DISCOVERING OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Ephesians 4:7-16
by Pastor Santos Yao

Our passage this morning speaks of spiritual gifts. It follows the injunction that we must “live a life worthy of our calling” (v.1), and put on the Christ-like character (vv. 2-6) Apparently, having gifts but without character is but useless and meaningless (cf. 1 Cor. 13:1-3). This tells us that before we can meaningfully and effectively use our God-given spiritual gifts, we must bear in mind to use it in a Christ-like manner.
When we look at Ephesians 4:7-16, it can be divided into 3 segments:

1. The reality of our spiritual gifts vv. 7-10
       · this is emphasized by the words “He gave” (v. 7, 11)
       · it became a reality after His complete victory over His enemies
 
2. The variety of our spiritual gifts v. 11
       · only 4 (or 5) of these gifts are given in Ephesians
       · other gifts are mentioned in 1 Cor. 12-14; Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Pet. 4:10-11
 
3. The purpose of our spiritual gifts vv. 12-16
       · the purpose is spelled out by the important prepositions in the passage
       · immediate purpose: “for the perfecting of the saints” (v. 12)
       · intermediate purpose: “unto the work of service” (v. 12)
       · ultimate purpose: “until the Body of Christ is built up” (v. 13-16)
               o that is, until we all reach full maturity
               o maturity is seen in 4 areas;
                   - unity of the faith and the full knowledge of the Son of God
                   - stability in the faith / a full grown man, no longer a child
                   - truthing in love
                   - proper function of everyone within the Body

We all have spiritual gifts. We must discover our spiritual gifts. We must use our spiritual gifts to build up one another, always focusing our efforts towards maturity.
Knowing this, we must now roll up our sleeves, and get on going… together now.