Christ's Gifts to the Church

Christ’s Gifts to the Church and the Call to Ordain Brian Garcia

Well, this morning, and Lord willing, not too long a time, Conley and I, on behalf of the entire church, are going to lay hands on Brian Garcia and ordain him to the work of the ministry here at Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church.

We've prepared ourselves for this for quite some time. We've had Brian and his family out here for a few weeks during the past several months. You've heard him preach. You've gotten to know Tatiana, Nehemiah, Abigail, Sophie, and Noah.

You've gotten to know the family. We've had meetings, and we voted. We have fasted and gotten together last Friday for prayer after fasting together as a church, humbling ourselves before God, asking his blessing upon what actually is sort of this very day when we ordain him.

We acknowledge Christ's gift to the church. We thank God for providing, once again, what the church needs. And God willing, we move forward as a church and expand our reach of the gospel in this area, this neighborhood, this county, this city.

And so we want to bring the scripture to bear upon this morning. We want to look to God's word and see what he has to say about pastors and what they're here for and why we even have to have pastors. In this church, we are so blessed right now to have a plurality.

The church has always believed in plurality of the eldership of the pastorate. And yet, it wasn't until August of 2019 when we ordained Conley Owens as a pastor here that we finally had in this church, going back to a history long before I or any of one here, almost anyone here can remember, there's only ever been one pastor.

And again, August 2019, we had two. And now today, God willing, with his blessing, we will have three. It's a great blessing upon the church. And I want to prepare us to acknowledge this blessing. I want to prepare you for this moment when we will have Brian come up front.

And Conley and I will lay hands on him. And Conley will pray for him and for the church. And we'll do that with Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 7 through 16, though, because my purpose is very focused on this ordination.

I'm not going to exposit the entire text for you. We're going to focus in mostly on actually verse 8. But I'm going to read from verse 1 through verse 16 just to prepare us for it. And then we'll see just a bit of what God has to say about this specific moment.

Be very focused upon this idea of bringing a pastor into this church and ordaining him formally to the work of the ministry here in this place. So with that, please stand. I will read chapter 4 of Ephesians verses 1 through 16.

These are the words of the living God. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

There's one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each one 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 who also descended into the lower regions 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 shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the 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 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 and 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.

God bless the reading, the hearing, now the proclamation of his word. Please be seated. Well, let's pray. And once again, seek God's help as we look again to his word. Most Heavenly Father, now we do come to the word of God to proclaim and hear the word of God, to be changed by the word of God.

And only by the spirit of God can we do these things. Only by your spirit, Father, do we know this word to be the truth of God. And Father, only by the power of your spirit can we be changed by it. So do that work in us.

Make us submissive to your spirit and this word. And bring us, Father, closer to you, even as we this morning thank you for all your provision to us. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. So a brief introduction, maybe in order for the book of Ephesians.

And only the briefest, the book of Ephesians famously divides into two major sections. In chapters 1 through 3, we have what we call the indicative, the indicative telling you the truth of the work of God in Christ, what it means that God chose you to be in Christ, all this grand theology for three chapters, the indicatives telling you something, indicating something to you.

And so the Apostle Paul, as he so often does, he divides his book up very cleanly into these two sections, one telling you the truth about God and how you gained your faith. It came as a gift of God, not of works that no one should boast.

And finally, once we have that settled, the second half of the book, chapters 4, 5, and 6 give you the imperative, the what then shall we do to rely back upon Schaeffer's book many years ago. What then shall we do?

After three chapters of theology, wonderful grand theology, what do we do? Well, before we dig into chapter 4 and verse 1 and this very focused purpose that we have from those verses this morning, the end of chapter 3, the end of that grand theology the Apostle sets up says this, this doxology, which leads into chapter 4.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.

And that leads then to verse 1, which we began with a moment ago. I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. Walk in a manner worthy of the calling by which you've been called.

This is each one of us who has been called to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is every one of you, including your pastors, including John Burchett, your deacon, who have been called to Jesus Christ.

We are to walk in a manner worthy of that calling, the calling of the gospel. To walk in a manner worthy of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To walk in a manner worthy of his death and burial and resurrection.

