He Ascended

On Wednesdays, I pray specifically for family as well as a few older, long-time family friends. As I looked at my prayer card with everyone’s name on it, I realized that four people had passed away in the last year. The most recent was the man who did the doctrinal edits on several of my books, and had finished the first two chapters of Journey Through Ephesians.

I can’t imagine grieving without hope, hope of the resurrection. Hope of glorified bodies. Hope of eternal life with God. Those in Christ have this hope because Jesus took on flesh, suffered, and died a substitutionary death for us. He rose from the dead on the third day, ascended to the heavenly places, and sat at the right hand of the Father.

I left off on Ephesians 4:7-8 several weeks ago due to my husband and I traveling. Paul had transitioned from unity to diversity. He quoted Psalm 68:18 with a couple of differences. Paul didn’t prefigure Christ’s ascension as in Psalm 68. He clearly placed Jesus as the conquering victor ascending to the right hand of the Father and giving grace-enabled gifts to those in Christ. Jesus’ ascension should not and cannot be separated from His crucifixion, resurrection, and Pentecost. Jesus’ ascension declares His victory, and His ascension was necessary for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost.

⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) ¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ 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, ¹⁴ so that 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 in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ 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.^[1]

Ephesians 4:7-16 (emphasis added)

Verses 9 and 10 are a parenthetical comment on the Psalm 68:18 quote. They provide a brief explanation. “An inspired commentary” as Benjamin Merkle phrased it.

“He ascended” – “⁹And when he [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

In Psalm 68:18, David prefigured Jesus ascending in victory. Paul now makes a logical connection that if Jesus ascended, He had to have first descended: “In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?”

Jesus descending is not Paul’s main focus in this passage as we will see at the end of verse 10. However, we will take a minute to consider what it means. There are three possible understandings.

1.    Sometime between Jesus’ death and resurrection, He descended to Hades to free Old Testament saints or give the dead an opportunity to hear and respond with repentance to the Gospel and be saved. Proponents of this view cite 1 Peter 3:19. Similar to this is the view that Jesus descended to Hades to proclaim His victory (Colossians 2:15).

2.    Jesus descending refers to His incarnation and death. “Lower regions” designated the earth contrasted with “far above all the heavens” (vs 10).

3.    Descending refers to the Holy Spirit descending at Pentecost.

The second understanding seems the most likely as it seems to correspond with the rest of Ephesians and has the least amount of difficulties. Jesus descending from heaven to earth correlates with Him ascending from earth to heaven. Philippians 2 describes Jesus “descending” to earth and His exaltation:

⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.^[2]

Further support for Jesus’ descending being His incarnation and death is found in the phrase “the lower regions”. Several passages use the same phrasing to describe the created earth where life and death occur (Psalm 63:9-10; 139:15; Matthew 12:40; Isaiah 44:23).

“He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things” (vs 11). Jesus descended, and He also ascended far above all the heavens, evidence of His exaltation (vs 1:21; Philippians 2:9) and His victory (vs 8).

Jesus ascended that he might fill all things. Filling all things is the goal (vs 1:23). Jesus exalted, Lord over all is able to fill all things. But what does it mean for Jesus to fill all things? Given the context of the quote from Psalm 68:18, this would seem to point to Pentecost and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on believers (John 14:16; Acts 2:1-41). Pentecost was a public celebration of Jesus’ victory in His death, resurrection, and ascension.

R.C Sproul explained: “Paul introduces the idea that it is not only isolated individuals in the new covenant who receive the empowering of the Holy Spirit for ministry [as was the case Old Testament]. Instead, every believer is given some measure of power of the Holy Spirit to minister to Christ’s church.”^[3] God’s design for believers ministering to Christ’s church is laid out in verse 11.

Jesus descended, taking on flesh, paying an incalculable price on our behalf – His suffering, substitutionary death, resurrection, and ascension. Therefore, God highly exalted Him over all things, whereby He has the authority to give gifts to men.

Reflection

1.    In your own words, describe how Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost are inseparably connected. What would be different if one event had not occurred?

2.    Although Paul’s main point was the goal of Jesus’ ascension, filling all things, it is profitable for us to meditate on the cost of Jesus descending. Especially as we near the Christmas season, what impacts you most from Jesus taking on flesh (Philippians 2:6-8)?

3.    The Holy Spirit is often a forgotten member of the Trinity, but Jesus said: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away [ascend to heaven], the Helper [Holy Spirit] will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). It is to our advantage for the Holy Spirit to indwell us. Research some of the advantages believers possess by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Cite Scripture.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 4:7–16.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 2:6–11.

^[3] Sproul, R.C. Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary. Sanford, Ligonier Ministries, 2023.