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He Led Captive A Host Of Captives

Letter To A Friend Concerning Ephesians 4:8
But to each one of us grace was given
according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,
HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES,
AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN."
Ephesians 4:7-8 (NASB)

The context of this passage concerns the unity of the church. Paul states in verse three that the Ephesians are to "preserve the unity of the church and in verse thirteen he states "until we all attain to the unity of the faith." That much is settled, God wants Christians to be united.
The remarkable thing is that this unity comes to the church through the diversity of its people. Verse seven states that "But each one of us grace was given…" Verse 11 follows by saying "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers."

This grace from God is the gifts that God gives to His children so that the church of the lord Jesus Christ might be fully equipped for every good work. Not everyone has the same gift, but everyone is needed.

Paul gives verse eight, a quotation from Psalm 68, as the Scripture that told of this giving of gifts. Psalm 68 pictures King David bringing the Ark of The Covenant back to Mt. Zion in victory. This ascension is paralleled to the ascension of Christ. This is what Paul leaves us with. That the giving of gifts was the prize or the spoils of a king that had plundered his enemies and was now flaunting this victory in a homecoming parade of sorts.

But what about the specific phrase "HE LEAD CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES," How are we to understand this? Maybe this should not be taken in a way that demands that we find a direct parallel to Psalm 68, but instead we should try to see the overarching point that – just as David brought back The Ark of The Covenant in triumph, so Christ too ascended to the Father in triumph -–having conquered all of His enemies- and sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to bring gifts to men.

Yearning With You To Understand Scripture Better,

Mitchell L. Landress

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