Ephesians 4:7

“But unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ”

“Unto each one of us”: While Paul will mention specific areas of service (Ephesians 4:11), it is also true that very Christian possesses. talent or gift that they must use (Matthew 25:14; Romans 12:4). “Within the unity of the body each member has. distinctive part to play,. distinctive service to perform, for the effective functioning of the whole” (Bruce pp. 339-340). Often you will hear people argue that diversity of backgrounds, personalities, and cultures makes unity in the church impossible, especially in doctrine. It is interesting to note that what many people consider to be an obstacle to unity, God sees as. means to strengthening the body. Division is not caused by the mere fact that people have differing talents. With the right attitude, such people can accomplish much. Neither is background or culture an inherent barrier to unity, because the congregations in the first century were composed of people from all sorts of cultures (Jewish and Gentile), backgrounds (slaves and free), and socio-economic levels (rich and poor).

“Was the grace given”: “His favor has been bestowed upon each one of us” (Wms). Definitely every Christian has come into contact with the grace of God (Ephesians 1:6), but "grace" can also refer to. realm of service given by God (Romans 12:6; Ephesians 3:2; Ephesians 3:7). Seeing that all Christians have both received salvation from God and some area of service all Christians are morally obligated to work towards the unity and growth of the body of Christ. “As. motive to keep the unity of the Spirit--none is overlooked--each has his part in the distribution of the gifts which he is bound to use for the well-being of the whole” (Alford p. 1229). “According to the measure of the gift of Christ”: “His due portion of Christ's bounty” (NEB). “Out of the rich diversity of Christ's giving” (Phi). “Measure”:. degree. The context is talking about "gifts" (Ephesians 4:8), therefore Paul is not saying that Christ gives differing degrees of "grace" (that results in salvation). All Christians receive the exact same forgiveness, and redemption. “Paul argued that Christians were to accept the fact that God designates certain individual differences among persons” (Caldwell p. 171). Hence this passage is teaching basically the same truth as that found in 1 Corinthians 12:4 ff and Romans 12:4. yet carefully note that in Romans 12:4 ff, Paul speaks of "spiritual gifts" and not-so spiritual gifts in the same context (Ephesians 12:6-8). Therefore some of the same principles that applied to spiritual gifts also apply to what people call "God-given abilities". Such talents are to be used to build up the body of Christ. We should not envy some talented Christian, for we are just as talented in another area. We need to be grateful to God for what we can do well and not "fret" about areas of service for which we are not fitted, or which God has excluded us.