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00:00There are more than 45,000 self-help books published each year, over 200,000
00:07podcasts in the personal development category. But what if I told you all pale
00:12in comparison to the spiritual development one small book can have on
00:16your life and faith? Just six chapters, 2,000 words and 20 minutes of your time.
00:22Yet its impact lasts a lifetime. It succinctly and powerfully explains what
00:29it means to believe and how to discover God's calling for you. How to find
00:34purpose, overcome obstacles, connect with others, claim a life you love, endure
00:40difficulty, experience the fullness of life, love without limits, and ultimately
00:46be the follower of Christ you've always wanted to be. Join me in God's Word as we
00:52find the proven way to build a belief that thrives, impacts, and endures. A
00:58belief that behaves. It all starts with the book of Ephesians.
01:06Coming up on Turning Point. When the church functions as he has designed it
01:12to function, with everybody doing their part, with the pastors helping people be
01:17equipped to do their work, the result of that is everybody is getting to know, know
01:23God, know Jesus better than they would before. Discover a belief that restores,
01:29relates, rejoices, and behaves in Dr. David Jeremiah's new book, Belief That
01:35Behaves, The Book of Ephesians. In this rich study of Paul's beloved epistle, Dr.
01:40Jeremiah explores what it means to be a follower of Christ in practical terms
01:43and how we should act or behave as believers. Through 19 chapters, you'll
01:48discover God's how-to guide to the Christian life, including resolving
01:52conflict with others, successful marriage and parenting, finding purpose,
01:56overcoming spiritual attacks, and praying effectively. Ephesians has the power to
02:01change your life at home, at church, and at work. Request Belief That Behaves by
02:06Dr. Jeremiah when you give a gift of any amount in support of Turning Point, or if
02:10you give a gift of $75 or more, Dr. Jeremiah will send you in appreciation
02:15the Belief That Behaves set, which contains his new book, his complete
02:19two-volume teaching series on your choice of CD or DVD, and two correlating
02:23study guides. From the first verse to the last, the truths contained in Ephesians
02:28will fill your heart with joy and strengthen your relationships with
02:31others. Request the Belief That Behaves book or study set, new from Dr. Jeremiah,
02:36when you contact Turning Point today.
02:40Thank you for watching Turning Point. And now, here is Dr. Jeremiah with his
02:46message, The Diversity of Unity. All of us, no matter who we are, whether we're
02:55young or old, male or female, whatever ethnic background we may come from, we
02:59are all originally gifted from God. We have a gift. Did you know the Bible says
03:04in James that every good gift and every perfect gift is from our Father in
03:09Heaven? In many respects, all of us, whether we are Christians or not, are the
03:14products of a great and given God. So, before you even come to Christ, before
03:19you even know about Christ, you are born into this world as a gift from God, and
03:24he gives you all talents. Everybody's got something from God that he's equipped
03:29you with. But because you are given a gift on your first birth, you should not
03:35be surprised that when you have your second birthday as a Christian, God gives
03:39you another gift. Did you know that? First Peter 4.10 says it this way,
03:45as each one of us has received a gift, minister it to one another as good
03:50stewards of the manifold grace of God. While your actual existence is a gift
03:56from God, and if you are a Christian, you have been given a special gift, you may
04:01be totally unaware of just how gifted you are. Not all of God's children are
04:07passionate to discover their special gifts, and some who know what their gifts
04:11are aren't very passionate to develop them. Someone has said your talent and
04:16ability is God's gift to you, but what you do with that talent and ability is
04:22your gift to God. And that's true for all of us, no matter who we are. As we
04:28continue our study of Ephesians 4 today, we're going to see how God has equipped
04:32each person in the body of Christ with a special, one-of-a-kind gift, gifts that
04:38are essential to the health and growth of the church. First of all, beginning in
04:42verse 7 of Ephesians 4, we read of God's provision of these gifts. It says,
04:48but to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's
04:53gift. Now, the word but is at the beginning of this section to help us
04:57understand that it's a contrast. Verses 1 through 6 are all about the unity of
05:02the body, and verse 7 begins a section about the diversity of the body. And
05:07diversity is not discounted by unity, nor unity by diversity belong together. The
05:14church is unified because it's made up of a bunch of people who have different
05:19gifts, but they come together in unity for a central purpose. First Corinthians
05:2412, 4 through 6 is a key passage. There are diversities of gifts, but the same
05:31Spirit. There are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there
05:36are diversities of activities, but is the same God who works all in all. We are in
05:41unity, and we have diversity. Our diversity provides unity because it's
05:46all in the name of Christ. We are in Christ. The Bible teaches that Jesus gives
05:52spiritual gifts to each one of us when we're saved. It's an imperceptible thing.
