Skip to main content

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Generation of Mark 13:30

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB) So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions. The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race...
15 comments
Read more

Children, Forgive Your Parents

Originally written on August 7, 2005 I remember the first time my father spoke to me as an adult. I was thirty. I had always looked up to my dad because he has many characteristics that are larger than life. Our relationship had always been that of a father and child. It did not change as I became a teenager and as I entered adulthood this unchanging relationship was the cause of much strain. So I was caught off guard as my dad began to speak to me over lunch one day at Chik-fil-a. As he spoke to me he began to confess the things that he had done wrong in raising my brother and me. It was a remarkable moment. Mainly because I noticed very few of his mistakes. He always worked to provide for us, loved my mother with all his heart, gave us plenty of hugs and kisses, and told us that he loved us everyday. So why would he admit to making mistakes in raising his children? After all, he had done a pretty exceptional job. The truth of the matter is that no matter how good we do as parents and...
1 comment
Read more

Confession: An Old Principle Revisited

Originally written on July 24, 2005 On Tuesday The Oprah Winfrey Show aired an episode devoted to people who had suffered tremendous loss at the hands of other individuals. These parties were brought together under the pressure of extreme emotional scaring and anger. When these individuals were in front of each other they were asked to retell their side of the story, recall all of their feelings, admit their wrong doing, and ultimately ask for forgiveness from the individual that they had harmed. This so-called new approach has been labeled as "restorative justice." Oprah called it a radical new approach to emotional healing and was in awe at the success people found who took part in the exercise. What was not brought to the light was the fact that this approach is radical, but it is by no means new. In the New Testament James understood this principle very well. In James 5:16 he states "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you m...
2 comments
Read more