Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:9-10 . I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au
Ephesians 4:9-10
“What does” he ascended” mean except that he descended to the earthly, lower regions. He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens in order to fill the whole universe.”
These verses are full of difficulty in terms of the meaning, and also in terms of Paul’s arguments. Before we get too lost in the details, we should recall that Paul has been talking about the immeasurable extent of Gods grace And it’s implications fool us.
These present verse are an explanation of verse 8, which was about Christ ascending with a victory procession and distributing gifts to people.
Paul then argues that to say that Christ ascended implies that he first descended to the earthly, lower regions.
This can be interpreted in a number of ways .
The first idea is that it refers to the earth itself. Compared to heaven, the earth is so low and inconsequential that it would be considered a descent. If we go with that interpretation, we must remember that Christ did not consider being in the human stay as a great humiliation in itself. The Bible is clear that we have to avoid the kind of dualism that says the heavenly and and spiritual realm is good, but the earthly and physical realm is evil.
Another possible interpretation is that the descent is the descent Into death and the tomb. This fits in well with Paul’s theology of the Cross as being the lowest point of Christ’s humbling. From this place, he was exalted to the highest place (Philippians 2:6-11).
Some people argue that this is a reference to Christ descending to the world of the dead to preach the gospel to those who had died prior to His coming (1 Peter 3:19, 4:6). This matches up with the comment that He then ascended to the highest heaven.
Of these three possibilities, it seems to me that the second is the most likely. Paul is probably referring to Christ descending to the grave, to be truly dead and humiliated in his manner of death, before being raised up to the highest heaven.
Christ descended into the tomb, but was then raised to life, and ascended higher than all the heavens.
The Bible describe three Heavens.
The first heaven (or “firmament” in some translations) is the sky and the air. We might think of it as the area of the cosmos that produces weather on the earth – wind, rain, and so on.
The second heaven is the observable universe where the celestial bodies can be seen – the Son, the Moon, the planets, and the stars.
The third heaven is the place where God lives. Paul speaks about being transported to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2), which he describes as Paradise (12:4). We know from other parts of the Bible that angels, cherubim, living creatures, and other heavenly beings surround the throne of God. We know that this is the place where followers of Jesus will live for eternity.
Some other religions, including Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and some pagan religions, describe seven heavens. But this is not taught in Scripture.
So Christ ascended to a place that is higher than all the heavens. This is a little exaggeration as Christ clearly had no desire, even if it were possible, to go beyond God the Father. Paul is saying that Christ ascended to the highest possible place of honour and lory .
Christ ascended to the highest place to fill the whole of creation (literally to fill all things).
It was always God’s intention to be present to all of creation- although not literally “in” all things. Sin brought about that big tearing apart of the universe from its Creator, and death entered in.
Now Christ fills the whole universe, and is restoring all things to Himself. As noted previously, we are not to think of Him as being a part of everything, or as dwelling in the created things. No, it is the awareness of Christ in all of creation that is meant here.
Christ is in the highest heaven, and hence he dominates the lower realms. He is truly the Lord of all things and reigns on high.
The rebellion against his reign continues in the form of sin and lawlessness. Human sinners and demonic beings continue to live as if Christ is not in the highest heaven, but this will be rectified on the Day of the Lord.
The One who has ascended is the same one who descended. The exalted Christ whom the church worships is the same Christ who died on the cross at Calvary. He shared our emotions, our victories, our temptations, and our limitations. We have a High Priest who can sympathise with us in our weaknesses.
Key points in these verses
- Christ descended to the grave before he ascended to heaven
- Scripture describes three heavens, and Christ is now in the highest of these, the place where God lives.
- Christ now reigns over all things on earth and in the heavens
- Christ reigns with empathy because He knows what it is like to be human