05:57We aren't aware of it, but it's true nonetheless. And a spiritual gift,
06:01according to my understanding of the truth, is a divine ability that God gives
06:06to Christians for the purpose of glorifying God and serving other people.
06:11Now, the Bible tells us that there are 19 individual spiritual gifts that are
06:16available to us as Christians. We're not going to go through all of them, so I
06:19don't have a 19-point message. I'm sure you're happy about that. But let me tell
06:24you where you can find the lists. Here in Ephesians 4, and in Romans 12, and
06:291 Corinthians 12. Every Christian has at least one of the spiritual gifts that
06:35are listed on that list. First Peter says, as each one has received a gift. That
06:42means everybody gets one. As each one has a gift, minister it to each other as good
06:49stewards of the manifold grace of God. Now, some believers have more than one
06:53gift. I've known some people who are multi-gifted, and they're amazing people.
06:58God has entrusted them with more than one gift. Here's another truth. The Bible
07:03says that when God gives us gifts, he always gives us grace to go along with
07:08those gifts. That's what the text says. In fact, in Ephesians 4, it says that the
07:13grace of God is sufficient for the gift we have received. Now, what that means is
07:18the more gifted you are, the more grace you need. The more gifted God has created
07:24you to serve him, the more grace you need to exhibit those gifts in the spirit of
07:28humility. This is a good place for me to insert a little saying that has meant a
07:33lot to me. That there is no limit to what God can do for you if you will just stay
07:38hungry and stay humble. Hungry to keep doing new things that have never been
07:43done before, but stay humble about what happens when you do it. We need to
07:49remember that because God has given us these gifts, because he's endowed us with
07:54these promises, he's done that so that we can serve him. And he promises to lift up
08:01the lowly and bring down those who are proud. I need to tell you, it's a terrible
08:05thing to see a gifted person who does not understand the grace that is necessary to
08:10go with their gift. If God has gifted you, not because of you, it's because of
08:17his grace that he's gifted you. Humble yourself before God or he will humble
08:23you. Make sure you understand that. So, the provision of God's gifts. And then
08:28notice the price of it. Paul highlighted Christ as the giver of spiritual gifts.
08:33And in verses 8 through 10, he pauses, Paul does, to reflect on why this giver
08:39has the right to give gifts to Christians. Now, here is one of the most sort of, from
08:44our perspective, convoluted passages you will ever read. And I'm going to read it,
08:48and when I get done, you will understand what I mean. Therefore, he says, when he
08:53ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. Now this,
08:59he ascended. What does it mean? But that he also first descended into the lower
09:03parts of the earth. He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all
09:08the heavens that he might fill all things. Now, this verse has baffled believers for
09:14centuries. It's sometimes difficult to follow Paul's argument. Please remember,
09:20we're reading this in English as a translation from the Greek language. And
09:25how many of you know, it's often impossible to translate one language into another
09:31language so that the full meaning of the original language can be comprehended. So,
09:34you got to really dig deeper. Let me tell you what's going on in this passage. First
09:39of all, there's an Old Testament promise. Paul, the master teacher, quotes a very
09:44difficult passage from the Old Testament. See if you can remember and see how
09:48familiar this sounds. Psalm 68, 18 says, you have ascended on high, you have led
09:54captivity captive, you have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious
10:00that the Lord God might dwell there. Now, this is a quote from Psalm, from David.
