The Humility and Exaltation of Christ (Ephesians 4:8–10)

Christ has ascended!

While Christians give a lot of focus to the death and resurrection of Christ, we nod our heads at His ascension. Yet, contained in the ascension of Jesus is His exaltation, coronation, and a revelation of His majestic supremacy!

Join Nathan Johnson in this study of Ephesians 4:8–10 as we examine Paul’s parenthetical statement about the majesty and preeminence of Christ Jesus in the context of Him giving gifts to the Church. He has ascended!

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Key Passage: Ephesians 4:8–10

Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
– Ephesians 4:8–10

Context

• Chapters 4–6 (practical living out the life of “IN Christ”)
  • 4:3 – guard and protect the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
  • 4:4–6 – we are all one body (unity) yet different (symphony)
  • 4:7 – Every believer has been given the gift of grace (salvation and empowerment) 
    • Ephesians 4:7 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
    • God’s grace is sufficient for my every need 
    • 2 Corinthians 9:8– And God is able to make every grace abound to you, so that in everything at every time having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
      

Paul’s Parenthetical Statement

• It appears that 4:7 and 4:11 are the same flow/thought … almost like Paul declares verse 7 which reminds him of Psalm 68 so he brings it up, then gives another parenthetical statement (4:9–10) within the main parenthetical statement (4:8–10) … then continues with his thought on gifts (4:11ff)
• Ephesians 4:8–10 – Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

2 Major Difficulties

1. Psalm 68 is considered to be one of the most difficult Psalms to interpret … and Paul makes two significant tweaks to the original text of Psalm 68:18
   • Ps. 68 is notoriously difficult both to outline and to place in any specific historical setting. Scholars often rank it among the most difficult psalms to interpret (see Albright 1950–1951: 7; Weiser 1962: 481; Kraus 1989: 47). ⁽¹⁾
2. There are three main understandings/arguments for “He ascended/descended” (to the lower parts of the earth)

Psalm 68

• Summary of Psalm 68 – It speaks of the scattering of God’s enemies (68:1–3), God’s protection for the poor (68:5–6, 10), and the history of God’s dealings with his people from the exodus to the establishment of the temple on Mount Zion (68:7–18). It describes a procession of worshipers (68:24–27) and includes a prayer that God hasten the day when all the kingdoms of the earth would submit to him (68:28–31). Despite this variety of material, the psalm displays a coherent historical movement from God’s past faithfulness to Israel to a future in which all the nations of the earth would worship him. At the center of the psalm, between the account of past victory and the expression of future hope, lies an affirmation of God’s faithfulness in the present (68:19–20). ⁽²⁾
• Psalm 68:18 – You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, Even among the rebellious also, that Yah—God—may dwell there.
  • 1. Paul changes the second person pronoun (You) to a third person pronoun (He)
  • 2. Paul changes the third verb (received) to its antonym (gave)
    • Is Paul quoting Psalm 68:18 directly, paraphrasing the psalm as a whole, quoting the Targum (Aramaic translation / interpretation of the Hebrew Bible – Moses went up the mountain and received the Law so he can give it to God’s people), or is Paul refuting the ancient rabbinic understanding that it was referring to Moses?
• Picture of Psalm 68 – that of a conquering king triumphantly marching back to his city. He climbs the hill upon which his palace rests … a place of authority and power. Behind him are his captive foes, chained and paraded before the city to show the greatness of their king and the defeat of their enemy. 
  • Who is the king? God Almighty!
  • Jeremiah 23:24– “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares Yahweh.
  • Paul then uses the imagery and says … it’s Jesus Christ (God in the flesh)!
  • Jesus is the conquering King who always triumphs over His enemies
• In Psalm 68 – a king who receives tribute and gifts from the battle and his conquered enemy
• In Ephesians 4:8 – Jesus offers and gives gifts out of His authority and triumph
  • In Ephesians 4:7 He gave gifts according to His generosity
• But maybe there is little difference since God receives only to give away
  • John 17:2 (NKJV)– [Jesus has received] authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as [God] has given Him.
• Emphasis: Jesus is the conquering victor! Sin, death, hell, and every force of darkness (principalities, powers, mights, and dominions) have been defeated! Their power is stripped and they are being exposed as foolish and defeated. Those who were once captive under darkness have been brought out and are now victorious. The captive has been set free, the captor has been chained and now made the captive under the authority and control of Christ Jesus.
• Colossians 1:13 – [God] rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love …

