The essay under review offers an assessment of the gifts of the Spirit in Ephesians 4 through the viewpoint of Christ’s victory, ascension, and gift-giving. Ephesians 4: 7, 10-12: “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift… And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” This text connects Christ’s exaltation with the distribution of grace to the church, conjoining ministry as an outgrowth of the body’s maturity and unity.¹
Church attendance statistics may well have been affected by COVID lockdowns, when congregants watched TV sermons. Beyond COVID, a formidable challenge to the church, as we move nearer to the last days, a great end-time falling away will ensue, before the return of Jesus and the revealing of the Antichrist. (2 Thess. 2:3; Mat. 24:10-12; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 9:21) This fits with Paul’s argument in the epistle, which suggests that Paul’s concern is not primarily explaining declining attendance, but urging believers to live worthily of their calling in a manner consistent with the church’s unity, holiness, and maturity. 2
Our outreach as we approach Christ’s second coming should increasingly engage members who are equipped with their specific gifts of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:7–10 presents Christ as the one who ascends, triumphs, and gives gifts to his people.3
The citation of Psalm 68, whatever the details of its interpretation, serves Paul’s larger point that the exalted Christ now distributes grace to his church.4 However, in Ephesians 4, the point is not simply that believers possess gifts because Christ won a cosmic battle, but that Christ’s victorious reign richly supplies the church with the ministries necessary for its procedural growth into effective mature church outreach. 5 The “spoils” of Christ’s victory should not become an overarching metaphor that limits Paul’s ministerial emphasis. With an ecclesial emphasis, New Testament historians often argue that the primitive church was controlled by the Spirit and that the church order developed later. Some see Ephesians as representative of an early Catholicism.
While the focus on the Spirit could be lost, from very early in the church’s history, both the Spirit and human leaders were joined.1 Corinthians 12:27–31 makes it clear that no community can exist without some form of leadership, and that the Spirit and institutional order are not antithetical. Servants build toward unity and knowledge of Christ (Eph. 4:11–13). Paul was not setting up a hierarchy of clergy and laity; rather, it speaks of people given to the church to assist its service and edification. The idea is not of gifts given to a special group, but of grace giving empowered people to the church. Compare 1 Cor. 12:28, where God appointed in the church first the apostles, then the prophets, then the teachers; after these three, functions such as powers and gifts of healing are listed. No function is listed in Eph. 4:11, but the same three categories of people are listed with two additions: “evangelists” and “pastors” (lit., “shepherds”), who are joined to “teachers.” These last two form one category, for one Greek article governs both. In other words, the phrase meant “teaching pastors,” and there are only four groups.6
An important truth implicit in Eph 4:7 is that God does not give gifts based on race or social status. They are distributed equally to “each one of us,” and the basis is “as Christ apportioned it” (literally, “the measure of the gift of Christ”). In other words, diversity is grounded in unity, for the entire body is involved. In 1 Corinthians 12:11, it is the Spirit “who distributes them to each one, just as he determines,” while here it is Christ who is in sovereign control of the gifts. Paul describes them as grace-gifts; the very term for spiritual gift is charisma (Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:4), meaning “grace given” to a person. The emphasis here is on the source of these graces: Christ.
Another important concern is our lack of exposure to good theological teaching on whether the functional gifts, such as miraculous healing, prophecy, or guidance by dreams and visions, continue to be gifts of the Holy Spirit. Many pastors hold to a theological position called “Cessationism” — a belief that these gifts were only temporary for the Apostolic age.
Cessationists often cite 1st Corinthians 13:10 “But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” They argue “the perfect” is the Bible. Contrastingly, Continuationists argue that “the perfect” refers to the Second Coming of Christ or the eternal state. Paul follows this by saying we will then see “face to face” and know even as we are known—states of being that clearly haven’t been reached yet. Therefore, the “partial” gifts (prophecy and tongues) must remain until Christ returns. Thereby, Continuationism (or Non-Cessationism) posits that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are still available and commissioned for use in the Church today. Proponents argue that there is no scriptural “expiration date” for these powers.
Theologians argue that the commission to “make disciples of all nations” was accompanied by the promise of Christ’s presence and power. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18. Continuationists maintain that as long as the Commission is active, the empowerment to fulfill it is also active. Wayne Grudem, a systematic theologian, who is a Continuationist notes: Perhaps it would be good for those arguing against continuing prophecy today to give a more sympathetic hearing to the most responsible charismatic writers, simply for the purpose of being able to respond to something that charismatics actually believe (even if not always expressed in theologically precise form), instead of responding to something that cessationists say that charismatics believe or say that charismatics should believe. 7
For example, here are a few bible texts that support the Continuationist viewpoint:
In Acts 2:17-18, Peter, quoting the prophet Joel on the day of Pentecost, defines the “Last Days” as a period characterized by visions and dreams and by prophetic insights given to all (sons, daughters, young, and old). Thus, since the “Last Days” began at Pentecost and continue until the return of Christ, we are still in the era of prophetic outpouring. To stop these gifts would be to claim that the “Last Days” have ended, which is biblically inconsistent.
In 1 Corinthians 14:1, 39, Paul explicitly commands the Church to “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” and to “not forbid speaking in tongues.” If these gifts were meant to vanish with the Apostles, these commands would eventually become traps or lead to disobedience.
Many Continuationists argue that healing is not just a “sign” but a benefit of the Gospel. James 5:14-15 provides a standing protocol for the church: calling the elders to pray and anoint the sick with oil for healing. This instruction was given to the general church, not just to Apostles, suggesting that healing is a normative function of the Kingdom of God until the end of the age. (see Isaiah 53:5)
As we look at the gifts theologically, the counter-position views the Kingdom of God as “already but not yet.” Because the Kingdom has broken into the present age, the supernatural tools of that Kingdom—healing, prophecy, and visions—are seen as necessary equipment for the Church to demonstrate the reality of a living Christ to a skeptical world.
There is no haphazard, random distribution of gifts. Every gift is carefully chosen and apportioned according to God’s sovereign will. In our narcissistic world, we too often are dissatisfied with what Christ has given us and want more. That is to deny God’s grace and will for the sake of self. God gives us exactly what he wants us to have and what is best for us. It is our privilege to accept and use his gracious gifts without question.8
1 Ephesians 4:7–16, especially vv. 7–13.
2 Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians (Dallas: Word Books, 1990).
3 Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999).
4 Frank Thielman, Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010).
5 Markus Barth, Ephesians, Anchor Bible 34–34A (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974).
6 Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 202–203.
7 Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1039.
8 Grant R. Osborne, Ephesians: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 119–121.
Bibliography
Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians. Word Biblical Commentary 42. Dallas: Word Books, 1990.
O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
Snodgrass, Klyne. Ephesians. NIV Application Commentary. Nashville: B&H, 1996.
Thielman, Frank. Ephesians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010.
Barth, Markus. Ephesians. Anchor Bible 34–34A. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974.
Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 1039.
Grant R. Osborne, Ephesians: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017).