Ephesians 4:7,8 - Grace has been given

4:7

As I have said on many occasions, we too often consider grace as purely passive, ie being forgiven for our sins. That, of course, is a vital part of it, but only part. In the following verses Paul is going to talk about various gifts and ministries within the church. Grace is about so much more that going to heaven rather than hell! God’s salvation is about enabling us to become the people we are meant to be, becoming people who minister the goodness of God. God gives grace to each one of us to enable us to do stuff.

4:8

As is his want, Paul quotes from Scripture, though it is possible he is just making a statement inspired by Scripture, rather than a direct quote. Psalm 68:18 speaks of the Lord receiving many gifts, here Paul speaks of the Lord giving many gifts. This could be a rabbinic interpretation. Regardless of the case, the Lord gives many gifts to His people, and these gifts are to enable us to build up the church and do the work of the kingdom. Prior to this Paul has been emphasising unity, but unity most definitely does not mean uniformity. God gives different gifts to different people, as He sees fit.