Paul’s Commentary on Psalm 68

• Ephesians 4:8– Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, And HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”
• Ephesians 4:9–10– (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
• Difficulty: ascended/descended … lower parts of the earth
  • 3 Basic Views:
    • 1. Christ descended into hades/hell
    • 2. Christ ascends and then the Holy Spirit descends at Pentecost
      • Paul says SAME Jesus did both (4:10)
    • 3. Christ descended in His incarnation and then ascended in His exaltation
      • Gerald W. Peterman – The lower parts of the earth refer to earth itself (like saying “the city of Chicago,” where “the city” is “Chicago”). ⁽³⁾

The Humility and Exaltation of Jesus

Christ’s Humility (The Descent)

• Paul asks a rhetorical question in 4:9 – “What does the phrase ‘He ascended’ imply? Obviously, that He first descended.”
• Incarnation (from the Latin “in carne”) – in the flesh, enfleshed … God Almighty, Yahweh, the Living God took on flesh and became a man. Jesus is fully God and fully man.
• John 1:14– And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
• John 3:13– “And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”
  • also see John 6:38, 62
• Matthew 11:29 (AMP) – Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.
• Philippians 2:3–8– doing nothing from selfish ambition or vain glory, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves, not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this way of thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Christ’s Exaltation (The Ascension)

• Acts 1:9–11 (read about the ascension of Jesus)
• Philippians 2:9–11– Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
• Ephesians 1:20–21– which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
• Ephesians 4:10– He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.
  
• FAR ABOVE ALL THE HEAVENS
  • E1:21 – far above every enemy and every name in every age
  • Peter Thomas O’Brien – The ‘all’ indicates that a number of heavens is in view. Whether three (cf. 2 Cor. 12:2), seven, or more heavens are referred to, Christ has ascended above everything to the place of highest supremacy. ⁽⁴⁾
  • Darrell L. Bock – The ascent put Jesus in a position above all the heavens. … Location and authority are the point. The result is that he fills all things: his authority extends over the whole of the creation. … all things will be summed up in Christ (cf. Col. 1:17; 2:9). ⁽⁵⁾
    
• SO THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS
  • Ephesians 1:10– … for an administration of the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth in Him.
  • Klyne Snodgrass – The text says literally, “in order that he may fill all things.” Whenever Paul mentions the ascension, he emphasizes Christ’s authority and the fact that Christ encompasses all things and places them in their proper role. Nothing is outside his jurisdiction or excluded from the benefit and wholeness he brings. ⁽⁶⁾
  • William MacDonald – He does fill all things in the sense that He is the source of all blessing, the sum of all virtues, and the supreme Sovereign over all. “There is not a place between the depth of the cross and the height of the glory which He has not occupied,” writes F. W. Grant. ⁽⁷⁾
  • Lynn H. Cohick – 4:10 speak[s] of Christ’s ascent extending far above the heavens and thus filling the cosmos. Paul stresses that no part of the cosmos is beyond Christ’s grace and judgment. ⁽⁸⁾
  • Gerald W. Peterman – The result of Christ’s exaltation is that He might fill all things. The filling is not spatial, but in light of Eph 1:23 and Php 2:9–11 refers to exercising sovereignty. ⁽⁹⁾
  • David Bryant – Today as God’s consecrated, crowned, universal Mediator, His Royal Majesty, the Lord Jesus Christ, continues to actively exercise global jurisdiction. His reign is so extensive we can be assured there’s not one square inch of planet earth — including the deepest secrets of every heart — over which he does not assert the claim: “I am King of kings and Lord of lords even there!” … Right now Jesus is filling the universe with his sovereignty, with his residency, with his activity — with his glory. One day soon, however, he will fill even the darkest, deadliest corners of the universe with the majesty of his manifested majestic presence, so that all things above and below will give their full attention to the Ascension [His exalted coronation] — forever. ⁽¹⁰⁾

The Cross and the Crown

• In the Early Church, the death, resurrection, ascension, and outpouring of the Spirit was considered one event
  • To speak of the “Cross” was to speak of the entire work of Christ … Jesus’ cross and His crown are now permanently inseparable. ⁽¹¹⁾
  • 1 Corinthians 2:2 – For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
    • Paul doesn’t just mean Jesus’ death but death through Pentecost

