Eph 4:8-10 | KingComments | STEP | . In the previous verses the unity of the church has been highlighted. Now you are going to see the other side. Within the church each member has his own unique task. Every member has his own specific function and each separate function is meant to let the whole body function as a harmonious unity. Now it is not said here that a gift is given to us, but that “grace” is given to us. I think that in this way the emphasis is more on what is needed for you to fulfill your function than on the function itself. You may be aware of the fact that you have a function in the body, but you must also be aware of being dependent on the necessary grace to exercise that function. Well, you may know that the grace is there already, you don’t have to wait for it. You may start right away. And you also have received the exact measure of grace that you need to exercise your gift. It has been measured by Christ precisely. He is the One Who gives grace. . In Christ is put one more time in the spotlight. Who is He, Who distributes this grace and does that with the exact measure? He is the One, Who has thoroughly defeated the enemy. He is the One, Who is above all and all things as a result of that. He is the One, Who distributes gifts to the members of His body from that position. Let us first take a look at the victory that is described in . This verse is introduced by the word “therefore” and is followed by a quotation that comes from Psalm 68 ( ). At first sight it may seem strange that Paul quotes a verse from the Old Testament to illustrate his teachings. In the Old Testament there is no mention of the church at all, is there? He discussed that issue in detail in the previous chapter, didn’t he? That is right, but in the Old Testament Christ is being spoken of, and with reference to Him Paul quotes this verse. The word ‘therefore’ indicates that the quotation from Psalms 68 is meant as a confirmation of . In that verse it is about Christ as the Giver. emphasizes both the place from where He gives, “on high”, and what He has done so that He could give, “He led captive a host of captives” or “He led captivity captive”. Psalms 68 is a victory psalm. There you read how the LORD (Yahweh) scatters His enemies and puts them to flight. Kings, who were rebellious against Him, perish in front of His face. To His oppressed people God’s action means deliverance. That’s why they celebrate. This scene foresees the beginning of the millennial realm of peace. Paul quotes this psalm because he knows that the victory that will be publicly seen then, is now already a reality for faith. The Lord Jesus has gone through death; after that He rose and “He ascended on high”. The word ‘ascended’ makes you taste Divine power, the majesty of the Conqueror. That He has “led captive a host of captives” means that He has disempowered everything that brought men into captivity. As you read in Hebrews 2: “That through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” ( ). He has conquered the power of sin, death, world and flesh for all who belong to Him. But He did not only deliver them, He also gave them gifts. First, God gave Him gifts in reward for His victory. In His turn Christ gives the gifts to all who partake of His victory and those are we. The gifts come from One Who has triumphed and is in heaven now. In we see the Conqueror Who ascends on high in triumph. And His victory is great, as He not only defeated him, who kept us in captivity, but also his whole government machinery, everything that served him. Also we, who were in captivity, have been set free. Therefore He can also give us gifts. . This verse makes clear how the victory happened. It happened because He descended to earth and not only to earth, but into the lower parts of it, which means in death. If He had only come to earth, He couldn’t lead the captivity captive. He had to descend into death, into the grave. It is the victory of Someone, Who entered the lion’s den, Who went through death and emerged from it as Triumphant. He showed that He is above the power of satan. All who are connected to Him and are partakers of His work on the cross, are also partakers of its results. With Him they are delivered from the power of death and are seated in Him in the heavenly places. This only concerns the believers. As far as the unbelievers are concerned, they are still under the power of sin and death. “Descended into the lower parts of the earth” doesn’t mean ‘descended into hell’, as if the Lord Jesus had been in hell. This is included in the Dutch confession of faith, but not in the Bible. It can surely be said that the Lord Jesus underwent the judgment of God when He was judged because of our sins. Had He not done that, then we would have been eternally condemned to hell under the wrath of God. The judgment He underwent was surely not less than what our part would have been in hell. . He didn’t stay into those ‘lower parts of the earth’. He, after He triumphed, is highly exalted “above all the heavens” with the purpose “that He might fill all things” (cf. ). There is no depth too deep or He has been there. There is no height too high or He is exalted above it. ‘Above all heavens’ is a remarkable expression. It is, as it were, the superlative of exaltation. In Mark 16 you read about the first exaltation ( ). There He, the true Servant, “is received up into heaven”. In Hebrews 4 you see the second, higher, exaltation ( ). There He is the great High Priest “Who has passed through the heavens”. In our verse He is the triumphing Man Who has ascended “far above all the heavens”. This is the third exaltation, the superlative, the all-transcending exaltation. He will fill all things with His presence. That reminds us of what we read in chapter 1 ( ). The difference is that there it is about Him as God, while here it is about Him as Man. It makes clear that it is about one Person Who is both God and Man. Incomprehensible and inexplicable for human intellect, but faith ‘worships and bows down’. The glory of His Person is unfathomable and unsearchable. It invites you to be occupied with that Person and to enjoy Him more and more and to admire Him. In eternity there will be no place in heaven or on earth where His glory will not be visible. Then there will be no room for anything else. It is Him and Him only. What He will be then may be already reality for the heart of each one who is connected to Him. The Holy Spirit wants to focus our heart on Him. How He does that, you will see in the following verses. Now read Ephesians 4:7-10 again. Reflection: Tell in your own words what you see of the greatness of the Lord Jesus in these verses.

‏ Ephesians 4:8-10

Christ’s Gift

Eph 4:7. In the previous verses the unity of the church has been highlighted. Now you are going to see the other side. Within the church each member has his own unique task. Every member has his own specific function and each separate function is meant to let the whole body function as a harmonious unity.