How can we possibly do that? We should be crying out with those Jews who heard the first Pentecostal sermon. Do you remember when Peter preached at Pentecost when the Spirit came upon him and the other apostles?

And he preached to those Jews who stopped when they heard the sound of the Spirit. And he proclaimed to them Jesus Christ. He showed them their sin, their guilt for his death, their need for going to God, their need for some answer to their sin.

And they cried out as we should, if we look at this verse, walk worthy of the calling. We should cry out with those men in Pentecost, say, brothers, what shall we do? How can we do this? Who is sufficient for these things?

No one. And yet God in his grace, God in his mercy, God in his goodness, God in the Lord Jesus Christ makes provision for us. He makes provision for us. If no one can, if no one can do this walking worthily, if I in my own power, if I was the most disciplined man who ever walked the face of the earth, which I indeed am not, couldn't come close.

No one can. But that's not so desperate an answer as it may seem in God's grace, in God's mercy. That is not so despairing an answer. A couple of reasons for that. First is this. The righteousness of God himself, because of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that righteousness is credited to all whose faith is in him.

God's righteousness is yours if your faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe in your heart that he died for your sins and that God raised him from the dead on the third day, you will be saved.

Second Corinthians 521 then says, he made him, that's Jesus, who knew no sin, tempted in all ways as we are, yet without sin. He made him to be sin for us that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

So this is first. This is the first answer to this desperate question. What do we do? Rely upon the righteousness of God credited to you by faith in Jesus Christ. The righteousness of God himself credited, reckoned to your account by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's first. And the second reason that's not so despairing a question. What do we do? How do we accomplish this? This you cannot. How does that not just send us into depression and despair? Well, the second answer, and this is where our text comes to bear this morning, is our risen Lord Jesus Christ, our glorified Jesus Christ, our savior who died on the cross and was dead and he was buried and he was raised again on the third day and is now ascended to the father and sits at his right hand.

That Lord Jesus Christ by his spirit has given the church by the means of grace that we need to live that life. He's given to you and to me and to Brian and to Conley. He's given the means of grace that we can walk in the ways of Christ.

I have a habit of praying in the morning when I begin the service that we become more like Jesus Christ, that we become molded more and more into his image. I hope it doesn't get redundant. I don't put doesn't sound so repetitive, but this is what we're here for, to become more like Jesus.

This is why we open up the word of God. Jesus is the word of God. He's the very word of God. And by looking to this word, we know him and become like him. What's the means of grace that God gives us in order to do this?

Well, we read it just a few moments ago in the book of Ephesians. Among those means that God gives, he gives his spirit, he gives the word, but he gives men. He gives men to lead the church in various functions.

As we read, he gave the apostles and the prophets. Well, the apostles founded the church. The prophets speak God's word to the church. The evangelists spread the word of God and pastors and teachers lead the church and teach the church by looking to God's word, by reliance on his spirit, teach you how to live worthy of the calling to which you've been called.

Pastors. God gives pastors to the church for this very purpose that we could live worthy of the calling by which we've been called. Notice he says in verse 11, he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we attain to the unity of the faith.

And we do this by the work of pastors. Men like yourself, as we say, men with feet of clay, men who need to be saved just as every other person ever lived other than Jesus Christ, who teach you the word of God, who show you from the scripture and in their own lives what it means to live worthy of this calling.

Pastors are a gift to the church from the hand of the risen, the now ascended, the now glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Understand it's the office of pastor, not the man himself, but the office, the function of the pastor that our Lord has ordained.

So I can say to you, the church, that God has gifted you with another pastor, that's Brian Garcia. And I can say to you, Brian, that you are a gift to us from the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're gonna look at the word of the Lord here.

I wanna see what he says about what we're going to do here in, Lord willing, a few minutes. You see, it's by the ministry of pastors and teachers, and I take that to be one function there in the text, that we learn to live this life worthy of the calling to which we've been called.

It's Jesus' gift to the church. And the first thing I want us to note from the text here in Ephesians 4 is that this gift is a gift of God's grace, this gift of leaders in the church. We speak specifically this morning of a pastor because we're going to lay hands on Brian.

Deacons, in the same way, are a gift of God to the church, a gift from the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's a gift of grace. It's a gift of grace. Grace was given to each one according to the measure of Christ's gift.

