Your Gift of Grace (Eph. 4:7)

You have received the ultimate gift from Jesus Christ—His grace!

While many of us think of one aspect of grace (salvation from sin), we miss what Peter calls the “manifold wonder of grace”—the many layers and characteristics of His grace.

Join Nathan Johnson in this study as we explore Ephesians 4:7 and Paul’s declaration that every Christian has received the fullness of grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

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Key Passage: Ephesians 4:7

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
– Ephesians 4:7

Context: Unity

• Reminder: this is an all outflow of a life IN Christ (Ephesians 1–3)
• Ephesians 4:3 – … being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
• Ephesians 4:4–6– ONE: we are one body (unity) yet different parts/members (symphony)
  • one body
  • one Spirit
  • one hope of your calling
  • one Lord
  • one faith
  • one baptism (change of location – identity)
  • one God and Father of all

The New “One”

• Ephesians 4:7 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
  • Greek word order: to one, but, each
    • “one” is the first word in verse (emphasis) … ties into the previous verses’ emphasis of “one” … yet the word “but” (de) alerts us to a new focus of the “one” (in this case the “but” is less of a contrasting conjunction but used in an explanatory sense). Whereas we were focused on unity and the core aspects of our faith (4:3–6), the focus in 4:7 is not on the community but on individuals within the community and their role in attaining the unity that Paul summarized in 4:1–6. 
  • In short, Paul is explaining how to live out Ephesians 4:1–3 and be a part of the body (4:4–6) in unity … through the grace of God given to us

Grace was given

• Something has been “GIVEN” (didōmi – bestowed, supplied, given, furnished)
• GRACE (charis)
  • Websters 1828 – the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him.⁽¹⁾
  • New Oxford American Dictionary – the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.⁽²⁾
  • 1 Peter 4:10 – As each one has received a gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God …

Two broad categories of grace:

1. Saving grace 

• Ephesians 1:7 – In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace … 
• Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God …

2. Enabling grace (empowerment for living) 

• 1 Corinthians 15:10 – But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 
• 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NLT)– … yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace. 
• Ephesians 3:2, 7–8– … if indeed you heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you … of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the unfathomable riches of Christ …
  • God’s grace draws people into ministry and empowers them to serve
  • Frank Thielman – Just as with 3:2, 7, and 8, the term χάρις [charis] carries with it the connotation not only of an assignment given by God but also of the gift of “the powers and capabilities requisite” to complete the assignment (BDAG 1080).⁽³⁾
• The emphasis throughout the NT is that through God’s enabling grace I can live a holy and godly life … and also to serve, minister, and build up the body of Christ
  • 2 Peter 1:3– … seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
• No wonder we call it “amazing grace”
  • or as Paul calls it: “glorious grace” (1:6), “the surpassing/incomparable/immeasurable riches of His grace” (1:7, 2:7)

How much?

• Ephesians 4:7 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
  • MEASURE (metron) – measure, quantity, standard
  • GIFT (dōrea) – gift, bounty … something acquired or given without compensation in return
    • Vines Dictionary – dōrea [gift] denotes “a free gift,” stressing its gratuitous character; it is always used in the NT of a spiritual or supernatural gift … // W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 264.
    • “the gift of Christ” – a gift He is pleased to give (i.e., His generosity (4:7)) based upon His authority/position (4:8–10)
    • Found: 11 (E3:7, 4:7) … every time the word is used in Acts (4x) it refers to the HS (Acts 2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17)
    • 2 Corinthians 9:15– Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
  • Lynn H. Cohick – If Christ is the agent of the verb, then he is measuring out or apportioning amounts of grace to individuals based on his gift to them for the upbuilding of the congregation. In this case, Paul is noting that the measurement or standard of the grace is Christ’s gift, not believers’ abilities.⁽⁴⁾

Two Ideas Concerning Measurements

1. The Fullness of Grace for Salvation

• Big “S” and small “s” salvation
• every believer has an abundance of grace for salvation (big “S” and small “s”)
  • Romans 5:17 – For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 
  • Ephesians 1:7– In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace … 
  • Ephesians 2:7– … so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

2. The Fullness of Grace for Serving

• every believer has an abundance of grace for the specific area of ministry and life God has called us to
  • God has given you a specific calling with specific gifts (natural and spiritual) with unique personality traits and talents
  • We all get to access different aspects of God’s grace for the specific life and ministry He has called us to
    • Illustration: singleness vs marriage; preaching vs hospitality; CEO of a Fortune 500 company vs a stay-at-home mom
      • one is not better than another in God’s eyes but they do have different pressures and held to different levels of accountability … and thus both need grace
    • The grace required to live out our different professions, callings, and ministries may be different … but we all have what is needed 
    • Romans 12:5–6– … so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us … 

How are we going to live as Christians … in the body?

• Ephesians 4:1–3 – … walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
• God has called all of us for the work of service (4:11), building up the body of Christ (4:11), having unity of the faith (4:12), and the measurement of the full stature of Christ (4:13), growing up in all aspects into Christ (4:15), having all body parts work together (4:16), to cause the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (4:16)
  • We need and have God’s grace!

The Gift of Grace

• Christ is the giver of the gift and He is the one who measures the allotment/amount/assignment of each gift
  • Jewish proposal – groom gives gift to bride to remind her of him and to prepare her for what is ahead 
  • Your gifts are not to lift you up or cause the focus to be upon you … when people see gifts at work in you (empowered by His grace) … they should see and adore the giver of that gift (Jesus). Just as when you are blessed by someone’s gift, you need to see that as a blessing from Jesus.
• The measurement of Christ’s gift does not have levels to it — it is always full … we are given grace according to the measurement of a gift (not a gift with increments, a gift of entirety)
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 – And [Jesus] has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
• Lynn H. Cohick – God’s grace in Christ is infinite, as the church father Jerome illustrates by picturing God’s grace as the ocean and Christ standing in the water ready to fill all those who come to him with their empty jars. Jerome thinks of the sea as containing an infinite amount of water, while the jars hold only a finite amount. Yet all are filled, even as God’s grace is sufficient for each person and the tasks they are assigned.⁽⁵⁾
• 2 Peter 1:3 – … seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness …
• 2 Corinthians 9:8– And God is able to make every grace abound to you, so that in everything at every time having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed …

BONUS QUESTION: Paul describes Jesus as a generous giver … am I generous with the gifts and resources (time, talent, finances, wisdom, etc.) that I have received?

FOOTNOTES

(1) Webster’s Dictionary 1828
(2) New Oxford American Dictionary (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2023).
(3) Frank Thielman, Ephesians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010), 264.
(4) Lynn H. Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020), 257.
(5) Jerome, Commentary on Ephesians (in Heine, 171) as quoted in Lynn H. Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020), 256–257. 

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In Our Next Study Together …

I invite you to join me on this journey from the book of Ephesians to discover God’s eternal purpose, His plan for your life, and learn how to practically live out an abundant and fruitful Christian life. 

• The focus of our next study: Ephesians 4:8–10
  • We are going to talk about the humility (lowness) and exaltation (highness) of Christ Jesus.
  • I encourage you to read through Ephesians a couple of times this week and focus specifically on Ephesians 4.