A Measure of Grace

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

A MEASURE OF GRACE

Eph 4:7-13

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 9 (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

NIV

Once again, there are a lot of theological points to explore and see how this plays out in our lives. First, we should consider this grace that has been given as Christ apportioned it. It would be clearer if we knew what this grace that has been given by Christ. If we understand the Greek word Charis correctly from the lexicon, we see how it can be used as the divine influence upon our hearts and how that is reflected in our lives. Therefore, we would consider that Jesus has apportioned or rather measured out, which the Greek word metron means, through the power of the Spirit His divine influence upon our hearts. Each one of us has this divine influence as it is measured out by Jesus. This might imply that this grace is not unlimited but that we simply receive a measure of it. We wonder if that is because of our being in this fleshly body and therefore we would not be able to handle the full measure of God’s grace and that it would overwhelm us beyond our comprehension or grasp. Nevertheless, Christ has given the church gifts, which are a vehicle of this grace. We will see these gifts to the church and look at them one by one, and their divine purpose, but for now let us be content that we have received a measure of grace, a measure of his divine influence upon our hearts so that we can live a life worthy our calling.