given to who? To each one of us. This phrase really requires careful attention as we read this because literally a literal translation of this would be to each individual one of us. This is a time where each one really means each one, each individual Christian. Not everybody in the world, but believers in Christ. Paul deliberately stresses individuality here. Earlier he talked about the body, he talked about the community of believers, the body of Christ, the church. But now he is emphasizing individual believers. And because unity never erases individuality, but instead Christ creates diversity through unity, within unity. He allows our diverseness as far as our different personalities, our different talents, our different gifts. All of those things are allowed to function together in Christ, and he makes it one beautiful function of his body. So each, every individual, that's one word, he casto in the Greek, and that's what it means, each every individual, each one. Paul is emphasizing here a personal distribution of grace so that we understand that every Christian has received grace. Not just pastors, not apostles, not just missionaries, every believer. And Peter echoes this truth in 1 Peter 4 10. He says, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. So each one of us received the gift of grace. Initially, at the point we come to saving faith in Christ. Beyond that, for everything we do, everything we do in the body of Christ, everything we do as we're shopping, as we're driving, as we're filling the blank, we need God's grace. The assumption is that each believer has received a gift of grace. Because there are, I love this quote, there are no spiritually unemployed Christians. There are no spiritually unemployed Christians because every believer is gifted with grace. John Chrysostom said that lest anyone should oppose or should suppose the gifts belonged only to the apostles, Paul says to each one of us. So that we don't think this is it's above me. This is only grace is in that way is only given for the apostles. It's only given for the pastor. No, Paul says each one of us. Every individual has received the gift of grace. And that's a tremendous encouragement. Because some Christians will say, I don't have anything useful to bring. Well, the problem is that Paul says otherwise here. In that God says otherwise here. Christ has personally entrusted every believer with grace for the benefit of his church. And Paul later on, he's going to get more into this illustration of the body, but Romans 12 says that we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. So 1 Corinthians 12 talks about the same concept that we've all been given different gifts. The eye is different from the hand. The hand differs from the foot. They have different functions. Same body. Okay? Imagine if everyone was an eye. If your entire body consisted of one eye, what would it see because it's not attached to a brain? How would it see anything but the same thing because it can't move on its own? You have to have the muscles that surround it. It's nice to have a head that can turn on a neck so you can see more than just what's right in front of you. And maybe a little bit in your periphery. Then it's great to have legs and feet that can carry you around to different places and see different things. So we all have different purposes. If every member was a hand, you wouldn't hear anything. You wouldn't see anything. You couldn't walk anywhere. But God delights in diversity in believers, meaning we all have different gifts and callings. This is not a sermon on DEI. This is a sermon on diversity in the body of Christ, meaning we all do different things. We all have different abilities. The church flourishes because Christ distributes different gifts to different believers. Anyone else in this room play the piano? Got a couple of people. Good. That's good to know. I didn't see everybody's hand come up. Anybody play any other instruments? I know Mark at least used to play guitar. Sorry. I I guess I need to specify a Mark, don't I? Yeah. Mark Bright. But we we all have differing abilities. We all have different talents. How many of you would be terrified if you had to get up in front of a group of people and preach a sermon? Wouldn't bother me at all. Doesn't bother me at all. I've never had trouble speaking in front of people. My mother-in-law, in her speech class in high school, almost failed because she would vomit at the thought of getting up and giving a speech in front of a classroom of people. We all have different gifts and abilities. And the reality is that that's the way God designed it. So we need to embrace those differences rather than one of my favorite is I've heard people say over the years as well, if I was doing it, I would help yourself. Go do it that way. Oh no, that's not my calling. Then, as Bodie Bakham used to say, Bad Daryl wants to say, then shut your mouth. If you're not willing to step up and do it, then don't criticize how others are doing it. Unless it's to be done in a way that doesn't align with scripture. Then absolutely we need to address it. And then we need to look at, then do we need to continue this if we don't have anyone who's willing to do it? And do it according to scripture. We can't just do things because we have different gifts and abilities and purposes within the body of Christ. And the problem is that we often compare ourselves to people. I can't preach like so and so. I can't sing like so and so. I don't lead like they do. And Paul says, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. He says, stop comparing. Because Christ didn't call you to imitate someone else. He called you to be you in Christ. He called you to faithfully steward the gifts that he has given you. Because comparison produces one of two things pride or discouragement. We either think, well, I can do that so much better than that person. I preach so much better than that guy. I play piano so much better than that guy. I man, I can outsing that guy. Sit down. What are you doing? Or we think, why do I bother? Listen to that person. Look at how they do that. Why would I even bother trying that? We're not they are not our measuring stick. Christ is. And since he has given us this grace, that produces within us gratitude. We become grateful for the grace of God. When we understand that every gift comes from Christ, we rejoice in another's believer's usefulness because we understand that their effectiveness strengthens the body of Christ to which we all belong. Rather