So grace is poured out upon a man, grace by his spirit, according to what? According to his goodness? According to his worthiness? According to the fact that he's more holy than the rest of the world?

No, no. According to the measure of Christ's gift. According to the measure of our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. You see, no man is sufficient in and of himself for the calling of a pastor. A man could well desire the work of being a pastor.

He could well pray for the gift of being a pastor. And Jesus, by his grace, could well give that gift to him, but it's a gift received. It's not a gift taken. It's not one you reach out for and grab and have for yourself.

It's one given as a gift by God's grace. It's by his grace, not his obligation. It's because he ordained that we should have pastors to teach us, to teach me, for Brian to teach Conley and all of us how to live this life worthy of the calling to which we've been called.

There's a timing here. There's a timing here. I want us to notice when this occurred. When did Jesus Christ himself, God of God, light of light as we sang just a few moments ago, decree this, or I should say gift to us since God's decrees are eternal.

Look at verse eight again, please. 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 that he who had also descended into the lower regions of the earth?

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. It, it says, well it is of course the scripture. God's word says that upon his ascension, this one who ascended, that's Jesus Christ, gave gifts to men.

And Paul's meaning here, and it comes right after that, is the gift of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds, and teachers. Well this verse, this verse eight, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men.

That's quoting Psalm 68. Psalm 68, specifically verse 18. I would have you turn there for a moment. Turn your scriptures and your Bibles to Psalm 68. Many commentators, including my favorite, Derek Kidner, in his commentaries on the Psalms, think that this Psalm was the psalm, was the hymn that was sung, when as we read in 2 Samuel chapter six, David having gained victory over the Philistines, his very next thing, the victory of the Philistines was chapter five of 2 Samuel.

Chapter six, what does he do? He brings the ark to Jerusalem. They regained the ark, the ark of the covenant, they had the Aaron's staff that budded, it had the tables of the covenant in it, the 10 commandments, and it had the manna, the bread from heaven, all a testimony to God's provision for his people.

And they finally brought the ark to the city, to Jerusalem, the place where God had chosen for his name to reside. And this is the psalm, this is the hymn that many commentators believe was sung during its journey to its resting place in Jerusalem.

So what do we have here? What we have here is a victory procession. Remember, as I said just a moment ago, for your homework, you can read in 2 Samuel chapters five and six, chapter five is the victory of the Philistines, and then King David, and who is King David?

He's that first type of Christ in the kingly line. He's the one who was promised by God that he would have a son of his, a son from his own loins who would be on the throne forever. Of course, then there's Solomon, then there's Rehoboam, and so forth on down the line, and none of them sat forever on the throne.

It's the son of David, Jesus Christ, who sits forever on that throne. It's this David, who having won the victory over the Philistines, remember that word victory, having won that victory over the Philistines, who ascended to Jerusalem, because you always go up to Jerusalem, you always ascend to Jerusalem.

If you read the Pilgrim Psalms, starting at Psalm 121, you always go up to Jerusalem. He ascended, having won this great victory over the Philistines with the ark, and brought it to its resting place there.

In Psalm 68 and verse 18, which is what Paul cites in Ephesians 4 .8, we read, you ascended on high, and let's just pause for one moment. Think of a chorus, think of these Jews on either side of the road, watching this procession, and they're singing this to the king.

You, King David, you ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train. He had won the victory over the Philistines. He had made peace in the land. He had gained the borders of Israel. A host of captives in your train, and receiving gifts among men, receiving tribute from those nations that he had conquered.

This great warrior, this poet, this prophet, this type of Christ, this victorious warrior, going with the ark, the symbol of God's victory. Receiving gifts or tribute among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord may dwell there.

Did you notice something when I read that? Let me get myself back to Ephesians for a moment. Ephesians 4 .8, the apostle Paul, inspired by the spirit of God, says when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.

We should all have these question marks rising up out of our heads here. Say, wait a second, pastor, did you misread that? Because Ephesians 4 .8, Paul says he gave gifts to men, but you just read from the very word of God in Psalm 68, verse 18, they received gifts.