Now it is not said here that a gift is given to us, but that “grace” is given to us. I think that in this way the emphasis is more on what is needed for you to fulfill your function than on the function itself. You may be aware of the fact that you have a function in the body, but you must also be aware of being dependent on the necessary grace to exercise that function. Well, you may know that the grace is there already, you don’t have to wait for it. You may start right away. And you also have received the exact measure of grace that you need to exercise your gift. It has been measured by Christ precisely. He is the One Who gives grace.

Eph 4:8. In Eph 4:8-10 Christ is put one more time in the spotlight. Who is He, Who distributes this grace and does that with the exact measure? He is the One, Who has thoroughly defeated the enemy. He is the One, Who is above all and all things as a result of that. He is the One, Who distributes gifts to the members of His body from that position.

Let us first take a look at the victory that is described in Eph 4:8. This verse is introduced by the word “therefore” and is followed by a quotation that comes from Psalm 68 (Psa 68:18). At first sight it may seem strange that Paul quotes a verse from the Old Testament to illustrate his teachings. In the Old Testament there is no mention of the church at all, is there? He discussed that issue in detail in the previous chapter, didn’t he? That is right, but in the Old Testament Christ is being spoken of, and with reference to Him Paul quotes this verse.

The word ‘therefore’ indicates that the quotation from Psalms 68 is meant as a confirmation of Eph 4:7. In that verse it is about Christ as the Giver. Eph 4:8 emphasizes both the place from where He gives, “on high”, and what He has done so that He could give, “He led captive a host of captives” or “He led captivity captive”.

Psalms 68 is a victory psalm. There you read how the LORD (Yahweh) scatters His enemies and puts them to flight. Kings, who were rebellious against Him, perish in front of His face. To His oppressed people God’s action means deliverance. That’s why they celebrate. This scene foresees the beginning of the millennial realm of peace.

Paul quotes this psalm because he knows that the victory that will be publicly seen then, is now already a reality for faith. The Lord Jesus has gone through death; after that He rose and “He ascended on high”. The word ‘ascended’ makes you taste Divine power, the majesty of the Conqueror. That He has “led captive a host of captives” means that He has disempowered everything that brought men into captivity. As you read in Hebrews 2: “That through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Heb 2:14b-15). He has conquered the power of sin, death, world and flesh for all who belong to Him.

But He did not only deliver them, He also gave them gifts. First, God gave Him gifts in reward for His victory. In His turn Christ gives the gifts to all who partake of His victory and those are we. The gifts come from One Who has triumphed and is in heaven now. In Eph 4:8 we see the Conqueror Who ascends on high in triumph. And His victory is great, as He not only defeated him, who kept us in captivity, but also his whole government machinery, everything that served him. Also we, who were in captivity, have been set free. Therefore He can also give us gifts.

Eph 4:9. This verse makes clear how the victory happened. It happened because He descended to earth and not only to earth, but into the lower parts of it, which means in death. If He had only come to earth, He couldn’t lead the captivity captive. He had to descend into death, into the grave. It is the victory of Someone, Who entered the lion’s den, Who went through death and emerged from it as Triumphant.

He showed that He is above the power of satan. All who are connected to Him and are partakers of His work on the cross, are also partakers of its results. With Him they are delivered from the power of death and are seated in Him in the heavenly places. This only concerns the believers. As far as the unbelievers are concerned, they are still under the power of sin and death.

“Descended into the lower parts of the earth” doesn’t mean ‘descended into hell’, as if the Lord Jesus had been in hell. This is included in the Dutch confession of faith, but not in the Bible. It can surely be said that the Lord Jesus underwent the judgment of God when He was judged because of our sins. Had He not done that, then we would have been eternally condemned to hell under the wrath of God. The judgment He underwent was surely not less than what our part would have been in hell.

Eph 4:10. He didn’t stay into those ‘lower parts of the earth’. He, after He triumphed, is highly exalted “above all the heavens” with the purpose “that He might fill all things” (cf. Jer 23:24). There is no depth too deep or He has been there. There is no height too high or He is exalted above it.

‘Above all heavens’ is a remarkable expression. It is, as it were, the superlative of exaltation. In Mark 16 you read about the first exaltation (Mk 16:19). There He, the true Servant, “is received up into heaven”. In Hebrews 4 you see the second, higher, exaltation (Heb 4:14). There He is the great High Priest “Who has passed through the heavens”. In our verse He is the triumphing Man Who has ascended “far above all the heavens”. This is the third exaltation, the superlative, the all-transcending exaltation.

He will fill all things with His presence. That reminds us of what we read in chapter 1 (Eph 1:23). The difference is that there it is about Him as God, while here it is about Him as Man. It makes clear that it is about one Person Who is both God and Man. Incomprehensible and inexplicable for human intellect, but faith ‘worships and bows down’.

The glory of His Person is unfathomable and unsearchable. It invites you to be occupied with that Person and to enjoy Him more and more and to admire Him. In eternity there will be no place in heaven or on earth where His glory will not be visible. Then there will be no room for anything else. It is Him and Him only. What He will be then may be already reality for the heart of each one who is connected to Him. The Holy Spirit wants to focus our heart on Him. How He does that, you will see in the following verses.

Now read Ephesians 4:7-10 again.

Reflection: Tell in your own words what you see of the greatness of the Lord Jesus in these verses.