Duration of the Gifted Men

In this episode, we explore the conditions attached to the text that describes a completed and matured stage that is reached by and through the gifted men that Christ gave His body. It took divine intervention to legislate and enforce the assimilation of Gentiles into the body. Humans would have prevented the creation of this "one new man." In this lesson, we respond to the view that these conditions are unattainable in this life, making the work of what is commonly referred to as the fivefold gospel an ongoing work today. Even though it is extremely difficult to identify such men today, it is thought that God uses the same venue today to fulfill these conditions. While it is true that any work of God that aids us in sanctification and holiness will contribute to our transformation, but the text of Ephesians 4:11-13 is about specific gifted men that Christ gave His people until such a time that certain conditions of maturity were accomplished. When this occurs, the gifted men are no longer needed. We reach this conclusion based on the illustration of the human stages of maturity and manhood. When moving from one stage to another, you put away those elements that were necessary at the time for development. For this reason, we do not see grown adults squeezing into a child's walker or reaching for a bottle to get a drink. And, though the growth never occurs overnight, it does occur. Similarly, the conditions described as being fulfilled one day is not a description of individual perfection or maturity but of the maturity of the "one new man" that includes Gentiles as fellow heirs. One obstacle in the way is the idea that this truth of Gentile inclusion was already established as early as Acts 10-11. This assumes that the revealing of truth was all that was necessary for Jewish acceptance. Like an immature child who grows out of certain necessary but childish elements, the Jews and Gentiles becoming equal brothers was a stage of development that required some time to accomplish. These conditions explain what was accomplished when moving from childhood to manhood, spiritually.