Each One Has One

Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come this evening to the eighth form of unity which pervades the body of Christ. Last week, of course, we looked at the sevenfold unity that marks the church. We saw that this unity climaxes with the one God who is above all, through all, and in all. But then Paul goes on to explain that the unity of the body is confirmed in an additional way. We are united by the truth that each and every one of us has received grace from Jesus Christ. We are all recipients of His unmerited favor for salvation, and of His unmerited favor in giving us varying gifts and abilities for service in His Kingdom and church. His gifts tie us together, not only in that we have each received a particular gift but also in that all of look to the fivefold ministry that is an essential part of church growth. We are the recipients of Christ’s grace and Christ’s ministry through the individuals He gives to His church. What I hope to show you tonight is the essential, can’t-miss connection between Christ’s work in history and His granting of grace to each one of us. Both His gifts for each of us, and the five-fold ministry, are gifts given by the incarnate, ascended, world-filling Christ. This is how He in all His glory comes into contact with you. It’s by grace, given to every one of us individually and also to the whole church by means of the fivefold ministry. The Jesus who came down and ascended on high is the Jesus who gives these gifts. Yes, celebrate the gifts — but don’t ever forget the giver. Paul has two verses on the gifts in our text tonight, and three verses on the giver.