The Meaning of Spiritual Gifts in Ephesians 4:11

The Spiritual Gifts in Ephesians 4:11

The last spiritual gifts list found in Paul’s writings is in Ephesians 4:11. The context for this verse is found in Ephesians 4:7-16:

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

4 Types of Spiritually Gifted People

In this passage, Paul lists four types of spiritually gifted individuals: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. (In a previous post, I have described why I consider these four categories instead of five. See “Ephesians 4:11 and the Five-Fold Ministry.” In fact, I’ve covered this entire passage previously. The summary post is called “Ephesians 4:7-16 and Consistency.” There are links to the other posts in the series at the bottom of each post.) There is some overlap between this list and the other lists. Primarily, apostleship, prophecy, and teaching have been mentioned before. However, this is the first time that Paul has mentioned evangelism or shepherding, which seems to be associated with teaching. Once again, Paul does not describe how these specific individuals function. Instead, we see the results that come about when spiritually gifted individuals exercise their gifts for the benefit of the church.

All Gifts are from Christ

Once again, Christ is the focus of this passage. In fact, Christ “measures” the gift (Ephesians 4:7); he is the “measure” of maturity (Ephesians 4:13), and he “measures” each one’s part (Ephesians 4:16). Christ is the one who descended and ascended. Similarly, Christ is the one who gives spiritual gifts to the church through its various members. Specifically, in Ephesians 4:11, Paul emphasizes that Christ is the one who bestows the gifts. While this is not obvious in many translations (“And he gave…” – ESV, NASB), other translations try to bring out the emphasis found in the original: “And He Himself gave…” (NKJV), “It was he who gave…” (NET, NIV), “And He personally gave…” (HCSB).

Thus, this verse focuses not on the individuals but on Christ. Because of His gift, the church can be built up. Unfortunately, the focus is usually shifted to those with the gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11, and these are often called “equipping gifts” because Paul says that they “to equip the saints.” However, this stretches the text beyond what Paul says and ignores the fact that the verb form of the noun translated “to equip” here is often used by all believers (i.e., see Galatians 6:1 where the same verb is rendered “to restore” instead of “to equip”).

So, again, the focus is not on these specific spiritually gifted individuals, but instead, the focus is on what Christ does through any gifted individual. Christ gives spiritual gifts so that he may equip the church through all of the individuals as they exercise their gifts. According to this passage, when gifted individuals exercise their spiritual gifts, the church is built up to maturity in Christ Jesus. That maturity is demonstrated when the church is not carried away by false teaching and when the church works together – each person working as Christ gifts them – to build up itself in love. Again, love is brought into the working of spiritual gifts. This is not an add-on but an essential aspect of working together.

Therefore, Paul makes this list of spiritually gifted individuals to demonstrate that the church is brought toward maturity in Jesus Christ when those gifted individuals exercise their gifts in love. Again, the focus is not on individuals but on Jesus working through individuals to mature his church.