What is going on here? The Psalm prophesies of Jesus Christ. The Psalm is satisfied and fulfilled in Jesus Christ as Paul, excuse me, as David is going up to Jerusalem with the ark, with the symbol of God's victory, and receiving the tribute from men, tribute from the victories he won, all of which were given over to God.

All of which were given, God received all the praise and thanksgiving for. He's receiving the tribute. Paul turns it around, and he does so very intentionally. So we have David, that type of Christ, who wins a victory, and the first thing he does is bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, ascending on high with it.

Now we have the Lord Jesus Christ ascending on high and giving gifts. Well, Jesus Christ, of course, fulfills all that David could only point towards as a glimmer, really. How did Jesus ascend on high?

When God called him to return to him. So we have Jesus Christ, his death, how did he die? Well, we all know the answer, he died on the cross. He died on a cross for your sins. He suffered God's wrath for what is due to you.

The cross, though, the punishment of the worst criminals, the most disgraceful and excruciating way that men could think of to make a man die, the cross was not defeat, the cross was a great victory. Because Jesus Christ, who as man died on the cross, as a man was buried, on the third day was raised up, he was resurrected.

And then after he met with his disciples, and many saw him, as you can read about in 1 Corinthians 15, and then in the first chapter of Acts, he went back to God on a cloud, he ascended on high. And as he ascended, he gave gifts to men, where David, in Psalm 68, having won a victory over the Philistines, received the tribute.

Jesus Christ, having won the victory over sin and death, as it says in Hebrews chapter six, Hebrews chapter two, that he defeated the works of the devil, who held you in bondage because of your fear of death, Jesus Christ on the cross, won victory over sin, over death, over your fear of death.

A dear friend of mine once said, you know, it's not death I fear, it's the dying part. You take that as a little piece of wisdom, it always made sense to me. But your fear of that ultimate destiny, or so you may think, taken away by the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ, that victory in his resurrection.

So if David defeated the Philistines, so that ancient Israel might start thinking about victory over death, ultimately, Jesus Christ fulfilled it. And the victorious Lord Jesus Christ doesn't receive gifts, he gives gifts.

This is the way we need to think of the gift of pastor. This is the way we need to think of what we're going to do in a few moments when we lay hands on and pray for Brian. That it's a gift to the church from the very hand of Jesus Christ, and it's a gift to the church from the hand of Jesus Christ from his victory.

It's a victory march. It's a great hallelujah. It's an all praise to Jesus Christ, the ascended Lord. Because by his hand, and because of his victory, he gives. God has given all things to him, all authority has been given to him.

He says, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. All things were made by him and through him, and without him, nothing that was made was made. He's the agent of God's decree of creation.

It's all his. And ascending back to the Father and sitting at the Father's right hand, who's going to give him anything? You don't even give him your faith. He gives you faith to believe. Do we really give him worship?

We do give him worship. Why do you worship him in a way that pleases him? Because he gives you his spirit in order that we could worship in a way that would please him. It's all of him. It's all his. He's the victorious, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ, and yet he gives.

David received tribute. Jesus Christ, it's all his, and he gives from what is his, which is from everything. And in this context, in Ephesians chapter four, verse eight, when the apostle Paul quotes that victorious hymn of Psalm 68 and reverses that one verse instead of receiving, he gives.

This is the way the apostle Paul thinks of this gift of pastors. This is why I want you to think of it this morning. This is not just laying hands in this solemn occasion. It is that we do things decently.

We do things orderly here as much as we're able. But remember this, that Jesus Christ, upon his victory over sin and death, upon his victory in his resurrection, upon his victory in being raised back to the Father's side, ascended to sitting at his right hand, gives to the church this gift of pastor.

When we ordain a pastor, when we lay hands on him, we're acknowledging this gift from Christ, the victor over death. We're acknowledging it's a personal gift, that Christ Jesus himself, from on high, looking down upon this one spot, has said, by my victory over sin and death, I give you a pastor, I give you another pastor to teach you how to live worthy of the calling to which you've been called.

To Sunday after Sunday, in preaching, in Sunday school, in council, to remind you that you have that victory, that there is no more fear of death, that Jesus Christ, the victorious Savior, is to be reminded here day in and day out.

