Paul the
apostle called for the Ephesian church members to “endeavor” “to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”, and then he
gave several examples of this “oneness” as he mentioned “one
body, one Spirit, one hope” of their “calling”, “one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all”. In
chapter four and verse seven of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul
told them how “grace” is “given” “to us” “according
to the gift of Christ” where we read:
But unto
every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift
of Christ.
The
verse begins, “But unto every one of us is given
grace...” Paul began with the
phrase, “But” which
is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated, “moreover,
notwithstanding, nevertheless and also” “unto every
one” or “each person” “of
us” which refers to the
Ephesians and Paul “is given”
or “granted, supplied, furnished and delivered” “grace”
which means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness,
charm, loveliness, goodwill, lovingkindness and unmerited favor”.
God's “grace” is
available to everyone.
The
verse goes on to say, “...according
to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Paul
continued, “according to” or
“down from, through out, toward and along” “the
measure” which means
“determined extent, portion, limit, fit and the due” “of
the gift” or “gratuity”
“of Christ” who is
“the anointed One, the Messiah and Son of God”. The “grace”
of God is afforded to everyone, and it's “measure” is
pertaining to “Christ's gift”.
When
we consider these words of Paul, we marvel again at the extent of
God's far reaching attempt to fellowship with Him. Everyone has
“grace”, the “unmerited favor” of God available to
them, and the “measurement” of His “grace” is
“Christ's gift”. Oh that we might give praise to our
glorious God and His Son Jesus Christ for the blessings They have
made available to us.
Next
time Paul shares how Jesus “ascended up on high”, “led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment