“Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. For it says: ‘When He ascended on high, He took prisoners into captivity; He gave gifts to people. But what does ‘He ascended’ mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth? The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” Ephesians 4:7-10
God has designed the church to function as a body; to have unity. We should be like-minded and focused on the same goal of glorifying God. We should share in each other’s victories, joys, weaknesses, pain, and disappointments. When the pinky-toe is stubbed, the whole body hurts. When you get poked in the eye, the whole body is focused on the throbbing pain. But when someone massages that knot out of your back, your whole body rejoices! So the body comprises of each individual part, and each individual part is absolutely vital. However, in our striving to be united, God has also designed us to work together through our diversity. Just as the body cannot consist only of a hand or head or foot, but functions best with each part, so the body of Christ must consist of all different types of spiritually gifted people in order for it to thrive. In the above verses from Ephesians, Paul likens Christ’s efforts to bring us our gifts to a verse in Psalms about God’s victory over the Jebusite city of Jerusalem. This gives us a mental picture of Christ descending to earth and fighting sin and death as a king descends to the lands He must conquer and restore for himself. Once the land is conquered, the remaining people who once belonged to said land, now belong to the king.
God’s elect are the prisoners of Satan that Jesus descended to rescue and bring to His land so we can become citizens of heaven. Once He rescues us and we have a new status, He freely gives us gifts of His own choosing. They’re not a result of works, so no one can boast about the size/measure of their gift. The bigger the gift, the more the receiver must continue to bring the glory and focus back to God. This in no aristocracy, this is a Kingdom that one can only enter by crawling. We must humbly enter, and never think more highly than we ought of ourselves.
What a beautiful picture of God rescuing us from evil and bringing us into a Kingdom so pure and untainted!
The Fringes of His Ways 