“However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:7-16 NLT
The body of Christ is wonderfully made. In itself, it is a highly tuned organism consisting of many moving parts. Each part is part of a system and these systems form the whole. As humans in a relationship with Christ, it has been revealed to us that this is a picture of who God is as well. Therefore, it stands to reason that when God gives us blessings to be his hands and feet in this world, he would do so by enabling this unity. Unfortunately, many in the body of Christ do not realize that their spiritual blessings are gifts to edify the body. Instead, they believe that their blessings are for personal gain. Though there is shared reciprocity within how a gift works for the Body, it is not the prime purpose. Indeed, the name is implied in the subject. They are gifts. They are not purchases. They are given by one who possesses them, as a means of blessing others and they are given, not simply for edification, but also for unification into the very image of God they were derived from.
JOSH McGARY. COM 