than being envious, rather than being jealous or judgmental or prideful, we understand this isn't about me. This is a gift of God through grace that He's given. And it's building the body of Christ. And we rejoice in that. Then the measure of grace. Grace was given to each one of us. How? According to the measure of Christ's gift. According to the measure of Christ's gift. Every word in this phrase really demands careful attention. Paul is not just stating that Christ gives grace, he's emphasizing that Christ gives grace purposefully, wisely, and sovereignly. He gives it for a purpose, he gives it to whom he chooses. And he does so being in charge of all things. Nothing in Christ's kingdom is arbitrary. Nothing is accidental. Nothing is left to chance. Oh, what a coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences. One phrase I do like from Henry Blackaby's book, Experiencing God, he spoke about God incidences. But he didn't believe in coincidence. He believed in God incidence, that God ordains all things. Every gift that is given to a believer has been measured by the hand of the risen Christ, given to each one according to the measure of Christ's gift. According to the measure of Christ's gift. The word there that is translated measure speaks of a standard of measurement. It is the word, the Greek word metron, M-E-T-R-O-N, if you were to write it in English. And it speaks of a determined quantity or an allotted portion. In the ancient world, it described a measuring vessel or a fixed amount that it was assigned to someone. Paul uses this word also to speak of the distribution of God's sovereignty. In Romans 12, for through grace given to me I say everyone among you ought to think not think more highly of himself than he should, according to the measure of the faith that God has assigned. Again, in 2 Corinthians 10, he he speaks of the measure of ministry that God has assigned to him. Any anybody, I know two of you, anybody, those of you who play piano or play another instrument, especially if you're it seems like a piano player or or a drummer, ever practice with this little thing that goes click, click, click, click, click, click. It's called a metronome. Huh. It comes from the same Greek word metro. Metron. And it's a fixed tempo or speed. This is the allotted speed at which you are to play this piece or to sing this piece of music, whatever it may be. And it serves the same purpose. It establishes the degree of speed at which that should be performed. The measure, the metron of Christ's gift is the amount, the set parameters of Christ's gift. The emphasis of this word is consistent throughout all of Scripture. God Himself determines the sphere, the capacity, and the stewardship of His servants. Here in Ephesians 4 7, the one doing the measuring is Christ Himself, which should profoundly humble us to understand the grace we are given is given and measured out by Christ Himself. We, I think, sometimes imagine that our usefulness is determined by things like our personality, or our education, or what is seemingly a natural ability, or the opportunities that we're presented with. Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus disagrees with that. Our usefulness begins with the gracious appointment of Christ, grace, measured out by him. And then he continues, he says, it was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. That word refers to a free gift, a generous bestowal upon someone, something that is granted without merit or payment. It's related to another verb that means to give, and so it emphasizes that what Christ distributes to us is never earned. It is never earned. It's not because we're just such swell people that he can't help but give us grace. It's because, in spite of the fact that we're not swell people, he gives us grace. Paul distinguishes this from wages. Remember Romans 6.23, the wages of sin, what we earn is death. But then he flips the script, right? But the free gift of God. So we have what we earn, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So our ministry is not some sort of compensation for our faithful living, it is grace. We don't purchase God's favor through the service that we do in the body of Christ. Rather, God's favor enables our service and empowers our service. Because Christ is the sovereign distributor of our grace that we receive. Notice Paul does not say grace is measured according to our desires. It's not measured according to our intentions. We all know what the road to hell is paved with, right? Good intentions, the old saying says. It's also not measured according to our talents. He says it's measured according to the measure of Christ's gift. Christ determines whom he equips, he determines how he equips, he determines where he equips, he determines when and for what purpose he equips his followers. And this harmonizes beautifully with Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 12, 11. It says, all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills, not as we will, as Christ wills. Romans 12 again teaches us that different gifts are given according to grace. The entire Trinity is involved in the distribution of gifts, but here Paul is emphasizing Christ's authority. The ascended king governs his church. He has not abandoned his people. Rather, he actively supplies his church with everything that is needed for their growth spiritually. Then the wisdom of divine diversity is a key in this verse. Imagine an orchestra. I know a lot has to do with music, sorry. You know that's what my background is. But imagine an orchestra, and one musician plays the violin, another one plays the trumpet, another plays the cello, another one's in the back playing the timpani. Uh no instrument performs every part. But under the direction of one conductor, all of those instruments come together to make beautiful music together. They play an incredible symphony that sounds remarkable. And that's how it is with Christ's Church, because he distributes every part exactly where it belongs. One believer possesses maybe a special gift of teaching. Another quietly and in the background often exercises the gift of hospitality. Another faithfully intercedes in prayer. Another serves behind the scenes where almost no one notices. Another encourages those who are tired and weary and worn. Another gives generously, another shows extraordinary mercy, different gifts, same Christ, same purpose, one body. And this is exactly where Paul is leading us in the verses to come, starting in verse 11 down through 