Last week we read the previous
two verses and most of you will remember that we spoke about
there being one Lord and one faith and one body and one spirit. So that the true Church of God
is not divided. The true Church of God is one
body. And the Apostle really continues
that same as we read the 7th verse, but unto every one of
us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Now, as we know, I'm sure, grace
is the free, unmerited favour of God. And the Lord here, through
the Apostle Paul, is speaking to the Church of God. And he's saying, every one of
us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. So what we see here is that the
Lord God, in His sovereignty, does give all His people gifts. But they vary. They're not all
the same. There is, of course, that great
gift of eternal life, and that great gift of that knowledge
of the Saviour. But there are many other gifts
which the Lord gives to His Church as we walk in this world. And
we are to use those gifts that God gives to us. We're not to
bury them. We're not to ignore them. You
remember the parable of the talent where the Lord gave one five
and one two and one one talent. And the one who was given the
one talent, he just buried it in the ground. He didn't use
it. And so, as God gives us talents,
He gives us abilities, we are to use them for the honour and
glory of God, and for our own benefit. And to realise that
these graces direct us, essentially, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and
His great gift toward us, the gift of eternal life, and that
gift coming to us through what He has done in giving His life
to take away all our sins. And so we have this very clear
statement that unto everyone, everyone is given grace according
to the measure of the gift of Christ. So we shouldn't really
look around and say, well, that person has a lot more grace than
I do, and we tend to turn away from it and think, well, I should
have that amount. You know, there was that situation
in the Apostle Paul's day when there was those people that were
advocating to go and follow Apollos and some Paul, And they were
admonished because the Lord had called Paul to do his work. He called Apollos to do his work. They were all doing that which
God had called them to do. And therefore, as you and I are
called to do God's work, whatever that may be, have a small, have
a great, and the Lord knows what He will do with us. We should
do it willingly. and we should do it heartily
unto the Lord. That's a great object, isn't
it? To do all unto the Lord. Not pleasing ourselves, but doing
that which God has given us the ability to do. And so, the Apostle
says, but unto every one of us is given grace according to the
measure of the gift of Christ. It's a wonderful blessing, isn't
it, to think that Christ gives us, unworthy sinners, gifts. And they are varied. We won't
go through a long list tonight because of time, but you can
ponder what all those gifts might be that He's given to us. The
gift of believing, the gift of repentance. There are so many
things to remember. And none of them we can actually
physically do without receiving the gift of God to be able to
follow them out. And then, he carries on and says,
Wherefore, he said, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men. And that is, in fact, a
quotation, almost, in the Psalms. The 68th Psalm gives these very
similar words. read what it says in the 68th
Psalm and it's the 18th verse 68 and verse 18. We read this. Thou hast ascended up on high. Thou hast led captivity captive.
Thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious
also. that the Lord God might dwell
among them. Well, that was prophecy. Prophecy that David was given,
and now we know the fulfilment of that, because we know that
Lord Jesus Christ has ascended up on high. And when we think
of that, it's a wonderful thought, because we realise that in order
for Jesus to do that, He had conquered sin, death, hell and
the grave. And on that wonderful occasion,
His disciples were there. And He ascended from them, taken
up to heaven in a cloud. And the angels told them, this
same Jesus will come again. And that surely should be an
encouragement to us. We don't know when that time will come,
but we do know it will come. And the great issue is that every
one of us to be ready for the time when the Saviour comes when
every eye shall see Him. And so He ascended up on high. He had completed the glorious
work that His Father had given Him to do. It was a very arduous
work and it cost Him His life. He shed His precious blood in
order to fulfil that which His Father had given Him to do. It
had been prefigured for many centuries through the Passover
and that Lamb slain and the blood spilled and the blood shed upon
the doorpost and the lintel. But now we are able to observe
the fulfilment of what that symbolised in the wonderful blessing of
the Saviour coming into this world and to complete His Father's
will He laid in the grave those three days and then He rose from
the dead a conqueror and then He ascended after those 40 days
to glory and there He sits today on the Father's right hand there
to intercede for us here tonight as we pray unto our Father in
heaven and whenever we pray to realise we have a wonderful ascended
Saviour. When He ascended up on high,
He led captivity captive. Yes, the devil was a captive. The devil is a captive. He is allowed to do many things. But he is only allowed to do
that which he is allowed to do. He isn't allowed a free reign. And so, we're told here, the
Lord led captivity captive. It's really following through
a figure that used to occur in Old Testament days. When there
was a great victory, they used to take the captives, and especially
the important ones that they'd captured, and lead them on a
victory walk, as it were, to demonstrate how They'd been delivered
and there was the captives. Well, we're thankful tonight
to know that Lord Jesus Christ has conquered the devil. He's
conquered him and he is a vanquished foe. And although, of course,
he tempts us often and much, he can only go as far as the
Lord gives him licence to do. And then he says, not only that,
and he gave gifts unto men. And we know the great and glorious
gift that was given after the Lord had ascended up to glory
was the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Ghost. And
that was set forth on that wonderful day of Pentecost, when there
was that outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And we are thankful today
that we today, in measure, are able to observe the great work
of the Holy Spirit of God, working in our hearts, working in other
people's hearts, moving them, changing them, convicting them,
and directing them to that one and only Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, this great gift of the
Holy Spirit the Lord has given, and there are many other gifts
He's given us the privilege tonight of being able to come together
to worship. He's given us a measure of health and strength. He's
given us food to eat and clothes to wear. He's given us friends
to meet with. He's given us the Word of God
to read. There are many gifts God has given us. We're not deserving
of them, but we should be very thankful that we have been granted
them and that we may praise God and thank Him for them. And so
tonight, As we have these words, may we truly come and bless God
and praise God that He is ascended up on high, the victorious Saviour,
and having led captivity captive, and has given gifts unto men. What a blessing if you and I
are the recipients of those gifts. Amen.