What are you Gifted With?
Ephesians 4:7-10
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says,
“WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,
HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES,
AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”
9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
So uh…what is this supposed to mean? This was my thought during my first read of this today. The caps words usually refer to a passage from the Old Testament. Here, it is referring to Psalm 68. If you read the Psalm, you will find it is a song David wrote about the various victories of God in battles throughout the history of Israel. My study bible notes that ascension, captives, and gifts refer to when a victorious warrior would return from battle. He would be “lifted up” as we sometimes see in movies and celebrated as victorious. He would give gifts to his fans, usually things he acquired during his conquests and would also receive gifts from the crowd.
Paul further explains this analogy in verse 9 and 10 which illustrates for us that in order to ascend somewhere, you have to be in a low place to begin with (Earth). This passage briefly highlights Christ’s descending upon earth as a human in order for Him to ascend back to heaven.
This section of the letter is annotated as “spiritual gifts.” We see in verse 7 that we are all gifted uniquely according to God’s grace and what He has given us. What exactly does this mean for us? Yesterday we talked about discovering your Godly purpose: why you were created. Paul is about to explain the importance of our spiritual gifts for the glory of the kingdom.
What spiritual gifts do you possess? I didn’t know until this past year that there was even a way of telling what my spiritual gifts were. You can take a simple test that will get you started (Click Here). I say “get you started” because I think that realizing and developing our spiritual gifts is part of the journey. Think about Harry Potter and how he still had to practice his spells with his wand. You will find, however, that as you realize what your spiritual gifts are, you will be drawn to them and you will realize that not only are they easier to develop (that is, as opposed to ones you do not possess naturally) that you actually enjoy it!
We must remember as we discussed last week, these things are pointless without being plugged in to the power source. A lamp’s purpose is to light up the room, but it cannot fulfill its purpose if it does not have the power needed to make it efficient.
I believe that realizing our spiritual gifts help us in our relationship with God. We start to realize that we do have a purpose, that He has gifted us with something that we enjoy doing. It’s not something we have to do, but something we get to do, that comes naturally, and that glorifies Him. It helps us realize that we aren’t put here to suffer, but to enjoy that which God has given us.
What has God gifted you with to serve Him? Will you?