This is the gift of a pastor. This is why we all yearn to stand here Sunday and preach this wonderful word to you. A pastor is a gift from Christ of personal, from his hand, gift. Pastors, evangelists, teachers, are the fruit of Jesus' victory over sin and death and hell.

So it's solemn, yes it is solemn, but it's celebratory too. It's a great celebration, it's a great hallelujah, it's a victory march. And this is what the Apostle Paul cites in Psalm 68. The gift Christ has given to the church is men who will speak the word of life to dead and dying sinners.

As the ark was recovered in 2 Samuel 6, so Jesus Christ, who is all that that ark ever could be, the staff that budded, showing that God had ordained, that had decreed that Aaron should be the high priest and not the rebels who wanted to tear him down, Jesus Christ, our great high priest.

He's ultimately that staff that budded, he is that ark. The tablets of the law is not Jesus Christ, the very word of God is not Jesus Christ, the one who fulfilled that law on your behalf, he is all of that.

The manna to remind Israel of God's provision in the wilderness did not Jesus Christ say in John chapter six that he is that bread from heaven? So as David brought the ark to Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, all that the ark could ever point to, has ascended on high to, can we say, the ultimate Jerusalem.

This is his death, his burial, his resurrection, his victory march, and this is what we acknowledge this morning in just a few more minutes. Did God look upon this place, this one small place, in all this great city and county and state and nation and world?

Yes, he indeed did. In providing you, it's gonna sound conceited, I say it with all biblical humility, almost 20 years ago, with me. And then just a few years ago, with Conley. Remember how we celebrated having finally, after praying and yearning and wanting it for so long to have a plurality here?

And now today, Brian, God willing, in just a few moments, did he look down here? Yes, even as Psalm 68 tells us, in verse 16. Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode?

Yes, where the Lord will dwell forever. Speaking of the mountains of Bashan, these grand, majestic, snow-capped peaks, standing way over Mount Zion, looking down upon it as it were with derision. Yes, we, as the world, looks down upon this one place and the Lord that we worship with some derision.

But the Lord God, he chose Zion as a place for his name to dwell. And God has chosen this place, this day, for his name to be proclaimed by myself, by Conley, and now by Brian. That God has had regard for this place.

That God has looked down upon a place derided by the world. Even as Mount Zion was looked down upon those nations, those high, majestic mountains, and they looked with hatred upon it. Yet God said, I'm going to be there.

Even as Jesus Christ, by his Spirit, says, I will be here. And this victorious Lord Jesus Christ, this ascended, glorified Savior, by his victory over sin, by his victory over death, with a great bellow of accomplishment.

It is he who, ascending to the Father, decreed, ordained, and now has named a pastor for this church again. Brian Garcia. Our God is the God of salvation, 6820 in the Psalm. And to God, the Lord, belong deliverance from death.

You know, in that verse, salvation and escape are plural. There's many ways into death. It has many entrances, one exit. Many ways into condemnation. One way out, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your faith, your hope, all your wishes for eternal salvation.

In him and his cross alone. We are convinced that this is the message Brian will preach Sunday in and Sunday out, as I have tried to do for 20 years, as Conley has been doing for the years that he's been here.

And we commend you to this work, Brian, to stand here as faithfully, as carefully, and as submissively to the Spirit as you can, to give us this word of God week in and week out. And remember that you're a gift to this church from the hand of God, from the very hand of Christ, because of his victory, he has brought you here to help Conley and myself, and to bring us all closer to his image.

So I commend you to this work. Conley and I cannot tell you how excited we are to have a third man, a third set of shoulders to help in this effort to bring this gospel to bear. Father, church, I tell you this morning that Christ Jesus himself, by his victorious hand, has given you this gift again, as all praise and all glory be to him, amen.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your word, and I thank you, Father, for bringing us once again to this place where we can so joyfully lay hands on a man and ordain him to the work that you have called.

We trust, Father, that you have called him. We trust, Father, that this place where you have chosen for your name to reside, your name will be glorified, that your name will be exalted, and that its reach will be expanded in this place.

That we will go outside these walls, and the great commission would be fulfilled again and again in us for the sake, for the glory of Jesus Christ, and by the power of your spirit. I pray now you watch over us as we continue in worship, in Jesus' name, amen.