THE GIFT OF CHRIST
Tuesday – December 20, 2016
Greetings from The Three Minute Word publication and Eastern Gate Ministries International, in the name of our Lord and for the benefit of the Kingdom of God. Tuesday and time to be reminded to pray for this Covenant Nation, we may have forgotten our covenant with God but God has not forgotten His covenant with us, which is very good since we benefit daily from His mercy. We must pray for all of those in authority at every level of government and each branch of government. We, the Church, must not stop praying and being the light we are designed to be in the world. Remember that better is the mortal enemy of best so when you see what seem to be revivals arising here and there, it is not the best that God has and many will be false. Now back to our text in Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:6-8 (KJV)
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 up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Gifts and opportunities are given by God however the result, the productivity of our lives is directly proportional to our obedience, our diligence to the call coupled with complete reliance upon Him. I also want to make the point that I do not believe it is possible for us to adequately judge the anticipated reward for ourselves or others. God Himself cannot tell us our full reward until the last gun is fired and the fat lady sings. Our full reward cannot be calculated until the Second Advent of Jesus.
Revelation 22:12 (KJV)
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
We sometimes do not know our own hearts and certainly we do not know the hearts of others. How obedient have we been to the individual call of God, remember many things done here will be wood, hay, and stubble and burned for they had nothing to do with the call of God in our lives. To finish the idea of our reward before we move forward in this Bible Study, consider someone who died and went on to Heaven five hundred years ago. The fullness of their works, their prayers, and their Covenant with God will play out over as much as ten thousand years (one thousand generations). Things going on in my life and in your life today may be some of the fruit of a faithful ancient ancestor. God is so good.
Returning to our text of Ephesians 4:7 let me make one further point about the “grace” of God. The grace (Grace) of God is the Holy Spirit of God who by definition has no limit. This Grace, this Holy Spirit empowers us to maximize whatever the gifts of God are in our lives. God, the Holy Spirit, does not impose a limit except according to our maturity, we choose our level of maturity and we choose the ceiling for our gifts.
Okay, now let’s move forward to the phrase; “the gift of Christ”. The word ‘gift’ here can also be defined as a present (like a Christmas gift) but this gift is given as the result of sacrifice. The gift of salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of eternal life are all possible for all people only by the sacrifice of Christ. Permit me once again to remind us of the meaning of this word ‘Christ’. The word ‘Christ’ can be interpreted as ‘Messiah’, ‘Anointed One’, and or ‘The Anointing’. The first two are referencing Jesus and the third the Holy Spirit.
The Messiah, Jesus, by His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary brought salvation and through His salvation we are entitled to all that the Father restored to Him (Jesus) except to be God (big G). Salvation is rescue or deliverance from all of the curse. We have been given right standing with God, clothed again with the robe of righteousness, again we are sons and daughters of God, eternal life is restored (we are living souls), soon we will have an uncorrupted body like unto the one Jesus has now at the right hand of Majesty on High. There is an evil in the Church that says we are all the same in Heaven and that is not true and the evidence is all around us. There are different rankings and differing rewards all of which are contingent upon us as individuals. Read the lesson from yesterday, and think about all of the rankings given in Scripture in all things.
Jesus, The Anointed One, came to show us the way of salvation and the way to live, He set the ultimate and achievable example. You and I are anointed (by the Holy Spirit) ones and as a result can do as Jesus did and greater things. That does not mean that we are greater than the Master but we have the legal authority to do things that He did not have legal authority to do. Review my teachings on this and Isaiah 61 which spells out the greater things. The things that were part and parcel of the life of Jesus should be just as common in each of our lives and a ‘natural’ part of our lives. Why is this not the current reality? The Pharisees (organized Church) of our time have dumbed us down and destroyed faith, love, and hope in the process. That is not to say there are not sparks of Truth that are starting to ignite here and there.
The third aspect of the word ‘Christ’ is the Holy Spirit who is also known as the Anointing. It was not possible for the saints of the Old Testament to be anointed with the exception of a very few like the King, the Priest, and the Prophet. Now He, the Holy Spirit, the Anointing, is available to all and in all who have received Jesus as Lord. In addition this Anointing is available on request in overflowing giving us the same anointing as Jesus had in the earth.
Oh, brother and sister we have available to us the fullness of salvation, the fullness of the works of Jesus and more, and the fullness of the Anointing available to do our part in the Kingdom of God, will we step into the provision? There are no limits imposed on us by God. Next the Apostle Paul starts a discussion of some specific gifts that Jesus gave to people for the benefit of all persons. Tune in tomorrow.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