16. He talks about gifts that God gives to the church. The gifts differ, but the head, Christ, remains one. John Christmas said, if all possessed the same gifts, where would the body be? If all were teachers, who would learn? If all ruled, who would obey? Diversity is the beauty of the church. That's a guy that lived over 1,500 years ago. That observation echoes Paul's later discussion in 1 Corinthians 12, the diversity of gifts. The unity of Christ's body is not threatened by diversity, it is enriched by diversity. Augustine talking about how ordered God's grace is, said, the members differ in office, but they are united in charity. How desperately we need that reminder in the church today. Differences should never produce rivalry. They should bring us together to serve. When another believer succeeds, Christ has strengthened his body, and the whole church benefits. Envy has no place in Christ's kingdom. Why? Because then we're essentially scoffing at the provision that Christ has given us. Charles Spurgis said, God never intended all his servants to be alike. He gives to one five talents, to another two, to another one, but he expects faithfulness from all. Not because they produced identical results, but because they were equally faithful with what they were given. The Lord never compares his servants with each other, so why should we? So what does this mean for us? First, be humble. Be humble. If your gifts are from Christ and you understand that, boasting becomes impossible. Why? Because you didn't do it. I didn't do it. We were given gifts of grace. Humility is just recognizing reality. Everything is grace. Second, be content. There are a number of believers who spend their entire lives wishing that they had someone else's abilities. If we were all equally enabled in the exact same way, all but one of us would be unnecessary. When I was traveling and singing back in the 90s, sang with a guy named Phil Jones, was our bass singer for about eight years, nine years. The guy could just blow the bottom out of it. I mean, had a great singing voice. He was a he was a music teacher as well. Had a, I mean, could just make me look pathetic on the piano. Um, one of his favorite things to do was to sit and play two different songs and two different keys at the same time. So he would play one song and one key with the right hand and a different song and a different key in the left hand. Um great Woodwind player, remarkably talented guy. And I have always, always wanted to be a bass singer. Um I tell people I learned how to sing harmony. My dad had the remember the old. Reel to reel tape decks. You could put about six LPs on one of those dudes. And on a rainy day, I would sit there and press play and I would listen to that thing over and over and over again. Southern gospel quartet music. And I would sing the tenor part the first time through, and then I would sing the lead part the second time through, and then I'd sing the baritone part the third time through, and then the last time through, I would pretend I could sing the bass part. Always wanted to be a bass singer. And I told him, I said, Man, I wish I could sing like you. He said, if you could sing like me, we wouldn't need both of us. And that's the reality. We need to be content with the abilities, the talents, the gifts, the calling that is ours by God's grace individually. And not be envious of one another. Because why? Who measured out the gift? Christ. It's been measured out perfectly by Christ. The one who purchased you with his blood also appointed your place in his body, and he makes no mistakes. Third, be faithful. Jesus never commands us to maximize someone else's gift. He commands us to be a good steward of our own gifts. Peter writes in 1 Peter 4 10 as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whatever it is you've been gifted with and blessed with, be a good steward of it for God's kingdom. There's a connection there that grace creates stewardship. The question is not, what gift do I wish I had? The question is, am I faithfully using the grace that Christ has entrusted to me? Because if I'm not, maybe doing that might bring about some contentment in our heart and in our life. And we'd stop worrying about what other people are doing and how they're doing it and wishing we could do that. Fourth, we need to rejoice in others. Instead of envying each other's usefulness, be thankful to Christ for their gifts and abilities. Christ is the greatest gift. And ultimately, verse 7 is not primarily about spiritual gifts, it's about the giver of gifts and how he gives those gifts. Paul's focus never remains on us for very long. It always comes back to Christ. Because our gifts point us back to Christ because they were given to us freely. The measure of grace reminds us of the immeasurable grace that was displayed on the cross. Paul says in Galatians 2.20, the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. Before Christ gave gifts to his church, he gave his life for his bride. And before he equipped servants, he redeemed sinners. Before he ascended in triumph, he descended in humility. Every spiritual blessing flows from the cross, and every gift finds its source in the crucified and risen Savior. So this verse this morning, I hope we can see that Paul has moved us from unity to diversity without sacrificing either one of those. We are one, but we function differently together. And the church does not thrive because every believer is identical. The church thrives because every believer depends on the same gracious Lord who gives grace according to the measure of his gift. So we should marvel at the wisdom of Christ. We should refuse to compare ourselves with others. We should reject pride. We should embrace contentment. And then we should steward faithfully the gifts that we've been given. Above all, let us worship Christ who gives grace in a way that he's never stingy and he's never careless and he's never giving it to someone who he didn't intend to. It's never misplaced. He measures every gift with perfect wisdom, perfect love, and perfect purpose. As next week we come to verse 8, we will see why Christ possesses the authority to give these gifts. And it's because he's the victorious king who has ascended on high, he's conquered every enemy, and now he lavishes the spoils of his triumph on his children. Before we consider the gifts that we'll get to over beginning in verse 11, we are called to adore the King who gives those gifts. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word today.