The ascension gifts of the Son Jesus Christ
In Part 1 we covered The Gift of the Father as described in John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Father's gift to mankind was his son Jesus Christ. See also the link at the bottom of the page.
In Part 2 we now consider;
The ascension gifts of the Son, Jesus Christ
Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors, and teachers.
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
Comments
v8 Victorious Roman generals on returning to Rome paraded the biggest and strongest of their captives so that the Roman citizens could see the extent of the legion’s victory. They would also have their men shower the crowds with trinkets such as coins and small pieces of jewellery so that the people could share in the victory.
So it was that when Jesus Christ won the greatest victory of all time triumphing over the devil and all his powers and principalities and Jesus made an open show of them!
When he ascended back to heaven, he showered men (the church) not just with trinkets, but the wonderful and precious gifts described in verse 11.
These gifts are known as either the five-fold or four-fold ministry gifts and their purpose is to bring the church of Jesus Christ into a full maturity so that the body can perform the ministry.
All these five ascension gifts are dependent on the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and it may well be that these gifts are not just limited to the ministry gifts (v.11) but also include many other (if not all) the other gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the gift of gifts Himself!
We will cover the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Part 3.
The ascension gifts of Jesus Christ the Son are people set apart to perform the five-fold ministry gifts in the church to bring the body of Christ into a full maturity.
Amen
Prayer
The gift of the Father