To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Ephesians 4:7)
The marvelous mosaic of people that makes up the body of Christ was never meant to be a colorless uniformity. God’s desire has never been to run the nations through his salvation factory and reproduce identical little Christian replicates. Yes, the body is marked by a Spirit-enabled unity (v. 4), but within that unity is a remarkable diversity, one that is based on more than merely different cultures, experiences, and personalities – it is based on the various gifts Christ has distributed for the enrichment of our common life together in him. But all our various gifts come from Christ’s one, true Gift: the Holy Spirit who enables both our unity and diversity.
Verse 8 refers to Psalm 68:18 which describes God’s victory march, the ancient custom after battle when the victors led their defeated captives in procession and divided the spoils of war among the people. Paul applies this to Jesus, who ascended to the right hand of God with the principalities and powers he defeated as his train of captives (cf. 1:20-23; Col. 2:15). At the end of his victory march he shared the ultimate Gift with his people (Acts 2:33) who has gifted each with grace “for works of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (vv. 12-13) All who are in Christ have been given a gift-giving Gift who makes us to be the very hands and feet of Jesus in the world.
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