GRACE NOTES // EPHESIANS WEEK 7

Written By: Keli Miller

Unity Within The Body

“He ascends into the heavenly heights, taking his many captured ones with him, leading them in a triumphal procession.And gifts were given to men, even the once rebellious, so that they may dwell with Yahweh. What a glorious God”

(Psalm 68:18-19A)

We were all given gifts because our Heavenly Father loves us and gives good gifts.  I love how this Psalm clarifies that even the rebellious received gifts - no one has been forgotten. Each of the gifts listed in Ephesians 4 help us, the Church, live in unity together and minister to others. The Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Teacher, and Pastor, all of them were given to us so that we may dwell with God, and as we highlighted last week, we know that God dwells where there is unity. 

These gifts were meant to unite us and strengthen us as one. I think that’s why Paul instructs us to steward them with ”humility and gentleness”(Ephesians 4:2). With each gifting comes a unique perspective and lense of how ministry should be done. These different lenses can butt heads with one another as we each tend to often think that our perspective is the right (and only) one. Here is a summary of each gifting and the lens they look from: 

The 5-Fold Ministry isn’t a ladder of success to climb or a checklist to accomplish. We have each been given specific favor with one of the giftings and growth looks like learning to steward those with humility and gentleness. Growth in your 5-Fold Gifting looks like pursuing unity with those who might think differently than you. 

Each person receives a different level of favor with each gift. Your giftings will not look the same as your friends’ or boss’s. We need each other’s unique gifts to help us with our blind spots. At the same time the way you are called to steward your gifting will be different than someone else's. Your pastoral ministry might look different than others with a pastoral gifting, and that’s okay. Not all of those with the pastoral gifting work at a church, but they do all carry a grace to shepherd and love others with ease wherever they are.

Who you are and the gifting you uniquely carry is a gift to this church.

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Do you need help discerning your 5-Fold Gifting, here is a quiz that might help you begin discerning your unique gifting: http://www.fivefoldsurvey.com

Where have you fallen into the trap of comparing your giftings to others? 

What does steward your gifting look like in your current season?

In The Word

Ephesians 4:1-16

Romans 12: 1-8