10:05David is celebrating. This is kind of like a celebratory hymn. David has just won a war
10:10against the Jebusites of Jerusalem. And he is now celebrating this. And he is saying in
10:16his celebration, God, you have won the war against Satan and his adversaries. You have
10:21helped us be victorious. And now you are ascended on high. In the ancient world,
10:27when an army would enter the city and would win the war against that city, here's what they
10:32would do. The commander of that army would enter the city and gather up all the spoil. Then he
10:38would gather up all the captured soldiers and all the other people who lived in that city. And at
10:43last he would rescue and set free all of his own soldiers that had been captured by the enemy
10:49during the war. Then the commander would go back to his own city and lead a kind of celebratory
10:55parade. The army would march through their city to display the results of their victory,
11:00the spoil, the captives who had been in the battle, and their own captives who had now been
11:04freed. That's what Scripture means when it says he led captivity captive. Paul uses this well-known
11:12motive to illustrate what Christ did. He came to earth and defeated our enemies, sin, Satan,
11:18and death. He was victorious over them all. And he returned back to heaven as the conquering king
11:24and paraded before all the hosts of heaven with the spoils of war. And it says in Colossians 2.15,
11:31having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them,
11:37triumphing over them in it. Wouldn't you like to have been there to see that parade
11:42when Jesus came back from his victory over Satan, sin, and death, and celebrated it with
11:47a triumphal victory? Notice the New Testament proof that follows. Now Paul applies this Old
11:51Testament reference to Christ in the New Testament by asking this question. Now this, he says in verse
11:58nine, what does it mean but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
12:04He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all
12:09things. When Christ came to this world, he came down into Bethlehem and was born as a baby. Then
12:17when he died, he went down into the grave. And then after his death, he went into the bowels of
12:24the earth and he preached the gospel. That's what Peter was referring to in another difficult to
12:29understand passage. Peter said, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust,
12:36that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit,
12:42by whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison. According to Peter, Jesus was put to
12:49death in the flesh, but he was made alive in the Spirit and he preached. Paul's point in Ephesians
12:564, 8 to 10 is this. It's to explain that Jesus paid the infinite price coming to earth, suffering
13:04death, going to the grave, preaching to the demons, coming back into heaven. He did all of that in
13:10order that he might rightfully have the authority to stand in heaven and distribute gifts to all of
13:15his children. So, somebody says, yeah, I got a spiritual gift, but it's no big deal. I want to
13:20tell you it's a big deal. It created an incredible pattern for our Savior to come and bring these
13:28gifts to us so that we might serve him. These gifts are given to us by God. They were purchased
13:34for us by the death, burial, and resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. We've talked
13:39about the provision of gifts and the price of gifts. Now, let's focus on the purpose of them.
13:44Why has God given spiritual gifts to his children? Why do we need them? Paul answered that question
13:49in verses 11 and 12. Here he says, and he himself gave some to be apostles and some prophets and
13:55some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the
14:01ministry, for the edifying in the body of Christ. Now, follow me. The Bible says that we needed these
14:09gifts so that the church could function. Now, Jesus says that he gave us some gifts for the
14:14foundation of the church, verse 11, and he himself gave some to be apostles and prophets. I'm sure,
14:22like me, you have seen people on television who call themselves apostle somebody,
14:28but that might be a nice thing to do, but there's no apostles today. There's no such thing as a
14:34current apostle because the qualification for being an apostle, according to the New Testament,
14:39was apostles had to have seen the risen Christ. They had to have witnessed the resurrection,
14:46and they had to have the ability to perform signs and wonders, and they were given to the church for
14:52the foundation of the church. Why was that necessary? The Scripture hadn't been completed
14:56yet. God gave us apostles, and he gave us prophets who foretold the Word of God. So,
15:02the gifts of apostle and the gift of a prophet are foundational gifts. Prophets are spokesmen
15:08or mouthpieces for God. They told what the Bible said and what it meant, and they foretold the
15:14future. In other words, apostles and prophets were given to the church to help us get started.
15:20They were foundational pieces for that moment. They're not present in the church today.
15:25Two thousand years later, we're not still working on the foundation. You got it?
15:32So, if you think you know an apostle, give him a hug,
15:38but don't call him apostle because you're not telling the truth. Now, the church is the
15:44foundation of the apostles and prophets. And by the way, folks, what is that? That's the Bible
15:48because the apostles and the prophets, we have everything they want us to know in this book.
15:53So, the foundation of the church basically is the Word of God. You got it? The apostles
15:59in the New Testament, the prophets in the Old Testament. It's the Bible, the foundation of
16:04the church. By the way, that's why we teach it in the church. This is our foundation.
16:09And then he says there's some gifts for the formation of the church, and he himself gave
16:13some to be evangelists and some pastors and teachers. In the New Testament, evangelists
16:19went about preaching the good news. Philip in the book of Acts is the illustration. They were
16:24divinely equipped to win the lost. They understood the questions that sinners had, and they were
16:30given the opportunity to preach the gospel. In verse 12, he says that he gives us, and I believe
16:38the word pastor and teacher go together, pastor hyphen teacher. These are people who teach the
16:44Word of God and shepherd the flock. I believe that God has given me the gift of pastor teacher.