Summarizing Ephesians 4:7–10

• Jesus is the exalted King … who, from His lofty position of authority, power, sovereignty, dominion, and victory is now, through His own generosity, giving the gift of grace to His people.
• Constantine R. Campbell – The one who humbled himself by leaving his Father’s side to become an earth-bound human being (Phil 2:6–8) is the one whom the Father has highly exalted (Phil 2:9–11). … As [scholar Gordon D.] Fee comments, “Christ is now the warrior-king, who through his death and resurrection not only subdued all of God’s enemies but also is the source of all gifting in his body, the church.” ⁽¹²⁾
• Hebrews 12:2 –… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• Hebrews 7:26 – For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

Meditating Upon His Majesty

David Bryant once beautifully wrote … 

• Jesus ascended! All royal enthronements of history combined could never excel that one. It is the preeminent imperial investiture of all time.
• Jesus ascended! That one historical event, in time and space and history, carried with it eternal consequences that the redeemed will never cease recounting in sheer amazement.
• Jesus ascended! That one historical act formed the decisive turning point of the ages, pregnant with the promise of deliverance for all creation, to which our only valid response must be unbridled jubilation.
• Jesus ascended! That one unrepeatable hour became the capstone of his ministry, the culmination of every other facet of his redeeming work that is saluted by the Church through liturgy and sacraments and holy days and treasured rituals.
• Jesus ascended! That one phenomenal transaction ratified and certified and magnified, once and for all, the man and the mission of the Son of God, and established him over the Church as our everlasting Savior and Supreme Commander.
• Jesus ascended! That one infinite initiative within the total enterprise of our eternal salvation confirms to all of us that the scope of his sway will forever dominate us and is irreplaceable, irreducible, irreversible.
• Jesus ascended! That one heavenly investiture forms the apex for which our Lord descended into our world in the first place. ⁽¹³⁾

Charles Spurgeon once said,

Before we can have any right idea of the love of Jesus, we must understand his previous glory in its height of majesty, and his incarnation upon the earth in all its depths of shame. But who can tell us the majesty of Christ? When he was enthroned in the highest heavens he was very God of very God; by him were the heavens made, and all the hosts thereof. His own almighty arm upheld the spheres; the praises of cherubim and seraphim perpetually surrounded him; the full chorus of the hallelujahs of the universe unceasingly flowed to the foot of his throne: he reigned supreme above all his creatures, God over all, blessed for ever. Who can tell his height of glory then? And who, on the other hand, can tell how low he descended? To be a man was something, to be a man of sorrows was far more; to bleed, and die, and suffer, these were much for him who was the Son of God; but to suffer such unparalleled agony—to endure a death of shame and desertion by his Father, this is a depth of condescending love which the most inspired mind must utterly fail to fathom. Herein is love! ⁽¹⁴⁾

FOOTNOTES

(1) Frank S. Thielman, “Ephesians,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI;  Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic;  Apollos, 2007), 820.
(2) Frank S. Thielman, “Ephesians,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI;  Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic;  Apollos, 2007), 820.
(3) Gerald W. Peterman, “Ephesians,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014), 1852.
(4) Peter Thomas O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), 296.
(5) Darrell L. Bock, Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel, vol. 10, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019), 125.
(6) Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 202. [see: See Ephesians 1:10, 22–23; 3:19; Colossians 1:15–20.]
(7) From F. W. Grant, “Ephesians,” The Numerical Bible, Acts to 2 Corinthians, VI:341 … as quoted in William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1934.
(8) Lynn H. Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020), 262–263.
(9) Gerald W. Peterman, “Ephesians,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014), 1852.  
(10) David Bryant, Christ is Now (New Providence, NJ: New Providence Publishers, 2017), 35–36.
(11) David Bryant wrote, “However, the cross and the crown are now permanently inseparable … Jesus’ passion and his coronation are inextricably bound together forever — the cross was corroborated by the crown. The head once encircled with painful thorns is now anointed amidst pulsating tributes.” // David Bryant, Christ is Now (New Providence, NJ: New Providence Publishers, 2017), 38, 168.
(12) Gordon Fee, Pauline Christology, 358–59 … as quoted in  Constantine R. Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. D. A. Carson, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2023), 175.
(13) David Bryant, Christ is Now (New Providence, NJ: New Providence Publishers, 2017), 35–36.
(14) C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (Morning, March 28) (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).

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In Our Next Study Together …

I invite you to join me on this journey from the book of Ephesians to discover God’s eternal purpose, His plan for your life, and learn how to practically live out an abundant and fruitful Christian life. 

• The focus of our next study: Ephesians 4:11
  • We are going to discuss the aspects of Jesus giving apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to the Church—what are each of these positions, how do they function, and how are they a gift to the body of Christ?
  • I encourage you to read through Ephesians a couple of times this week and focus specifically on Ephesians 4.