But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, “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 had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Ephesians 4: 7-10 (RSV)
In Ephesians 4: 7-10, Paul addressed how grace is divided among believers. It also discusses where Christ went while His body was in the tomb. This devotion tries to make sense out of the verses.
Nuggets
- Each of us has been the recipient of God’s grace.
- The gifts Jesus gave men were redemption and eternal life.
- The gifts does Jesus gets is our praise and worship.
- Jesus did spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth.
- Jesus may or may not have descended into hell.
I read these verses and said, “Say what?”
Christ Apportioned the Grace
“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it” (Eph. 4: 7 NIV).
Grace is a free and unmerited gift from Heavenly Father given through His Son, Jesus Christ that enables salvation and spiritual healing to believers. It means we get more than we deserve.
Each of us has been the recipient of this grace. It is a gift to be used to further God’s kingdom.
We don’t acquire it through our knowledge. It isn’t the result of anything we do.
Does that mean we all get the same amount? No. Christ has allocated it to us what we we need for the tasks and experiences that our in our plans.
Should that get us all hot and bothered that it isn’t equal distribution? No. It is all from Christ. Every bit of it.
Each of us is given what we need. No more. No less.
Each gift is needed. Remember I Corinthians 12: 21. “The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you’” (NLT).
Ascension
“Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men’” (Eph. 4: 8 RSV).
Huh? Didn’t Paul read Acts 1? It only says Jesus flew. Yes, angels showed up, but they aren’t captives. So, what is it saying?
This isn’t an original idea. Paul got it from scripture. “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there” (Ps. 68: 18 ESV).
Who were the captives? Well, we were. We were captives of sin and death. Jesus will lead us in an ascension eventually.
So, what were the gifts Jesus gave men? He gave redemption and eternal life. He made us children and heirs.
To read, What Does It Mean to Be Children and Heirs of God?, click on the button below.
To read What Does It Mean to Be Children and Heirs of God?, click the button below.
When we are children of God, that inheritance is secure. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (Jn 10: 28 ESV).
But look at the Psalms passage again. It says, “You ascended on high, leading … and receiving gifts among men …” (Ps. 68: 18 ESV).
What gifts does Jesus get? He gets our praise and worship. He gets our love.
I am just throwing this out here. Can we look at Jesus being able to live in this world and not sin as a gift of God? I hadn’t really ever looked at it that way. But wouldn’t that, too, be a gift from God that Jesus received?
Part of me says yes. We keep reading that grace is a gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2: 8 ESV).
God is with us, giving us grace and training us to resist temptation. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Ti. 2: 11-12 ESV).
Wouldn’t God do the same with Jesus? If Jesus is to be our example and experienced everything we did, does it not follow that God supplied Him with grace?
Besides, remember when Paul said last chapter. “assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you” (Eph. 3: 2 RSV emphasis added). If Paul was a steward of grace for others, how much more would Jesus be?
Part of me says no. Jesus was God so He had the grace.
Part of me says I should delete these paragraphs; part of me says, “Isn’t that wonderful?”
What do we know for sure?
- Jesus accomplished God’s plan of salvation when He died on the cross.
- Jesus defeated Satan and paid the price for our sins.
- Through His death and when we ask a Jesus to be our Redeemer and Savior, we receive the gifts of forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.
- Jesus deserves our praise and worship.
Descended
“(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things)” (Eph. 4: 9-10 RSV).
Oh, man. I thought the last verse was hard enough. Now I am wondering why I picked this passage!
We’ll get through this together.
We get the Jesus-ascended-to-heaven part. It is the to-where-did-He-descend part that has people questioning.
We know Jesus descended to earth from heaven. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (Jn. 6: 38 NKJV).
From what I have read, the jury is still out as to whether Jesus descended into hell when His body was in the tomb. This passage in Ephesians is used as evidence confirming He did.
But notice, it doesn’t say Jesus descended into hell. In fact, no where in the Bible does it say that.
In Matthew 12: 40, Jesus said the sign for the Pharisees would be that He would “… in the heart of the earth” (RSV) for three days. To me, that could go either way. Hell is not necessarily the heart of the earth.
But Jesus did spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth. Yes, His body did, but where did His Spirit go? Just where all of the other dead people go?
The Apostles’ Creed seems to indicate that Jesus descended into hell. This is supposed to be supported by Psalm 16: 10. “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (Ps. 16: 10 NKJV). Now, Sheol is translated hell in the King James Version.
I don’t know. That seems to be open to interpretation to me.
The Blue Letter Bible offers three possible explanations of Jesus’ activities while His body was in the tomb.
- Suffering the wrath of God (Ac. 2: 24).
- Proclaiming his victory over Satan and giving a second chance to those who have gone before.
- Preaching to people who had lived previously (I Pet. 3: 18).
It looks like only Theory 1 and Theory 3 have any supporting scriptures. Theory 2 is kind of confusing when you think of it from an implementation lens. What is Jesus hoping to gain — new converts? Is that really going to happen when they are dead?
Zondervan argued that the phrase, “He descended into hell,” was not in the early copies of The Apostles Creed. They also suggest the suffering theory. A different theory they suggest is that Jesus is just hanging out until resurrection time. Or, they say, He really may have traveled down to hell.
There are passages that indicate Jesus did not visit hell when He was in the grave. Luke 23: 43 is in direct opposite of this.
“Jesus replied, ‘I promise that today you will be with me in paradise’” (Lk. 23: 43 CEV). I think we can pretty much agree paradise is the direct opposite of hell.
When Jesus was on the cross, He said His job was finished (Jn. 19: 30). He sent His Spirit to God. God is definitely not going to be in hell.
Making the Connections
Bottom line is Romans 10: 6-7. “But what the scripture says about being put right with God through faith is this: ‘You are not to ask yourself, Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down). ‘Nor are you to ask, Who will go down into the world below?” (that is, to bring Christ up from death)’” (GNT).
Does it really matter? No. Wherever Jesus went, whatever He did, He completed the plan of salvation. He is our Redeemer and Savior. We just have to believe that.
How Do We Apply This?
We don’t get salvation and then we are done. One of a disciples’ job description is to work out our salvation. We’ve got to grow in knowledge and grace (II Pet. 2: 18).
The Disciple’s Job Description
To access the complete job description, click the button below.
Job Duty #2
Work Out Our Salvation (Philippians 2: 12)
We should utilize the gifts God gives us to the fullest and want more. First Corinthians 14: 1 says, “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (ESV).
We shouldn’t compare ourselves to others. “But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor” (Gal. 6: 4 ESV). Who care what gift others have?
We have to remember we aren’t going to understand everything. We aren’t God. Besides, we really don’t need to know.
Loving Father. Sometimes Your Word can be confusing. We want to understand what we need to understand. Help us to take the rest on faith. Help us to answer the questions of problem searching for You. Amen.
Related Links
The following sources were used in researching the topic of Jesus’ proposed descent into hell.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/apostles_creed.cfm
https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/did-jesus-really-descend-into-hell
What do you think?
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