16:49That's what I do. Now, how does that work? This next verse needs to be really understood carefully
16:56because it's usually not understood. He gives us evangelists and pastor teachers for the equipping
17:03of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Now, here's
17:08the way this verse normally looks in the minds of most people. He himself gave some to be apostles,
17:15some prophets. He gave some evangelists and some pastor teachers so that they could equip the saints,
17:21do the work of the ministry, and edify the body of Christ. That's the way people read the verse.
17:26In other words, I'm the pastor. I have to equip the saints, do the work of the ministry, and edify
17:31the body of Christ. People who believe that usually burn out because that's not what the verse says.
17:37Let me read to you the way this verse is constructed. For the equipping of the saints
17:43so that they can do the work of the ministry and edify the body of Christ. My job is to teach and
17:50equip the people who are in the church so that they can take up the mantle and do the work of
17:56the ministry, and that's how a church flourishes. Churches don't grow from the outside in. They grow
18:02from the inside out through the giftedness of the people who are in the church. It's an amazing
18:07thing, and more amazing to me every year that I do this. Think of it like a wonderful orchestra.
18:12God has given to us this great diversity of gifts so that we can function and produce something
18:17beautiful. Everyone playing their own instrument, but all in harmony, and Jesus Christ as the great
18:23conductor with the glory of God as our great purpose. That's what the church is about. That's
18:29what we do. What a thrill it is to be a part of something like that. So, we have the provision of
18:35the gifts from God, the price of the gifts, the purpose of it. Now, what is the point of it?
18:40What happens when a church functions like this? What should we look for? How should we identify
18:46whether we're doing it or not? Well, don't be surprised because Paul mentions the word unity
18:51again. He says, "'Til we all come to the unity of the faith.'" Use this giftedness that God has given
18:58you along with others and watch how the unity of the faith develops. The faith is the Scripture.
19:03The faith is what we believe. "'Til we come to the unity of the faith." Then he says, it not only
19:09produces unity, it produces intimacy. The second reason why God gives spiritual gifts to the church
19:16is in verse 13, "'Til we all come to the unity of the knowledge of the Son of God." The word
19:23knowledge here is important. It means not just being acquainted with somebody, but having a deep,
19:29ongoing knowledge of that person. The Bible says that as Christians, we're to give ourselves with
19:35intensity to knowing Jesus Christ. We're to be passionate about it, not just knowing about him,
19:42not just knowing who he is, but knowing him in a really personal way. How do you get to know him?
19:47You get to know him through the study of the Word of God. You get to know him through prayer. I happen
19:53to believe that pain and suffering also are tools that God gives to us so that we can know him.
20:00And the Bible says that when the church functions as he has designed it to function,
20:04with everybody doing their part, with the pastors helping people be equipped to do their work,
20:10the result of that is everybody is getting to know, know God, know Jesus better than they would
20:16before. And then the Bible says you not only have unity and intimacy, but you get maturity.
20:22Paul concludes verse 13 by reminding us that we are reaching to a perfect man, to the measure of
20:29the stature of the fullness of Christ. In essence, what Christ wants from all of us in the church is
20:36that we grow up to be like Christ. Almighty God wants you and me to grow up. He wants us to be in
20:42a place where we can look back over our shoulders and see some progress in our spiritual walk.
20:47It says to become a perfect man, not sinlessly perfect. It means to be mature.
20:55How many of you know that you can't be a mature Christian if you're not serving the Lord?
21:00The next reason for having spiritual gifts in the church is so that we'll have stability. Notice
21:05verse 14, that we should no longer be children. That word is babies. That we should no longer be
21:13babies tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men
21:20and the cunning craftiness and deceitful plotting. Let me tell you something I know,
21:25not because it's just in the Bible. I know it by personal experience. Satan is after us. He's not
21:32for us. He's against us. He wants to destroy us. He wants to devour our influence. He wants to take
21:39us out of our game and get us off on sidetracks that mean nothing, and he is really good at it.
21:47Here the Bible says he uses the trickery of men. The word trickery in the Greek language is the
21:53word kubia. It's a word for the word cube, and it's from that word that we get the English word
21:59cube or dice. Paul's referring to loaded dice. Satan has loaded dice, you guys. He rolls the dice.
22:07He knows where they're going, but he's going to try to deceive you. Look at all the words that
22:11are in here, deception, trickery. That's how Satan works, and the Bible says that when you
22:16use the gifts that God has given you, you embody his truth in your life, and you're out serving
22:22other people, determining how best you can build the body of Christ from the inside out. You build
22:28a kind of stability that keeps you away from being a victim of the one who's trying to destroy you.
22:34Finally, the last result of being gifted and using your gift is you have authenticity. Ephesians 4.15
22:43says, speaking the truth in love, you grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ.
22:50What is authenticity? It's speaking the truth in love. Our enemies and the deceivers around us
22:57use trickery and cunning. We are called to be authentic. We are called to speak the truth
23:03in love. Someone has said that truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.
23:13Notice, we need both truth and love in balance. The Bible says when we allow these gifts of God
23:19to take root in our lives, we passionately go and find out what we're gifted to do.
23:24We get involved in doing it. God gives to us a kind of inner strength and stability that helps
23:30us ward off the enemy as he comes to deceive and destroy us. And the result of it all, the potential
23:37of it all is in verse 15 and 16, and I can just read it. What happens when all this takes place
23:43is we grow up in all things from whom the whole body joined together is knitted by what every
23:49joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share
23:54and causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. The church grows, ladies and
24:02gentlemen, from the inside out. We grow the church when we understand what God wants us to do, what
24:08our part is. If everybody in this church were fully utilizing the gifts they were given by God
24:14when they got saved, we'd have to have 10 services every week. There wouldn't be room for the people
24:20who were coming to Christ, and this is not meant to make us feel guilty but to challenge us.
24:26That God has something for all of us to do. You say, well, I'm not sure you don't know. Yeah, I do know
24:30you. I know you are one of the people that he said would receive this gift. You are one of the each,
24:38the each one. One of my favorite people in church history is Dwight L. Moody. I love this guy because
24:46he was so authentic. I heard a story about Moody that one day a man came up to him after he had
24:52preached, and he said, Mr. Moody, I listened while you were speaking, and you made 17 grammatical errors
24:59in your sermon, and he gave him a piece of paper that he had listed all of his grammatical errors,
25:06and Moody just said in response, I'm doing the best with what God has given me, are you?
25:13And that's the question I want to ask you today. I'm doing the best with what God has given me.
25:20Are you doing the best with what God has given you? That's a good question. That's a question
25:27we all need to wrestle with. God is the great giver of gifts. What are you and I doing with
25:33everything we have received? Thank you for watching Turning Point. When you give a gift
25:46of any amount in support of this program, Dr. Jeremiah will send you in appreciation his new
25:51book, Belief That Behaves, The Book of Ephesians. And if you give a gift of $75 or more, Dr. Jeremiah
25:59will send you the Belief That Behaves set, which contains his new book, his complete two-volume
26:04teaching series on CD or DVD, and two correlating study guides. Thank you for your support. Request
26:11these resources when you contact Turning Point today. Thank you for joining us on Turning Point
26:19as Dr. Jeremiah taught from the Book of Ephesians and shared the many blessings that believers have
26:24through Christ. But if you have never put your faith in Jesus Christ before, Dr. Jeremiah would
26:30like to help you take your first steps by sending you two resources. The first is a booklet called
26:35Your Greatest Turning Point, which will help you begin your relationship with Christ. And the second
26:41is our monthly devotional magazine, Turning Points, to give you encouragement and inspiration
26:46throughout the year. These resources are yours completely free when you contact Turning Point today.
26:56Turning Point Plus is a BibleStrong library of on-demand teaching from Dr. David Jeremiah.
27:02Over 40 years of BibleStrong teaching and more, available on all your favorite devices.
27:10Watch the Turning Point series you love at any time. Plus, discover new never-before-seen
27:16collections today. Visit turningpointplus.org to get started.
27:24Next time on Turning Point. The word teacher associated with Jesus Christ is in the New
27:30Testament 45 times. He's not just your Lord. He's not just your Savior. He's not just your friend.
27:36He's your teacher. And if you sit at the feet of Jesus, you will grow,
27:42and the new man will be increased, and the old man will be pushed out.
27:47Thank you for being with us today. Join Dr. Jeremiah next time for his message,
27:52The New and the Old, here on Turning Point.
28:01Thousands of Christians take cruises for their vacations. So why not take a cruise with Turning
28:06Point? Enjoy a Bible conference on the water. When you set sail with David and Donna Jeremiah,
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